St Croix - Last Day

For breakfast we had our usual cereal and bagels. We then headed to Christiansted Boardwalk where we took a boat ride to Buck Island.  We jumped off the boat into the clear water and we snorkeled through reef trails.  We saw a baby lemon shark, parrot fish, and even a sting ray!!!!!!😄😄😄. We loaded back up onto the boat for a break.  After relaxing for a few minutes, we headed to the other side of the island to swim at the beach.🌊☀️ We spent 3 hours swimming and tanning.  We also had a great lunch of yummy sandwiches and chips.  We are now back at Discovery Grove cleaning up our rooms and doing chores around the house. We are so glad that we all had a chance to go on this wonderful trip, and it's sad to have to leave this beautiful island.😢🌴.  

Katie and Jason 😊

St Croix Day 8

November 13

        

          Dear parents,

                        Today we woke up early, ate breakfast, and left to go to the east end of the island where we hiked Isaac's Bay down to a beautiful beach. We snorkeled and saw coral reefs, squid, and pufferfish. We went to a nice park and ate lunch and went souvenir shopping and bought a lot of things. The girls got the iconic Sonya hook bracelets, and the boys all got their own knives at prices you couldn't turn down! We went to the Boys and Girls club and helped out the kids with homework and played basketball and four square. Once we got back all the boys named their knives and the girls finished their art projects. It was amazing how fast the day went because we were eating the mouthwatering kabobs, made by the one and only Jake. 

~~Kate & Ajay

St Croix Day 7

This morning we had a late start to the day. We had the normal breakfast and it was still good. We had a lot of free time to make rings, instruments and play frisbee golf. We the went to a farm and learned about livestock and plants. We then had pizza from Napoleon's pizzeria. We then went to the bioluminescent bay which was amazing. We got to see the the bay light up in all its glory and we saw some flying fish.      

Hallie and Marshall

St Croix Day 6

We woke up extra early because today is scuba diving day! We started out the day by feeding the chickens and eating an early breakfast. Breakfast was the same as usual, cereal, bagels and fresh fruit. We then packed up the van, and headed "N2 the Blue." We met the diving instructors that would teach  us everything we need to know. Each of us were split into our special groups and were taught the skills of diving. We then hit the water, some of us in the boat and the rest off the pier. We all saw amazing wildlife and then ate our lunches. After lunch, we switched from pier to boat and boat to pier. After diving, many of the girls got t-shirts that they liked very much. We all were able to jump off the pier and show off our skills. Last but not least, we had a special dinner that was made for us by the one and only Jake. We had sloppy joes and fries and they were delicious! Even thought we are all tired, we always make time for circle up. 

By Reed Truxell & Caroline Cashion

St Croix Day 5

Today we woke up and Jamie and Parker were the leaders today. We headed out to fedriksted where we met Veronica Gordon who is a Bush Docter. We hiked in thick Bush and ended at a magnificent waterfall where we ate some mouth watering jerky that we had made. Soon we made our way to a beach spot where we ate our mouth watering sandwiches. After that we headed back to discovery grove to make a quick pit stop. After we made our way to the boys and girls club where we played with them for a few hours. The boys played and intense game of four square with some local boys which they lost badly. While the boys did that the local girls did the girls hair in all different hair styles. After we said our goodbyes we made our way back to Discovery Grove and Tye got us a treat on the way back, star fruit!!! Mmmmmmmm we loved them. We got back and washed up for dinner, and dinner was mouth watering lasagna ,rolls, and string beans that we quickly ate down. Then we had circle up and we did some other night activities. 

St Croix day 4

        This morning was a normal early wake up. We ate the usual cereal, fresh fruit, and bagels. We then took the kayaks to Salt River. We learned and saw many interesting things. Everyone was enjoyable through the day. After kayaking we went back to Discovery Grove. We made art and had a lot of fun. At 4:00 a group of very skilled African Drummers arrived. We danced and learned. Afterwards Jake our awesome cook cooked up some Caribbean tacos with mangos and pinnaple. This was different because neither of us had tried these flavorful fruits on tacos before. But realizing that you have to make the best of our opportunities we dove into these new flavors. Amazing!! 

- Cołin Sharp

- Lauren Matacunas

St. Croix Day 3

The sunshine we were hoping for finally came this morning. We woke up to an awesome breakfast, that fueled us for the time we were at the farmers market for. We picked out fresh fruits that we had never seen before.  No one could believe the size of the avocados Lauren picked out. After we got back, we each presented our fruits and had a taste test.  We also made coconut milk, island smoothies, and beef jerky. The smoothies were amazing! We had yummy grilled cheese for lunch and then went to the beach.  We tested out our masks and fins for snorkeling to come this week.  Although we couldn't see anything Caroline, Jared, and Kate wanted to keep going out. Ty then took a group of us out for a walk where we all learned about sea princess, and found really cool shells to use for jewelry. After a few hours relaxing in the ocean we headed back for dinner.  Tonight we had amazing Crusian food made by Jael.  Almost everyone was heading back for seconds which was a perfect way to end the night.

-Katie, Jared, Kate 

Day 3 - Farmers Market

We awoke to glorious sunshine this morning. While there are still showers likely today, we were able to take advantage of some fun in the sun and enjoyed a great morning at the Farmers Market followed by a tasting of all the fresh fruit we purchased. Delicious! As I am typing, the crew is divided into 3 groups.

Group 1 is preparing fresh coconut milk. Group 2 is preparing fresh fruit smoothies and group 3 is making fresh Caribbean jerky.  I intend to enjoy all the fruits of the student labor! We are uncertain what the afternoon has in store due to weather but I'm certain we will have smiles on our faces!

#islandlifeisgreat

A Rainy start with great spirits

Day 2 was full of rain, lots of rain - we are talking LOTS of rain. Despite the weather, the CHC crew was in high spirits throughout the day. With rain came the opportunity to see things many don't have a chance to see. The river was flowing for the first time in months and the "thunderdome" -  dry pool like area on the grounds, became a full on water park complete with a rope swing! We made some incredible jewelry using local local fruit and bamboo. Creativity was at a high for sure! We expect more rain and will continue to take advantage of all our opportunities - wet or dry!

Day 2 in St Croix

Today, it rained all day. We started are day off eating cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit and bagels. Then we did arts and crafts in the art room for the majority of the day. We also took a hike through rough terrane and wet woods to get some excercise. After we got out of the woods, Ty asked us if we wanted to go swimming in "the bowl". Us being curious, we obviously said yes! The water was all muddy and overflowed with rain water. Everybody used the rope swing and while we were swimming, Parker got stung by a wasp on his lip. No worries, he's fine! We hall had a great day and are look forward to the days ahead! 

-Caroline Cashion & Marshall Joyce 

St Croix Arrival

Hi parents we arrived in Saint Croix late this afternoon. Ty and Travis picked us up from the airport. They then brought us to Discovery grove. When we got here we took our bags to our huts. We then got to to try a coconut. Everybody really liked it. We then learned about how we have to conserve the water and electricity. We then got to go on a tour of Discovery grove. We had dinner together in a tent outside and were assigned a different job to help maintain Discovery Grove. 

          By Ajay and Hallie