Current Rock of Residence:
St. John, USVI
Island Girl Since:
2009
Originally Hails From:
Minnesota
Ashley lives on St. John in the US Virgin Islands where she can be found drenched in sweat while communing with the hermit crabs who live in her yard. The irony of living in a shac-teau on the most remote part of a tiny secondary island in the Caribbean while spending the majority of her time with a creature named after people who prefer solitude is not lost on her.
Despite constant inquiry as to how long she’ll be on St. John, Ashley has learned in her three decades on this planet that setting one’s life plans in stone is the best way to ensure their futility. For now she remains enchanted with the beautiful absurdity on her rock of residence, which is colorful in far more ways than one.
You can hire her to write and design for you at Bad Ash Babe Creative.
Explore posts by this writer:
Playing God to Hermit Crabs
The hermies are restless. It happens two or three times a year. All of a sudden, the hermit crabs in my yard are active and plentiful. They're making quite a bit of noise these days. Granted, my remote hut in the woods is superlatively peaceful. But I've found that...
My Island Hut in the Woods: A Photographic Tour
I've written about my beautifully unique indoor/outdoor, off the grid, micro-living situation before. I tend to share artsier photos that don't offer a clear glimpse of what the place actually looks like. Partly because I like to take artsy photos. But mostly because...
Stranded in Paradise, Part 2.
...Continued from Part 1. Sending my mood upward still, a rooster gallops across the yard. Not so much galloping in the way of a horse...more in the way of a three-year-old little girl pretending to be a unicorn. I've never before seen a rooster with such a prance-y...
Stranded in Paradise, Part 1.
Goodbye, Average Adult Existence. Helloooo, Never-Never Land! I recently heard it put by a longtime resident that life on my island is akin to an extended college experience. While not a perfect comparison, it's far more accurate than the popular perception that life...
You Might Be An Island Girl If: Part 2.
Did you catch Part One in this series? Be sure to check out all the fun additions from fellow islanders in the Comments section. You will giggle. The longer I live on an island, the more I find myself doing and saying things I never could have imagined before moving...
Accepting Instruction: Another Island Attitude Adjustment
When I first moved to the VI, one thing I found supremely irritating was when old West Indian men offered unsolicited driving advice, specifically when I would try to maneuver or park in a tight area. Try to being the key phrase here. Because I'm not very good at it....
