January 10, 2015 — We have been on island time for the past week, and in keeping with how the locals do it, I have been really laid back as far as blogging goes… in part because I was uncertain how Verizon would treat connecting to the Internet and using a hotspot down in the U.S. Virgin Islands (I didn’t want to incur International phone charges and rates!)… but in larger part because we really enjoyed simply chillin’ on and around St John – snorkeling in several of the many bays around the island, hiking in the Virgin Islands National Park, lounging and reading by the pool (I read Unbroken – fabulously incredible!), imbibing on rum punch and Painkillers** during nightly happy hour which began around 4 p.m. each afternoon… it was like a vacation!
We also island hopped one day to do some more incredible snorkeling and go to the British Virgin Islands. Worth noting on that trip was a stop on Cooper Island in the B.V.I. where we had lunch, and as a bonus got a famous celebrity sighting! No, it wasn’t my fantasy of seeing Kenny Chesney, even though he loves St John and has a house here. We saw The Captain! Not from the Love Boat – baseball’s beloved Derek Jeter!! We can report that he’s looking fine, and that retirement seems to be agreeing with him as he and several friends dined at the table right next to us – frosting on the cake of one of our fabulous days down in the islands….
I will catch you all up on our Virgin Islands National Park activities in another post, but I figured I’d better get a little post out here lest you think I’ve ceased my musings. I’ve also included, from their website, the “secret” recipe for the infamous Pusser’s [Rum] Painkillers – a new favorite cocktail of ours, for sure!
**The infamous Pusser’s Painkiller®—the drink we are known for throughout the West Indies, in the U.S. and many parts of Europe!
The Painkiller® is a blend of Pusser’s Rum with 4 parts pineapple juice, 1 part cream of coconut and 1 part orange juice served over the rocks with a generous amount of fresh nutmeg on top. You have a choice of numbers 2, 3 or 4, which designate the amount of Pusser’s Rum! Cheers!
Painkiller #2 … 2 parts Pusser’s Rum
Painkiller #3 … 3 parts Pusser’s Rum
Painkiller #4 … 4 parts Pusser’s Rum

Wow – good way to spend the winter! I, too, love the Virgin Islands. You guys may be rethinking that Wisconsin retirement plan! Ha!
All good here. Heading to California end of this month, NYC next month and then possibly Malawi in May.
Need to be around for CUBS this summer though – we are looking good! Keep having fun!
Re-thinking Wisco in winters for sure! Give us St. John!!!
Cubs? Who are the Cubs…?!??
Malawi – not everyone goes there – we’ll give you a call to learn about that adventure of yours.
Keep enjoying your retirement… we’re sure enjoying ours!
xoxo