I vacation on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands every Spring. I have been going there with my family since 1990. It is our second home now; we are Crucians. There is a place on the easternmost tip of the island called Point Udall. This is the easternmost land of the USA, and a monument was built there for the Millennium in 2000.

The monument makes a great stage. Imagine a Stonehenge-like stone monument at the point of a cliff facing East. Two hundred feet below the waves are crashing onto the rocks and sand; the sweet trade winds all the way from West Africa blow in your face. The tropical sun is above, behind you the mountains of St. Croix rise up soaking in all this power. You see deep water all the way to the horizon.

I have never brought my “good” flute on vacation there – way too salty and sandy. I usually bring that flute into the shop for annual adjustment and cleaning while I am gone. This time, however, my repair guy lent me a little Armstrong 120 (worth about $150) to pack with my stuff. I brought it to Point Udall and it was AMAZING to improvise at that spot!

The confluence of all those natural forces just filled me with their sound. The wind was playing the flute itself over the lip plate before I even passed my breath into it. I spent a totally magical hour playing there. When the wind was too strong and would take my sound away I would just move 90 degrees to the side and continue playing. I got into a great rhythm with the wind and surf. It was a truly spiritual and exciting place to play and I will return now every year to play there again. It is a very inspiring place for me.