A hidden gem
A Beaconite recently visited the J.R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens in Road Town. On the afternoon she arrived there, sudden rainfall prevented her from enjoying her lunch on one of the picnic tables in the area. But that hardly mattered. Once the shower subsided a bit, she enjoyed walking around the garden as raindrops slid quietly from flower petals and plant leaves. The grounds were mostly empty, save for a few tourists taking shelter under a canopy. The scene made the reporter wonder just how many people visit the gardens. She knows that some taxi drivers and at least one shuttle driver encourage tourists to check it out. But she wonders just how many people — tourists and even residents — step past the gates of the gardens, which feel like a hidden oasis within the territory’s capital. Just before leaving, the Beaconite also made sure to take a look at some of the gardens’ resident red-footed tortoises. She was surprised to see so many of them out walking around, letting the drizzle fall on their shells.
Life’s a beach
The sands of time shift in a majestically joyous way in the Virgin Islands, a Beaconite mused recently as he took to the beach to bathe in the sunshine and the sumptuous sea that sets these islands out from all the others in the Caribbean. Yeah, the roads are crap, government stuff never really seems to work out, and the cost of a decent hamburger is sky-high, but the territory still has its own magical quality. Just wandering down to the shore and wading in the ocean is invigorating. Of course, there’s always the incredibly annoying screaming kid on the beach, or a loud tourist who insists on cranking her personal beat box up to 11 and blaring out some song like “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” but the Beaconite believes the implicit beauty of Nature’s Little Secrets will always endure. And then the sunset comes like a god exploding in dazzling shades of gold across the translucent turquoise waters, which then suddenly swell into gorgeous crashing slivers of silver. It’s so easy to let the little things get you down, but here you can escape to the ocean’s edge and dream of something else. Life can be a beach — or another b-word — but then you’d die for another day in the VI.
In the stars
In the spirit of Christmas, a Beaconite has been reflecting on things bigger than himself. The Three Wise Men, as the story goes, followed the Star of Bethlehem to see Jesus on the eve of his birth, bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Making full use of his patio, the Beaconite has had his eyes on the stars, watching the burning sky fizzle into smoldering darkness and ashen clouds, wondering how lost the Magi would have been in the constellations above the Virgin Islands. Visible constellations currently include Orion and Canis Major, with the core of the Milky Way, Scorpio and Sagittarius appearing more clearly in the summer. There’s also the Southern Crux to look forward to in April and May. Keeping track of them all is a full-time job — one that the Beaconite learned is held by the Etelman Observatory on St. Thomas. The research conducted there is a global effort, specialising in gamma-ray bursts and neutron star mergers, why and when they happen, and their effects. Of course, the facility offers tours, both at the observatory and under the stars. Who knows where the stars of Nature’s Little Secrets might lead you? The Beaconite wishes this territory also had a functional observatory — like the one that used to operate by Sky World restaurant.