Road Trip Interstate 10

After leaving Los Angeles the desert stretches on through 3.5 states. Lucky for me the desert has received 4 inches more rain than normal so it was in full bloom! There were 3-4 shades of green, purples,yellow and pink flowers everywhere. If you have ever lived in the desert you know how beautiful and fragrant  it can be for the very short time in the Spring.

Road Trip-California

On my quest to get the almighty dollar I am driving to Texas. The route is down Interstate 5 until the 10 then east to San Antonio, Texas. Since I left Washington it has been mostly rain all the way to the CA. border. As I was passing Mount Shasta the clouds cleared from the summit and I was able to get this shot.

Work

Back in the States. I am on my way to the South Texas Project to do a 4-5 week stint in a nuclear plant. Will try to get a few pictures from the road if I can. Driving the old Taurus(1991) from Portland, Oregon to Wadsworth ,Texas. A trip of about 2300 miles!

Hassel Island, USVI

The island across the channel from Water Isand is Hassel. During WWII the island was used to store munitions. Both explosive and chemical were stored here. The munitions were supposedly removed after the war but there may still be undiscovered ordinance about so most of the island is not accessible to the public.

Click on the picture to enlarge and it is obvious how the jungle has taken over. The above picture reminds me of Vanuatu in the sense the Morning Glory vines had taken over the landscape there as well. The Army discovered how quickly Morning Glory covers, so they planted it near installations to provide cover from airplanes. Morning Glory quickly over powers the host plant and becomes dominant in the jungle. Another introduced pest!

The Ceremony

Here is the ceremony. The magistrate who performed the ceremony compared marriage to a guitar, while one string by itself can produce a pleasant sound when all the strings are played carefully the result is fanatastic!

Marriage in Paradise

On my last trip to St. John I was fortunate to meet a younger couple from Austria at the Caneel Bay moorage.
About three weeks ago while doing the Sunday afternoon music ritual at Honeymoon Beach on Water Island I  met Sabine and Hanses again. They announced they were to be married and asked if I would come and witness the event.

Last Friday, eight cruisers gathered at the magistrates office in St. Thomas and we witnessed the ceremony! Afterwards, we gathered on the waterfront and drank several many bottles of champers then at 1200 we had a fantastic lunch at Gran Cru near the cruise ship dock. As there were no cruise ships in that day it was fantastic.

Sabine and Hanses own a Amel Santorini and plan to sail and cruise until they are 60 years old. About another 13-14 years, so plenty of adventures in store.

Water Island

Sundays is usually laid back on Water Island. Boat chore or two in the morning then at 1500 the music starts at Joes Beach Bar. Eric Stone usually is the resident musician. If you have ever been to a Latts and Atts party, Bob Bichin flys Eric in to play for the cruisers parties.

Eric lives on St Thomas so we see him most Sundays.