"Scott - this is what Michelle uses to eliminate any sand fleas in our bedding. We sprinkle some on top of the bottom sheet every other day. We also sweep the tent everyday to limit the amount of sand in the tent"
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Maho Learnings
I learned something new this week at Maho. In having a conversation with some repeat guests, Ben and Michelle, the topic of "no seeums" and sand fleas came up. In the four years they have been coming, they have never had a problem with no seeums in their tent, and they have stayed in various places on camp and at different times of the year. Their secret?
"Scott - this is what Michelle uses to eliminate any sand fleas in our bedding. We sprinkle some on top of the bottom sheet every other day. We also sweep the tent everyday to limit the amount of sand in the tent"
"Scott - this is what Michelle uses to eliminate any sand fleas in our bedding. We sprinkle some on top of the bottom sheet every other day. We also sweep the tent everyday to limit the amount of sand in the tent"
Monday, December 27, 2010
This Day in Green...
This Day in Green... The guy in the spacesuit next door: Beekeepers
Came across this -The Beekeeper Next Door - in the NY Times and it reminded me of the fact there is a huge beekeeping movement going on in the USVI right now. Amateur beekeepers are popping up everywhere. Who knows, maybe one day you will be able to get your hands on some organic honey produced right here on property!
Here are some local links regarding VI Beekeeping:
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Night Before Christmas
The Night Before Christmas
By Inclement Seamore
'Twas the night before Christmas on land and on sea
Not a creature was stirring, not even the donkey.
The stockings were hung on the palm trees with care
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds
With visions of coconuts dancing in their heads.
And Mama in her bandanna and I in my straw hat
Were sitting there wondering where Santa was at!
When down on the beach there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the sun deck I flew in a flash
Stepped on a hermit crab and came down in a crash!
The moon on the water it did glow
And gave the luster of midday to objects below.
And what to my wondering eyes I saw on a noose
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny mongoose!
With a little old driver so lively and quick
I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick!
More rapid than pelicans, his mongoose they came
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name.
Now Rasta, no Pasta, now Pepper and Chili
On Plantain, on Guava, on Calabash and Willie.
To the top of the deck, to the top of the wall
Dow dash away, dash away, dash away all.
So up to the house top the mongoose they flew
With a sleigh full of toys and Saint Nicholas too.
He was dressed in a swim suit and Maui Jim glasses
And had a sunburn from his head to his.....rear end!
He spoke not a word but went straight to his work
And filled all the stockings and turned with a jerk.
And laying his hand on top of his head
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a yell
And away they all flew like a bat out of .......a cave!
But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight
Happy Christmas to Maho and to all a Good Night!
By Inclement Seamore
'Twas the night before Christmas on land and on sea
Not a creature was stirring, not even the donkey.
The stockings were hung on the palm trees with care
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds
With visions of coconuts dancing in their heads.
And Mama in her bandanna and I in my straw hat
Were sitting there wondering where Santa was at!
When down on the beach there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the sun deck I flew in a flash
Stepped on a hermit crab and came down in a crash!
The moon on the water it did glow
And gave the luster of midday to objects below.
And what to my wondering eyes I saw on a noose
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny mongoose!
With a little old driver so lively and quick
I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick!
More rapid than pelicans, his mongoose they came
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name.
Now Rasta, no Pasta, now Pepper and Chili
On Plantain, on Guava, on Calabash and Willie.
To the top of the deck, to the top of the wall
Dow dash away, dash away, dash away all.
So up to the house top the mongoose they flew
With a sleigh full of toys and Saint Nicholas too.
He was dressed in a swim suit and Maui Jim glasses
And had a sunburn from his head to his.....rear end!
He spoke not a word but went straight to his work
And filled all the stockings and turned with a jerk.
And laying his hand on top of his head
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a yell
And away they all flew like a bat out of .......a cave!
But I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight
Happy Christmas to Maho and to all a Good Night!
This Day in......White?
This Day in White: In Snowy Syracuse, a December That's Whiter Than Usual
I find that no matter where you are, people always wonder what its like to be where someone else is. We obviously get that a lot living here on St. John, and usually for positive reasons. But often times we also wonder about what it would be like to be in a place that is extremely different, but maybe not in a paradisaical kind of way. I was checking up on the weather and came across a now very popular article in the Times about Syracuse, NY and the insane amount of snow they have gotten already. We can become used to anything as humans given enough conditioning. Residents on St. John can be seen in long sleeves when it drops below 74, and glassblowers can take something off the grill with their bare hand and not even think twice about it. Who needs tongs when you handle molten glass from 2 feet away all day long? At some point we just accept what is around us as "it is" or "we just do". The residents of Syracuse have obviously learned to cope with 6 ft mounds of snow everywhere (I don't even think they consider it coping, just going about life).
Lets take it a step further though and look at the phenomena of accepting as is from a green aspect. How many of us have been recycling for our entire lives? Many communities and even countries are way ahead of the curve (based on the US curve) when it comes to this, but many are on that upper slope. As someone in my late twenties, I honestly didn't start until I moved here. It wasn't something that was deemed overly important in my community in TN. Sure, we had people come talk and parents volunteer in elementary school to show us how, but it never got to the point where "we just do". The same is actually true for St. John up until recently (last two years) when St. John Recycling Committee started putting out recycling bins all over the island. There was a time when they were new and cool and we were excited. Now they are just there and we just put cans in them, as we should.
As conservation, recycling, and "greenness" become more and more prevalent in every day life and conversation, we will see a shift in our society and communities where these practices aren't special. Composting in Cambridge, Mass, for example, will never get a front page headline since everyone gets free composting bins and you can get fined for having too much waste. However, one building making that pledge in a community somewhere else may receive a lot of attention and be lead innovators. It will be nice one day when the Green/Environmental section of the newspaper becomes pretty much ignored because it is no longer unique or special. Who wants to read about normal things we all do? It would be like a section devoted to people drinking water and breathing in air. One day clean energy and recycling/conservation will be nothing out of the ordinary in our every day life, but looking forward to that day we know that it will in fact be special when we have reached a critical mass.
I miss a good white Christmas. If anyone from Syracuse is reading this, I will trade a jar of sand for a jar of snow.
I find that no matter where you are, people always wonder what its like to be where someone else is. We obviously get that a lot living here on St. John, and usually for positive reasons. But often times we also wonder about what it would be like to be in a place that is extremely different, but maybe not in a paradisaical kind of way. I was checking up on the weather and came across a now very popular article in the Times about Syracuse, NY and the insane amount of snow they have gotten already. We can become used to anything as humans given enough conditioning. Residents on St. John can be seen in long sleeves when it drops below 74, and glassblowers can take something off the grill with their bare hand and not even think twice about it. Who needs tongs when you handle molten glass from 2 feet away all day long? At some point we just accept what is around us as "it is" or "we just do". The residents of Syracuse have obviously learned to cope with 6 ft mounds of snow everywhere (I don't even think they consider it coping, just going about life).
Lets take it a step further though and look at the phenomena of accepting as is from a green aspect. How many of us have been recycling for our entire lives? Many communities and even countries are way ahead of the curve (based on the US curve) when it comes to this, but many are on that upper slope. As someone in my late twenties, I honestly didn't start until I moved here. It wasn't something that was deemed overly important in my community in TN. Sure, we had people come talk and parents volunteer in elementary school to show us how, but it never got to the point where "we just do". The same is actually true for St. John up until recently (last two years) when St. John Recycling Committee started putting out recycling bins all over the island. There was a time when they were new and cool and we were excited. Now they are just there and we just put cans in them, as we should.
As conservation, recycling, and "greenness" become more and more prevalent in every day life and conversation, we will see a shift in our society and communities where these practices aren't special. Composting in Cambridge, Mass, for example, will never get a front page headline since everyone gets free composting bins and you can get fined for having too much waste. However, one building making that pledge in a community somewhere else may receive a lot of attention and be lead innovators. It will be nice one day when the Green/Environmental section of the newspaper becomes pretty much ignored because it is no longer unique or special. Who wants to read about normal things we all do? It would be like a section devoted to people drinking water and breathing in air. One day clean energy and recycling/conservation will be nothing out of the ordinary in our every day life, but looking forward to that day we know that it will in fact be special when we have reached a critical mass.
I miss a good white Christmas. If anyone from Syracuse is reading this, I will trade a jar of sand for a jar of snow.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
A Maho Christmas
Is it snowing where you are? We’ve heard the weather gets cold this time of year, though our beach-filled weekends make it easy to forget sometimes. In the States, if I remember correctly, the air is crisp and cold. You can even see your breath floating away slowly as you scrape ice from your windshield. You get into your warmed-up cars and turn on the radio, which is either playing holiday music or urging you to take advantage of a million last minute sales. You drink things like hot apple cider or gingerbread lattes
and they warm up your hands. Everywhere you turn, there are red bows and green garland and twinkling, snow-covered lights. December is not very subtle in the States, is it?
Things are a little bit different around here. One day, we are comparing tan lines on a sunny beach and the next day…well, the next day, it’s Christmas. It sort of sneaks up on us. Don’t get me wrong, we try. We let Bing Crosby sing to us about White Christmas dreams, but he is usually interrupted by Bob Marley and his Three Little Birds. We rock around our mini-trees and make hot chocolate on our Coleman stoves. Our screened windows are lined with multi-colored lights, and many of us have found a place in our little tents to hang stockings. We dress up our tank tops with Santa hats and take a staff picture for the Maho newsletter. And on December 25th, the 60 members of the Maho staff sit down to Christmas dinner with 300 other people.
It might be a little less than traditional, but we are lucky enough to have a makeshift family of our own and persistent enough to inject as much holiday spirit into our coconut flavored lives as we can.
There are things that we miss, obviously. Personally, I am jealous of those gingerbread lattes. Also, snowball fights and red mittens. We miss our families and we think we miss snow days, though we probably wouldn’t feel that way were we to actually encounter one. But we have traded pine trees for palm trees and hot apple cider for cool Caribbean showers, and all in all, St. John gives us a pretty good December.
It may not quite feel like the holidays at home, but then the holidays at home don’t quite feel like Maho.
Fare Compare
Today was an exciting day for me. I discovered Fare Compare. It got even more exciting when I was starting to write a "How To" on using the site to find the best flights using their site when I discovered that they had already created that page for me! When messing around I found flights in January for $298 RT from both Chicago and Atlanta to St. Thomas. The most important part in successfully navigating Fare Compare is to make sure you check the "My dates are flexible" box which will give you the grid you see below.
Four Steps to Finding Cheap Flights When Your Travel Dates are Flexible
FareCompare’s When-to-Fly Flexible Calendar Search makes it easy to find the the best price for your trip. When you are shopping for flights, simply select “My dates are flexible” and FareCompare will show you the cheapest days and times to fly on your preferred departure date, as well as other dates near that date.
When you’re planning a trip, the best way to save when booking your flight is to shop using FareCompare flexible calendar search. FareCompare When-to-Fly flexible calendar instantly searches hundreds of date and length of stay combinations, allowing you to instantly compare dates and times, to find the price that fits your budget. And it’s easy as 1 – 2 -3.
Flexible Calendar Flight Search – Find Cheap Flights Fast
1. Choose your destination and preferred flight dates. When you search, select the “My dates are flexible” checkbox.
2. Shop using the flexible calendar. Once your search is complete, you can shop the results for the specific day you selected in your original search, or you can shop using the flexible calendar search on the left.
The dates highlighted in the calendar are the cheapest days to fly in the thirty days surrounding your preferred departure date. To change your departure date, simply click on the price in the calendar.
3. Choose your length of stay. Instantly compare prices for your selected departure date. The FareCompare When-to-Fly Flexible Calendar Search easily lets you compare prices and departure dates, eliminating the need to ‘hunt and peck.’ FareCompare completes the equivalent of hundreds of searches with one-click.
Once you’ve selected your preferred length of stay, click “Select.”
4. Complete your search – choose your itinerary. Once you’ve chosen your length of stay, allow your itinerary search to complete and choose you preferred itinerary on the results page.
You can continue to shop for flexible days, simply repeat the process until you find the price that fits your budget. To be sure you always get the best price, signup for FareCompare When-to-Fly Airfare Alerts or get real-time When-to-Fly tweets on Twitter.
Monday, December 20, 2010
iguana views
Apparently our guests are not the only ones that enjoy the views of Francis Bay and Whistling Cay from this Harmony unit. Last week we had a few of our units empty of guests, so this full-sized adult iguana decided to move-in, taking up residence on the deck railing each sunny afternoon. As pictured he's headed toward the trees on the right, apparently a little camera-shy.
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