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186--St. Croix: Hermit Crab Racing @ CherieSpotting     Feb 22 2004 - 12:21 PST cherie writes: The island of St. Croix does other things besides get their swine plastered (see: Beer Drinking Pigs.) St. Croix also has organized hermit-crab racing. Tito and Sue organize crab races every Friday night at Stixx, a waterfront pub. (And Stixx always has: Free Beer Tomorrow.) Scooter told me about the racing crabs. For a measly $2 you get to name a crab and cheer her on! Of course, I named my crab Cherie. When Tito released the crabs I found myself searching for Cherie. “Where’s Cherie?” I screamed! I was the only one who got my joke. Apparently, I’m not so famous in St. Croix. Then I found my little crab with masking tape on the back of its shell. Cherie-the-crab wasn’t in the mood to race. She just sat there and watched all the other crabs scurry across the finish line. Cherie-the-crab must not have heard me cheering. Or she was too much like me…not a very good listener. I met three guys named Joe, Paul and Kevin and we all cheered our losing crabs together. My crab lost the race; I lost my voice. Normally I don’t have much fun when I lose, but this time the outcome didn’t matter. Could that mean I am growing up? After the ‘valuable prizes’ were awarded, I took a sunset walk on the beach. There is something about sand that sucks the stress out of your body. (I’ve heard in some cases that losing a hermit crab race can induce ulcers.) I slipped off my shoes and shimmied through the sandy powder making squeaking noises with my feet. Then I stopped to admire the twisted palms. A crooked tree is like a crooked tooth—it adds character. One palm tree looked like it fell in love and bent to kiss its neighbor. Then I wrapped myself in a hammock and watched the sun disappear. Click on each picture to see it full size. read comments (0) | write comment| views: 6500    | rated: 0.0    printer-friendly version   New friends Paul, Joe and Kevin cheer on their hermit crabs at Stixx in St. Croix. Stixx, which has hermit crab racing every Friday night, always has: Free Beer Tomorrow. Crowds gather to watch Tito and Sue's crab races. People pay $2 a crab and the owners of the first three crabs to cross the finish line win valuable prizes. There's Cherie-the-crab on the far left. Everyone roots for their crabs! St. Croix. Kim's serves up delicious local food. In St. Croix you have to: Watch Out for Drunken Pedestrians. Sometimes you have to paddle through the muck to get to your boat! There's the blue water St. Croix is famous for! Cherie in St. Croix. I'm only 10,386 miles from Saigon. Yellow house. Scooter, a local who showed me the "ropes" of the island. I call this shot: Kissing Palm Trees. Dusk in a hammock. Old sugar mill.