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Archive for December, 2007Jeep Cam: Last stretch of North Shore Road!Monday, December 31st, 2007We reach the end of North Shore Road, and it’s one of the prettiest stretches. No amazing overlooks and not much to point out, but there is an endless green canopy overhead. We’ll start just past Maho, where the road actually splits into two way traffic for awhile. There are a couple of road signs to pay attention to, but Centerline Road, and Colombo’s Smoothies aren’t far now.
Guy Benjamin, star gazing, West Indian cooking among 2008 Friends seminarsSunday, December 30th, 2007
These seminars cost as little as 20 bucks, but the popular ones fill up fast. If you don’t get the newsletter, there is a full list of this year’s events here. One too many trips to the buffetFriday, December 28th, 2007 A good indication you’ve overdone the holiday meal at Hawksnest. (The bench looks like that with nobody sitting on it too, but how could you resist that picture.) So long fair ladyThursday, December 27th, 2007 The Beach Bar is missing one of its best. Michelle, a St. Johnian by way of Boston for the last decade, is gone. She packed up and moved to Rhode Island a couple of weeks ago. Love and a man and maybe the threat of melanoma pulled her back to the states. (On a personal note this is really sad because she always agreed with me over Russ and nobody else agrees with me over Russ down here and because she always finished the other half of my sandwich.) She also hated having her picture taken, and if she finds out I posted this one on the Internet she will hunt me down. We once saw Michelle throw a homeless guy twice her size out on his ear. Sexy. Tough. That’s hot. Hawt. Bye Michelle. You were one of the best. Had to go to work today?Wednesday, December 26th, 2007Na-nanana-NAH…
Trunk Bay on Christmas Day…
Hawksnest on a surfin’ holiday afternoon…. (And you’re lookin’ at what right now?) Jeep Cam: North Shore Road: Part 6Monday, December 24th, 2007Two more installments until it’s Smoothie time. We’ll leave the Maho overlook and head down the steep hill and sharp turns until we actually get there. A glimpse of beautiful Maho Bay ahead!
Words you really don’t want to hearSunday, December 23rd, 2007 “Uh, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. The good news is that we are number 30 for takeoff. (Groans in the cabin.) The bad news is that there is a ground halt in the Northeast. Sit back and relax. It will be awhile before we take off.” (Resigned silence in the cabin.) How long was it? I made it to page 174 of The Kite Runner before takeoff. And I read REAL slow. The Cyril E. King Airport never looked so good. Rhumb LunchSaturday, December 22nd, 2007 Another noontime stop to consider. Rhumb Lines in Cruz Bay started serving lunch again this week. It’ll be open for lunch every day except Tuesday. Salads and sandwiches in the $9 range. Entrees in the $12 range. Lunch is available from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. You can see what’s on the lunch menu…by clicking here. (As always, Rhumb Lines is open for dinner starting at 5:30, except Tuesdays.) Ready to BongoSaturday, December 22nd, 2007 The word is out. The Bongo boys are back in the ‘hood. Or, as Ruth at St. John Spice has taken to calling us, “Wallace and Gromit.” Holidays in paradise. Doesn’t get much better than this. No plastic chairs!Friday, December 21st, 2007Chaliese Smith is a designer and a new St. Johnian by way of Texas. She hopes to carve out a business helping villas be all they can be. Meet Chaliese, and get a few ideas on how to plan your new villa or spruce up your old one. And we’ll show a few shots of some villas we think did a great job. Oh, and Chaliese agrees with us about the plastic patio furniture. Keep an eye out for a couple of rich guysFriday, December 21st, 2007 That’s the Rising Sun yacht sitting just outside of Cruz Bay Thursday evening, and it’s owned by Oracle founder and rich guy Larry Ellison. Actually, it’s only co-owned by Ellison now. Fellow rich guy David Geffen now owns half of the 450 foot monster. (That’s what the Wall Street Journal said back in January.) What roommates they must be. “Larry give me back my Lennon CD!” “Oops. Sorry Dave. Thought it said Linux.”A quick check at Yachtspotter.com confirms Rising Sun is in the ‘hood. What? You’ve never heard of Yacht Spotter? Uh oh. We’ve just introduced you to yet another way to waste your time. Hope you’re not busy. Go here.
To tame a thiefThursday, December 20th, 2007 Stuff gets taken from villas. Not all the time and not in the hardened criminal sort of way. In the “memento” sort of way. A margarita glass as a reminder of that perfectly grilled steak. A coffee table book that’s got a photo spread on what turned out to be a favorite beach. A Putumayo CD that was playing the first time a couple of lovebirds made out on a floatie. Almost always very inexpensive but sometimes hard to replace stuff. Which brings me to today’s photo. A sign. Signs are tempting. And one that says “This Way To The Beach”? That’s got snatch me written all over it. I WOULD TAKE IT! Which brings me to the villa owner who has this sign. On the back, she has written what you see below. And it has stayed there for two years. 
Lawsuit seeks removal of Grande Bay’s top floorsWednesday, December 19th, 2007 Grande Bay developers, hit with a lawsuit by a group of condo buyers earlier this year, are now facing a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment filed by property owners directly behind the development. Citing what they say are obvious VI zoning violations, including height and density restrictions, they want the Court to force the developer to remove the top two stories. You can read the motion here. Attorney Simone Francis, who represents Grande Bay developers Bay Isle Associates, has not returned our call seeking comment.
New Feature: St. John VistasWednesday, December 19th, 2007Here’s one of the ways Beach Break is evolving. We call this feature St. John Vistas, and we hope you enjoy a couple of minutes of all of the beauty St. John has to offer. There’s an endless supply of stuff for a broader feature like this. We call the first installment Nanny Point, although technically it’s more Nanny Point-ish, as we didn’t go around the point to the far South and West. This is more the Drunk Bay side and views from the cliffs above. St. John Vistas, below. Tell us if you like the feature.
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Flip open your new Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park Tidings newsletter to page 3. There is the list of all the seminars planned for this year. There are more than two dozen of them this year, and they’re scattered from January through April. Among them, “A Glimpse Into St. John’s Past” with Guy Benjamin who will tell stories about his 90-some years living on St. John. That’s February 17. Astrologer and mythologist Kelly Hunter will lead a star-gazing night March 8. And if you want to do Yawzi Point, you can hike it and snorkel there with park ranger Laurel Brannick, or learn how to make Roti and Johnny Cake with Joyce Sprauve in April.
