Just a little on the windy side

Well, that was certainly an interesting night.  I don't think very many people expected the storm to get quite that bad - the talk throughout the weekend was that we'd have a glancing blow from a Category 1 storm, not a raging Category 4.  This shot is from our front door around 5 in the afternoon.  The winds really picked up around 8 or 9 and got a little crazy.  We were well protected, both being on the leeward side of the building, as well as the generator, wind screens on the balcony and hurricane shutters on the windows.

Haven't ventured out of our apartment complex just yet to see what other havoc Earl has caused.  There was a curfew in effect from 6pm last night to 9am this morning, not that I would have been on the roads then in any case.

Now lets just hope we don't see any sort of repeat from Fiona.

In The Middle Of It

Right in the middle of it at the moment - from NOAA.  Still online thanks to the generator and WiMAX internet.  Power's been out since about 11 am, but we're hunkered down and ready for Earl to move on out of here.

Sandy Spit

A great day for boating yesterday.  Stopped at one of our usual beaches off Jost Van Dyke.

We're getting prepped for Hurricane Earl to head our way tomorrow, fingers crossed that we don't get hit with anything too nasty.

Blue Skies and Blue Water

Alright, last shot of Trunk Bay (for now) - I just had to get some of those puffy clouds on here.

Coconut

A little bit more up close than my last coconut shot.

Clear Water

Some unbelievably clear water in Tortola.

Trunk Bay

Another shot from Trunk Bay in Tortola.  Great sand and great water!

Beach and Water

Hanging out at Trunk Bay in Tortola on a fun day of boating.  This could be one of my new favorite beaches - great sand, beautiful clear water and not a soul in sight for the whole time we were there.

Choice

Back online thanks to the wonderfully helpful people at Choice Communications.  Seriously, I called them Thursday to ask if they covered my apartment, they said the were launching a new WiMAX service across the island on Friday.  I showed up at lunch on Friday and was in and out in 10 minutes with the lovely modem pictured and online in no time.

Internet Woes

Still settling into the new place, and still without internet for the short term.  I'll try to get some pictures up soon, hang in there.

Leaving Harbor

Cruise ship pulling out of St Thomas and heading south over the weekend.  The cruise ship traffic has been pretty light over the summer (as is typical), usually only 1 or 2 ships in port on any given day.  Compare that with up to 8 or more on a crowded day in season.

Night Corner

This little patch of light is right below my new apartment and I finally broke out the camera the other night to capture it.  I probably should have it it sometime around dusk to get a little bit more ambient light in the surrounding trees (and a little less camera shake), but I really like the mood it gives off.  It feels like the opening scene to a horror movie.

Guest Post - Duck Confit

Check out my favorite food-blog Syrup and Honey for a fun guest post I wrote about making duck confit (much more difficult on the island than somewhere with a proper grocery store).

Bananas

There are a few banana trees at my new place and I am very excited for when these ripen.

South View

A shot from my new balcony looking south.  On a really clear day, St. Croix is visible just off to the right of this picture.

(Still struggling with internet access, hopefully resolved by the end of the week.)

Puffy Clouds

Captured on a walk yesterday around my new apartment.  The sun was setting and the mountain behind me blocked that light from hitting the hillside in this picture, but it lit up the clouds with some nice warm tones.  Not the most spectacular photograph, but it was a nice walk around my new neighborhood.

Moored

A quick snap walking around yesterday on the east end of St Thomas.  Apologies for missing yesterday, it was beyond hectic and I still have no internet at home.

Jost Van Dyke

Here's a shot of Jost Van Dyke taken from Smugglers' Cove in Tortola in the BVIs while boating the weekend before last.  I love the gorgeous blue water at Smug's.

UPDATE: Actually this is a guest post from Mrs. USVI Daily Photo - I couldn't remember if I took it or she did while we were out boating.  Then again, its pretty difficult to remember much of anything after a successful boating trip.

Homemade Bread

Some homemade French bread prepared for a dinner on Saturday night.  Not the most representative picture of the islands, I know, but it was delicious.  No internet at our new place, but I'll do my best to keep up with posting.