Saturday, October 22, 2011

Loving Island Life

We are loving life on St. John!  The weather the past 2 weeks has been perfect.  Upper 80's with clouds and sun and low 70's at night.   Most of the rain showers have been overnight, with  only a few showers during the day.  At our villa apartment it gets very brezzy which helps to keep it cool along with ceiling fans in every room.

We saw our first rainbow from our villa.  It was springing out of Reef Bay up over the White Cliffs and into the clouds!




Sunday, October 9, 2011



Moving On Monday

Tomorrow we will be moving into our new rental apartment.  We will need to become mountain goats as it is a climb up the mountain to get to the villa! 



Main Entrance



Interior courtyard connecting living area to bedrooms



View from interior courtyard



Stairs down to the main entrance


Walk way across the front of the villa

Saturday, October 8, 2011

We Have A House !!!!


We Have A House!!!!!

                                                                                                                                            
Well it is really an apartment.  We share a villa with an upstairs neighbor.  It feels more like a house than an apartment. 

Over the last year Mike and I would wonder what kind of a place we would be able to find on our budget.  I always hoped for at least a “sliver” of a view, but thought it probably wouldn’t be feasible.  Well GOD IS GOOD – ALL THE TIME!

The views from our villa --------  answered prayer!



The south side of the island is more arid and cacti abound


The Caribbean !


                               Luckily on top of the distant mountain is an ATT&T tower.  We have
                                                        great reception

We Have A House !!!!


We Have A House!!!!!

                                                                                                                                            
Well it is really an apartment.  We share a villa with an upstairs neighbor.  It feels more like a house than an apartment. 

Over the last year Mike and I would wonder what kind of a place we would be able to find on our budget.  I always hoped for at least a “sliver” of a view, but thought it probably wouldn’t be feasible.  Well GOD IS GOOD – ALL THE TIME!

The views from our villa --------  answered prayer!


 


The Caribbean !


                               Luckily on top of the distant mountain is an ATT&T tower.  We havegreat reception.  We are staying at our vacation rental until Monday morning.  Then make the move into our long term rental.  We will be without internet for a week or more.  I'll update the blog when we are back online

So far loving St. John.
Mike & Cindy

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

WE HAVE OUR WHEELS

Our truck arrived at Crown Bay St Thomas on Monday after a car carrier ride from our home in Mertztown - to Jacksonville FL - ship to St Thomas - then car ferry to St. John.  Only thing wrong was our gas cap is missing.  Luckily earlier in the day while in a taxi we saw a Chrysler/Jeep dealership.  We stopped on the way home and they had a gas cap even though our truck is an older model.  Even the parts manager was surprised he had it.

Claiming your vehicle and getting it plated and registered in the VI requires going hither and yon to different offices.  It requires LOTS of patience.  We thought we would be up for the task but woke up this morning with less than enough patience.  So at the last minute called a recommended courrier to do it for us.  Best money we spent so far! 

VI process
1.  Go to shipping office to get  bill of lading
2.  Bill of lading to Internal Revenue Bureau where a road tax is determined by the weight of your vehicle
3. Motor Vehicle bureau to obtain a permit to move vehicle
4.  US Customs office
5.  Motor Vehicle bureau for inspection and registration

Once again God put someone in our path to guide us - Kenneth.  We met him at the Internal Revenue office and he took it from there.  He was a pro at working the system and the people running the system.  What would have taken us ALL day took him 3 hours because he knew everyone!    After we weren't needed to sign anything we left to explore . We saw the cruise ship Allure Of The Sea docked. It is huge - 17 decks! 

We then had time to load up the cab and truck bed with items we will need in our new home.  K Mart, Cost U Less and Home Depot had what we needed. 

This was the first time we ever needed to use a car ferry to get home from shopping.    It was dusk as we headed across the open water of Pilsbury Sound.   Looking at the beauty in front of us we couldn't believe that this is our home now. 




Monday, October 3, 2011

We arrived safely and love it!!!  The weather is 85 sunny and the water is very warm!!! 
We have leads on long term rentals.  Everyone here is very welcoming and helpful.
Our internet connection at our house is not working.   I'll post later when our internet is
working better. 

We are safe and happy!
Mike & Cindy