Camping

It was a long weekend full of Martin Luther King celebrations and all that jazz. Most three- and four-day weekends mean extra time off for common folk but for any sports writer, that means work.

The weekend was saturated with preseason basketball tourneys, Little League Baseball tilts and action-packed horse racing.

Journalists and bartenders work similar hours. How ironic?

When everyone had to come back to work and I finally caught my breath, it was time to get away. Get away from everything. I'm talking about camping.

I chose Neltjeberg because it's one of the best, most natural beaches on St. Thomas and you need a four-wheel drive to get there.

I've pulled similar stunts there.

Jerry (aka The Wolverine), Julie and Josh came out in the early evening to grill out. Check out that fire...

Their friend, Julia, came later. She didn't have anything else going on that night so she decided to camp out with me. That's her in the picture below. I'm actually pointing to something down the beach and not at her mouth. Some trick photography there...

It was actually the first time I had gone camping on St. Thomas since August and it was freaking awesome. The temperature was perfect, we kept the fire going all night and I slept like a baby.

I had an early appointment the next morning to get my car fixed so the sun provided a perfect alarm clock for me.

I also met two guys that were straight living at the beach. After re-hashing the story for other locals, it appears living at Neltjeberg is not that uncommon. I didn't get to see them but the guys built little wooden huts for themselves and they fish for food.

Julia said their hut placement was not planned out well. Termites roam in their residence and coconuts fall from palm trees hitting them in the head while they sleep.