St. Croix, US Virgin Islands -- June 2014 (Part 5B: Shoy's Beach & The Pickled Greek )

DAY FIVE:  Wednesday, 4 June 2014

As I passed Estate Whim, I started developing a taste for a milkshake.  I’d gotten one at a place west of Whim the last time I was here; but that was even difficult to locate.  Diary things are rare on the island.  Since I was planning on hitting Cane Bay tomorrow, I shot westward towards the look-out point of the Christiansted Bypass.

The view there was decent, and I took a couple shots of the landscape (including the area where the Palms was, Fort Christiansted, and Protestant Cay).  The Bypass wasn’t here on my previous visit, so it was interesting to see what was done in order to construct it.  A huge gash had been cut through a hill so this would have a decent (not too extreme) grade.  The walls of the gash had giant bolts in it with wire mesh to cut down on falling objects.  The amount of earth which had to be moved from here was significant.  That must’ve been a lot of blasting needed to do that.  I can’t imagine how that probably echoes over the island.

It still was mid-day, so I decided to look for the hideaway spot Denise told me about, and area known as Shoy’s.  All I knew was that I had to turn off the highway like I was going to the Buccaneer resort, and hang a right at the security gate.  Leaving the Bypass lookout and getting on to Route 75 to go east, I spotted a sign which read “homemade ice cream.”  It was at a place called The Pickled Greek, so I decided I’d stop there on the way back through.

Once in the vicinity of the Buccaneer, I followed the directions to bring me to Shoy’s, and was driving through a high-class residential district.  Eventually the road ended at a security gate with a parking spot next to it.  Since this was marked as “Shoy’s” I parked Silvara.  The gate had a pyramid motif on the top, and it was closed, but there was enough give so I could easily slip through.  I figured this was designed to keep vehicle traffic out, but could be opened when necessary.

The area looked nice, but needing to circumvent a gate to get to a beach wasn’t a good thing as far as I was concerned.  I figured the gate must’ve been opened more when Denise and her family had visited. The building on the property appeared to be a condo complex, but the pyramid motifs continued in the architecture.  I wandered around, and took pictures of the beach, but could find no way to access it.  The only gate I found was locked, and no way to get around it.  I was able to get some nice shots of Buck Island, and a closer island called Green Cay.

There were a couple of small out-buildings on the grounds made to look like the mill towers (or were existing ones which had been converted).  These were now a tool shed and an outhouse (for the nearby beach).  I came across a caretaker who told me this wasn’t the beach, and she had no idea how to get there.  Since she didn’t seem too happy to find me here, I made a tactical withdraw with a minimum of fuss.  I squeezed back through the main gate, back to the parking lot.

It was then I realized I’d failed my perception roll earlier.  I now spotted just left of the gate, a walkway obscured by a lot of low branches.  I went through, and had to stoop as I did so.  This passage was made for hobbits, not humans.  The branches arched over from either side, which created a planet-based tunnel.

After a hundred feet or so, I emerged on to Shoy’s Beach.  This was pretty secluded, and certainly is a hidden gem.  Its location means it’ll be used more by east-enders, but definitely a nice area.  I didn’t have any gear to swim, so I just took a few pictures.  Going back to a place I know and finding new things is a great reason why I like to return to places.

I backtracked to Route 75, and headed towards the Pickled Greek.  I asked the gal behind the bar if she could make a milkshake.  Her name was Shawn, and she said she’d never done that before, but was willing to try.  She didn’t even have a blender, but had a Magic Bullet.  I told her the attempt was sufficient, and I’m ready to see the results.  There were two flavors of ice cream available (both made by the owner’s girlfriend), and Shawn used the Triple Chocolate, as it would work better than the Bakavala (which was also called “Fillo So Good”).  The Triple Chocolate was a mix of milk, dark, and cocoa, and it produced an excellent milkshake.  That was enough to satisfy that craving.

Shawn and I talked while I enjoyed the milkshake.  Originally from a tiny island community in FL, Shawn was now a permanent resident.  The Pickled Greek had just celebrated its’ sixth year in business last May, and I sheepishly noted that I hadn’t noticed them before today.  The location is sometimes hard to spot, especially when paying attention to traffic.  The establishment was started by Peter “Papi” Skrivanos, and it was decorated by the flag of Greece which hung in Papi’s dorm during his college years in America.  There were also some signs which had been made by Papi’s daughters during the time the place was getting ready for business.

One of the signs was the “coming soon” sign, which now served as something people could sign after the place opened.  Shawn asked if I wanted to leave my mark on the sign.  Sure, why not.  She lent me a permanent marker, and I write my name there to immortalize my presence on the island.

Speaking of Immortals, the wall which contained the bathrooms had a mural on it of Medusa and Zeus.  The figures were painted on the appropriate gender’s door.

And why is the place named what it is?  I had to admit I pictured Achilles in a jar when I saw the name.  Shawn informed me Greek slang for being drunk is to be “pickled,” so the name “Pickled Greek” means “Drunk Greek.”  Nice little tidbit of information there.

One of the regulars had come in, and her name was Valerie.  She was a transplant from Texas “many years ago.”  Shawn, Valerie, and I chatted for a bit, until the school across the street had let out, and the traffic thinned out.  I thanked Shawn again for the milkshake, and let her know that I planned to be back later in the week for at least one more.  Valerie commented she was on the trivia team which met at the Palms.  Since I was planning on doing that tonight, I figured I’d see her later.

I used the Bypass to avoid Christiansted, and returned to the Palms.  I sat on my patio and consumed the last half of my pizza, soaking up some sun, and working on this journal.  Even though there was a microwave in the common area of the villa, I didn’t have a plate to put it on.  Eating it cold was fine.  With my dinner complete, I returned to the bar to do more writing and whatever interacting I could with the rest of the barflies.  This bunch was less-talkative than the others I’d met here before.  Ocean was back tonight, and I consumed a St. John’s Root Beer while waiting for Trivia Night to begin.  I was watching for Valerie to come in, because I’d just attach myself to the team she was on.  When she didn’t show, I just went in, and decided to pick a team to join.

I spotted an older gentleman with a Navy hat on, and wondered if it was the same guy from my last time who commanded “Skipper’s Crew.”  Wow, what a surprise!  It was!  How kewl is that!  Skipper’s name was actually Marty, and he ran a weather service for the islands.  The other members here were the couple Dan & Patty, and Bill (none of whom I’d met previously).  We had the same tactic this time as we did the last time I was with them:  Doesn’t matter if we lose as long as we have fun.

Since I write this journal long-hand initially (so I don’t have to lug the laptop around), and this trip (2014) was being written in the same notebook which had the previous trip (2012), I flipped it open to the entry I’d made on the trivia night then.  Bill was the most excited about the history in the journal, and Marty was amused by it.

We did decently in our responses, but still came in third.  There were three other teams tonight, two which had three members each.  The other team (the winners) had over a dozen present, and they were wondering where Valerie was.  Like you guys needed her.

Bill sat next to me, so we were able to chat during the game about movies and other topics.  Turns out Bill was originally from Albany (NY), before he relocated to Texas, and eventually ended up down in the island as a permanent resident.  I made sure to give him one of my cards so we could stay in contact.  I’d consumed two Rum Punches during the game, and now was feeling it.  I’m sure Ocean was putting double the alcohol in them.  That’s another reason why you tip your bartenders well.

After the Trivia Night had ended, I scanned the bar area to see I Michelle had come in, and didn’t see her.  Since the night was nice, I went back to my chair to enjoy the night sky before turning into a pumpkin.

For more information on the places visited or mentioned:

Shoy’s:  http://www.shoysparadisefound.com/

Pickled Greek:  http://thepickledgreek.com/

Skipper’s service (Marty’s Weather):  http://www.martysweather.com/

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