Chad Writes Stuff

Wasn't sure if it was going to rain. Started looking like it but then it cleared up. I was glad. I ate some breakfast and then decided to walk around the property and take some shots of nature and anything else I could find. Sometimes when you walk around, you begin to realize how connected to this great planet you are. It was quite amazing to see all the wildlife such as birds and lizards and other creatures. Very often we get caught up in the grand schemes of things and we forget to look at the minutia. In actuality it is the minutia that makes the difference. I say this with conviction and those of you who know me, know this, "you can drive down any road a million times and see something completely different and beautiful every time" This trip to the Virgin Islands gave me a glimpse of how good life really is. Good things happen to people that are in the good and bad things follow those who are in the bad. How do you define each of those, it is up to you. It i...

Awesome day. Woke up relatively early and got a start on the morning. It was interesting to have TV on this island because it seems so remote, however, it was nice to be able to see cnn and fox and catch up on world events. Today we were going to snorkel at savannah bay, however, we had to turn our towels back in and it would have caused hell on the rental car. So we decided to drive over to Little Dix Bay, which is another property in the Rosewood Family. We arrived at about 9:45 and dropped the car off with hospitality. One very nice thing about renting a car (from hertz) is that you can rent it from the local rental and drop it off at the resort where you are staying. Since most of the ferries leave out of little dix bay, returning the car was very easy and convenient. After dropping the keys off to hospitality we headed to the beach. Immediately I put on my snorkel gear and headed out into little dix bay. The scenery, although not very colorful, is extremely alive. Fish we...

Today was a chill day. Didn't do a whole lot. Did find out that the cove has limited staff and limited breakfast in the off season. Tried to order breakfast but they didn't really have anything. Went into the compass pointe and bought some cereal and milk and ate out of styrofoam cups in the in room. After breakfast, went down and laid out for a bit under a hut. It was very nice and very relaxing. At about 12 ate lunch. Had an enourmous plate of nachos which was good, fresh and not very greasy. They (whomever they are) say you are not supposed to swim until after 30 minutes so that your food can digest. What do they know, my ass was in the water snorkeling after 5 minutes. The water was a bit murky and i absorbed all that i could. I did find that the locals and the non locals seem to not care much for their waters. I picked up at least 20 pieces of trash on the bottom of leverick bay. Old bottles and plastic cups tend to be the main culprits. I almost got stung b...

Virgin Gorda is the second largest island in the British Virgin Islands. It is an island of rolling hills, beautiful beaches, and incredible geological formations. This one of "nature's little secrets” capitalizes on it's quiet charm. “small town” appeal and friendly people. The main industry on Virgin Gorda is tourism but with just over 3,000 population the way of life is old-time Caribbean. Meaning “Fat Virgin" in Spanish - Virgin Gorda got it's name from Columbus referring to the feminine curves of Virgin Gorda's geography. Virgin Gorda is defined by two distinct areas; The Valley to the South (or Spanish Town, the name of it's original Spanish settlement) with rolling hills and round granite boulders and North Sound at the northern end of Virgin Gorda which is a large sheltered harbor containing the quaint little village of Gun Creek and several resorts. Bridging the two areas is a narrow neck of land lined by spectacular Savannah Bay Beach and Virgin...

I woke up early today. After all it is my birthday...jeez how often does that happen. I also realized that i am crazy. I can't believe I am up an out the door at 7am local time, which is 3 am our time in San Diego...what the hell am i thinking. My sleep patterns are going to be screwed up beyond belief when i get back to San Diego. I had breakfast this morning at the cafe and was greeted as usual in the morning style, "Good Morning Chad". I like that they remember your name. Somehow or another they remembered it was my birthday as well and that was very impressive. I had my usual pancakes and sausage this morning for breakfast. I decided to go back to my room and read the last of "Many Lives, Many Masters". I was getting drawn in by the book and had to finish it. When i went back to the room, housekeeping was working their magic, so i decided to read on the reclining chairs out side of the room. I remain true to form, I start reading and within 2 minu...

Didn't accomplish much today. Woke up early and went to breakfast at 7:30. I had some blueberry pancakes, fresh fruit and some coffee. Very delicious and fulfilling. I went back to the room and decided to grab my computer to check email and the like. I decided i really didn't want to do much today so I figured I would lay at the beach, swim and just do nothing. I know very rough life, but somebody has to do it. We had rain early on today but it soon faded at about 9 and the sky remained blue with a few hints of clouds throughout. The beach as always was gorgeous. The sun was in full force and I tried to remain out of the direct sun so i positioned my beach chair under a palm tree. Because the sun constantly moves, i had to re position my chair often. At 1:45 I decided to have lunch and on the menu this day was hamburgers and hot dogs. The salad was very delicious and of course they had my favorite ...olives. I spent a large majority of the afternoon from about 4pm o...

Woke up relatively early today. Decided to go lay out for a bit. Had some breakfast off the buffet and slowly started to wake up. The days are beautiful here as well as the evenings. The sounds are fantastic, the skies are breathtaking and the environment is serene. Today we went into Cruz Bay which is town here in St. Johns. Stopped at the local deli and grabbed some refreshments and continued the tour of the island. The island is 9 miles long and takes about an hour to drive from Cruz bay to the East End. The interesting thing is that you drive on the left side of the road. From Cruz Bay you drive to Chocolate hole, then Rendezvous Bay,then north on the 104 through residential areas and over into Coral Bay Shipwreck Landing and Friis Bay. We had lunch at Shipwreck bay which is a locals hangout. Decent food and great views. Since there isn't much to do on the islands, the occurance of alcoholism is high. Many people drink the days away and have a great life doing so. W...

Well lets just say today was a long day. I woke up at 6 am and started running around finalizing stuff for my trip. I had to take out some cash, get some stuff and be ready to go at 9pm tonight. The day passed by quickly and before I knew it I was at the airport checking in. I decided since I was going to be flying on the redeye and that sleep would probably be a great idea, that I would buy a pillow...one of those u pillows. All I can say is wow. I fell asleep during take off out of san Diego airport leaned the seat back and at 3am local time, 6am New York time, I woke up, fully rested and wide awake. Needless to say it was the best $25 dollar investment I have made. Plus it came with nice eye covers as well to keep out the light. Noah, if you are reading this, you got to get it for your trip to China. It will be well worth the investment, if you don’t want to buy it, use mine, you will thank me later (mind you I can NEVER sleep on planes) So the flight from New York to St. T...