ahhhhhhh. that was great. y'know those stereotypical vacations with beaches and sun and pina coladas, that people on tv do for their honeymoons? that was last week, for me. only, minus the honeymoon, and replace the pina coladas with rum punch. and many other drinks involving rum. and some beer, usually corona but i branched into heinekin and carib too.

so, my family went to st. john, in the us virgin islands. wow, it was *amazing* (in that sadownik roll-eyes-into-head-to-emphasize way). i'll put pictures somewhere soon. ish. i didn't get that many, but that just means it won't take so long =)

there was sailing, and swimming, and snorkeling, and snorkeling from the sail boat, and shopping, and lying around on the beach, and more snorkeling. and there was rum. lots and lots of rum. only, i was usually the designated driver, so i didn't have as much. then, irony of ironies, i got sick from the juice i was drinking when everyone else was having wine/beer with their dinner. but, i was better by morning. oh then there was the fruit-infused vodka. i'm *definitely* gonna try that at home.

so, they drive on the left of the road down there, just like in the uk, ireland, japan, australia, and new zealand. unlike the uk, ireland, japan, australia, and new zealand, however, the steering wheels are still on the left side of the car. this makes it a bit of a challenge. plus, the roads are all so windy (as in, twisty-turny) and hilly you can't really go faster than 25, ever. mikki (the woman who owns a house there with her husband steve) like this, because it's easier to talk to people on the side of the road that way. there is lots of hitchiking, and just lots of not being in a hurry, so stopping to say hi to a friend is usually fine. as long as you don't take *too* long.

there are also all kinds of bugs. and mosquitos that carry diseases. there's a spider whose web is so strong that people used to use it for thread. there are also tarantulas. and scorpions. and tons of sharp/thorny/stinging plants. some, you're not supposed to stand under when it rains or you'll get a rash ("i want to take shelter... in the poison rain... where the streets have no name" i mean, the streets on st. john do have numbers, some of them, and bono was singing about something else, and those aren't the correct lyrics, but it sure as hell reminds me of the place). oh and there's fire coral, that burns you when you touch it, and sometimes jellyfish. and feral goats. ok, the goats aren't dangerous, unless maybe you're driving too fast and have to swerve to avoid one. there's donkeys and pigs and chickens wandering around all over the place too. but, i managed to not have any run-ins (knock wood... still can't be sure i didn't get bit by a denghei mosquito i guess). it's an adventure =D

but, mostly, it was amazing. and i didn't even think about any real-life anything for a whole week. i didn't even check my email, and not for lack of internet connection. i had no clue what was going on beyond the island, and it was so nice. it was like heroin. but, not something i could do permanently of course. tho, that boat co-op, live in the caribbean idea is sounding better all the time... =)