Back in the US, more later

just some shots of the kids from around owia... if you want to see the rest check them on my facebook profile. all you old-timers, all your kids have facebook accounts so have them log you in. some one send me the new counting crows cd please

Uh oh, people are starting to get on me about keeping this thing a little more fresh. I guess that's understandable though, because if this is how you are tracking me (since you're too cheap to go out and buy a phone card or too lazy to send an email) and we haven't talked in a while there's a little bit to catch up on. First, I moved houses. And villages. Long story short, I am in Georgetown now, in a mansion of a house. Becca and Bob were just here and they both thought it was a way better place than either of their college pads. I'd say it was nicer than my house but that would be a blatant lie. I don't have a bar, twin beer pong tables, or a fish pond in my back yard. But I do have the atlantic ocean in my front yard and a volcano in the back. Pros and cons. Work is still going well, I am doing a lot more community work at this time than I was doing a year ago today but I am happier with it. If anyone has a chance to catch up with Becca tell her to show you some pics of her trip down, they turned out really well. Or check them on facebook, she has three albums of her visit. And thats it. I'll be back home this summer, so book tickets to visit soon if you're serious about it. The pics on this one are of us sailing back to St. Vincent from Bequia at the end of Becca and Bob's trip, and of the living room and front of my new house. Keep up with some more pics later.

Here are my kids in Bequia, on what was one of the most fun days I've had in the year and some change that I've been here. I was a little worried how the boys would react to another island, for all of them it was their first trip off of St. Vincent and the farthest they have ever been away from home, but I ended up been blown away by how much they appreciated one of my favorite places on Earth. We loaded them up on the ferry bright and early, spent the whole day on Lower Bay, and then ate Mac's Pizza before heading home in the evening. The only minor glitch was that the cheese and the tomato sauce was way to rich for my fish and banana eating kids, and we spent the last hour of the day running back and forth to the restrooms!

This Carnival thing... These are from Mardi Gras, aka Carnival Tuesday, which is the big finale of the Carnival Season in St. Vincent and where the name Vincymas comes from (Vincentian Masquerade). After a week of debauchery the country wakes up on Tuesday and dresses up in carefully orchestrated costumes and goes back out on the street for one last rowdy all-day-dance party. By the time this baby rolled around I was so tired all I could do was snap a few pitcures and head back up the road for some solid rest. So now what do I look foward to? Mom and Nic are here in a week, I'll be home the 1st of August for a few days (catch me if you can) and then a summer reading program which is just an excuse to take the neighborhood kids down to Bequia. Not a bad way to kill a few months...

Early J'ouvert Morning On the Street We Wyn'ing.... These are shots from Carnival Season, the biggest party of the year. We started at 10 in the morning and went 24 hours until 10 am the next day (couldn't tell you how I did it, but you can see from the pics that I wasn't alone). J'ouvert (Joo-Vay) is the biggest party, and leads straight in to Mardi Gras (stay tuned for more pics of the costumes next week). The first pic is from my own party in Owia, then the rest are from town. People rub paint all over each other and dance the whole time, the blacked out guy on the bench is evidence of how hard the party goes.

Here are some pictures from Jess's visit, when we explored some more of the Grenadines. I am already at home in the Northern Grenadines, but I'd never been down south to Union Island and the Tobago Cays before, only a few miles away from Grenada and Venezuela. The first picture is of a sail boat we rode on to tour the small islands down here, the Scaramouche, aka "the Interceptor" from Pirates of the Caribbean. It was a beautiful all wood 76 footer with a three man crew. The next picture is of Jess on Mopion Island, one of the worlds most photographed islands. It's a tiny sand island not far from Petit Martinique, surrounded by beautiful reefs. It looks really cool, but what you see is what you get. There are some baby palm trees trying to sprout up and I hope they do, because there is no shade out there except for a windstruck tiki hut. We were dropped off there by a water taxi and had a few hours to get sunburned before we'd had enough. The third picture is a bunch of baby sea turtles in a swimming pool at Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary on Bequia. I'd been to Bequia a bunch but never made my way by the turtles until just now when Jess came. People bring the turtles to the sanctuary when they are hatched on less than ideal beaches, and the volunteers here raise them until they are big enough to be released without fear of becoming fish food. And lastly, me and a tree crab on Union Island. I don't think anyone will appreciate how truly wierd it is to find crabs in trees until they see it for themselves.

Hope everyone is well, drop me an email.