Tonight's the night!

Yehaw! Tonight I will be on the plane flying from Las Vegas to St. Croix! America's Paradise and my tropical island home! I can hardly wait. It's been almost a year since I left St. Croix and came back to spend some time at my desert home in southern Nevada. It has been hot, hot, hot here in the desert ... and will only get hotter as we go into August. I'm looking forward to the tropical breezes and liming on the beach in St. Croix.

The Virgin Islands are U.S. territory. There are 3 islands in the Virgins: St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. St. Croix is the largest of the United States Virgin Islands, 82 square miles in area. There are two distinct towns to visit: Christiansted and Frederiksted.

The towns of Christiansted and Fredriksted each has its own distinctive style. The architectural quality and historic interest of the one-time Danish West Indies capital has made part of Christiansted (founded in 1734) a National Historic Site.

In Christiansted, you can shop the day away through quaint shops filled with French perfumes, china, crystal, batik clothing and jewelry. You can visit Buck Island, one of the world's finest dive spots. Frederiksted has its share of shops and shopping. It also has a tropical Rain Forest and Whim Greathouse, a plantation restored to the way it was in the 1700s.

Some interesting facts about St. Croix: Christopher Columbus landed at Salt River on the North Shore in November 1493. And you've gone as far as you can go in the United States on the easternmost point of St. Croix, Point Udall.

See ya'll on the other side! I will be offline for a while.

Do you Kindle?

To Kindle? Or not to Kindle? That is the question.

Unless you have had your head stuck in the sand for the last couple of years, you know what a Kindle is. For those of you who HAVE had your head in the sand, a Kindle is Amazon.com's e-book reader.

The Kindle is different than other e-book readers. You can order a book from Amazon's Kindle Store and it is downloaded automatically to your reader through Whispernet. Whispernet is wireless coverage through Sprint's 3-G high speed data network. Your reader does not have to be connected to your computer for Amazon to download your book. It is all automatic once you place your order. You do not pay extra for Whispernet. It is included in the price of the Kindle.

The Kindle can hold over 1500 books. It is as thin as a pencil and weighs only 10.2 ounces. The look of the printed page of the book on the Kindle is great! It looks like reading a "real" book ... a paperback book that is. Kindle books ARE "real" books.

Can you imagine carrying 1500 books with you when you go on vacation? It would be an almost impossible feat to lug that many paperbacks with you on that trip to the Carribean or whatever exotic port of call where you are traveling but you can do so with your Kindle.

The Kindle is expensive, or at least I think so. It costs $359.00 and if you want a cover for your Kindle, that is a separate purchase. I do recommend getting the cover though. It not only protects your Kindle but makes it easier to hold while reading. The cover that I have is the Amazon Kindle Leather Cover for $29.99.

Yes, I finally broke down and purchased my very own Kindle after they came out with the Kindle 2 version. And guess what? I LOVE it! My husband calls me Ms. Kindle because my Kindle has become one of my treasured possessions. I don't leave home without it!

I have 4 of my own books published in the Kindle version which you can purchase for download to YOUR Kindle: Desert Heat, Cabin Fever, No Lady and Her Tramp, and Emails from the Edge: The Life of an Expatriate Wife.

Check out my Amazon Kristie Leigh Maguire Page.