Too much of a good thing?

We're encroaching on three weeks now at Carambola Resort for our staycation. I feel like I've been living in a studio apartment with Tigger and Eeyore while Pooh travels. We've eaten out so much that I actually miss my own cooking. I've alternated laundry between the free washer three buildings away guarded by spiders and mongoose and hand-washing in the bathroom sink with Aveda shampoo.

On the other hand...for the first time in six months I've spent quality time with Anderson Cooper and caught up on HGTV. We have air conditioning, unlimited water and daily housekeeping. The biggest benefit has been that we scored free use of the resort pool for Casey's 5th birthday party. It was the easiest and most mellow party ever.

And that steak salad?  It's delicious.

On the move again...

On January 2nd we moved in to a house that seemed like a museum, but it quickly felt more like a mausoleum. Plumbing problems, no TV, intermittent WiFi, a leaky pool, a landlord that stopped in without notice, outrageous landscaping and pool fees all led to us retaining an attorney who got us out of our lease six months early. Woot woot! We found a great family house closer to school and work and we move in on August 1st.

Last week I packed up our house for the third time in less than a year and didn't look back. For the interim we're enjoying the hospitality at Carambola Resort in a "cozy" room with a kitchenette, pull out bed and a screened in porch. Tropical storm Chantal is expected to hit south of here this evening, and I expect to order room service. The steak salad here is amazing.

Island Hopping to Vieques

Hubby and I took this little plane to Vieques for the weekend and left the kids at home with visiting family. The twenty-minute flight took us to another world. 

Roads: Unlike St. Croix, on Vieques you drive on the right-hand side of the road although distances are measured in kilometers and traffic signs are all in Spanish. 

W Hotel: Modern architecture and signature W decor, air conditioning and cable TV... At one point while watching Anderson Cooper, I actually forgot that we weren't in the states. 

Beach: For the first time in seven-plus years we are kid-free for the weekend, and we actually got to relax on the adult only beach. The sand was softer and the surf was rougher. Maybe Vieques doesn't have the same protective reefs that we have in St. Croix? We didn't waste too much time analyzing why.

People: They speak Spanish and English and Spanglish here. At the same time that I'm wondering what they're saying about me, I'm thinking how self-centered and uneducated we unilingual Americans are. As in St. Croix we are the minority, but on Vieques we are outnumbered by colorful, demonstrative and bootylucious Puerto Ricans.

Food and beverage: Drinks flow generously all day long and are dominated by Puerto Rican rum and red and white sangria. We indulged in the local fare including huevos rancheros (twice), local lobster, mofongo, ceviche, PR paella and churasco. 

Family: Surprisingly there were quite a few young families staying at the W. Across the board it appears that mom is the caretaker and dad is not. And breast-feeding uncovered in a bikini poolside is totally acceptable.

The sun is out, and I'm grabbing another drink and working on my tan before I have to grab the 4:40 flight back to STX and my reality. 

Turtle Watch

Last night we went on a turtle hatchling watch with the St. Croix Environmental Association at Sandy Pointe. It was Awe-mazing. Even my spirited child was calm watching the tiny leatherback turtles emerge from the beach. We got to hold them and feel their amazing little flippers stroke. I learned a lot about them, but the  most interesting was that the mamas have sperm storage to stagger fertilization of five to six batches of eggs. Is that stored sperm all from one male? Apparently that depends on the female and how promiscuous she is. 

Beer Drinking Pig

This is a beer drinking pig. I don't really get the hype. Maybe I didn't have enough Mama Wanna?

Apparently one of, if not the, biggest tourist attractions on-island is the Domino Club and their beer drinking pigs.  With family visiting for two weeks, we spent today driving through the rainforest with the pigs as our ultimate destination.  Maybe you have to be drunk to appreciate it?  I'm sure you can find tons of fabulous reviews and videos (which, by the way, will cost you $3.00 if you want to video tape it yourself), but my advice is to skip it.

Free Roadside Mangoes

Free Roadside Mangoes

Where's The Beef?

One of my biggest challenges since moving to St. Croix has been grocery shopping. It's hard to find things that were easily accessible just blocks away at Central Market or Whole Paycheck.  I'm not talking about obscure items like whey isolate protein powder, but just plain old organic chicken and lean ground beef.

But today I did a happy dance right there at the butcher case at Cost-U-Less when I found Lean Ground Beef - Midwest Fed Angus Beef, No Antibiotics or Added Hormones and a Vegetarian Corn-Fed Diet.  And it wasn't in a tube! The butcher asked me if everything was OK, and I asked him, "Is this fresh/frozen/thawed?" And he told me it wasn't!  Seriously?!?!  It's fresh packed, too!  It's the little things in life that make me happy.

I have yet to find "fresh" chicken breasts, but about a month ago I had a similarly religious experience when I spotted the frozen organic chicken breasts at Plaza East.  Between these two recent meat finds and fresh produce from Seja Farms, I think we might just make it here.

Now I'm off to search for those free roadside mangoes everyone's been talking about...