Saturday, May 31, 2008

To Jay and Deb



As I am in the air now (I scheduled this post to post online after my plane will take off), I am thinking about the amazing experience I had while living for 3 months in the Virgin Islands. While I know that I would have had a good time regardless, my time here has been made AMAZING thanks to two special people. Jay and Deb are friends of the landlord, and are renting the main house, while I was renting the downstairs apartment. I first spoke with Deb via e-mail prior to my arrival, then I met them at the car rental place. Thank goodness for them meeting me, because I would have been a nervous wreck maneuvering these roads while driving on the left side of the road. At first, we started as nice neighbors, but this quickly developed into a true friendship. In fact, it was because of their blog that I decided to create this one of my accounts as a traveling PT. We went out to eat together, took trips to St. John together, and they inspired me and encouraged me to get my scuba diving license while here. Toby has also adored both Jay and Deb, as if I am gone to work or out running errands and one of them are home, they would let him play with them while I was gone. Toby got many more belly rubs than normal and I know he loved every second. I got to experience so many things because of Jay and Deb, and I wanted to take this time to say thank you for making this experience amazing, and I will miss you both.

While this may be good bye for now, it will not be good bye forever, as I know that we will continue to talk, e-mail, and I'm sure I'll make it down this way again if even just for a vacation.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Last full day in paradise


I drove into work today for my last day working as a physical therapist at Roy L. Schneider Hospital. I should have a steady load of patients, and I have a little bit of notes and cheat sheets for the person taking my patients, but overall, not a bad day. In celebration (hmmm, that sounds like a bad way to word it) of my last day, we are all getting food delivered for lunch today to have one last meal together. Should be a good day!
On another note, I am mostly packed! All I have are a few clothes and Toby's toys to throw in my checked luggage, and I will be finished with that. Then, tomorrow morning, I will pack up my carry-on suitcase with the last minute items I need to get ready. I am very excited and hope that the weight of my luggage isn't too much!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Packing!


I started packing my 2nd large bag last night. Now, I have most of my things packed up, so I won't have so much to do tomorrow night. My plan is to have both of my large suitcases all packed and loaded in my car Friday night, and only have my carry-on to pack Sat. morning. This way, it has reduced the stress on Toby of me packing everything at once. Although, I don't think he's going to be happy when I pack up his toys tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Finishing up...

Well, it's nearly time for me to leave St. Thomas, so I've been packing some. I have most of my garment bag clothes packed, now it's time to move onto the rest. Also, I did some last minute souvenir shopping, so I believe I have all of that completed now. Only 4 more days until I fly home on Saturday!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Happy Memorial Day




I wanted to take the time today to say Thank You to all of the troops who have unfortunately lost their lives in the Armed Forces throughout our history. I have been to Arlington National Cemetery, resting grounds to so many of our brave members of the Armed Forces, and it is a memory that sticks with you forever. Also pictured is a photo of the last known American-born survivor of World War I, according to The Associated Press. Mr. Frank Woodruff Buckles was only 17 when he enlisted in the Army after convincing a captain that he really was 18 and that Missouri did not keep birth records, he is now 107 years young! While he survived the war, and is a great Veteran, today is about remembering those fallen heroes of past, present, and future. God Bless America!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Sapphire Beach





For my last Sunday on the island, we all decided to go out and play on the beach! We drove over to Sapphire Beach and had a fun beach day. We got in the water, snorkeled a bit (saw a Spotted Eagle Ray in the morning), ate some lunch, and just enjoyed the sun. It was a nice way to spend my last Sunday on the island. Ugh, I have to start packing soon, YUCK!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Acting like a Tourist!





Today, Deb and I decided to act like tourists as it is my last weekend here before flying home. First, we went to Blackbeard's Castle and Historic Homes Walking Tour! We did the unguided tour and went up to the top of Blackbeard's Tower and then walked around in the various homes. It was amazing to see the antique West Indian furniture and all of the amazing views. We also got to walk up the infamous 99 steps, which actually is 103 steps! We finished off our tourist day by going to Mountain Top to admire the view and grab their world famous Banana Daiquiri, very tasty! Tonight, we are going to dinner to Mafolie, I'm very excited. Very good way to spend a last Saturday living in Paradise!

Friday, May 23, 2008

Mosquito bites

I'm not sure if I've mentioned yet, but the mosquitoes are terrible here. It seems that as the weather has gotten warmer, they are getting worse now. I cannot step outside without them swarming around me. Plus, for all of my family who knows me, know that I have always attracted those little blood suckers. Well, I did a count yesterday, and I had 20 bites per leg (just counting the ones knee level and below). Tonight, I counted again, and I'm up to approximately 30 per lower leg! This picture is only a small portion of one side of my leg, so trust me when I say the entire view of my legs is not pretty right now, it looks like I have a case of the Mosquito Pox!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Toby the Brave



Jay and Debbie had off work today, so they let Toby out to play. Apparently, during the day, he found an Iguana (not the same one as last time, this one was a little smaller) hanging outside of the non-rented Studio apartment sunning. He started barking at it and the iguana hissed at him and Toby started slowly backing up while still barking at him. When I returned home, he found the same iguana sunning on the stairs and continued to bark at it. The iguana finally came up to the top of the stairs and crawled down the side of the house. Toby is still looking for it and barking!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I have a job!


I just got off the phone for my interview with the Rehab Institute of Chicago, and I'm pretty sure that I got the assignment! I will be working in the main building in their arthritis clinic. I will be working in an outpatient setting (as I am now) and see patients who have arthritis. I am very excited that I finally have an actual assignment, and it is in the downtown area (near Navy Pier). I will be starting on June 23rd!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Haircut for Toby

I noticed last night that Toby was not being nearly as cuddly as normal and staying on the cool floor last night, so I decided to cut his hair (I had already trimmed his hair once since we have been down here). The poor thing just looked so miserable, I knew I had to trim his hair again, or he was going to overheat. He was a good boy, and let me cut away on his hair a bit. He is still cute and furry, but much less of a fur coat now! He was so cute afterwards running around and playing again. Plus, he was cuddly again, so that must have been it...he was just roasting. Only 11 more days to go in St. Thomas, then we will fly home. I love it here, but I'm ready to get home to see my friends and family again...plus, I get to drive my car (and on the Right side of the road again, I'm very excited).

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Sunday Errands


Today, I went to pick up some Custom's forms from the airport, this way, when I head home, I will save some time at the airport. I also bought some no-fog drops for my scuba mask and some silicone grease to use for my underwater camera. Above, is a picture of a pretty flower on this Plumeria Tree outside in the yard...I just thought I would share.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

The Rhone




I finally got to dive The RMS Rhone wreck dive today. I went with Colette with 6-PAQ and we did a 52 minute dive of the Rhone first, then went over to what they call "John's Treasure Chest" on Normal Island for a 50 min. dive. The Rhone was AMAZING and we did several swim throughs and saw amazing things, including a huge crab. We also saw a spoon embedded in the coral and the lucky porthole (when you rub the porthole, it means that you will live to dive the Rhone again). I took my camera with me and got some pictures, but when we got to shallower water, my lens began to fog up, so the pictures aren't as clear. I am going to get the CD of pictures that 6-PAQ took, but I won't get it until sometime next week. The next dive was a reef where we saw several lobsters, lots of fish, a turtle, a sting ray, and lots of coral. I didn't take my camera on this dive as my camera was still fogged up, and I wanted to enjoy the dive (I will get those pictures from 6-PAQ as well). It was a great dive, and Deb and I had a blast! We are exhausted now!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Happy 50th Birthday, Mom!



I just wanted to take the time to wish my mother a Happy 50th Birthday. The rest of the family threw her a surprise birthday party a few weeks ago, and my brother and I surprised her with a flower delivery earlier this week. I love you, mom, and hope that you have a wonderful 50th birthday. I'll be home in 2 weeks! PS: Toby said "woof woof" (I think that means Happy Birthday).

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Laundry day

Toby hasn't had his picture on the blog in a while, so he was getting jealous, he also wanted to show off how clean he still is from his bath the other day. Today, I had to fill up my car with gas ($4.27 a gallon for regular unleaded), but this is only the 3rd time, so it isn't too bad. I also had to do some laundry, which Toby was happy to help me sort my clothes by jumping in the piles! Now, they are all hanging on the line air drying...wow, I really do miss having a dryer (only 2 more weeks of hanging the clothes to dry).

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Celebrations!

I wanted to take the time to say "Happy Birthday" to my Aunt Joy and "Happy Anniversary" to my mother and step-father. Time to celebrate, and oh how we will celebrate in a few weeks in Hawaii!!!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Preparing for The Rhone...


As I am going to be diving The RMS Rhone dive site on Saturday, I wanted to look into the research and history of the wreck. After looking through some websites, I was able to find this one describing The Rhone (as taken from the website).


"The wreck of the Rhone was built in 1865 and is 310 feet long and her beam was 40 feet. She was a Royal Mail Steam Packet Ship. She was an iron hulled steam sailor, that was built in Southampton, England, and cross powered by both sail and steam driven propeller. In fact, the propeller was only the second bronze propeller that was ever produced, and the oldest one in existence that you shall see as the oldest one was melted down a long time ago. The Rhone has accomodation for 253 first class, 30 second class and 30 third class cabins. She was commanded by Captain F Woolley, who was a 25 year veteran of the Royal Mail Company. The Rhone made her first trip in August 1865, and after 6 successful voyages to the Brazils, where she proved herself by weathering major storms, she was put on the West India route. The Rhone was also a favorite among passengers, as her speed with the steam driven propellers could get up to 14 knots and the accomodation was excellent.
This was the Rhones 10th voyage, and normally she pulled into St Thomas in the USVI. Unfortunately, the coaling station had been moved to Great Harbor at Peter Island in the BVI, as St Thomas was having yellow fever outbreaks. On August 29th, 1867 the RMS Rhone and the RMS Conway, were alonside at Great Harbor. The weather started deterioting, and the two captains discussed the conditions and agreed that it was too late in the season for a hurricane, that it must be an early noreaster. The Conway transferred her passengers over to the Rhone, as the Rhone was much larger, and therefore safer, and then prepared to make Road Harbor where there would be more shelter for her. As the weather worsened, the Rhone, even steaming full ahead was losing ground and dragging across the harbor toward the rocky headland. She tried to weigh anchor, but the shackle of the cable caught in the hawsepipe and parted, dropping the 3000 lb anchor and 300 feet of chain to the bottom. You can still see the anchor on the outskirts of Great Harbor, along with bottles and china encrusted into the coral, from when the Rhone was throwing many things over board to try and lighten her. Now, the Rhone was without its main anchor, and her only option was to run to the comparative safety of open sea. The quickest way to sea was out by Black Rock, in between Salt and Dead Chest. As she was struggling to get out to open sea a spar fell from the top mast and killed the first officer. His body was found on Salt Island the next day.
The Rhone has almost cleared Black Rock, which was its last obstacle, when the wind direction changed and came ferociously from the other direction. Then they knew that they had made an error of judgement and it was a hurricane, not a noreaster. They struggled to bring her away from the rocks, but a strong gust blew them sideways onto Black Rock. As the cold water hit the boilers, they exploded, tearing the ship in half and sending her to the bottom with 123 crew and passengers. Altogether there were 146 people on board the Rhone, and out of the 23 that survived. Only one was a passenger! One crew members survived 20 hours by clinging to the fore topmast and topsail yard, which were still standing. Of the people that survived, some were washed ashore that night all the way across the channel to Beef Island. As well, the residents of Salt Island helped rescue who they could and the queen, in gratitude to them, gave the island in perpetuity, to the residents and their heirs in return for one bag of salt a year rent. This is still paid today. The only part of the captain that was ever found were a couple pieces of his shirt sleeve.
There were barely any houses standing in the BVI, and in the USVI, there were only 2 ships afloat out of 275 after this hurricane, considered to be one of the worst in the West Indies history. The Conway, was blown up onto the shore at Baughers Bay, in Road Harbor, but since it is mostly sea grass there, she was fine and eventually was refloated. The passengers would have survived had they not transferred to the Rhone. The Rhone itself, would have been much better off if it had been able to stay in Great Harbor, as its high hills would have provided it protection. It was not that long afterwards that the Rhone was salvaged by Irish brothers using hard hat equipment. The stern section was blown open by US Navy underwater demolition teams in the 1950's and finally the Rhone became a National Marine Park in 1967. Prior to it being established as a marine park, local diver Bert Kilbride salvaged quite a bit of china, both on the wreck and from where she was anchored in Great Harbor. The movie,The Deep, with Jacqueline Bissett and Nick Nolte was filmed on the RMS Rhone. Today, she is covered in a multitude of coral and fish. Her shallowest part, where the propleller is, is in 20 feet and the bow, which is still relatively intact, with a great swim through is about 70 feet. Still, new pieces are uncovered in the summer storms at the wreck and the sea urchins, by travelling just under the sand are always uncovering old bottles, particularily small medicine bottles and pieces of china. At the anchorage on Salt Island, there is a small cemetary that holds local residents, plus where they buried some of the passengers and crew that died. Part of this cemetary was covered a few years ago, by a slide on the hill above it, but not all of it. Still, bones are found on the wreck and deposited in the cemetary when found."

Monday, May 12, 2008

Trunk Bay



Yesterday, I went to Trunk Bay on the island of St. John with Jay, Debbie and Kim (Jay and Debbie's friend from home). Trunk Bay is a beautiful beach with a snorkel trail with little plaques to label different types of coral and pictures of the fish you might see. While snorkeling, I saw various coral and lots of small fish (I actually saw a school of small Sergeant Majors, if you know the Carnival Cruise ship magazines, it is the yellow and black striped fish...and another small Peacock Flounder). After the beach, we all went to Woody's (the restaurant/bar that Kenny Chesney frequents) and then to the Beach Bar where Jay and Debbie met with some friends from the Virgin Islands Forum that they post. It was a very fun way to end my birthday weekend!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day


I just wanted to take this opportunity to say Happy Mother's Day to one of the best mothers in the world. Thank you for always supporting me with my decisions and standing by me throughout my life. I'm sorry that I cannot be there for you this year to take you out to dinner, but we will make up for it during my 3 weeks off and the Hawaii cruise! I love you!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Underwater Photography




Deb and I went diving today with Admiralty Dive Shop, the same group that I was certified through, and I finally got to try out my underwater camera. Overall, for a cheap camera, it took some pretty good shots. I took 130 pictures all together, and managed to get a few great shots. On the dive, we saw a sea turtle, lobster, peacock flounder, spotted drum (the logo fish for Admiralty), and many other colorful fish and coral. At least I got some practice in taking pictures before I dive The Rhone next weekend (that is a wreck dive).

Birthday Dinner



Jay and Debbie took me out to an AMAZING birthday dinner at the Oceana restaurant. The food was amazing, and the servers came out and sang "Happy Birthday" to me with a little candle in the apple tart dessert that we ordered. It was a very memorable occasion and it was nice to put on a dress.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Happy Birthday to Me!

I just wanted to thank all of my friends and family for the birthday wishes and birthday cards! It means a lot to have gotten these cards even when I'm living in a totally different place.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Lost in translation...

This is a little story about how even though St. Thomas is part of the US, it is a totally different culture.

One of my patients found out it was my birthday tomorrow. A minute or so later, she asks "I don't mean to pry, but I know you must have recently graduated, and how much do you make?" I thought, wow, that sure is brazen of her to ask my salary. I paused for a second and said "how much do I make?" and she said "yes." I explained to her that I would tell her how much average starting salary is for my job, and she proceeded to look at me strangely. And she said "no, not your salary, how much do you make, you know, how many years." About the same time, a conversation I had with the upstairs neighbor came into my head (people here when asking age or talking about age refer to "making" an age), so I said "ohhhh, you mean how old will I be!" Then she began to laugh as I said "sorry, still getting used to Island terminology" and told her I would be 26.

I'm sure this was much funnier in the moment, but I thought it was a nice story of how things are different no matter where you go. Of course, I guess "how much do you make" comes from the Spanish and French wording of the question of age which roughly translates to how many years do you have. Another odd saying is that if anything is broken, it is "mashed up."

Time to get ready for the Birthday Extravaganza Weekend, so far the plans are: lunch with the coworkers, dinner with the upstairs neighbors at Oceana, scuba diving on Saturday, and St. John on Sunday! Should be a great weekend, I'll be sure to take pictures!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Fast Delivery!

Wow, so I mailed a package on Friday home and it only took 5 days to get to NC. Record time! Plus, this was mailed regular mail, not even priority...way to go post office. Too bad the same can't be said for the quickness on mail delivered to St. Thomas, oh well!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Chicago, here I come...



While I don't want to jinx it, I believe that I have finally decided on my next travel assignment. While I have contemplated a variety of different choices (from Washington DC to Orlando), I have finally decided on Chicago, IL. Why Chicago? Well, it is a big city with a ton of history and many things to do. Plus, the weather should be nice in the summer, and I wouldn't want to travel there in the winter as I would freeze! I won't know a specific job location until closer to time, but there are plenty of options, so I'm not worried about finding a spot. I feel that this will be a nice city for me to go to, and a huge change from the slow-paced world of St. Thomas...plus, I can take my car with me!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Duffy's Love Shack

I finally got to go to see the famous Duffy's Love Shack last night! This is a place where each drink comes with a certain glass, and you get to keep the novelty glass when you are finished. We had a lot of fun and got to go dancing (which I haven't done in a while), so it was fun.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Atlantis Submarine



Today, I finally used the complimentary pass for the Atlantis Submarine trip that I was given. It was interesting to be 76 feet deep and not out there scuba diving. While it was nice not getting wet, I did miss seeing the fish up close and personal, as in diving. I took a ton of pictures, so it will be interesting to see if I took any good shots.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Dolphin Video

Here is the video from the dive last weekend! Thanks to Colette for taking the video and pictures. On a good note, my underwater camera came in the mail today. Hopefully, I can get some practice with it and get some great shots on my next dive :)

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Rainbow in Paradise




I was grocery shopping in Pueblo (and of course, I left my umbrella in the car) and it began to rain. Thankfully, the rain wasn't too bad, and it had slowed down by the time that I left. On my drive home, I looked over and saw a beautiful rainbow. Thankfully, I could still see it from the house, so I took some pictures of it. They may not be as clear on here, but it was gorgeous!