After having been well fed and pampered by Geenette, Linda, Carmela and Sally I headed to Jost Van Dyke.

First a reminder: Jost Van Dyke is a small island. A restaurant like Sandcastle needs to be able to plan for dinner. If not enough patrons they may send the staff home, if more than usual they have the opportunity to call someone to help. Having the right amount of food for the orders is important for a small place. PLEASE remember that on JVD and Anegada in particular if you want to dine out make reservations and dinner selections before 4. I know the cruising guides caution to do so but you’d be amazed at the number of folks who expect last minute accommodation and are surprised if nothing is available.

Also as in many other places; on White Bay are some private mooring balls. Yet many folks seem to ignore the private part. (what part of private don’t they understand). These balls are not set strong enough to handle larger 30’ plus boats in any kind of wind. I have seen at least two pulled by the boats who grabbed on and relocated much closer to the rock shore.

Off to Sandcastle. Duncan met me at the Roadtown Dock and we went to lunch at Village Cay and looked around Tortola a bit as I don’t seem to spend much time there anymore. It sure has changed over the 30 years since I first came on island. Hit the West End ferry dock with a bit of time to spare. The ferry was already in and there was Capt. Tom. It turns out he and his wife were returning from St. Thomas shopping. Found him on the ferry even on his day off.

Roger was there at the dock to pick me up and straight over the hill. Greeted everyone and stayed at the bar until dinner time. Who needs to go to the room other than to shower or sleep? Mick greeted me by filling my coozie with a greenie.

I proceed to sit in my chair. Some of you might recall that a few months ago some very insistent soul tried to buy the chair (apparently thinking it had something to do with Kenney Chesney as his original blue chair came from the same place) and after many unsuccessful attempts snuck it off when no one was looking. She dragged the chair down the beach close to Seddy’s where their day boat was anchored. By the time Soggy Dollar managers got there the chair was on board. The boat had a hired captain and upon learning that the chair was pilfered promptly got it back on the beach to be returned to its rightful spot. The day captain made the right decision beyond returning stolen property and incurring a visit by the police. More importantly he didn’t want to incur the wrath of the Soggy Dollar management……who would want to be barred from the Soggy Dollar Bar??? So as I sit in the chair I note that it has been chained and padlocked to its location!!!!! They promised no one was getting my chair again. Thanks Roger.

Been in that chair so much I have folks who are also August regulars in the island come up to me and ask if I’ve ever left, I’m in the same place they saw me years prior. It is a great place to keep an eye on all the action as well as one of the best views in the BVI both of the beach and the myriad of bikinis that grace the beach. I also get a bit of reading and drinking in as I occupy my spot.

While on island several people had heard that I’d spent the last week hanging with island favorite nurse Derek. To a person they were all very disheartened at his loss. Derek had no off time. If he was needed he was there. He’d regularly stop in on patients to make certain all was well. His loss was a big topic of discussion on the island. No permanent solution had been found last I heard.

Wow, Sandcastle looks pretty much the same as always until you look closer. The rooms have a bright new paint job and have added a refrigerator, hair dryer and other amenities. For me that fridge is a big help. I need to consume a protein drink each day and they need to be kept cold. Rather than having to keep them way off in the kitchen I now have them right there. Obviously a good place for cheese and beer as well. Also a new kitchen has been installed. A huge difference with brand new modern equipment. They had used a pot to deep fry in and now have deep fryers. Just got a convection oven. New sinks the works. They had received a new generator that was yet to be installed when I was there (spoke to Roger the other day and it is now up and running) this generator is set to switch over automatically and will more than meet all the electrical needs at Sandcastle/Soggy Dollar. Island water is now running, no reliance on cisterns except during outages. For those of you who have stayed in the rondels that means more shower water. They were due to close as usual for the month of September when they do a lot of maintenance. I know they repainted the bar and Sandy is going to do a new mural. Sandy is very talented. If you meet her ask if she could show you her books with pics of the different works she’s done over the years. Also at the bar is additional refrigeration which allows, among other things, Roger to keep his supply of Boddington’s and ciders.

Trixie has a new sister. By adoption. When Roger picked me up at the ferry dock he had Sandcastle’s newest addition. A beautiful Chocolate Lab appropriately named Dollar. Roger found Dollar through a rescue group on St. Croix and she had just arrived the day before. Dollar is a beautiful sleek dog with a very gentle disposition. She does love being petted. Trixie wasn’t thrilled at first but seemed to adapt. Trixie is getting on in years and not as active as she used to be. She does have her bursts of energy though. Dollar is a great addition to the family.

For those of you who know some of the folks who work at Sandcastle/Soggy Dollar: Claire is no longer there, she was on island while I was there and I met her for drinks at Foxy’s. She would like to stay in the islands and is looking at options. Had a lot of fun with Clair, she looked after me during her years there. On a happier note Lorna who runs the boutique and does hair braiding was back on Grenada for her wedding to Daniel who works at Sandcastle as a carpenter/handyman and general factotum. These two have a beautiful baby together. Much of the staff was headed down for the wedding as the place closed down for September break. In my recent call with Roger he told me Irvie has taken another job on island cleaning the beach in Great Harbour. For those who have been asking about that beach it seems it might be more pleasant when kept clean. Irvie is a hard worker. I met a new fella who was filling in for Lorna and does other things as well there who goes by Shim Shim. While he is a native of Jost Van Dyke with family on island he had just moved back from Atlanta where he still has a business. Roger informs me Shim Shim’s brother is now filling Irvies shoes on the grounds. Another member of the family, a sister Ishani, is filling in for Chef Oliver who is out on sick leave. Coming in the beginning of October is a new floor manager Clayvorne who worked with Roger and Sandy in the past. Then there’s Roger and Sandy. They’ve been there over a year and a half and have really brought a lot to the place overseeing the aforementioned changes with more fine tuning to come. They were also responsible for the addition of the BBQ kabob night on Saturday (which will start again as season picks up). That has become a popular addition to the schedule.

Over the years many of you have had the good fortune to eat at Sandcastle. The Chef of many years Oliver Clifton, a BVIslander with a great background, has had leg/hip problems for a long while now. A few years he went to Cuba for a medical consultation and came back to prepare for surgery, which he kept putting off. This last trip when I greeted Oliver he had trouble raising his right arm and used the left to raise it to shake. Apparently some nerve issues. At the close of season Oliver went for more consultations looking at the U.S., Dominican Republic and Cuba. I’m not sure where the surgery will be done but he is having at least the arm worked on in the next few weeks. Don’t know what he is doing about the leg. He will be out a least a couple more months. Hopefully he will be able to return. His soups alone are amazing.

One of my all time favorite TTOL’ers Sharnightqueen stays at Ivan’s in August. We’ve kept in touch and know each others schedule, she called a couple times from Tortola with changes as Ivan was off island so she was coming a day later. We had set up a dinner date some time back so changed to the next night for dinner. What a character she is, so fun filled. Met her on Anegada on another trip and true to her ways she knew every local person she ran into, and of course the local police. She got a ride back to Ivan’s with the police that night as they had been visiting with us and were headed out. The next day I realized what an opportunity I had missed by not getting a pic of her getting in the police car. The next day when she was visiting the officer was there again and we set up the photo which I placed on the photo board. Got a rise out of a few folks with my report she had been taken away by the police. Had a great time with Sharon.

A few years ago a poster had last minute second thoughts about a villa they were scheduled to stay in as the result of a disgruntled post. I made a call to get the low down and spoke with the poster getting him the right information. They went and had a great time. Didn’t hear from him after that until a couple months ago asking for some advice on a couple things for the next trip. It turns out they were scheduled to be at Sandcastle at the same time. Good meeting and hanging with you guys John.

Saturday night has been chef’s night off. I have recounted in earlier posts the issue with attempting to dine at Taboo. So as much as I had hoped to dine there it was not to happen. Due to the time of year Corsairs and others were closed but good old Abe’s was able to step in and help. Many had great lobster dinners, I had the ribs which were quite good. The first trip to Abe’s I was glad to be sitting with Tina and Freddie. Tina is a long time manager at Sandcastle and a good friend. Husband Freddie is a native of Jost Van Dyke and a great guy. He used to be chef at Foxy’s. They are both a lot of fun.

Damn, I hate leaving. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> This trip was a total of 5 weeks and believe it or not it was too short. People will ask will I be bored after a few days on Anegada or Jost Van Dyke. I sure don’t see how.

As usual spent the last night at Maria’s as I had an early morning flight which is difficult to make if leaving JVD. Maria’s is a good place to begin the transition. Turned on a TV for the first time in 5 weeks. Didn’t miss much.

My thanks to all.