BJ's

In Denver, we were regulars at Tuesday and Friday happy hours at a neighborhood pub called Patrick Carroll’s (or, as we affectionately referred to it, PC’s). We loved catching up with our friends and neighbors and, sometimes, meeting new friends. In Port Royal, we have no such thing as a local pub or even a local tienda. In fact, there’s pretty much nothing here but our neighbors.

What we do have is a bit further away (about a 15-minute boat ride) in Oakridge. It’s BJ’s Backyard. We stop at BJ’s each time we go down island. In fact, it’s here where we transfer from boat to vehicle and vice versa. So we’re obligated to stop in and say hello and drink a Coke or beer each time we do so.

BJ’s is a lot like PC’s, in a way. We meet all sorts of friends and neighbors whenever we pop in, and we always meet a few new folks, too. We also refer to it by its initials.

Unlike PC’s, BJ’s is on the water, it has a parrot, and we never get to stay very long. Also unlike PC’s, no one at BJ’s is confused about which restroom to use. PC’s had signs outside the bathroom doors for “Lads” and “Lasses.” For some reason, a relatively large number of people had no idea what this meant. On more than one occasion, I encountered a stray man in the women’s room, and I saved many more on the brink of embarrassment and guided them to the correct destination. BJ’s also uses unorthodox signage, but no one here gets confused.

Bonus tidbit for the week:
Several employees asked for loans this week. All had some sort of reason that they explained in detail. The best was from Randy, who explained that he needed a loan to pay a doctor. It seems his son was bitten by a shark while swimming and had to go to the doctor for injections and general cleanup. Randy didn’t seem particularly concerned, so I’m not sure if it’s true. But what a great excuse!