I Got Crabs at Honeymoon Beach

Sign pointing the way to…

Note:  My last post (I think) about Water Island.  We left there about a week ago and this is a catch up after 8 days without internet access.  We are currently in the Southern Bahamas.

Okay, okay, you’ve already read about Honeymoon Bay’s

• movie night ON the beach (click here if you haven’t)
• fabulous free fish fry (click here if you haven’t)
• water-walkers, bikini babes and buff boys (click here if you haven’t)
• viewpoint – US British & Spanish Virgins (click here if you haven't)

All that on a pint-sized island, a mere ½ by 1 ½ mile diameter rise most folks never heard of.  If you believe “good things come in small packages” you too may fall in love with Honeymoon Bay and Water Island.   I did, but you don’t need to emergency anchor next to it with your engine broken for a month to discover its charms.

Joe’s; the other “restaurant” at Honeymoon Beach.   It’s also
the place to drag dinghies ashore as there is no
dinghy dock on Honeymoon Beach.

But wait, there’s more!

Carl, one of the Water Island Ferry captains, and his wife, Carrie, who works at Crown Bay Marina mentioned the crab fest, RSVP only, hosted by Heidi’s Honeymoon Grill (hosts of freemovie night).  I was game.  Crab is one of my absolute favorite foods, but one I indulge in maybe once a year.  After the last one, cooked then dismembered in the wee hours in a small, tightly closed salon,  Wayne, said, “You.  Go.  Have a good time.”

And so I did.  And it was good.  Much as I loved the crab, the corn on the cob was every bit as much a treat.  The last time I had corn on the cob was probably a year ago!

The inside joke of Water Island.  This actually IS a restaurant.  I
just didn’t get it

Contrary to a prior post, there actually is one other “restaurant” on Water Island off the beach -- Pirate’s Ridge.  Aptly, it’s on the ridge above Honeymoon Bay and Flamingo Bay.  See why I saw it and thought it was a joke....  The placard on the upper right reads

“Hours 11-7

Open most days 11 or 12. Ocasionally as early as 9 and sometimes as late as 1 or 2.  We close about 6:30 or 7. Ocasionally about 4 or 5, and sometimes as late as midnight, or later.  Sometimes we’re not here at all, but lately we’ve been here a lot, unless we’re not.”

On the way to Heidi’s Honeymoon Grill from Joe’s.  This little fella
looked like he was trying to dig his way to China.  I wonder,
do Chinese try to dig their way to America?

Heidi's crab dinner gave me one last excuse to sink my feet into Honeymoon Beach’s soft sand at dusk.  The local and ever-present dogs needed no excuse!

I checked in at Heidis, joined Painkiller cottage residents Don and Kathy at a picnic table, and soon we are all digging in with gusto.  I was too sated to even consider dessert.

Heidi’s Honeymoon Grill crab dinner with corn
on the cob and fried bananas; $28. 

To my embarrassment, I ambled halfway back to my dinghy before realizing I hadn’t paid!  I’d left probably an hour after finishing and no one came by with a check.  I turned back around, walked back to Heidis and queued up to pay my bill.  No one ever noticed I’d nearly dined and dashed by accident!  Whew!

The perfect ending on the sweetest little beach
in the US Virgins.