A blog that follows our family life and journey from St. Croix, in the Virgin Islands to Texas where we explore our new city, raise our children and try to hang on to that island feeling.
I don't know of anywhere else in the world where children and adults can take part in the highly comedic biannual ritual of passage where half wild donkeys are gathered into one spot and then you either ride, drive, or simply watch them being used for personal enjoyment. What in the world? Why it's the Gentlemen of Jones Donkey Races!
We first went and took part in the Donkey Races with children in tow about 2 years ago. I do remember going to one race donkey years ago that was held at Canegata Ball Park, I think I was in high school or maybe middle school. When they first started I have no idea.
Well, this year we decided to hang on the beach in Frederiksted until the children wanted to go to the races. Of course we stayed at the beach way later than anticipated, but it was fun. We got to the Donkey Races at the Paul E. Joseph Stadium about 3:30 and poor A was too late to sign up to ride. I was a secretly relieved Mama as I had C and didn't know what to do with him while I was leading A around the track with her donkey.
Those beasts are some of the most stubborn animals I have even met! Have you ever tried to lead a Donkey around and have it go where you wanted to? It's freaking IMPOSSIBLE! Especially if you have stuck a person on their back, but honestly in defense of the donkeys they only get someone on their back once or twice year, other than that they get hang out in the bush and not be bothered at all and then one day when they are minding their own business a human or two come along, grab them up, stick them in a trailer with a bunch of other donkeys that they don't know and then take them to Frederiksted. Now, while they get a free ride, I am not too sure if standing nose to ass in a crowded trailer while zooming down the highway is their idea of fun. Then once they get to Frederiksted, they are stuck in pens, bridled surrounded by loud music that ranges from Quelbe to Shakira, petted by children and adults alike, pointed at, not allowed to request any particular type of music, and indignity of all indignities have people tossed on their back and are expected to simply do what you want them to do? FORGET IT!!!!
For the people in attendance, this leads to many many side splitting laughs, guaffaws, and ass jokes. The above video isn't from this year, but I thought it would give you a good idea of what goes on during a Donkey Race.
First place finisher! Woo hoo!
Anyway, once we got to the Stadium, and found out that A couldn't ride we decided to hang out and watch one, maybe two races because frankly standing around watching people and asses make asses of themselves with a cranky toddler just isn't fun. ANYWAY, as we were standing around a little girl backed out of riding her donkey in the 12 and under race so A was able to hop on ride her donkey around the ring. The course consisted of two laps and A did a phenonomal job on hanging on as her helper lead her around the ring twice. She did fall off in the homestretch and was able to get back on. A ended up placing first for which she got a trophy and a ribbon. She also got a sore arm and jammed pinky but hey, if you don't get hurt it isn't fun right?
If you are ever around for the Donkey Races, you should go out west and watch and if you are brave enough, participate. I did two years ago and got my trophy tons of good memories and the title of chief ass rider(for at least one year). Seriously, where else but St. Croix are you going to see something like this???
This is a BIG departure from my regular posts about our adventures, but I feel the need to write this. There aren't many pictures, but I will include a video of some cool stuff. I promise.
I grew up here on St. Croix. My Dad got a boat when I was about 5 or 6 and some my earliest memories of life here on the old rock are of going to Buck Island with my family. Buck Island was and still is my favorite beach "on" St. Croix.
In the 80's there were a LOT of sail boats and people used to do spinnaker swinging. That is where you anchored your boat, attached your spinnaker(the colorful sail that is only used in racing) that had a seat on the bottom(no idea how they attached it), and you could sail up into the breeze and then plunge back into the water! It was cool and I ALWAYS wanted to do it. There were huge parties out there at Buck. People wind surfed, snorkeled, hiked the trail, little kids played in the Salt Pond(very messy, very muddy, VERY not allowed). People saw turtle hatching on the beach and made way for the hatchlings to get to the water. The beach sand was white like sugar, soft, deep, and just so AMAZING.
Only good photo I could find. Sorry about the watermark.
Buck Island was a magical place. It was a place that you fell in love with and it touched your soul.
If you were lucky enough you got to spend the night on your boat at Buck; wake up to the fish splashing around, see the sunrise from the top of the hiking trail and know just how wonderful a world this planet is. If you have ever been to Buck Island and snorkeled outside the reef on the North side, or even just outside the lagoon area by the trail you would see an amazing collection of fish, corals, and other sea life. There were times that the snorkeling trail was full of non poisonous jelly fish and it felt like you were swimming in jello! You could imagine that there were mermaids around the next head of HUGE brain coral. You would feel peace, contentment, and a camaraderie for all living creatures around you.
Doing this would not be allowed under the new plans!
When the sun set and you were getting ready to go back to port, the water would turn pink, then purple, then green, and finally the dying rays of the sun would be reflected on the water around you. If you stayed too late, the stars and the moon would be your guide back to port and their reflections in the water would lead your boat back home until another day at Buck Island could be enjoyed.
All of these things are going to be taken away from YOU, from ME, from GENERATIONS to come if we do not act now. The National Park Service must by law come with with a General Management Plan for Buck Island and it's surrounding waters. The MUST by law figure out a way to protect the threatened Elkhorn and Staghorn corals in the water around Buck Island. The NPS, has a plan......... yes, this plan protects the coral; but it also removes TONS of liberties that you the user of this National Park should be able to do. Some of the proposed plans seem reasonable, other bits just don't make a DAMN bit of sense.
Painting by Linda Mooreland
Here is the low down:
The NPS wants to protect the coral - great. They have decided that if you snorkel around the coral it damages it, so they will allow you to swim around it instead. Umm, excuse me, but if I can't see where I am going aren't I going to hit that threatened coral and do more damage? Wouldn't it make sense to let people continue to snorkel around it for both the people's safety and the safety of the coral?
The NPS - has decided that paddle boarding, kite surfing, kayaking, windsurfing, surfing, etc are damaging to the National Park and that none of that should be allowed to happen to anymore. Hmm... no studies to back this one up, and as I don't kiteboard I can't make a comment on that one. I do however paddleboard and I know how to wind surf. On both of those counts, I am going to stay FAR the heck away from coral. I don't like getting scratched or stuck - hey, maybe you do, but most sports people I know don't enjoy getting hurt on coral when they can avoid it. The NPS also wants to prohibit people from landing at Buck Island with those water craft. So say I grow a pair and I paddle board to Buck from St. Croix........ now how do I take a break and recoup my energy if I can't put my board on the beach? Oh WAIT! I don't. I just float around getting closer to that threatened coral because I can't drop an anchor!
Anchors are BAD according to the NPS. Putting our anchors in sand kills coral and hurts fish. They are going to install moorings instead. I am ALL for moorings for larger yacht type boats, and for people who want them; but don't tell me that my 19 boat with it's puny anchor is going to damage the coral and kill fish or other animals if I put it in wet sand. Don't force me to compete with my friends for a mooring that isn't well maintained, that won't be secure, and that doesn't allow me to anchor near enough to the beach. If I can't anchor close to the beach how are my children going to get to the beach, or back to the boat if they don't swim well? What if I have some who doesn't swim with me? I have a small boat, therefore I don't have a digny. If I had a kayak I could use it - but oh, wait, I can't use those in the park either according to the new plan. CRAP! I guess I can't go to Buck until my kids can swim 200 meters without drowning, my husband who doesn't swim well can't EVER go with me, and I can't leave a napping baby on the boat while I sit in the sand because at 200m it's too far away to see or hear if he's awake until he falls over board and drowns!
I know. You are saying, I don't live there what does it matter?
Well, it does.
This is a NATIONAL park. That means that every SINGLE person in the US has a stake in what happens here. This means that if you live in Alaska, are an expat in China, or are even thinking of visiting the US and going to a NATIONAL park you should care. Why should you care? In this day and age of governments failing, of economic downturns, of depressions, any of these new plans are going to cost you money. This is another way of big government trying to take away something that is YOURS, that is YOUR right to enjoy, that belongs to YOUR children, YOUR grandchildren, and YOUR great grandchildren. The ideas and sentiments behind the plans are great but there needs to be some common sense used here.
Photo credit: costalliving.com
We have until May 1, 2012 to comment on the NPS plan. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take 3 minutes of your time, click on the comment link on the left hand side of the page and fill out the form. Tell the NPS to either leave Buck as it is, or at least allow for snorkeling on the North side, to allow kayaking, paddle boarding, windsurfing, kite surfing, etc within park boundaries, and to allow anchoring in the wet sand. PLEASE. It's not just my plea to you as a Virgin Islander, but my plea to you as a human being. Do this for your fellow man, for your family, for yourself, for the generations to come.
I thank you and Buck Island thanks you. If you do this, drop me a comment. I'll buy you a rum drink and get you to Buck Island when you come visit so you can see what you helped to save.
This is it, the last day of 2011. There will never be another day like it. I have been in a reflective sort of mood since yesterday. So many things have changed in my life, in our lives as a family this year. We ended last year with my Dad’s unexpected passing, took Aislin out of school and started homeschooling, started some new traditions as a family, etc.
It has been a year of growth, of regression, of togetherness, of change – it has been a year. Would I give up any one aspect of this past year? Other than the ability to make my Dad’s death not happen – no. Even that, though, has unified my small family, so would I give up the new found confidence that I have in spouse and myself because of the trials of my Dad’s passing – nope. Do I wish our unity had come at a lesser price? You betcha.
Would I give up our sudden departure from traditional schooling for Aislin to home schooling? No way. It has been an adventure, a ride, a period of growth for myself as a Mom, as a teacher, and a wife. Home schooling has brought us joy, it has allowed my children to grow closer, it has tested my limits of patience, it has tested Stephen’s limits of what is an acceptable level of chaos. It has allowed me to mold Aislin, to help her grow academically, and as a responsible person. It has given me an opportunity to help Aislin become more confident in herself, to challenge her with her thoughts, and her beliefs. It has given us a closeness that we otherwise wouldn’t have.
I am so glad that we live on St. Croix, where I have a great group of friends that I can turn to when the going got rough. I am thankful that some of those same friends can turn to me when their going got rough. I love that fact,that I can call up any of my friends and say, “Drinks? Tonight?” and know that I will get at east one or two takers, that we can show up in sweats, or dressed up and not one of us will think any less of the others for it. I love the fact, that I can call up people and say, hey, I know it’s 4, but come on over for dinner, or drinks, or whatever tonight and no one cares if the house is upside down, the little monster is naked, or the chicken is over cooked. I love that some of my good friends are neighbors that we can count on to babysit when Stephen and I need to escape the chaos of our house.
So, as we close out the year today, I sit and think, did we have a good year? Yes we did. Did I learn anything from this year? Yes.
Enjoy every moment and every person because you never know when you won’t have that anymore.
Your children are unique and you should not expect them to do the same things as other people's children.
The laundry can wait – making memories with your kids or spouse is more important.
Treat everyone, even the bums on the street, as you want to be treated.
Tell your husband that you love him, even when you are mad at him and have visions of throttling him dancing before your eyes.
Say what you mean and own it.
Don’t make excuses for yourself or other people.
You have no control over what other people do, only how you react to other people.
Remember the lessons that my Dad taught me, even if I didn’t want to hear them at the time.
And I think the most important lesson that I learned this year was:
If God brought it to you, He will help you handle it.
Well, Christmas is tomorrow and boy has it snuck up on me! Stephen's Christmas gift has yet to arrive, some of the gifts are still unwrapped, the house is upside down, and I have started two new traditions today. If I just started them, does that make them traditions? Hmmm, I'll have to let you be the judge of that.
What better way to wake up than to the smell of cinnamony goodness permeating the house? They really weren't that hard to make and I was able to tweak the recipe to suit our cinnamon hounds sweet teeth. I also got to use my stand mixer which I LOVE..... No pictures of these as they all got et as some of my Gillette relatives are wont to say. Here is the recipe though:
Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
1 stick butter
2 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup warm water
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
FILLING:
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and sugar and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water, let sit for 5 mins. Then add the milk mixture. 5 cups of flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.
Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x 14 inch rectangle. Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and 3/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangles. Then sprinkle the raisins and chopped nuts over the dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.
Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place the pieces in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan, or 12 inch deep dish pizza pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.
The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden.
I did use my stand mixer, so you have to change this a bit for that piece of equipment. Enjoy them - we did!
Christmas Tradition II: Sushi.
I know, I know..... Sushi does not sound very Christmasy, but the kids LOVE it, I love it, and it lets me do something creative in the kitchen. I figure this is a nice light supper the day before you go hog wild at the Christmas dinner table, and it is a way to slow down and appreciate working with your hands.
Aislin and I are making loads of different types of sushi but my favorites are the spicy shrimp and the Unangi rolls that are made with smoked eel :) YUM! I actually started this post earlier, but with rolling the sushi, playing with kids, and going to the Christmas Eve party this isn't getting posted until now.
Whatever your traditions might be, I wish you all a Merry Christmas!
