First Family Day on St. Croix

This is my first post since the kids and I arrived on St. Croix, just a little over a week ago.

We got here in the late afternoon, on Jun 7th.  As soon as we landed, the ground crew pushed the portable stairs up against the plane, and we climbed down into hot, wet, winds.  One of the kids commented that it was just like they see on the news, with Air Force One.  I realized that all their previous flights had been straight from the plane into an air-conditioned walkway and straight into a climate controlled terminal.  Haha!  Those days are over, kids.   

As we walked across the hot and windy tarmac toward the terminal, where we knew Mike would be waiting for us, we were tickled to see this huge mural that was painted in Morgan's honor: 

Mike met us with lots of hugs and flowers.  The first thing I noticed was how healthy he looked.  The life he was living, and I expect the rest of us to adopt, is minimal junk food, healthy eating, and lots of physical outdoor activities. 

I had warned Mike in advance that we were carrying LOTS of luggage.  Our military PCS orders allowed 5 checked bags each, but between the three of us we kept it down to 15 total, including our carry-ons.  So Mike was prepared, having borrowed one of the government trucks to carry all our stuff.  Notice that the baggage carousel is "outside," by our definition.  That's just the way it is here! 

We had to drive straight from the airport to the police department to drop off the firearm I had transported.  The police gave Mike a hard time about the gun size, saying it was too big, but he convinced them to go ahead and check it into their armory, where it will be kept until either Mike or I get the permit that will allow us to possess the gun at the house.    One of the things that's challenging about this place is the lack of standard guidelines.  Many things just "depend on who you talk to."  This is particularly difficult for military people like us, who always have the "regulations" to go by. 

After we went to the rental house to drop off our bags (and for the kids to stake claims on which bedroom they'd have), we drove to downtown Christiansted for supper.  Friday nights during the "off" (non-tourist) season are very quiet here.  There was one other couple at the restaurant.  The waiter brought us a bottle of insect repellant and a menu, which was in English on one side and Danish on the other. 

 

At the end of this first day, I was so tired that I don't remember any more about how the day ended and I don't remember going to sleep.   I just remember that it felt really nice to be all together again, and I'm sure I was eager for all the adventures the following day would bring.