It’s been a while, but the trip seems like yesterday. Back in 2007 I was blessed with the rare opportunity to see the Caribbean from the perspective of family and luxury. A tropical, pirate Christmas in the Virgin Islands.
Sailboats, Crystal Clear waters on an island unplugged from the matrix spent with a family I have known for many years, accepting me as one of their own. I soaked up as much time and memories as I could. Up at dawn, yoga on the deck, a quick swim in crystal warm waters and then back up to the house for some scrabble with Toni, Wally, Jeannie and Johnny, my incredible hosts, friends and family.
Everyday was filled with adventure. Deep sea fishing, sailboat cruising to the nearby islands on the Dream Weaver, snorkeling and playing second mate on charters were all in a days adventure. Even dingy rides to St. John and St. Thomas were an incredible ride filled with island energy. One couldn’t keep me out of the water and I wore nothing more then a pair of swim trunks, a t-shirt and flip flops.
Appropriately named The LOVE SHACK this self contained mansion is built from a 100 year old railroad trestle that crossed the salt lake of Utah. Generating ample amounts of its own electricity and fresh water provides the ultimate backdrop for a true island get-a-way. It now stands as a rental always getting rave reviews and is currently for sale, if you happen to be in the market for a truly virgin island.
This is the real Caribbean and the island of Lovango is a real bit of pirate paradise. Jost and the BVI are both just a quick sail away. Check out this Love Shack video on you tube for a closer look. The property has been written up by several magazines including Timber Home Living and St. John Magazine.
It’s been a few years and after many threats I turned the adventure into a real book. Like any good photographer I edited and had the book layout done quickly after arriving home. I move around a lot so the project sat on the shelf for a bit. Uploading and printing fell by the wayside. While cleaning out and backing up my hard drive, I came across the layout again. Figured while I have a desk, a place to stay this would make a great present.
I love Blurb. They are easy, fast and produce a quality book for the best price out there in the lower end book binding services. Just about anyone can easily use their own images and create a book painlessly and cheaply. Never before in human history has it been so easy to print and distribute. The only issue I have with Blurb are the sizes. Not many choices, but enough to get the job done.
This is a Square book so my choices were a 7X7 or a 12 X 12. I opted for the larger. You won’t believe how big that actually is. I’ve printed in this size before and always astonished at how big one square foot really can be sometimes. This make the panos 12X24, that’s big enough to hang on the wall! Below are couple of pictures of the finished product. I opted for the image wrap around and the highest quality paper. The colors came out great and I will bet you could spill a cup of coffee on the whole thing and not have too much of an issue.
On the bottom of this post is a partial slide show of the book.
Enjoy, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and thank you for all the great memories!
HP
