TDY Gouge - St. Croix

St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands - This is a fantastic place to RON. Stay at King's Alley - right on the water, and just blocks from the bars and restaurants. The rum and tequila down here is phenomenal and VERY cheap. Danish Manor was dangerous... ~Be advised we had a crewmember mugged not far from this hotel. After getting back to home station heard another crew had two that got jumped by 6 guys. ~At Chenay Bay hotel, food was expensive but good. The rooms are great - first floor rooms are on the beach! You're across the street from the Casino but you're out of the way (east side of the island) They have a small "shoppette" store in the hotel and have laundry facilities & a shuttle to the downtown. Went on a day-long catamaran ride that included snorkeling & a lunch cookout - Big Beards is the company. Was broken for 4 days and Bohlke set us up! Had to change hotels 3 times (International Triathalon in town) but he set us up everytime with rooms within our lodging allowance (Chenay Bay was the best by far). He set up our MRT with everything they needed on the flightline (even pizza). He's the man on that Island for anything & he loves us coming through using his equipment & buying his gas. He has everything you need - even flight planning stuff. After you've been here, you'll understand what all the hoopla is about. This is one guy worth the investment of buying a few extra thousand pounds of gas from! Service was first rate. ~Divi Carina Resort was a very nice motel, with first floor rooms on the beach. The downside is that it's on the opposite side of the island from everything else. It's got a bar, restaurant, and casino across the street. Nice place if you want to get away from the city. Either way you work it, get Bohlke to work everything for you.

We stay at the Tamarind Reef Hotel all the time; it's a great place to stay. They have a great bar called the Deep End by the pool with a great little grill for lunch and dinner. It's a very convenient hotel. All oceanfront rooms with super duper air conditioners. The rooms are standard style hotel rooms with a small kitchen. Cheeseburgers is a great restaurant, outside eating atmosphere with a band playing. For a fantastic meal eat at TuTu Bene, the owners are from New Orleans and any meal you get is outstanding. Bombay Restaurant is also another great place to eat. Stay away from The Case Place if you want seperate checks, we asked for it and the waitress cursed out the entire table. The food is great but the attitude of the staff over the check was a bit much. And of course Stixx pizza and Ft. Christian Brew Pub are always a good stop for eating and drinking. The Ft. Christian brew pub has a deal if you buy a steak you drink free beer all night long. They are really cool people. Another great hotel and resort is the Buccaneer Hotel. For great crew meals on your flight you have to stop by Schooner Bay and get a sandwich or plate lunches. Their sandwiches are outstanding!!

~As of Nov 03, Boehlke has lost the government FBO contract. The new FBO is Carribean Flight Center - nice folks - met the plane with coolers of beer, t-shirts, taxi, and gas truck. They can set up trans and hotels for you. Per previous writeups - take Danish Manor Hotel off your list - run down, sleazy hotel now in a "rough" neighborhood. Best Western also no good. Buccaneer was fantastic resort hotel - golf, tennis, beach, etc. - ten dollar cab ride to downtown. Lastly, the IFR sup shows limited hours for the airfield, but the tower/afld mgr say the field is open 7 am - 10 pm seven days a week. ~CFC Carribean Flight Center 340 778 0090, 513 1447 was a great FBO to use! They made our reservations, had a free taxi to and from any hotel we picked and worked with the resorts to get room rates for the cost of our per diem. Plus they have the only military contract for fuel. They offered to give us rides around the island, and suggested good places to go, and they even offered to put up a spread for our Breakfast. Their flight planning area is fair, but they are in the process of building a nice facility. The Divi Carina Resort is a nice resort on the water, with a coral reef across the laguna. They rent scuba gear, kayaks, and snorkel rentals for cheap. Also, they are across the street from the only Casino on the island. Divi Carina Bay 877-773-9700 was a nice resort. Week long mission flying in/out of St. Croix. Used FBO (Carribean Flight Center 340-778-0090). GREAT FBO...EXCELLENT STAFF !! Couldn't do enough to make our stay more enjoyable. What ever our flight schedule called for, they made sure they were open to handle our needs. They coordinated rooms/car/food. Most of the crew had stayed in the downtown area of St. Croix before, so we decided to stay at the Divi...and we're glad we did. Great beach ! Staying there afforded us the opportunity to explore the beaches and restaurants in that part of the island. Just be aware that it could be up to an hour drive from the resort to the FBO, depending on time of day. Average travel time for us was abour 45 minutes. Have Fun...Be Safe !!!

NOTE: Bring your passports. It is common practice to cancel VFR approaching the island and then circumnavigate the isle to get to the field VFR.