Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-07-23
GET UP AND GO!
GET UP AND GO! s ~ " ~.
Trip to a Land of History,
Shopping, Peaceful Living
By JACK JONAS
Star Travel Editor

81. CROIX, Virgin Islands.
What does Q travel editor
do on his vacation?
That question comes UP each
spring and summer as friends
and colleagues begin making
holiday plans, and it's about
time we answered it.
The travel editor travels.
This year we took the bull,
the bank account, and an
Eastern Air Lines jet by the
horns and headed south to the
turbulent Car lbbean.
Turbulent?
There wasn't o single in
.vasion barge in sight, and we
could hear no rattle Of. gun
fire as We sat on our balcony
ct Estate Good Hope. We were
almost as distant from q GER
tain unfriendly Caribbean ma
ton as we would have been
had we been sitting in our
garden in Washington.
The only turbulence we
could see was the eternal
struggle between sea and shore.
We were some LOO miles
nearer the sun, but far re-
moved from the heat Of Wash .
tngton's summer. The average
summer temperature here is
81 degrees. and the constantly
moving Trade Winds provide
Q natural air conditioning
through louvred windows.
st. Croix, lying south Of st.
Thomas and st. John. is sur
rounded by the blue Carib-
bean. Tourist mainstays on
the 25-mile-long island are
water sports, free port
shopping, sightseeing, good &C
commodations, and q nightlife
Of dancing, dining, steel bands =
and calypso.
Water Sports
Available for the water |,
enthusiast are Snorkling, +
swimming, sailing and fish v
ing. Fast sail boats make reg
ular daily trips to nearby Buck Il
Island. where the beaches are In
somewhat sander than those t
on st. Croix proper. c
A more ambitious sail is the d
43-mile voyage across the b
choppy Caribbean to st. John.
For either of these all-day t
trips, your American Plan no. t
tel will pack you q box lunch. u
For the conchologist, the y
variety Of shells along the q
beaches at the western tip Of
the island is said to be better "
than that Of Florida's famous a
Sanibel Island. y
Best shopping buys are =
cigarettes and liquor. Most !,
United States brands Of Gig .
aretteS are available at SIPS L
q carton. Good brandies are = =
$3.50 Q fifth. Clothing is a y
little less expensive than on 2
the mainland, but not much :,
less. =
st. Croix is q free port, and g
unlike the "duty-free shops" =
which have come into being
in the past few years at major
airports Of the world, these
low prices are available to y
island residents as well as to y
visitors.
Going Through Customs a
The visitor who shops should .,
remember that although the y
Virgin Islands are a United
States territory, purchases
made here come under customs a
regulations. The current (but =
tast-fading) $200-$500 restric- Z
TONS apply to all items ex- =
sept those manufactured in 9
the Virgin Islands. The one q 3,
gallon liquor limitation also '
applies, but you can take home
IN unlimited amount of Gig T
aretteS. s
An aficianado Of history will b
find plenty to keep him &C. p
cupied on st. Croix. The island f
has changed hands with the E
virtual rapidity Of a dollar bill. S
The seven flags which have s
flown here have been Dutch, {
French. English, Spanish. NAL C
tese, Danish, and United
States. t
The island is dotted with a
the ruins Of Danish sugar C
plantations, and with such a
intriguing place names as v
Good Hope, Judith's Fancy, a
Grapetree Bay, GATHERINGS {
Rest, Fanny's Fancy, ELIAS
Retreat, Betty's Jewel, Sweet
Bottom, Prosperity Garden
and Wheel of Fortune. 4
Alexander Hamilton's early s
life connection with st. Croix
is well memorialized in the T.
Alexander Hamilton Airport, E
Hamilton House and the
Alexander Hamilton Hardware.
It was on st. Croix that
Hamilton gained q pre-college E
reputation a. q mature and