The big real estate sale this month was the closing on Kenny Chesney’s Upper Peter Bay land, a beautiful spot where he was known to have had alfresco jam sessions. It sold for just under $6.6 million, below its $8.5 million asking price. (The land was on the market for about 22 months and was originally listed at $11 million.) The 2.9 acres was purchased in 2004 for just under $5 million, so he made out okay.  

All we know about the buyer is that he or she is obviously really rich.

There were plans for a house here, but the deal fell apart when Kenny refused to let her paint the bedroom yella.  (Wouldn’a hurt nothin.) 

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Remember the Beach Break a couple of weeks ago of Cocolobo Beach? You can get there from this villa. Coco Beach is a brand new Fish Bay villa and it’s pretty cool. Two bedrooms down. Great room, kitchen, third bath up, two covered decks, big sunny pool and deck and a hot tub. And a sweet Fish Bay view. If you know where Guavaberry Farms is, you’re very close to this villa’s location.

Coco Beach Villa. Two Bedrooms, three baths, great views, sunny pool. $1,450,000.

Of course you don’t! It’s all wrong right now! This is the former Panini Beach restaurant on Cruz Bay and like Lorena Bobbitt, the new owners cut that entire deck completely off. (Unlike John, it’ll get a better one.) We hear these guys are putting in not one, but two new kitchens. That’s what we hear anyway. There is a big-bucks renovation going on here…at what will be the new St. John Waterfront Bistro. A whole lot more than we figured these guys would be doing. Wow! This place may be spectacular.

There’s a place down the street from On-StJohn’s DC office called Bistro du Coin (kw-AH’) that has a great mussels in white wine dish. We think it’d work great with land crabs. We’re giving the recipe to Tim.

The sun is starting to set and it’s time to get home. Today’s Jeep Cam starts near the E&C gas station and heads up Jacob’s ladder. We’ll end the trip at Bongo Bongo and point out lots of stuff along the way. Jeep Cam does Jacob’s ladder, below!

These guys are munching post-lunch leftover lettuce freebees in Red Hook at a waterside Irish pub called Molly Malone’s. The restaurant is swarming with iguanas! Which is odd because there are signs everywhere that tell you not to feed them, but the kitchen feeds them anyway. And it’s a little disconcerting to be sitting there in flip flops with your naked toes as these guys circle close in for some of your lunch. It’s still a nice, waterfront spot. Find it at American Yacht Haven.  

Johnson Bay is a little cove on the West side of Coral Bay and the water is very calm here. Johnson Bay Estates is a private enclave of a handful of houses on Johnson Bay. You’re going to get to see some shots of one of them. Calypso by the Sea is private property, but the house is both for rent and for sale, so it could be your property for a week or a lifetime if you’re interested. Not a shabby back yard. Johnson Bay, below.

Know where this tree is? Cinnamon Bay. Behind the T’ree Lizards restaurant to be exact. It’s called a Rain Tree, and it has to be one of the biggest and oldest trees on the island. The Cinnamon Bay guys say it flowers too, although we’ve never seen that. This tree is at least 70 feet tall, and with Russ and his 30 inch waist standing there, you can get an idea of how big around it is. 

T’ree Lizards restaurant is open for lunch by the way (at least when that big placard is out there). It’s not great food, but it’s not bad. It’s not fast service, but it’s friendly. And, as a day-tripper to Cinnamon Bay, your only other choice is the snack shack on the beach where you can get a Snickers Bar and a Red Stripe. (Not that a Snickers Bar and a Red Stripe on Cinnamon Beach is that bad of a thing….)

Why are those rocks called The Indians? Just ask your captain. These guys know all sorts of stuff. In this first installment of occasional minute-long vignettes, Captain John Brandi shares a story or two. Like John says…it’s true! A Shot of Brandi, at The Indians, below.

A brand new ONE BEDROOM villa! How unique is that? We came up with this great marketing line for these folks. “When it’s just the two of you.” (I know, brilliant. Thank you.)

But really. How many villa choices do budget-minded single couples have? Not many. This is a modern day take on a classic, West Indian cottage, done up all stylish. Hardwood floors, great kitchen, great furnishings, great view, a hot tub and a screened front porch. It’s in a close in Coral Bay spot and paved roads take you all the way to the front door. Blue Caribe is just finished, and it is seriously the bomb for 2 people. No video yet, and they need more pictures on their Website (we’ll fix that soon) but please check out Coral Bay’s newest, hottest little villa here.

This is Jimmy, an in-town fixture you’ll probably see at the Beach Bar or maybe JJ’s, who lives on a boat in Cruz Bay. If you do run across him, and the opportunity arises, strike up a conversation with him. He’s got endless great stories, some of which may be true. Sometimes he’s a little agitated, but mostly not. And if you talk to him for awhile, he’s sure to leave a smile on your face. 

The Virgin Islands Daily News has started putting video clips on its Website, through a new partnership with TV2. They will be News2 reports that coincide with the paper’s coverage of some stories. Daily News ad director Kevin Downey tells us they’ve been working out the kinks for the last 8 months, and while the videos will generally accompany hard news stories, he says there may occasionally be fun feature stories as well. (Look for the little News 2 Video Clip icon.)

Look for some other cool stuff from Daily News in the near future too, including more Web Cams on St. John, and Kevin says they’re working on a YouTube-like service for tourists to upload their vacation videos. (About half of the site’s readers don’t live in the Virgin Islands.)

Hmm. We need to get our resumes to Kevin. Sounds like they need a couple of St. John correspondents.

Panini isn’t the only place at Wharfside where de-construction is going on.

Remember the old Larry’s Landing? Here’s what it looks like today. The entire space has been gutted, and so have three other adjoining stores, making one huge space that we hear will become a sort of video slot machine hall with a bar. No one is talking much, but workers scrambling around in shirts that say Southland Gaming make it kind of obvious what’s going in here. Southland Gaming is the company that holds the lottery contract for St. Thomas and St. John. No matter what your opinion on this is, the big question is… who’s actually going to fill all those chairs gambling away the day when there’s a beautiful island outside to explore.