Happy Hour at Duffy's

Bottle of beer - $1.50
and the pepper poppers are terrific - $3.75

I need a mechanical shark for my soon to exist bar in Kansas City.

Duffy's Love Shack in St Thomas

This week we are entertaining our first guests. My wife's favorite aunt and her cousin (David and Becky shown above) are giving us locals a chance to be tourists for the week. Taking the organized island tours, watching them haggle with the vendors (and then we swoop in and get a local's discount for them), snorkeling and sunning have been on my agenda all week...

BUT, no trip to our corner of paradise would be complete without a stop at my favorite dive bar and grill... Duffy's Love Shack!


Literally, it is a shack located in the middle of a parking lot in the Red Hook area of St Thomas (closest "town" to us). It is our go to bar for a fun time.

Of course the foodie in me loves the food...


Blackened chicken nachos (above)... A little of everything (including a few SURPRISE hot peppers)!

Some kind of crappy health food salad that my cousin-in-law loved (how healthy can it be with a half cup of sour cream and a cup of guacamole on it???)

Personally... Their Blue Cheese burgers are the best on the island! A little bacon (of course bacon!) just to set the mood!

But I guess when you get down to it... This is what really sets the mood...


The infamous DUFFY's SHARK TANK... 64 ounces of Booze (and a little fruit juice)! Served in a fish bowl with straws for everybody!

And just in case there was not enough booze in the Fish Tank, Jackie wanted her signature, Lime in the Coconut (which I have spent many nights trying to replicate, but always seem to be just a shade short)...

Have you ever been charged $9 for a strawberry daiquiri? At least when you order a $9 daiquiri at Duffy's, they let you keep the parrot glass (Jackie's Cousin's Daughter not included)...

Even the favorite aunt gets to go home with a logo beer mug "free" souvenir when she ordered a virgin daiquiri...

Yes, they made fun of me for a bit for photographing the food... Then the fancy glasses arrived and everyone was photographing the food...


Even people from other tables were photographing our shark tank...

That is a shark inside our drink...

When in St Thomas, don't miss Duffy's Love Shack... Best dive bar set up in a parking lot I have ever been to!

Red Hook Boondoggle...

BOONDOGGLE... term for a scheme that wastes time and money.


Take a close look at the "town" of Red Hook. From this photo, can you guess where the center of town would be... Where the action is???

Did you guess the set of brightly colored buildings looking all European and interesting???

You would be wrong... Built several years ago, and occupied by two banks... that's it. probably 30 store fronts, plenty of two and three story spaces for offices and storage...

Beautiful tiles, landscaped and in perfect condition...


And why shouldn't it be... No one is allowed on the premises.


I would guess that the developers were hoping to attract the high end storefronts that you can find in Charlotte Amalie. Red Hook does not attract the cruise ship crowd...

Duffy's Love Shack... maybe seating for 25, but a GREAT burger, and a fun cocktail list. Perfect service every time (the staff hustles to get your food and drink), reasonable prices and entertainment...


Just a little building thrown up on the edge of a parking lot. Nothing fancy...


But, Duffy's is the center of town!

In Everyone's Life, Some Rain Must Fall

New diggs - HOORAY

We are in our new permanent temporary home for the next 6 months (at least).

Haven't done a picture tour yet, because the weather sucks. Doesn't seem fair to me that Jackie only gets two days a week off, and then it rains on BOTH of those days.

But, here's what it looks like when it rains in paradise (out our NEW Deck... Imagine the view in nice weather)

6 AM (the view was the same the night before)

8 AM (the view is going to be the same all day)

But the good news, the day before, we went exploring and found a great new hangout for us...

Duffy's Love Shack, Red Hook, St Thomas!

Absolutely the best burger we have found on the island... and funky drinks in funky glasses

You will be hearing a lot about Duffy's