We’re now about 2 months away and it is time to start sending the balance of the money to me. The first of September I will be emailing statements to those who have a balance as a reminder. I’ll have to have this all monies in by the end of September. If you have had any thoughts of adding any of the events, please let me know now. I have prepared a schedule of the events and the attendees so that no one will have to be in 2 places at once or even have to do 2 events in one day. Plus, everyone is with the people that they have requested being with. This was not an easy task. Adding people to some events may be possible, even after we are there, but the scheduling will be easier before. There are still a couple of people who have yet to give me their flight information so they may wind up cabbing it to the hotel.

Here’s the latest information on returning to the states with liquor. As I had said earlier, you can return with up to six (6) fifths or liters of liquor per person. Prior to the new security regulations you could hand carry the bottles in 6-pack corrugated carry boxes. Now, that is verboten. When you come, allow enough space in your luggage for the bottles. These can be wrapped in clothing or seaweed or palm fronds, anything that will protect the valuable contents. Bringing bubblewrap with you would be helpful.

Here’s something to remember – Julie has asked that people using the beach for swimming or barefoot strolling and returning to take a dip in the pool to please use the outdoor shower near the pool to remove the beach sand rather than use the pool to remove the beach sand.

Another thing to remember – Suzie (our daughter) tells me that the VI Police Department is really cracking down on speeders on the island. Traffic court is an event that I had not scheduled as an option.

It looks like there is just the one boatload going fishing. Let’s hope they catch enough to feed the multitude. They will be going out on Wednesday morning, so following breakfast we will have a novena.

I had earlier promised a word about island critters. There are a few little crawly things that appear from nowhere. All but the centipedes are harmless. The centipede moves across the floor in almost a sidewinder fashion. Stomping them with your shoed foot (don’t try this barefoot!) will usually do the trick. A centipede bite can be very painful for about 10 hours. The only antidote known is rum. Millipedes (also known as crunch bugs, because they crunch when stepped on, or gungaloos) are very slow moving and do no harm. They can be swept away. Lizards appear, usually on walls, looking for a meal in the form of insects and provide entertainment as do the gekkos. When driving around the island you will occasionally see little critters about the size of a squirrel dart across the road. These are mongoose. They were brought to St. Croix many years ago to rid the island of snakes. The mongoose thrived and procreated and there are now no snakes.

Enough for this one. Til next week - - -

Something that I should have mentioned about the fishing. Someone emailed me asking if the fishing was good. Now, I don't know the schedule this year, but usually the first week of November is when the USVI Fish and Game stocks the Caribbean. This should be helpful.

Well, we are now 2 1/2 months away from St. Croix. I must have everyone's flight information this week, no later than Friday, August 17. There are only a few slackers on this. Now is also the time to send me more money. You should know what your balance is. If not, email me and I will reply with a copy of your statement.
A couple of things to mention here:
1. Fishing - We have some fishermen who want to go out. Ozzie, Don Thompson, Louie Mattia, and Frankie and Glenda Moore. If anyone else is interested just email me. The boat holds 6 at a time. See the link below for Captain Carl.
2. I spoke with Julie and found out that the hotel has wireless internet in common areas and some rooms. The number of rooms with wireless is expanding as we speak and will be close to all, if not all, by November. So, if you want to bring your laptop, do so. I will have mine since all the files for the trip are on a drive so most of the time the computer will be accessible so you can check and send emails.
3. Once I have all the information in for everyone I will start preparing everyone's event schedule. Since none of the events will allow everyone to attend all at once, we must do them on seperate days. (Safari Tour, Buck Island, Sunset Cruise, Horseback ride) I will put people with people that they have requested as best I can. Please, after we get there, and you see your schedule, don't ask me to change it. Changing you on one event means changing your whole schedule and will surely mean disrupting other people's schedules. If you have a special request, tell me now.
4. That is all.

Something that I forgot to ask for on the information sheet-
Please email to me at louie-vicky@msn.com your emergency contact name and phone number. This will save me from having to take the time to get it from you on your arrival. I know that it only takes a minute and a half to get the information, put it on the spread sheet and then confirm it with you. But 1 1/2 times 40 rooms is 60 minutes. That's a lot of swim time (or bar time) Plus, this will give me an idea if the blog is being read.