Page 12 - Experiential Magazine - Vol 6

HOT SPOT
Nature and Nurture
The U.S. Virgin Islands offers travelers the best near Centerline road or the Cast Iron Pot off
of both worlds – nature and nurture.
Nature: After landing at the airport in St.
Thomas, it’s a short hop to the nearby Seaborne
Airlines terminal, where you can catch the float
plane to St. Croix and be immersed in the wild
Caribbean in all its glory on the rugged, isolat- ment), followed by cocktails or dinner in the
ed beach at the Carambola Resort, or enjoying
some ocean kayaking at The Buccaneer by late
afternoon. Arrange ahead of time with one of
the local outfitters for a bioluminescence tour
that evening and enjoy a unique spectacle
found in only a few places on earth.
The next morning, take your pick between
hiking the island (rainforest or beachside)
or booking a snorkeling expedition to Buck
Island, a pristine National Park located about
30 minutes northeast of Christiansted. If you
want to make time to lunch with the locals, try
either La Reine Chicken Shack on Route 75
HOT VENUE Kregel Windmill Factory Museum,
Nebraska City, NE
Step inside the modest, one-story structure on
Central Avenue in Nebraska City and you’ll enter
a world that few have experienced – the manufac-
ture of windmills as tools of modern technology,
circa 1902. The Kregel Windmill Factory Museum
12
Northside Rd., both serving simple, delicious
Crucian fare in copious helpings. Spend your
second night touring the Buccaneer Resort’s
historic grounds (home to a young Alexander
Hamilton before he came to America to attend
school and serve in the fledgling U.S. govern-
converted Great House.
Nurture: Catch the 9:30am float plane back
to St. Thomas, where the resort hotels here
are almost always on or near the beach, even
when they’re only minutes from town – like
the Frenchman’s Reef Marriott, located on an
imposing bluff that overlooks the harbor and
Charlotte Amalie across the way. Or, if you’d
prefer to get a little further out of town, the
Ritz-Carlton is perhaps the ultimate in Caribbe-
an indulgence. Both properties feature an array
of accommodations – single rooms to suites to
has been described as a time capsule of early
20th Century shop-type manufacturing. The
building appears much as it did in the 1930s,
when invoices were written by hand, correspon-
dence was typed on a manual typewriter and
even local phone calls were be placed
through an operator. Everyday things
such as ledger books on shelves, tele- Americans through the years have used innova-
phone, pencils and pens on the desk
– even an overcoat on a hook – remain
where they were last used.
Manufactured under the brand name
“Eli,” legend has it that George F.
Kregel simply liked the name and
thought it would be easy to read from
a distance and to remember. The
2,000 windmills produced in this
factory over a 50-year period were
groundbreaking in their use of renew-
able natural power. Having a more
efficient and less labor-intensive way
bungalows – and virtually every amenity you
can think of (and some you can’t).
For example: Club Level rooms and suites
at the Ritz-Carlton come with a dedicated
concierge and an expansive lounge with
“continuous culinary offerings throughout the
day – breakfast, light snacks, beverages, sweets,
canapés and cocktails,” as well as a computer
workstation and a play area for guests with
families. For outdoor lovers, the infinity pool is
right on the white sand beach, just steps from
the spa offering Seaside Cabana massages and
an expansive menu of other treatments and
therapies. Top it off with four restaurants and a
number of private dining options, sailing, scu-
ba diving, snorkeling and the resort’s unique
Ambassadors of the Environment program,
and you have the ultimate nurturing, restor-
ative experience.
Who says you can’t have it all?
to acquire fresh, uncontaminated groundwater
for home consumption, livestock watering and
garden irrigation changed prairie life forever.
The mission of the Kregel Windmill Factory
Museum is to use the unique resources of this
historic factory and its contents to provide a
tangible way for visitors to understand how
tion, resourcefulness, hard work and thrift to live
successfully through changing times. The factory
demonstrates how Americans have used, and can
continue to use, the renewable power of the wind
to enhance the quality of human life. It’s worth a
stop simply to experience a step back in time to
the world of machine manufacturing. Perfect for
small group events.
Phone: (402) 873-1078
Website: www.kregelwindmillfactorymuseum.org