The "Another Photo Contest" Story

It was an ordinary day. Checking the entries into SXM Travel Forum that started two weeks ago. The theme was beaches of St. Martin, Anguilla and Pinel Island. I enter the maximum five photos and thought I would look at some of the other entries. Some pretty nice photos to compete against. Not quite sure what the prize is for winning, but that doesn't really matter. Gives me a chance to share my hobby with others. The last contest that the website sponsored I was lucky enough to win a set of coasters from St. Martin. The voting will start very soon and a winner will be picked shortly after. I have included the five entries that I put on the site so you can see what I have entered. I have also pulled off the site some of the entries from other people so you can see what my competition will be. Hope you enjoy my photos as well as the other entries. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

First 5 are my entries .....

Great Bay Beach, Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Pinel Island Beach

Pinel Island

Shoal Bay East, Anguilla

Kali's Beach Bar on Friars' Bay Beach

And a few of the competition is :

The "Flyin' Fish" Story

It was an ordinary day. Heading across the street to try and catch a bus to Oistins for supper. Oistins is in Christ Church Parish, Barbados, and is home to the world famous Friday night fish fry. A few years ago, when we visited Barbados for the first time, we received a booklet of coupons upon arrival at "The Divi", our resort for our two week stay. One coupon gave us two free meals at the Oistins' Fish Fry. Hey, anything free, we definitely had to do it! Had a fantastic evening eating flying fish, macaroni pie, slaw, and rice and peas. If you're wondering about the flying fish, they are common to tropical seas andare found in the warm waters surrounding the island of Barbados. Just like birds, they break the water’s surface, and fly distances of up to 100 yards at about 30 miles per hour. Flying Fish do not actually fly the same way as birds, because birds vibrate their wings during flight. This fish gets its power and speed from its tail fin, which it moves from side to side with powerful strokes.It is much easier to move through the air than it is through the water, (there is less resistance in air), and the Flying Fish launch themselves from the water like rockets. Really neat to see them skim the water in front of you when you are swimming. Historically, the country of Barbados was nicknamed "land of the flying fish", where today it is the official national fish. And, once again, we are heading to the Friday night fish fry in Oistins. Seems like the entire island is joining us as we walk up and down the waterfront, looking at all the stands and what they have to offer. Banks beer naturally is the choice of drink, since it is brewed on the island. Oistins is a no frills experience, the food is cheap - around $8 for a plate of food and seating is on picnic tables spread around the waterfront. At one end of the waterfront is a band shelter where music plays most of the evening. At times they have an open mike for those willing to give it a try. After your meal, you can wonder through a few of the many craft stalls and see the local goods and jewelry. Fun evening in an environment that is truly a Bajan experience. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos show the flying fish, our meal at Oistins, and one of the stands. Below is a chance to see Oistins in action.

The "Longest Day" Story

It was an ordinary day. Arose at 3:00 AM and were headed to the Philadelphia airport with our traveling friends Jerry and Just Sue by 4:00 AM. Stayed at a hotel near the airport to make our traveling time a few hours less. On the plane and headed to Miami by 6:00 AM. Off the plane and on the next one to Barbados by 10:00 AM. Arrival by 2:00 PM at our island destination. After immigration and luggage stops, we headed through customs. Quick cab trip and we were at the Sapphire Beach Condominiums on St. Lawrence Gap which is located on Dover Beach. Beautiful ocean view from our 2nd floor porch. After unpacking we put our suits on and headed for the warm Caribbean Sea. Showers and we were ready for our first island meal. Wow! Everything is closed. We knew it was the off-season, but this wasn't expected. Finally asked a store owner if there was a restaurant open on "The Gap." "Little place down the road on the right called Scotty's," Mr. T., the store owner told us. 5 minutes later we were in front of the glass deli case at the restaurant. What a choice! Macaroni pie, salad, ribs (not sure from what animal), BBQ chicken, fried fish, jerk pork, turkey leg, rice, chow mein, lettuce salad, fish soup and I'm sure I missed a few other items. Had a hard time deciding! And then, out of no where appears this small island man. Had to tell us all about the good food. Though he worked there. Not so! He helped us with our selections, our drinks and to a picnic table in front of the place. Then he asked for money to buy some rum. Now to describe him to you: Trini was about 5'2", 125 lbs. soaking wet, toothless in the front, dark sun-leathered skin (make that real dark), talked with an unusual accent and was so proud he had a card showing he was retired and now 65 years old. Maybe because he had few teeth in the front. And then, he became a pest. Make that a real pest! Told us he had to be at work soon. Worked as a security guard at the funeral home down the street. Yeah, right! Took all our scraps and put them in a bag and walked away. Told us he would be right back. Then started fingering through Sue's unfinished meal. How do we get rid of this nusiance? Ah! Leave! Warning to visitor to Barbados: if you see the guy in the photo below between LDub and Carol, keep going! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Wounded Warriors" Story

It was an ordinary day. Having withdrawal. Tough when your team is supposed to be the best and they lose in the first round of the playoffs. But, I guess they have an excuse. Was reading today about all the operations that some of the players will have in the offseason. Now I could have guessed that Ryan Howard was going to need an operation after seeing him grimacing in pain after he made the final out of the playoff against St. Louis. He tore his Achilles tendon on his final swing of the season. Will take at least six months before he will be back and he can't even have the operation to repair the tear until all the swelling goes down. Wonder if all the cortisone shots they gave him the last couple of weeks so he could keep on playing weakened the tendon to the point that it eventually tore. Left-hander Cole Hamels will have loose bodies removed from his left elbow soon and another surgery a week later to repair a hernia. Not quite sure what loose bodies are, but sounds pretty neat. I'm sure I must have some of them somewhere in my body. Right fielder Hunter Pence and second baseman Placido Polanco will both have MRIs to evaluate their hernias. Polanco probably will have surgery soon, but Pence may be able to wait. Wait until when? A week after the season starts. They know he has son, so shy not repair it now. I had 2 hernias repaired and not once did they give me the option of waiting. Said it could pop through the wall of my abdomen and become entangled and I could die. Beware, Hunter! Oh, yeah - there is Ross Gload who needs arthroscopic surgery on his right hip. Maybe it was best that the Phils lost. Would there be anyone left to play the next series? It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Eyes Wide Open" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just finished reading Andrew Gross' novel titled "Eyes Wide Open." I thought it would be interesting to read one of his novels, since he had co-authored a few books with James Patterson and James Patterson is one of my favorite fiction writers. Book is about a 25 year old boy who is mentally disturbed and climbs to the top of Morrow Bay Rock in California and allegedly commits suicide. His uncle, a doctor from New York heads to California to comfort his brother and sister-in-law, only to find a web of mystery surrounding the death as well as his brother's past life. I cannot tell you more about the novel in case you plan to read it, but I can tell you that as I was reading the Author's notes at the end of the book, I was taken aback by his comments. Seems it was a true story and his 25 year old nephew Alex-bipolar and severely troubled for most of his life-was found on the rocks at the bottom of the six-hundred-foot Morro Bay Rock. All the circumstances in his novel were the same as the real like story he is describing in his Author's notes. If you want to read more you can go to alexwemissyou.com for the story. You may not want to visit this site if you plan to ever read the book. His book is dedicated to Michael and Suzanne whom I assume are his brother and sister-in-law. I enjoyed the book, but after the notes at the end, I was saddened when I realized that it was the author's grief and sorrow that he was expressing by writing the book. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pixs from the top are: Author Andrew Gross, Morror Bay Rock, and Alex, the 25 year old nephew of Andrew.

The "Phenomenon - Revisited" Story

It was an ordinary day. And, another doubter exposed. How's that you say? Well, I just got my final "Islands" magazine in the mail and for once I found more than one article about my favorite islands in the Caribbean. Matter of fact, the entire magazine was dedicated to the Caribbean. Big heading across the front of the magazine read: Burning Caribbean Questions! One of those questions had to do with a phenomenon known as the "Green Flash". It is the alleged burst of green color that shows up for a millisecond as the sun vanishes into the ocean. It's the stuff of legend among Caribbean travelers, and as far as the author of the story in "Islands" magazine goes, it's a delusion. I wrote a story about it on 12/04/09 on my blog, describing why and how it occurs. Carol and I saw it while on vacation in St. Martin in 2008. We were in the little town of Grand Case waiting for our meal at Cheryl's Rib Shack. We were watching the sun go down as a few sailboats emptied their patrons into dinghies for transport to land. We both watched as the top of the sun made it's farewell into the ocean. And then ..... we looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Did you see that!!" Yep, a flash of green light across the Caribbean Sea in Grand Case. Amazing! Getting back to the story I had just read in "Islands", the author, Jonathan, believes the only people who have witnessed the flash are those who have been patrons at "Happy Hour." In our case, not true. We witnessed something truly amazing and have not seen it since. Conditions have to be perfect and you have to be staring at the sunset at just the right time. I have tried for the last couple of years to take a photograph or video of the flash, but with no success. I will not give up, and when I do, Jonathan will be one of the first to get a copy of it. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - I have included a few photos of others who have captured the "Green Flash" on film.

The "Raining On Their Parade" Story

Prelude: I'm a little sad today. Baseball has ended for me, since the Phittin' Phils lost 1-0 last night to the Cardinals. Good game, but you can't win if you don't score any runs, and the Phils haven't been doing that lately. Good season, but not a World Series Ring. Maybe next year. Can hardly wait!

It was an ordinary day. Seems that lately ordinary means that it is either cloudy, raining or overcast with a light mist falling. So today must be ordinary. But, I still can hear the music. Right over the hill from me, about maybe 500 yards away from my front door, are 35,000 people braving the crummy weather. Listening to their favorite country musicians at the annual FallFest which is held at Overlook Community Park. Yesterday they went around our neighborhood and placed signs along the street stating that there was NO PARKING on Sunday, the day of the concert. And, nobody parked in our neighborhood. I must admit that for the last few years, during FallFest, the crowd is extremely well behaved and courteous of the neighbors who border the park. This year's lineup of performers included Bradley Gaskin, Rodney Atkins, Lauren Alaina, Steel Magnolia and Randy Houser. I enjoy listening to some country music, but am not a huge fan. Tell you the truth, I only ever heard of Steel Magnolia and Lauren Alaina. The latter I heard of because she came in second this year on American Idol, and I enjoy watching that show. Last night I read in the paper that Joshua Scott Jones, one of the two performers in the group Steel Magnolia, had just entered a treatment center for drug and alcohol abuse. His girlfriend, Meghan Linsey, the other half of the duo, performed by herself today and received a nice reception when introduced. At least that is what I read. No way was I heading down to sit in the rain just for a couple of hours to hear artists I had never heard of before. The park opened at 8:00 AM so that you could place your chairs and blankets near the stage. Concert started at noon and about 6:00 PM I no longer heard and felt the beat of the large bass speakers. Long day to be sitting in the drizzle and cold weather. Local radio station WIOV-FM sponsored the event which was free to anyone who enjoys country music. Now if they could only get Jimmy Buffett to sing a few of his country songs, I would be one of the first in line at 8:00 AM to get a good seat. Even in the crummy weather. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos that follow were taken by Lancaster Newspapers Justin David Graybill

View from over the hill in front of my house of the 35,000 people who came to Overlook Park for FallFest.

Headliner Randy Houser performing at FallFest.

Meghan Lindsey, the female half of Steel Magnolia, performing.

Lauren Alaina talking with a fan.

Fan enjoying himself!

The "Apple of My Eye" Story

It was an ordinary day. Watching the news and a "Breaking News" flash came across the screen. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computers had just died. WOW! Carol and I knew he had been ill for quite some time, but never expected this. But, of course, you never expect anyone young to die. Only 56 years old. Now what am I going to do. Most of my electronic items I have are Apple. Started back when I taught school. The district started buying Apple computers for the classroom. At first there was a computer lab where all the computers were housed, but eventually there was at least one computer in every classroom. In my case, with the advent of computerized typesetting, I had several computers in my classroom where I taught the programs "Quark" and "Photoshop". Had to go to classes to learn the programs, but did rely on a few students who were not afraid of computers as the teacher was, to help me get over the initial shock of teaching something brand new. In 1987 we bought our first home computer, a Macintosh 128K that used the 3.5" floppy disks. To think back, we thought it was so sophisticated at the time. Seven years later, through a special plan at school, we bought the second computer for our home. The Power Mac used a double-sided floppy disk for loading and storing documents. It had the Mac OS operating system. Latest technology and I thought I was pretty neat to have one at home. Then in 1998 we upgraded, through the educator's program at school, to the iMac which had the OS 9 system. Big advancement was no more floppy disk as well as a bigger screen and more sleek design. Then in 2004, through the yearbook company that I worked with to do the high school yearbook, I purchased an eMac which had not only the OS 9 system, but the newer OS X. Now I had the best of both worlds. Could still use all my old programs as well as using the upgraded OSX. But, eventually it started giving me trouble so in 2009 I bought the iMac with the Snow Leopard operating system. 21" HD screen and only 2" thick. Unbelievable. Screen is so neat to work on and the photos I take and download are so much more vibrant than ever before. They actually look better than the original scenes! Along the way my wife bought me an Apple iPod shuffle which can hold a gadzillion songs. Last Christmas we bought iPods for our grand daughters who just love them. And, for Christmas this year, we bought the Apple iPad2. Talk about small and handy. Plan to take it with us on vacation to email, search the web, and write a few stories to share with you. No need for the big Toshiba laptop that I carried for the last few years. The technology in LDub's house is almost all Apple products. Sure hope Steve trained everyone well so we will be able to continue in the same direction as we have for the last quarter-century. May God be with you Steve, and thanks for all you did for us. You'll never be forgotten! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

First home computer in LDub's house! Used the 3.5" floppy disk

My second computer which was a Power Mac that had a separate monitor and tower.

The really cool looking iMac. Came in a variety of colors. Mine was exactly as the one shown here.

The Apple eMac with two operating systems.

The sleek iMac with the HD screen.

LDub sitting in front of his iMac with the eMac in the background.

The "The Islands are on my Mind" Story

It was an ordinary day. Thinking about our upcoming trip to Barbados. Playing a CD that we bought last year by "The Merrymen" when we visited St. Martin. "The Merrymen" are a group of native Barbadians who have made it big in the recording industry. Listening to one of their songs called Islands on My Mind. They sing about leaving their home in the West Indies, traveling north to the big city where everyone says that the streets are paved with gold. They miss their friends and the sun, and the cold, sleet and snow keep telling their bones that they have to go ..... go back home where the weather is always fine. Cause ..... the islands are on my mind. Kinda like I feel some times. After visiting Barbados a few years ago, I found that it was one of the friendliest islands I have ever traveled to. The people were great and as they sang in the song, the weather is always fine. Loved the beaches, cities, food, art, but best of all the people. Hey, I even got a chance to watch cricket played live for the first time. Sat on a bench at the stadium and the gentleman next to me asked if I was familiar with the sport. Instantly had a new friend who thoroughly enjoyed giving me a play by play accounting of his island's favorite sport. One of many islanders who love to call Barbados their home. Listen to the song and view the island highlights and you'll see why they love to call Barbados home. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Squirrel Smorgasbord" Story

It was an ordinary day. Leaves on the English Walnut trees are starting to drop along with the large green walnuts. They litter the ground under the seven trees we having sitting on top of the hill next to our house. Years ago I used to gather the walnuts and place them in bags for the trash man. One year three people stopped at our door and asked if they could have all the walnuts that had gathered on our lawn under the trees. They collect them and load them into a truck and transport them to a mid-western state to a candy company who uses them to make candy. Told them to stop every year so I wouldn't have to pick them again, but never saw them again. Well, I now try to throw most of them from under the trees to a fence I have nearby so the squirrels and chipmunks can gather them for food. At times I tire of picking them up and just drive my mower over them. Sends them flying across the street and towards the side of our house. I also got in the habit of lining some of them up along the top of the fence so the squirrels could have easier access to them. Most times they just sit on the fence, peel the outside covering off them, and eat them, scattering the outside shell along the fence top. A neighbor told me it looks like I'm setting up a smorgasbord for the neighborhood squirrels! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Come On down!" Story

It was an ordinary day. Trying to relax in my favorite chair. Ever since I retired from teaching in 1999 I try to catch my favorite game show, if possible. Well, today is one of those days. I park myself in front of the TV with Otis, my cat, on my lap and we tune in CBS. Know which show it is by now? OK, one more clue: 11:00 AM. Yep, "The Price Is Right." And .... the first big prize for the day is a 1954 Chevy coupe in aqua and white with a white interior. OMG it is beautiful!! Did you know that they are celebrating 40 years of "The Price Is Right." But, the game show actually started in 1956 on NBC and later on ABC. It was hosted by Bill Cullen and had a slightly different formatt. I remember watching it on our family black and white console TV in the living room of our home on North Queen St. Back then they had contestants bid on items and after a set round of bids, the contestant who was closest without going over won the item. At the end of the show, the contestant with the most prizes was the champ and came back for the next show.This edition of "The Price Is Right" ran until 1965. In 1972 the show was revamped, re-named "The New Price Is Right", and was hosted by Bob Barker. In this "New" version, four contestants place ......wait a minute; you have to know all this, don't you. Anyway, eventually the word "New" was dropped. Bob Barker eventually retired in 2007 and the host spot was taken by Drew Carey. I must admit, I never thought I would like it anymore after watching Bob Barker for all those years, but I really enjoy Drew. He seems like he really feels for the contestants and is disheartened when they don't win. Bob Barker was never like that. Hey, I have a few pricing games that I really enjoy. These are the games where a contestant can win almost anything, including a car or truck. Games such as: Clock Game (have 30 seconds to guess the price of 2 items), Dice Game (usually played to win a car), 1/2 Off (contestant eliminates boxes and tries to win money), Hole-In-One (probably my favorite), Let 'Em Roll (also for a car), 3 Strikes, and the ever popular Plinko (win up to $50,000). One of the most notable shows in recent years was in 1989 when a contestant was called from the audience and as she ran to the front of the stage, her top fell down, exposing her. Bleeped that out on TV, though. Had a friend I taught with whose son was on contestant's row, but never got to go on stage. Car after car after car is given away on the show. Today's show had a winner who won 4 cars, yep 4, by placing the correct price on each one and pulling the lever. She had 30 seconds to try, but got it one the first try. Also remember when they had the $1,000,000 evening shows and a woman won the million in the Clock Game. I love watching the show and guessing the prices. Since I have retired and do most of the grocery shopping now, I am pretty good at guessing prices of items. Now all I have to do is plan a trip to California and become a contestant. Maybe in my next lifetime! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Happy Retirement, Doc" Story

It was an ordinary day. Writing down what I have to do tomorrow. Need to put it in writing or I will forget half of what I have to do, and when you only have four things you need to get done, half could make a difference. One of the items is to visit my dermatologist to have something checked on my face that the doctor cut out the last time I was in to see him three months ago. Looks fine to me, but then I'm not a dermatologist. My wife saw my list and after reading it said, "You know one of your favorite doctors just retired." I looked at her with a blank stare and asked, "Who?" She replied, "Dr. Gott." I have read doctor Gott religiously for the last 20 some years. I even wrote to him one time, but never saw my answer in the paper. Wanted to know why my big toe was always numb. I found out my own answer when I just had back surgery and found the nerves going down my right leg had been almost totally shut off for probably years. I have found many answers to my medical problems by reading Dr. Gott, and you know, he is always right. He was a big help when I had pain in my joints. He talked about arthritis in a column and I started using Glucosamine as he suggested. My family doctor agreed after visiting with him shortly after that. Hey, any doctor that can live as long as him must know what to do to survive. Good advice to follow. Dr. Gott started writing a medical column in his local paper in 1967, after he moved from New York to Connecticut. In 1984 he became syndicated and eventually appeared in in over 700 newspapers. He no longer will write a newspaper column, but he told his readers that they can mail their questions to him or can go to www.AskDrGottMD.com if they want. I wonder how many people have followed him and his advice for the last 27 years. I guess they will have to look for a new doctor now. As for me, I'm going to stock up on writing paper, envelopes and stamps. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "iStockphoto" Story

It was an ordinary day. Finally getting some results from iStockphoto. iStockphoto is the web's original source for user-generated, royalty-free stock photos, illustrations, video, audio and flash. Suppose you are designing a brochure for where you work and need a photograph to illustrate some part of the brochure. Go to iStockphoto and you can buy a photo for your job. Almost anything is available. Photos of people, cars and boats, houses, animals and the list goes on and on. A few years ago I applied for membership to allow me to place photos on their site for sale. I had to take a test to show I knew about composition, lighting, camera operation and a few other items. Passed it and downloaded three sample photos for them to look at from my many photos that I have. All were rejected! One had a product that you could identify and I had no written release for it. One, they didn't like how I lit the photo. And the last was the type of photo that they already had too many of for display. I tried 3 more and was shot down again. OK, enough of this. Time passed and a former student, Jerry Driendl, talked to me about submitting photos to him and he would place them on Getty Images which is a site similar to iStockphoto. The only thing I would need to do is buy a more professional camera. Price to do that wasn't in my budget, so I passed on that. Then I got to thinking, maybe I should try iStockphoto one more time. I pulled the website up, signed on again, and tried three more samples. Viola! Immediately they like 2 of the 3 I submitted. One was taken in Barbados of a fisherman at sunset while another was of a sunset taken in Sint Maarten. The third, a hat made from sea coral, is still under review. Seems I didn't title it correctly so I retitled it and resubmitted it. I have tons of photos that I can submit and will, after my third photo is approved. And, I didn't even have to buy a new camera to do it. Now I have to see if anyone in the world likes what I have done and is willing to pay me for the rights to use it. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "It's The Wildest" Story

It was an ordinary day. Checking out my airline reservation for my upcoming trip to Barbados. Trying to remember what the airport looks like in Barbados. How dangerous is landing in Barbados. Pulled up a photo of the airport and remembered that it was quite large and had no problems with landing or taking off. Not one of the truly wild airports that you find in the Caribbean. Was reading an article in "Islands" magazine about the wildest flights in the Caribbean. I think I probably mentioned about the landing in St. Martin. The runway starts about 15 feet beyond Maho Beach. People sitting on the beach watch the plane as it passes maybe 30 feet over their heads. Pretty scary. When we visit the island, we always take a day and visit Sunset Bar and Grill which is situated right next to the beach. Fantastic shots of the planes landing from this spot. A few years ago we visited St. Barts for a day trip from St. Martin and took a taxi ride around the island. Taxi driver took us to the top of the hill above the airport. He pulled over to the side of the road when we reached the top and waited for a plane to arrive. OMG! Right over the top of the taxi! Thought it was going to hit us! Plane must drop down towards the airport as soon as it comes over a mountain and the road is right below the top of the mountain. Scary sitting in the taxi, but I'm sure it is much more scary sitting in the plane as it drops to the end of the runway. Have never traveled to Saba, but after seeing a photo of the airport and reading about it, I'm not sure I would want to go there by plane. When you approach the runway you must be sure that you are high enough so you don't hit the rocks on either end, but not too high or you won't have enough runway to stop. As for taking off, you reach the end of the runway and then it drops off into the ocean. Not my idea of a fun takeoff. Now I know that there are more dangerous landings and takeoffs throughout the world, but in the Caribbean, these three airports are the most challenging. But, you just got to try it one time! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pixs from top are: St. Martin, St. Bart, Saba

The "Oyster Pond Yacht Club - Present Memories" Story

It was an ordinary day. My last story dealt with the "Oyster Pond Yacht Club" during it's heyday and the eventual destruction of it during hurricane Luis in 1995. I had received a post card from a friend showing the original 20 room hotel and the surrounding area. The Yacht Club was located in Sint Maarten, on the peninsula just south of the border between French St. Martin and Dutch Sint Maarten. After Luis, the land was cleared and The Oyster Bay Beach Resort was constructed. It is perched on the coral reef peninsula where Oyster Pond Yacht Club originally and consists of the OBBR as well as its sister properties, Mainsail, Spinnaker and the Lighthouse. Don't think you can find a morsel of land on the peninsula that isn't now covered with building. The resort now offers an array of accommodations with great views of Oyster Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. OBBR is just north of Dawn Beach which is a beautiful white sand beach that has a coral reef just off the shore that is great for snorkeling. In 2008, Carol and I rented the Villa Sea Haven that is in the hills above Dawn Beach and slightly south of OBBR. From our vantage point above the water, we could see OBBR to the left and the newly constructed Westin to the right. Panoramic views of the land, ocean and the neighboring island of St. Barts greeted us every morning as we walked out onto our rear deck. Oyster Bay Beach Resort is a far cry from the original Yacht Club that occupied the peninsula back in the 60s to it's destruction, but draws the time-share crowd as well as weekly rental visitors. I have included a few photos of the views from our deck as well as a look at our villa, high above Dawn Beach. No matter where you stay on the island, you are greeted by fantastic views of either the Caribbean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

View of the Oyster Bay Beach Resort that replaced the Oyster Pond Yacht Club. Photo taken from the hills above Oyster Pond.

View of OBBR as taken from Dawn Beach

Access to our villa was up this road leading to the Villas of Oyster Pond, Beach Side

The Villa Sea Haven as seen from Dawn Beach

Photo from our rear deck showing the OBBR to the left and the roof of the Westin to the right.