Thursday, April 30, 2020

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI
18.20.016N
64.55.440 W

Coronavirus has turned us all into dogs:  We roam the house all day looking for food.  We’re told “no” if we get too close to strangers.  And we get really excited about car rides.

Not much has happened since my last post.  On Monday, the Tinker Twins scrubbed Gypsy Palace’s bottom.  When they finished, they were covered with sea lice (like little tiny brine shrimp) so showered the little critters off on the port step.  Not that I noticed the bodies when Nicky and I returned from grocery shopping but I did notice when I sat in the middle of them later.  That evening, we celebrated Dale’s birthday on our boat with Chinese take out; except for Gene.  He brought his own dinner as he doesn’t eat Chinese.  Apparently where they come from in Texas, a Chinese restaurant was closed down when food inspectors found 37 frozen cats in their freezer.  Needless to say, the evening was filled with cat jokes.  Tastes like chicken folks!  Nicky was a sweetheart and made Dale a lemon cake with the appropriate amount of blueberries in lieu of candles; no need to set the boat on fire.

Tuesday was laundry day.  The guys helped us cart the laundry in the couple of blocks it takes to walk there then disappeared to go shopping at the little Kmart a few more blocks up the road.  Nicky and I commented that it was unusually busy this time.  Since last weekend was Easter, I’m hoping that those whose normal wash day is on Saturday or Sunday moved it to Tuesday, instead of the word getting out that Tuesday was a slow day at the laundromat.  In any event, one lady took umbrage with me as I was apparently using her 2 favorite washing machines.  What can I say?  No matter where I go, chaos follows. 

Yesterday, we elected to rent a car instead of hiring a cab when we found out it was the same price and they pick up and drop off the car right at the marina.  What a deal!  We tried to shop at a marine salvage store but only one person could enter at a time and then they had to “look” at the merchandise by video.  Dale took the opportunity to walk the marina docks in front.  Nicky and I took the opportunity to sit in an air conditioned car. 

We all shopped at the Office Max. Dale’s computer screen had seized and started to snap when he went to close it.  Its still working but it seems prudent to find a newer model now before it completely dies.  We did take the time to back it up to a hard drive; just in case.  It has all of our weather and routing software on it. 

Nicky found a larger selection of color pencils to use, I thought that was a good idea since that’s one of our more creative ways of killing time, so I bought some too.  Gerry found something he couldn’t live without but I wasn’t paying enough attention to tell you about it now. 

We went shopping at the larger Kmart on the other side of the island.  I’m not sure any of us bought anything but we certainly walked all the aisles and soaked in the AirCon.  As we exited, the security guard struck up a conversation telling us that the Tap and Still (a popular pub/restaurant) in Red Hook had reopened by advertising 2 for 1 drinks.  They had so many people show up, order, but then not leaving, that the police came and closed them down again.   People are starting to go nuts locked up and need to get out. 

Since the Tap and Still is closed again, we had no choice but to go to McDonalds’ drive through because no one thought my idea of ordering Pizza Hut and eating in the car was a good idea.  That’s OK; McDonalds’ has the best fries!

We tried to go to Price Right (a Sam’s/Costco type of store) but there was a long line to get in, so we drove over to Cost U Less, the one we’ve been frequenting via cab and didn’t have to wait in a line to enter.  We did some provisioning of things we can’t get at the little grocery close by; then back to the marina. 

When Gerry called to let the rental company know we were finished and could pick up the car, we checked the prices on a vehicle that would hold 6, as Texas Crewed had been working remotely yesterday.  We found that it would be more economical to rent 2 small vehicles and race each other around the island than it would be to rent a larger SUV or minivan.  So that’s our plan for the future.  Once a week or every other week, we’ll rent a car/cars to do our running around at our own pace (and not feel bad for asking the cab driver to wait in the heat.)

Today, Dale was pleased to find out the suggestion made by Never Say Never about a product to clean rust stains off—was amazing.  He’s already cleaned one hull and is waiting to finish making water to clean the other. 

Tonight, we’ll gather on Opal for drinks and nibbles and catch up with Texas Crewed who work remotely 2 days each month (according to Gene) more than that (according to Renee) and to discuss our latest information that not only has Grenada extended the lockdown to 5/15 but Trinidad has too. This means, none of us will be moving anytime soon.  Since I have a couple of hours until then, I’ll be trying out those new color pencils.  Who knows, maybe I’ll be an artist by the time lockdown is lifted.