the calm before the storm

The school year is winding down, but summer still feels as though it's only a tiny glimmer at the end of a long tunnel full of art shows, finals exams and grading. The heat and humidity is reaching the point of unbearable, and we've surrendered to our noisy but efficient window a.c. unit. The rising water temperature is bringing about some strange stormy weather and with hurricane season right around the corner, it's about time to gather some supplies and call dibs on living rooms that we might like to camp out (living rooms at a higher altitude than our water front apt) in the case of a storm.

Luckily, the weather was pristine when two of my favorite people in the world were able to drop down for a little visit last weekend. Heather co-piloted the mini Cape-Air vessel to a safe landing on Wednesday afternoon. We spent the weekend, island hoping on "Sunshine", the rustic but reliable little boat rental from Cane Garden Bay. We checked out Virgin Gorda and braved the "Shack".

So sad to see them go, I numbed my emotional pain with a bit of a deep bicep burn as we kayaked over to Sandy Spit with 8 other teachers on Sunday afternoon. We claimed the tiny swatch of land as our own and camped out under the stars with a little grill, blazing fire and a set of bocce balls. Here are a couple of photos to document our recent whereabouts.

Sandy Spit, from a top a neighboring island, Green Cay via ClintandMichelle photography.

Great way to wake up if you forgot to bring the coffee...unzip your tent and stagger into the ocean.

We had to tread lightly as Roseate Terns were nesting on the island.

Wildest camping experience I've had thus far.

Adam paddle boarded the whole way from Tortola to Sandy Spit (took approximately 1.5 hours.) Brave Soul.

Using dried palm leaves and some brush to start a little fire. Women vs. Wild.

One of our dearest friends, Michelle who you can always count on to pop a bottle of bubbly... and crack out a wonky disposable grill, even on a deserted island.

Sausage, the mascot of Carrot Bay. As flea infested and disproportionate as he may be, Heather, a true lover of animals, was inclined to give him a thorough rub down.

Captain. First and Second Mate.

A boatload of nudists sailed into Normal Island. This guy was awkwardly gaining on us when we were snorkeling around in the caves. Hilarious.

Our new pet.

A very squishy sea cucumber.

Boulder Dancing.

We were the only people at the Baths that day, love the empty beaches now that tourist season is coming to a close.

Moments before Matt lost 20 dollars in Hennessy & Gingerales and his dignity to a local ring game hustler named Goldie. So sorry Matt.

Prancing through the Bay.

Eyeing up the Tarpon at Jolly Rodger. Ladies plus fish=Matt's a happy man.

Escorted to the Baths in a taxi driven by Blue, Virgin Gorda's lovable but not so dependable cab driver. He never did come to pick us up that day.... good thing hitch hiking is a normal practice. Free rides!

Bananakeets. Always a lovely end to a day.

So happy to see them!

Tripple Jack- The fastest sail boat on the Island, has made transatlantic journeys, and we were lucky enough to take her for a spin... or really just hold on tight while being pummeled with salt water.

The boys hanging off of her trusty hull.

-Stace

St. John

Stace and I spent two days on St. John, camping in Cinnamon Bay and hiking around the national parks. It is only about a half mile across the water from Tortola, but was like going home in many ways.

We saw the old familiar brown National Park signs, which brought back a ton of memories. We saw zero abandoned cars or heavy machinery rusting along the sides of the roads. We saw road crews dressed uniformly, conducting road work in safe conditions with more than a single, filthy cone to warn traffic of the 10ft deep hole taking up half of the road way, and they actually had men and women holding flags to warn drivers up the danger up ahead!

We saw national park officers who seemed to actually give a damn, and experienced a park system that looked like it was actually cared for!

Here are a few pics!

We hiked a few miles up and down to some 1000 year old petroglyphs, carved into the rock of a rare freshwater spring by Taino indians.

This anole showed Stace his dewlap.

Stace taking a dip, mere feet from out campsite.

Not sure what this is, but birds were loving it.

Mongoose, if you look closely.

Stace's new favorite picture of some thing.

Taino indians were big South Park fans, apparently.

Stace treading all over the priceless petroglyphs.

Giant termite nest that someone had thrown rocks into.

Plantation ruins dot the jungle.

A very spiky sandbox tree.

Stace at the base of an old windmill.

Ruins of an old Dutch school, which was used only for 6 years in the 1700's before an earthquake destroyed it.

Hercules strutting his stuff.

Some very huge trees.

Orb-weaving spider.

More plantation ruins.
These were sugar cane plantations.

A brick oven.

Coral pieces used in construction.

Snorkeling

Took my parents snorkeling through a shoal of bait while they were here. You can hear my dad chuckle heartily as some tarpon come a little close, and props to my mom for being courageous and getting out there into the middle of it!

Spring Break 2010.

Here's a little taste of our spring break thus far. Mama and Poppa Erdosy have come to join us on our tropical 'staycation'. After making it 2/3 of the way through our school year, we washed away the stresses of our 2nd term with a long sigh, a beer and a soak in the ocean. This remains the agenda for the next two weeks, these three activities interspersed with a bit of fishing, scuba diving, exploring, arting and catching up.














Relaxing on Long Bay.

Trellis Full moon party. FIREBALLS.

Virgin Gorda's beautiful boulders.