Got back late last night from the annual tropical vacation. St. Croix this time. Lots of good and iffy experiences...from what I read this morning, Tiger probably wished he was with me instead of flogging it on the course.

Good.

--U.S. property. But you do drive on the left. Doesn't take long to acclimate to it.

--Warm, clear ocean water.

--Excellent diving. Saw a 8' nurse shark (swam about 15' from me!) , played in schools of harmless jellyfish, saw turtles "doing it", two big barracudas a little too close for comfort, saw a group of squids, an enormous school of tangs, and had a pet pelican swim next to me for about half an hour. If you get to St. Croix be sure to take the snorkling trip to Buck Island. It has an incredible protected underwater reserve. So worth it.

--Very friendly folk on the island. A nice family wanted us to sample their butterflied pig roasting on the spit. Unfortunately, had to scoot though...sigh. Smelled like heaven.

--ATV riding in the rainforest. Good times except the front tire went flat. Luckily, the guide had a spare.

--Pretty good country station to listen to while driving around the island.

--Awesome looking golf course at the Carambola resort. Didn't have time to play it unfortunately. The ocean called far too frequently.

--Food was both very good and not. But nothing put us in the ER.

Bad.

--Incredible amount of mosquito bites.

--Stung by a bee. Killed about 20 in our house.

--Threw my back out while contorting my body trying to miss a pregnant woman (I did) on a boat as a big swell rocked the catamaran. Luckily it happened on the last day of diving.

--Too many homeless folks. Typical tropical island--Lots of money and poverty. You DO NOT want to walk in the two major cities at night.

--Not much eye candy to gaze upon. The women are mostly transplanted from the mainland and boy do they let themselves go. No makeup. Their skin is leatheresque. Then again I looked like hell too by the end of the trip. Tropical islands will do that to you. Total giveup.

Would I go again? In a heartbeat.


Rick Arnett