Christiansted, at 3,000, the larger of St. Croix‘s two towns, is just what one would expect a Caribbean tourist town to be: shops, restaurants, water sports, bars, and realtors. When cruise ships dock at St. Croix’s only non-industrial, deep-water port in Frederiksted, passengers are almost always immediately taxied or bused to the more attractive, more upscale, more commercial, Cristiansted. According to my walking-around, noonish census, visible tourists here outnumber visible Crucians 2-1. Continue reading “St. Croix–Christiansted and Points East”
Category: Travel
St. Croix–Frederiksted
Cooled by early morning trade winds, we sunblocked, took an early morning walk on our condo’s north shore beach, then drove west through St. Croix’s rain forest (left-lane driving is significantly less stressful in daylight) to Frederiksted, population 830, the smaller of the island’s two towns. Built around Fort Frederik in the mid-18th century, the town was originally, and still is, just seven streets by seven streets…and we walked most of them, passing many locals (Crucians) and spotting only five possible tourists. Continue reading “St. Croix–Frederiksted”
East to St. Croix
It took us eleven hours to connect from SFO to STX.
SFO—We will be gone eight days.
Tip #1: After checking to make certain that the shuttle schedule meshes with your flight plans, stay overnight at lodging near the airport if you have a 6:30 a.m. flight.
Tip #2: Choose a motel (we picked Red Roof Inn) that will let you park your car for the entire length of your trip. Their parking fees are almost always less than airport lots.
The total cost of lodging plus pre-paid parking was only two-thirds of what parking nearer the airport would have cost…plus, we did not Continue reading “East to St. Croix”
Sea Ranch Chapel
Less than a mile from the Pacific, unmanned and open to all, the Sea Ranch Chapel appears to be protected by its own beauty, for vandals neither spray-can nor gouge it. A non-denominational sanctuary for prayer, meditation, and spiritual renewal, it is an architectural wave on a sea of grass just off California’s Route 1, 110 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and a few miles south of tiny Gualala (“wa-LA-la”), Mendocino County‘s southernmost city.
A gift from locals Robert and Betty Buffum, the chapel was designed by San Diego artist and architect James T. Hubbell and built in 1985.
Among the many beauties of the California coast, the Sea Ranch Chapel is unique.
The Babson Boulders of Dogtown
In his 1905 book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, German economist and sociologist Max Weber theorized that capitalism’s ascendancy owed much to Protestantism’s emphasis on hard work and worldly success. Whether or not Weber was actually right, the term he coined, “Protestant ethic,” has, to many, become accepted as part of our shared American definition.
Women’s Rights–Nothing Since 1993?
On November 15, America’s military gave a woman four stars for the first time. The Army promoted Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, 55, to four-star rank. Breaking the brass ceiling, she will take over as commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Fort Belvoir, Va.
“I recognize that with this selection, some will view me as a trailblazer, but it’s important that we remember the generations of women, whose dedication, commitment and quality of service helped open the doors of opportunity for us today,” Dunwoody noted.
Yes, we should remember those women who opened the doors. Continue reading “Women’s Rights–Nothing Since 1993?”