Is your brain ON or OFF?

A beautiful Spring day.

Not so much winter in Toronto this year. It was nice walking out today, flowers are opening up, no needed for scarf, gloves and ear muffs… very nice!

Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, being 28 by 7 miles (45 by 11 km). It's a tropical dreamland replete with stunning beaches, clear blue waters and rolling green hills. The Danish West Indies Company first purchased St. Croix from the French in the 1733. Their new town of Christiansted was colonized practically overnight, and soon became the capital of the entire royal colony. Of the three islands that fell under the Danish Crown, St. Croix was the gen, making its fortune from sugar, rum and slave labor. Nowadays, the Danish influence is still apparent in the architecture and language, and the ruins of the old sugar mills still scatter the hills.

Frederiksted ( "The Freedom City" ) is a town on the west end of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is home to Fort Frederik, constructed to protect the town from pirate raids and attacks from rival imperialist nations. It was named after Frederick V of Denmark, who purchased the Danish West Indies in 1754.

Frederiksted is home to one of two deep water ports on St. Croix, the other being located at the Hovensa oil refinery. It is the main port for cruise ships visiting the island. Passengers are typically escorted from the ships to waiting taxis to bring them to the more picturesque and developed Christiansted.

Christiansted is a town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the United States Virgin Islands, an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is the former capital of the Danish West Indies and home to the Christiansted National Historic Site. Christiansted has preserved the 18th-century Danish-style buildings constructed by African slaves. Solid stone buildings in pastel colors with bright red tile roofs line the cobblestone sidewalks, adding a touch of European charm. The town's symmetry, with streets running at right angles to the waterfront, makes it popular for walking tours.

Sint Maarten / Saint Martin

St-Martin / St Maarten is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km (186 miles) east of Puerto Rico. It is one among the 22 odd islands or land masses across the globe, whose administration is shared between two different countries.

Before St. Maarten became a must-see destination for cruisers, the island was most popular for its must-have ingredient. Salt! Back in the 17th century, Dutch settlers started harvesting salt from Great Salt Pond and sending shiploads back to Europe. And even before the Europeans started craving the stuff, the natives named the island "Soualiga" or "Land of Salt".

Philipsburg, Dutch capital

Marigot, French capital

The island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Netherlands Antilles; it is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations, a division dating to 1648. Other than the island's name (spelled Saint-Martin on the French half), both sides are quite unique. It has two governments, two parliaments, two hospitals, two airports, two currencies, two everything. Even the electricity current... The standard in Dutch St. Maarten are wired as in the U.S. (110 volts, 60 cycles). The French side of the island uses European current (220 volts, 50 cycles). St. Martin's Dutch side is known for its festive nightlife, beaches, jewelry, exotic drinks made with nativerum-based guava-berry liquors, and plentiful casinos. The island's French side is known for its nude beaches, clothes, shopping (including outdoor markets), and rich French and Indian Caribbean cuisine.

As we arrive in Philipsburg, the capital of Sint Maarten, you'll immediately notice the Dutch influences, dating back to the colonial days. Wander down the narrow alleyways that lead to pastel-colored houses, perfectly intact with their second-story verandas and courtyards filled with flowers.

Princess Juliana International Airport serves the Dutch part of the island. World famous for its close-proximity photographs of landing aircraft.

St. Johns, Antigua

St John's is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 24,226 (2000), St John's is the commercial centre of the nation and the chief port of the island of Antigua.

English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour

On Autigua, one could visit a different beach each day for a year and still have one more left to see. Imagine - there are 366 beautiful beaches on this tropical paradise. First settled in the 1600s by English colonists, Antigua remained a British colony until its independence in 1981, when it joined the British Commonwealth. Today, Antigua is a popular vacation destination, attracting tourists with its ideal climate, amazing landscape and leisurely lifestyle.

Nelson's Dockyard, once home to the illustrious British fleet, and is now an 18th-century restored working dockyard and one of the biggest attractions in the Caribbean.

Castries, St Lucia

Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. The volcanic island of Saint Lucia is more mountainous than many other Caribbean islands.

In 1605, the first English settlers arrived on St. Lucia's Shores, only to be driven away by the native Caribs. The French tried their luck a few decades later and for the next 150 years, St. Lucia went back and forth between the French and the British. England got final dibs on the island in 1814, and even after St. Lucia gained its independence, the Caribbean island remained a part of the British Commonwealth. Yet the French influence is apparent in the culture, the local patois, and the names of historic towns like Castries and Soufrière.

The Pitons are two volcanic plugs in a World Heritage Site in Saint Lucia. The Gros Piton is 771 m, and the Petit Piton is 743 m high; they are linked by the Piton Mitan ridge.

The Pitons are volcanic plugs. There are still sulfur springs and hot mud pools in the nearby Soufrière caldera, visible remnants of former volcanic activity in the area.

The twin peaks of the Pitons tower over the island's lush mountains and rain forests. So lush in fact that the island looks like it should be floating somewhere in the South Pacific. But its lively festivals, calypso music and flavorful creole cuisine are unmistakably Caribbean.

Marigot Bay is a bay in the Caribbean, located on the western coast of Saint Lucia, situated 20 miles south from Castries. It is surrounded on three sides by steep, emerald-colored hills.

Bridgetown, Barbados

Barbados situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is a West Indian continental island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Though Barbados gained its independence from the British in 1966, the island maintains a distinctly English flavor. From British products such as chocolate and china to the national pastime, cricket. The British influence is evident throughout this gorgeous Caribbean destination.

What a beautiful day!