My Pre-Move experience part 1

August 13, 2004-

Arrived on St. Thomas 2 days ago, when we got to the airport we were exhausted from the long travel from Austin Texas. Got in about 3:30 pm. The airport was very busy (and it's off season), very humid but a cool breeze was blowing through the open airport. Got our luggage and proceeded to get our rental car. Seemed like it took forever to get it checked out but we werent in a hurry so it didnt much matter. They didnt have the car we reserved so Hertz asked us if we wanted to upgrade to a blazer, sure but do you have a jeep? (that's what we own in Austin, and will be bringing to the island with us). Joanne was very sweet, she put us in a red Wrangler which we were very happy about. At this point Darren (the husband) was a little nervous about driving on the left. I'm a little nervous too because of the accident (I totaled my brand new Jeep July 4th, some butthead ran a red light and I hit him going 50 mph!) As we're loading the car and getting ready to leave it started to rain a little but the sun was out. In St. Lucia they call that "liquid sun-shine", we've carried that with us and we didnt realize how much we missed it and loved it until that very moment. Our first impression of STT was a great one.

So, we get in the jeep and start driving to the Flamboyant Manor on the South end of the island. We decided to stay at the Flamboyant so we couold get the "real feel" of island living. On our way we drive through Charollette Amalie "Town". It's a little dirty and poor as we drive through. A lot of traffic, horns blowing (we werent sure what that meant). there was a cruise ship at port so there were a lot of people walking around, shops everywhere (by the way, Darren is doing very well on the left side of the road). As we make our way through town we see a few grocery stores and we make a mental note for later. On our way out of town the road starts to get very hilly and curvy, seems like the locals drive like Indy car racers!!

We find the Flamboyant Manor, it's cute from the outside white w/blueish trim, very tropical looking. We chose this hotel because it has a kitchen to do some cooking during our stay. It's small, not a lot of rooms, maybe only 7. Nobody was in the office so they left a not on the door for us. It said "Jessica- Welcome to the Flamboyant Manor, your room # is 5, keys inside, door unlocked." WOW! nothing like stateside!

We go into room #5, it's VERY small, maybe 300 sq. ft. & very narrow! We walked to the back of the room to the back door and immediately we saw the sea! i've never seen anything like it before (not even in St. Lucia was the water this beautiful!) I couldnt believe my eyes! The water is a bright turquoise, the most amazing site I've ever seen, completely took my breath away. Darren was overcome with emotion as we stared out at what we've been waiting for for months. The water is one of the main reasons why we want to move here.

After enjoying the gorgeous view we needed to start unpacking. I walked back in the room and at that point, I started to feel a little depressed. It was SO small and kinda dingy & dirty. The air unit wasnt on so it was hot and humid! Reality started to sink in at that point so I started to get a little scared. I peeked my head over the balcony to look at the room next to us and it was SO much bigger. I put a call into the manager to see if we could switch, had to leave a message. Darren said he was fine staying in the small room but wouldnt mind switching to the bigger room. We decided not to unpack incase we transfer. We were VERY hungry so we looked in the restaurant guide and found a place called Fungis on the water near the east end. Got in the jeep and headed that direction.

Darren is getting used to driving on the left. he thinks it's pretty easy except at intersections. We decided to take the road that goes throught the middle of the island, it was VERY hilly, sometimes so steep that we thought the jeep wouldnt make it. So, we're looking for Fungis, took a wrong turn and while we were trying to find our way back we see a herd of goats on the side of the road. There had to have been 10 of them. They were standing on top of each other on top of a wave runner to eat off a tree. It was an interesting site to say the least. They were so cute, Baille is going to love seeing a goat for the first time (our chocolate lab). We watched them for a few minutes and went on our way.

We find Fungis. It's sort of like a restaurant back home except for the water of course! We sat at a table right next to the clear beautiful sea and we could believe that we could see 10 feet down to the bottom! It's as clear as a pool! We order a few drinks (rum of course) and we order dinner. I got a chicken wrap and Darren got a chicken dinner. Both dishes were to die for! We ordered off the local menu not the american food menu. My wrap had curry and potatoes in it with a mango chutney sauce to accompany it. We enjoy our dinner and we talk about our feelings on moving to STT. We were a little discouraged because "town" seemed a little dirty and the hotel was nothing like the hotels in the states. But, we both agreed that we were tired and we needed to keep an open mind. We would go back to the hotel, go to bed and wake up the next day nice and fresh and re-evaluate our feelings.

We stopped in Red Hook on the way home to get ice cream. Red Hook is cleaner, more our style, we like it here, could be a possible area where we could live.

We woke up Thursday morning @ 6 am. The mornings in the Caribbean are so peaceful and beautiful. Of course we need coffee (still no word on the room transfer). We jump in the jeep, still very tired. We go to Beans Bytes and Websites (we were told about this place from someone that posts here, thank you!!) It's in town. It's located in a very cute historical building, brick walls inside, doors open to welcome the cool tradewinds. We order our fav from Mary (the owner) we ask her a few questions about Island living. She said that it's "different" food is expensive, it's just more expensive all around. She's lived on the island for 8 years (I think, cant recall exactly) she told us that it's hard to go back to the states after being on the island because it's so fast paced and overwhelming. Looks like we can jump on line and check email here. We're not ready yet though, need a break from that. We pick Marys brain a little more. What part of the island does she live? North se says, it's cooler and not as populated. We pick up an Island Trader and a VI Daily News so we can get an idea on rentals. We leave to go check out Gold's Gym. We notice that the cruise ship has docked, it's going to get crowded soon. We meet Jack at Golds, nice guy, has live on STT for 12 years, he came from Texas (could hear it in his voice). We looked around the gym, it's nice, good equipment. Best part is the treadmills face the sea, what a feeling to be able to run while gazing at the gorgeous water. Off to grocery shoppping!!!

We go to Pueblos in Town. It's ok, nothing special, we see that some things are more expensive, not horrible though. We get the essentials and on our way to the meat isle to get chicken (thank God we dont eat beef or pork, it's disqusting down this meat isle!). We were VERY disappointed with the selection of chicken. We pass on buying meat there, we'll have to try to it it somewhere else. On our way to the hotel we spot a health food store, more our style. We meet Doug from Seattle, he's been here 18 years, lives in Magens Bay, very nice guy- tells us that there is more water availability in the north. 2 good things about the North now. After picking Dougs brain we arrive back at the Flamboyant Manor, the office is open and we're able to transfer rooms!

Karen the owner is very sweet and laid back! We get situated in our new room (it's 2x the size as the other and the balcony is 4x the size as the other). It's about noon now, we head to Magens bay to catch a little sun and relaxation, we need it. This is our first trip to the North side of the island. It's like night and day from the south. The drive is breathtaking! Mom would love it here! The water is so BLUE!!!We had a hard time concentrating on the road because the view is beyond beautiful!

We arrive at Magens Bay, get our towels spread out, put sunscreen on (we're so close to the equator) it's pretty hot out today (but nothing like Austin). I'm getting ready to go in the Sea for the first time, I walk in the water and feel no worries as my feet touch the sand. The water is refreshing, very cool! I jump in and when I come out I can taste the salt on my lips. I forgot how much i love salt water!! The sun feels good on my face, I feel at home when I'm in the water. Darren is laying on the beach, he looks so happy. After a relaxing afternoon we head to Red Hook for dinner. We decide to go to Duffys Love Shack, it's cute, cool atmosphere and amazing food! I met a dog, let him kiss me, miss my babies back home. It gets dark early here (6:45). Enjoyed our first full day on STT, it's growing on me!

Woke up at 6 again went to workout, had a good workout. Went to eat at Tickle by the marina was ok, nothing to write home about. Darren decided to let me drive for the first time. Being behind the wheel of a jeep was the worst part about it. I really got the hang of driving on the left and the jeep thing I quickly got over. Driving is interesting here, people honk at each other to say hi, they honk at each other to say go ahead they do it to say F&*% you....you just never know what the heck they're honking for. You get used to it after awhile. We stop at Gourmet Gallery, SO MUCH NICER than pueblo! I highly recommend this grocery store! much cleaner and it compares to stateside grocery shopping much more! Groceries are expensive but I came to the realization that food is the most important thing for my body, i'll get what I need to maintain what I've worked so hard for, that's what's important to me so I dont care that I'm going to spending an extra $100-$200/mth on groceries. It's worth it to live on a beautiful island.

We're going to need to move to the island with more money than we originally planned. The original sum of $ would have been enough (more than enough compared to others) but we thought it would be wise not to tap into the big savings. We thought that keeping that aside until we were able to buy a house would be best. So, we are going to have enough to carry us through with or without jobs for 6 months. Our goal was to move in October of 2005 but now we're shooting for April of 2007. This will give us enough time to save the $, do this right and never move back to stateside. We dont want to make this big of a leap and fail.

Part II to come tomorrow.....