Where Am I?

Maybe it's weird, but I like the sensation of waking up and, for a brief moment, not knowing exactly where I am. Call it first world safety net of knowing I'm not in prison or any other grim space, or just call it a little wake up orienteering amusement. 

So to orient a bit, I'll start by going backwards. Sounds about right. Yesterday before heading for the Vieques airport (people were great, but I do like ours better!), we went by the restaurant to drop Jimmy off to start his cooking day and Kat needed to pick up some paperwork. It seemed like a good time to take those photos I missed last time. Or some of them; I missed the porch and it was too early for any dishes to be coming out of the kitchen. 

This is the piece I mentioned yesterday Sweet!

Yes, Zuleyma, that is Frieda in the corner

Turns out one of Jimmy's kitchen guys used to live on Culebra.
We had a good chat before he got back to work.

View of the kitchen from the table area

Thanks again!

But this is today...

Usually the first thing is to look at the ceiling because no other ceiling looks like the houseboat's. Unless I'm sleeping in a garden shed. A fan? Nope, not home. A chandelier? Nope, not home. Next comes, what was I doing last night? That should usually rustle up a clue about where I am, and it usually does, along with the noises around me (no chickens? might not be in the islands).

This morning I woke up on St. Croix and even though this is a part of the island I never was around much, it feels good. From the lilting taxi guy's voice, telling me he is one of 25 children, born and raised on St. Croix, to seeing a couple of people I knew while watching Michael play a day gig at Cane Bay. 

Cane Bay is the site that is a bit of a mecca for scuba folks, home of the famous Wall. There are all sorts of videos of the Wall experience if you're interested; it's pretty dramatic. 

But I was not into being dramatic, I was into hearing some mellow music. That worked.

Making music on a cloudy day

This is an old sign and one of my favorites
(or it's another version of the old sign)

I really like this sign. 

Even though the sun had hidden behind a lot of clouds, there were still people out and about on the beaches (though not too many), along with some tents left over from Semana Santa. St. Croix is where I learned about the camping part of Easter Week; apparently it's still going strong here as well. 

From the beach side of the street.
Good food, good people. Good music too!!

Wow!

We came back to the house and Liz got back not long after. Though I've heard about her and have seen facebook photos, the reality of meeting someone face to face is a much better thing. I can see and feel now why Michael is marrying her and am glad to have this new member in our island family. If I come home speaking with a totally southern accent, you'll know why.

A delicious dinner was almost ready

Sure, I will get a better photo, but this felt pretty much
like family 'round the barbie, so here it is.

As friends and family filter in, we'll be doing errands leading up to the Big Event, along with, for me, the inevitable running into old friends not seen for far too long. This is going back to step into the future, my heart expands a bit more and I, under direct orders from Michael, am going to keep my shoes on and look out for centipedes. What??

Have a temperate Tuesday. Do something touching.