Gerald Singer has authored several popular books including the St. John Beach Guide, Tales of St. John and our all-time favorite, St. John Off the Beaten Track. Believe us, even if you’ve got no interest in hiking, Off the Beaten Track is an entertaining page turner and it’s packed full of stuff, and the latest edition includes tons of pictures. It started out as just some notes about things to do he‘d leave for folks renting his house, and before he knew it, he had a pile of information. So a book was born. Cool, huh? We had a chance to hike with Gerald one recent morning, and hear a few stories. And now you can too! Gerald Singer, below.
St. John rumbled and rolled for what felt like a long time when an afternoon earthquake rattled through the islands at about 3 o‘clock. The quake, centered near Martinique, measured a 7.4 magnitude according to the USGS, and was felt from Coral Bay (“It felt like a rumble, like a really big truck going by…”) to Cruz Bay (“I’ve felt stronger ones but this one lasted a really long time!”). No damage reported.
The territory is in a Seismic 4 Zone, the same as California, and there are hundreds of mostly unfelt quakes a year. Now you know why the pictures are always crooked at the villa you’re in.
St. John artist Elaine Estern, of Coconut Coast Studios, was one of two St. John artists invited to paint a Christmas Tree ornament for the White House this year, and paint one she did. The ornament will hang on a tree in the White House’s Blue Room, and Elaine is at this very moment in Washington for the ceremony of the lighting of the tree.
“It was odd. Painting on an ornament was like painting on a mirror,” says Elaine. “Watching myself paint was the strangest sensation.”
And it’s bigger than it looks. With a diameter of 12 inches, that’s 3 inches bigger than a basketball! (This year’s theme is the National Park Service.)
Kimberly Boulon also has an ornament on the tree. You can see pictures of hers, and two others from the Virgin Islands, at The St. John Source.
Original List Price:
$2,750,000 Price Reduced to:
$1,950,000 Days on Market:
693 Closing Sales Price:
$1,500,000
In this new, occasional feature, we will keep track of actual villa sales closings, because the only price that really matters is what it actually sells for.
We should call this sale the bargain of the year. Great property, extra large, 1+ acre waterfront lot (half the cuh-ching right there), nice existing home. And it went for a huge discount.
If you’re not familiar with this villa, check out the “Villas for Sale” link. Lisa Durgin at Vacation Vistas rents it, (and it looks like it’s open a few times in the next couple of months.)
Beachfront, or waterfront villas are uncommon on St. John but not unheard of. The next few Beach Breaks will feature beaches accessed by villas. There’s no such thing as a private beach on St. John, but there are beaches reached only by private property (or water), so that pretty much makes them private. We’ve already shown you a couple: Calypso by the Sea and La Miramar. Here’s another…one reached by Harbour View, a big, luxury villa next to the Westin that overlooks a sprawling lawn and its own beach.
Somebody wanted to know what the new Red Hook ferry terminal looked like inside and apologies for the crappy quality of these pictures, but just like last time I took pictures here, I was harassed the moment I took out a camera. So these are sneaky cell phone pictures. I don’t know what the deal is, but the way security acts here, you’d think it was the command center for the Northeast power grid or something.
Anyway, it’s nice. Indoor seating. Proper ticket counters. A coffee shop, a gift shop, a snack bar, a booze bar and a random guy selling CDs out of a trunk. And, late in the afternoon when these were taken, hardly anybody there. Oh, and there are really nice bathrooms. Larry Craig would be impressed.
In the latest installment of one of our favorite, occasional features, Captain John Brandi tells a tale of treasure! A Shot of Brandi, at The Caves, below.
This is a paid advertisement but the comments are our own.
Remember the most recent Beach Break? This is the villa that gets you to it. La Miramar sits on a huge, waterfront lot. The house has two master bedrooms, plus a separate one bedroom apartment and a gigantic great room with a big open kitchen. This is a very big, very nice home and Chocolate Hole is RIGHT THERE. If there’s money left over after you buy it, go boat shopping. You can park it right outside your back door.
LA MIRAMAR: Three bedrooms, sunset views, private setting, waterfront location. $2,889,000
Dispatched from her world headquarters high atop the Dockside Building, Ruth Ernst’s latest St. John Spice newsletter is now on e-newsstands everywhere. In this latest edition: hear about in-store specials, see a real picture of the new sweatshirts, get restaurant news, a schedule of December events and meet the likes of Sheila from Sheila’s Pot, entertainer James Milne, and the new cop in town, officer Matthew. Why wait to read somebody else’s copy. Get your own, hot off the presses, here!
A couple of people have asked for a roundabout construction update. There’s not much to update. Well, the Texaco station is definitely gone. The sheet metal is down. The “Danger, Men at Work” signs are still there, begging punch lines. If you want an update on this project’s schedule, search around someplace else. On this project, we’ll only report actual events, not promises of events.
BUT… we’ve shown you the shortcut to avoid all of this once it does get going. (And you thought we were just sloppy entertainment.)
The Coccoloba complex in Coral Bay is a treasure trove of unique little stores…and Big Fish and Little Fish are two of them. Meet Christy Dove, the owner , and St. Johnian by way of Penn State. An aging grandfather led Christy and her family to St. John years ago. Today, Mom helps in the shops and Dad runs book-it vi. And Christy runs stores that showcase what locals make. (And she’s single!) Meet Christy Dove, and find out how Chilly Billy’s got its name, below!
St. John artist Elaine Estern, of 
Original List Price:
Russ just had a birthday and I shopped with On-StJohn.com readers in mind. Nothing makes a little Videographer happier than a brand new Mac.
