Lizard’s Landing, whose lease had recently been listed for sale, has just completely shut down. No farewell party. Nothing. Just closed its doors. The business is also no longer listed for sale. The woman who moved down from the states to take over the former Duffy’s Love Shack less than a year and a half ago paid more than $600K for that leasehold. That’s a big investment to walk away from. Duffy’s was the very first place we went to the first time we visited St. John seven years ago. A great place back then. We went there with a bunch of people and sat upstairs drinking these huge drinks with long straws called “Shark Tanks!”
This is outrageous! Have we no civil rights? Now they’re threatening to booth us! Tow me. Fine me. But please don’t make me sit in a booth! (Posted in front of the Subway across from Woody’s. Picture from St. John resident, and longtime table-only diner, Margie.)
This beautiful villa is located on St. John’s East End in Hansen Bay, and the new owners admit the name is just a working title right now. It is scheduled to host its first guests this summer. This villa includes four master bedroom suites and big, open views of the Ocean and Coral Bay from every room. The Boston-based owners (here’s one of them calling home to see how much snow is on the ground) know what they’re doing. They own vacation homes in Vermont, New Hampshire and St. Maarten… seven properties in all. And they like St. John so much that they just bought a couple of lots in Coral Bay to add to their empire. St. John’s House is two structures, each with two suites and their own great rooms, connected by a pool and gardens. And damn! Look at that view! It also has access to the homeowners association’s own beach. (No video of this place, so feel free to suggest to them they hire us.) Check out St. John’s Villa, and all of their properties, here!
What a great picture, courtesy of John Gallagher in Boston. (John is in Boston, not the donkey.) The picture was taken somewhere on the East End. St. John donkeys aren’t always so nice. There’ve been stories about donkeys kicking people and biting people. But people love to have their pictures taken with them. These are WILD donkeys. They aren’t looking for friends. They’re looking for food. Here’s a cool Website where you can read about St. John donkeys, and birds and bugs and iguanas and more.
Don’t ya just love this place? When the car barges used to dock across the road, it was the perfect place to get a smoothie for the ride back to St. Thomas. It’s still a perfect place to stop for a smoothie on your way to the North Shore. This stretch of road has been mentioned as a site for a new post office, a site for parking and a new shopping complex, and most recently, moving the taxi stand from next to the ferry dock to the open lot next to Nature’s Nook. (Some guys would be at the ferry dock with walkie talkies and call for cabs as needed.) If anything ever happens to this area, Nature’s Nook better get to stay. It’s kinda shabby and rough and it just looks like it belongs right where it is. (By the way, the place sells more than just smoothies. You can get everything from canned beans to mysterious root vegetables here.)
What do coffee, chocolate and steak have in common? This great recipe. A spice rub that On-StJohn reader Alana Doran submitted. Alana says it works great on burgers or anything else on the grill too. And you know what? This was really good! Caffeine with your protein. Check it out below.
Villas get lots cheaper next week. Most villas switch to low season rates in mid-April. Low season generally runs through mid-December. What kind of high season was it this year? Depends on who you ask. There were plenty of folks around this high season. Villa management companies say it was busy. But we hear a lot of restaurants, especially the high-end ones, saw a noticeable slowdown this high season. Maybe that means more staying in at the villa, or just fewer nights out. And after a slow season for Realtors, there have been some pretty expensive properties that have gone under contract in recent weeks.
Summer is great on St. John. It is hotter, but the water is warmer and the popular spots a little less crowded. So what are you waiting for? You’ll probably find some good air fares this summer.
Oh, good one! Iguana Crossing. This sign is posted at St. John Car Rental in Cruz Bay. St. John resident Gretchen submitted this one. If you see one, gun your engine and run over its tail. It’ll grow back.
Chocolate Hole Beach is more of a dinghy parking lot for the boats in the bay than it is a true beach. (And for some reason, there are always about four times as many dinghies on the beach as there are boats in the bay.) It’s a neat place though. We’ve heard there are good snorkeling spots. There are also several villas around Chocolate Hole with access to their own little “private” beaches. Ebb Tide, Villa St. John and Poseidon’s Secret are among them. Chocolate Hole is a little more rough around the edges than its neighbor, Great Cruz Bay. But the water here is clear and deep blue. Most people who stay on the South Shore sit on their decks and look at Chocolate Hole. But few people actually go here. So, here’s your chance.
Another good one! The fork in the road. It’s lost a tine over time, but it’s still there. It’s on Gift Hill Road right in front of a house called Sunset Pointe. The house is for sale. You can see the video here. (Hmm. That voice sounds familiar.) It used to be a Carefree rental too. Not sure who is renting it now. Nice place.
Here’s another group you should consider signing up with. The St. John Historical Society. The group’s been around for more than 30 years and you can join for as little as $25. And for that you get great newsletters and access to their activities, like organized hikes with history lessons along the way. The Historical Society also has a cool T-Shirt you can buy. Not quite as cool as the On-StJohn T-shirt, but you can’t wear that every day. If you’re on the island later this month, stop by the Earth Day celebration at the National Park ball field April 20th. The Historical Society will have a booth there, and you can learn more about what they do. In the meantime, check out some really cool old maps and photos at the St. John Historical Society’s Website here.
Here’s a classic one. Clam Dip in Coral Bay. Submitted by On-StJohn reader Richard Brown from Andover, Mass. Keep ‘em coming. Maybe we can make a calendar or something.
There are some great signs around St. John. Here’s a couple of our favorites. On a road in Chocolate Hole and on a church in Cruz Bay. Got a favorite sign? Send it to us with your comments and we’ll share ‘em!
Irene Levin splits her time between Hawaii and St. John, and her yoga classes have a dedicated following. Her new DVD, “Sol Yoga, Inhale Life” was shot both on Peter Bay Beach and her Mongoose Junction yoga studio. Irene is all about the balance of mind, spirit and body and she is an authentic voice in yoga today. Watch her introduction below, and buy her DVD here.
Okay….we really think Bongo Bongo belongs someplace other than this blog, and from now on, when we feel like sharing an update, we’ll just post a little icon or something steering anybody interested to the dusty old Bongo Bongo blog for news. But what the heck. One more time.
Here’s why you wear sunscreen. Old floaties. New floaties. The “guaranteed never to fade or crack” floaties have already faded and cracked. Replaced with new ones. After just 8 months. By the way, good floaties are like a hundred bucks each. We have also now replaced ALL bedding, including spreads, shams, sheets, everything. That’s with two sets per bedroom working their way through rotation over the last 8 months. They just started looking shabby. Towels are holding up, which makes sense considering we put like a hundred of them in each bathroom. Little wash cloths…totally replaced! Some just completely vanished. What do people do with those little wash cloths? I’m not even sure I own any at home. L.L. Bean Beach towels still in great shape.
I couldn’t be happier with the way our freezer is being used, Coffee, ice and booze. Not a Hot Pocket in sight.
Our fountain has evolved yet again. The little spray pattern thing is now gone. Just gone. No one has quite explained exactly what happened to it or where it went. But it’s gone. Now the fountain just kind of bubbles. Which is actually better. The spray thing was annoying and noisy.
Truth be told, all is going fairly well. The stupid WAPA bills are the biggest shocker. February’s electric bill was almost $1.300. There is something SO wrong with WAPA billings. But so far, the house is holding up well, and the guest book’s full of a lot of very kind comments. Still can’t believe we really pulled this off!
April 7 is Cyril E. King Day in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Cyril E. King: April 17, 1921 to Jan. 2, 1978. He was born in St. Croix, graduated from American University in Washington, became a Sergeant in the Army and worked for Sen. Hubert Humphrey for 12 years. JFK appointed him Lieutenant Governor in 1961 he and became Acting Governor in 1969. In 1974, King became the second ELECTED governor of the US Virgin Islands. (He lost the first election for governor to Melvin Evans by a few hundred votes.) You can impress your seat mates with all of this next time you’re landing at Cyril E. King Airport. Oh, and the E stands for Emanuel.
The Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park is a great organization. And if you’re not a member, become one. And if you are a member, sign up for some of their seminars. That’s a boring word. They are more like really fun day trips and events. The money you give to Friends goes to supporting the Park, and you get plenty back out of it. Here’s an interview with Kristen Maize from Friends. (Six Degrees of Bongo: Kristen is also a fantastic artist, and a much-loved turtle painting by her hangs in Bongo Bongo. AND, her father, John Maize, designed Bongo Bongo. A talented family!) Meet Kristen and learn a little about Friends, below. Oh, and find out how to get this year’s LIMITED EDITION license plates!
A very old law means a very sober island. At least until Happy Hour, which seems reasonable. The Virgin Islands marks Good Friday by prohibiting alcohol sales at bars and restaurants from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The law doesn’t apply to retail stores, so if you’ve got bugs crawling all over you and you can’t get past the shakes, pick up a pint at Starfish and sit in the parking lot.
Lizard’s Landing, whose lease had recently been listed for sale, has just completely shut down. No farewell party. Nothing. Just closed its doors. The business is also no longer listed for sale. The woman who moved down from the states to take over the former Duffy’s Love Shack less than a year and a half ago paid more than $600K for that leasehold. That’s a big investment to walk away from. Duffy’s was the very first place we went to the first time we visited St. John seven years ago. A great place back then. We went there with a bunch of people and sat upstairs drinking these huge drinks with long straws called “Shark Tanks!” 
This beautiful villa is located on St. John’s East End in Hansen Bay, and the new owners admit the name is just a working title right now. It is scheduled to host its first guests this summer. This villa includes four master bedroom suites and big, open views of the Ocean and Coral Bay from every room. The Boston-based owners (here’s one of them calling home to see how much snow is on the ground) know what they’re doing. They own vacation homes in Vermont, New Hampshire and St. Maarten… seven properties in all. And they like St. John so much that they just bought a couple of lots in Coral Bay to add to their empire. St. John’s House is two structures, each with two suites and their own great rooms, connected by a pool and gardens. And damn! Look at that view! It also has access to the homeowners association’s own beach. (No video of this place, so feel free to suggest to them they hire us.) Check out St. John’s Villa, and all of their properties, 
What a great picture, courtesy of John Gallagher in Boston. (John is in Boston, not the donkey.) The picture was taken somewhere on the East End. St. John donkeys aren’t always so nice. There’ve been stories about donkeys kicking people and biting people. But people love to have their pictures taken with them. These are WILD donkeys. They aren’t looking for friends. They’re looking for food. Here’s a 
Don’t ya just love this place? When the car barges used to dock across the road, it was the perfect place to get a smoothie for the ride back to St. Thomas. It’s still a perfect place to stop for a smoothie on your way to the North Shore. This stretch of road has been mentioned as a site for a new post office, a site for parking and a new shopping complex, and most recently, moving the taxi stand from next to the ferry dock to the open lot next to Nature’s Nook. (Some guys would be at the ferry dock with walkie talkies and call for cabs as needed.) If anything ever happens to this area, Nature’s Nook better get to stay. It’s kinda shabby and rough and it just looks like it belongs right where it is. (By the way, the place sells more than just smoothies. You can get everything from canned beans to mysterious root vegetables here.) 
Villas get lots cheaper next week. Most villas switch to low season rates in mid-April. Low season generally runs through mid-December. What kind of high season was it this year? Depends on who you ask. There were plenty of folks around this high season. Villa management companies say it was busy. But we hear a lot of restaurants, especially the high-end ones, saw a noticeable slowdown this high season. Maybe that means more staying in at the villa, or just fewer nights out. And after a slow season for Realtors, there have been some pretty expensive properties that have gone under contract in recent weeks. 
April 7 is Cyril E. King Day in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A very old law means a very sober island. At least until Happy Hour, which seems reasonable. The Virgin Islands marks Good Friday by prohibiting alcohol sales at bars and restaurants from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The law doesn’t apply to retail stores, so if you’ve got bugs crawling all over you and you can’t get past the shakes, pick up a pint at Starfish and sit in the parking lot.
