The days move quickly and most evenings I am too tired to sit down and write. This afternoon I am stealing 20 minutes for a short update. Lots has happened in the past four days. On March 2nd we discovered we were in a prime bird watching spot. If you look up Francis Bay, St. John, you will see a swampy area right behind the beach.
David and I worked some serious morning magic and were able to get our whole family over to the beach by about 8.30a, with snacks and water too! It was no mean feat, especially considering the large amounts of tai-chi energy required to transform the children's initial resistance to transitioning onto land (at some point, I might get around to writing a whole blog about the challenge of any transition with Ruben and Sasha: jumping into the water when they are getting too hot, going on an excursion to get a little time on land, shifting from chasing and tying up/locking up Michelle to having some time in the shade. We are very happy to have been following their lead in our parenting techniques. Very happy until we aren't anymore.)
The bird watching tour was a sound art immersion. There were so many cooing doves and singing birds. The air was humid and the tree cover at the beginning of the walk was magical. We saw several lovely birds and were constantly chased by noseeums (the smallest of all gnats, almost invisible: 1-4mm long.) That kept us moving.
We also found a hermit crab way up on the side of a hill. I didn't realize they were into hiking around.
Part of the walk took us to the ruins of the last sugar factory constructed on St. John. The factory was built by George Francis (hence the name of the bay?) who was born enslaved on the Annaberg Plantation and after spending his youth and early adulthood working on the plantation, became a landowner in 1862. The photo below has more details.
We saw a similar story two days later, at another property called The Windmill. It has me wondering about the history of the USVI and what it looked like here for Black people when they became free. I will be looking for resources on the topic and would appreciate any tips.
The 3rd was my 39th birthday and it turned out to be one of my favorite days on the boat yet. Nothing broke, chores were put on hold for myself, there was a lot of sweet words and generous gift giving from Ruben and Sasha, and some delightful celebrating in the evening. I baked myself a delicious cake, going back and forth to the oven to try and keep the temperature at 325 degrees. Eventually I passed the task on to Michelle and Olivier and got to go on a sweet family ride to explore our surroundings. Ruben decorated the cake and put in the candles — a first.
We were staying in Waterlemon Bay and loved snorkeling there, all around the tiny island on the North side of the bay. The evening was a party, with our friends Katy and Craig joining us for cake and candles, and Ruben and Olivier jamming together with guitar and cello.
On the 4th we attended a wonderful Jam Festival at the Windmill. Pictures of the venue and view to follow. We danced in between rain showers and stayed until after sunset. It felt magical and unexpected. We're going back this evening for a second taste (and the last evening of the festival.)
I have been curious about what you all are thinking and wondering about when you read these entries. Please write to me if you have any questions you'd like me to address. I still haven't figured out how to turn comments on, which would probably be the easiest thing. Overall we are doing well. A little more tired depending on how much emotional regulation is necessary for Ruben and Sasha. Still wondering about where we will head next and waiting for some more parts. We ran out of butane for our stove on the 3rd (just in time to make the cake!) and David has been getting really good at microwaving eggs. Below are some examples of the earliest tries. He has since mastered the Poached Egg: 1min 10 secs on setting 7, one egg covered in water with the yolk pierced to prevent explosions.
Hugs and hurrays,
Bici
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