I returned last week from eight days in St. Croix - my 23rd trip their. Since my usual trip reports tend to run into several pages rather than paragraphs, and since my desk is still buried under an apparent avalanche of paperwork, I’ll be as brief as is possible (for me) this time.

Thurs., 3/11
Flight delays meant that while we left home at 4:30 AM we didn’t arrive until almost 5:00 PM. Oh well, better that they fix the plane than get me there on time. Happy hour at Rumrunners (which is in the hotel and on the water), then dinner at The Bombay Club, as usual the filet mignon ($20.50 with two sauces, potatoes and salad) was delicious.

Fri., 3/12
Having trouble accounting for this day, which I think was spent mostly puttering around the pool and renewing acquaintances. We stay at the Hotel Caravelle on the waterfront in the historic district of downtown Christiansted and are always treated extremely well there. Breakfast (omelette) at Shenanigan’s for about $5, happy hour (again) and dinner (again) at Bombay where fish and chips (fresh mahi in a superb batter for $10) was terrific.

Sat., 3/13
The day of the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Christiansted. Breakfast again at Shenanigan’s (smoked salmon omelette with cream cheese, dill and capers), posed on the webcam for the folks back home and then off to the parade. The streets are full and the atmosphere is festive with many vendors selling local food. Parade itself is a hoot and a great deal of fun. Last year we had our own float, but this year we armed ourselves with bubble guns and filled King Street with bubbles. Lunch at Pleasant’s (burger, about $6), then pool time. Friends took us out to the new restaurant at Hibiscus Beach – H20. Beautiful location and fairly upscale with large appetizer portions that served as dinner (crab cakes, $9.50; chicken satay $6.50). We'll want to go there again.

Sun., 3/14
Out to Cane Bay for brunch (lobster omelette with tons of lobster, home fries, fruit - $12, excellent huevos rancheros with same sides - $8). Other friends then came and took us out to Sandy Point. This is a wildlife refuge and sea turtle nesting site, open to the public only on Saturday and Sunday, September to March. This beach is one of the longest stretches of sand in the entire Caribbean and is the site where the last scene of The Shawshank Redemption was filmed. Incredible doesn’t begin to describe it – sandy, with a quick drop off and lots of waves, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Dinner yet again at Bombay because choices are limited a bit on Sundays and we split the aforementioned filet mignon this time (I really like this place).

Mon., 3/15
Skipped breakfast and had an early lunch at Rumrunners with still other friends (tried their fish and chips with a chipotle remoulade - $11 and pretty darn good). Spent the rest of the day in the sun by the pool or shopping. Happy hour at Rumrunners then dropped by the crab races but did not purchase a loser crab this time. Dinner was at Luncheria, where a huge plate of food and a “cool refreshing adult beverage” (margarita) came to about $12.

Tues., 3/16
Walked the half mile to Gallows Bay for breakfast at The Golden Rail in the marina (around $5). Again relaxed by the pool and shopped. Happy hour again at Rumrunners and dinner again at Bombay Club because you can’t quarrel with success.

Weds., 3/17
Off to pick up a rental car for the day, which we plan to spend at the Divi resort on the southeast shore. Arrived there around 11 to meet friends for lunch, then to the beach where we met other friends. They decided we needed to take back roads up to get close to the Contessa’s Castle, which we did, and then went out to Point Udall, which we hadn’t seen since the Millenium Monument was erected. Thereafter we went to explore the ruins of the old Grapetree Hotel, which was destroyed by hurricane Hugo in 1989. It must have been a very nice place prior to the storm. Returned to get ready for dinner, preceded by happy hour with friends who live at The Reef (upscale condos out east). Dinner at Duggan’s was superb (crab and white asparagus bisque, grilled mahi with crab and goat cheese – somewhat expensive and worth every penny), I can’t believe we haven’t gone here before.

Thurs., 3/18
Our last day. Up early to take the car back, then walked to Gallows Bay again for breakfast and to check out a store we had only learned about last night. Then last minute packing and shopping followed by a tiny bit of pool time. Our flight was at 3:40 and we left for the airport around 1:40. This was more than enough time for this flight, but is probably barely sufficient for Saturday returns. No hitches this time and we were lucky enough to find a sports bar in the airport in San Juan where we could watch the Syracuse/BYU basketball game (Go SU!) during our layover. Arrived home about 11:30 and could almost watch our tans fade as we deplaned :-(. Only 212 days until our next trip and I miss it already.

Weather Report: It was warm, as was the ocean (surprisingly) but not stifling. There were more clouds and it was windier than it has been at this time of year in the past – there’s just no predicting. No problem to speak of with rain, a few extremely light showers and one or two heavier squalls that were short and occurred very early in the morning, so they did not interfere with any plans we had.

Changes in Restaurants: Tutto Bene has move just east of C’sted because of landlord problems at their previous location, Stixx is open only for dinner (I won’t go there anyway), Indies has closed, Savant has a new courtyard out back that is very nice, Top Hat was sold to Kendrick’s and now operates as Truffles, Rumrunners now has a deck bar serving sushi, Marina Bar is closed as the King’s Alley Hotel is renovated, and I’ve already mentioned H20 at Hibiscus. Reservations were a must for all of the better restaurants.

Shopping: We generally buy our liquor at either Baci or Royal English in Christiansted. Baci is consolidating its two stores and moving into the space previously occupied by Colombian Emeralds. We also picked up items at Tesoro (great tropical pieces, pretty reasonable prices), Traveler’s Tree in Gallows Bay (great decorator items and touches), at Jan Mitchell’s fantastic glass studio (always a must stop place), The Jewelry Factory (moderately priced), Violette Boutique (discounted top line cosmetics), Many Hands (local artisans) and some cute shirts from Up Island. One of our favorite clothing stores, Out of the Blue, is closing – they said business is good for them but they just want to do something else. Depending on who you talk to business is up or down, but overall it looked improved.