We met some friends from Washington at the Ritz Carlton on St. Thomas for lunch the other day and we must say that it’s a very impressive property. The hotel underwent a big $40 million renovation last year and the adjacent timeshares are beautiful too. Very nice beaches as well. Our friends say the property definitely lives up to the Ritz Carlton reputation. Me? I’m glad somebody else was paying. If a ten dollar bill doesn’t cover a burger it is more of a burger than I deserve.
Cruz Bay is days away from a fully stocked convenience store. “First Stop” (like the first place you stop) will open at Raintree Court, next to the Fish Trap restaurant, soon. Karim Salem, standing in front of the future store, already owns a First Stop convenience store on St. Thomas, near the old Hard Rock Café. His St. John location will include convenience store stuff , as well beer and liquor, beach gear, cigars, frozen food and produce. And he tells us he also plans to include a deli and coffee bar. Karim’s son, Karim Salem, Jr. will be in charge of the First Stop St. John outpost. Oh, and that window behind Karim will soon be a door. He says he wants street presence.
They’re busy painting and building out in there. Karim says the store will be open in a week or two.
Google Homer Hickam. Wait, not now. When you’re done here. This guy has had something to do with everything from a blockbuster Hollywood movie to the Olympic Torch to the International Space Station to David Letterman to the Hokies touchdown cannon. And he’s a NYT Best Selling author too. So why are we writing about him? Because he spends much of his time on St. John these days. One of the island’s quiet celebrities. Oh, and he has a new book out about a rich woman who falls in love with a coal miner and the story starts and ends on St. John. Watch the video below if you want to see Homer talk about his latest book, “Red Helmet.” You can order a copy through our online store.
Homer is on the road promoting the book right now, so our interview was of the e-mail sort. Read our Q&A with Homer Hickam here! (you really should read this. He’s an interesting guy.) Then you can Google him.
Destination: The Reef Bay sugar mill ruins, and the Petroglyphs! Gerald Singer’s “Off the Beaten Track” was our guide, and it was spot on accurate on every detail. We’ll take you on this hike in a few installments. Chapter One: We start at the trail head, hike down the hill and along the breezy beach. (And I should remind you, we have a flare for the dramatic.) RBCH, Part One, below!
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Colibri is a classic Great Cruz Bay villa. Fantastic location. Recently underwent a big renovation. Master up, two guests down. Great pool and, well, you decide for yourself about the views. Awesome.
COLIBRI: 3 Bedroom, Big Pool, Great Views, Great Cruz Bay, $3,495,000
Golfing? On St. John? Yep. The Tahiti Open is a new name on an old St. John tradition. Over the years, there have been a number of Pond Bay Opens and they’ve been fundraisers for someone’s medical bills. Teams of four play through on a makeshift golf course down on the shore of Chocolate Hole.
The “Last Ever Tahiti Open at Pond Bay” next month is a fundraiser for 37 year old Jim Gillfillan. He is one of the two brothers who launched Ocean Grill last year and he is battling cancer and his medical bills are mounting.
So what can you do? Well you can sign up a team for the golf tourney. Or you can sponsor a hole. Or you can buy some raffle tickets for some great prizes. Or you can get in on an auction for some cool stuff too (Blue Tang Productions has a couple of items on the auction block.) And you don’t have to be on-island to buy a raffle ticket or two. For more information, click here!
Technically it is Chocolate Hole East Road, but since there’s not a Chocolate Hole West, everybody just knows it as Chocolate Hole Road. This is another villa thoroughfare and we’ll point out the ones we know. Feel free to chime in with the ones we miss. Chocolate Hole Road, below!
I know, I know. Most of you could care less about US Aiways food stories. You tell me every time I write one. But I can’t help it. Especially since I’ll be eating it again tomorrow. US Airways stopped giving out horrible free food several months ago and started offering not so horrible food for sale. The menu changes periodically too. Right now, coachers get a choice of a walnut chicken salad sandwich and some kind of antipasto thing with fresh(ish) mozzarella and tomatoes, prosciutto and artichoke hearts. Really quite tasty. They’re 7 bucks, which ain’t cheap, but it beats the $5 snack-box-of-crap (which is all US Airways offers on the way from St. Thomas to the states.)
Fly another airline? Tell me what they serve you on the way down. I might develop coach envy.
Here is a beautiful little beach that’s part of the Maho Bay eco-camping retreat, and the beach is full of happy looking families. Which surprised us! Based on all the hitchhikers we’ve picked up over the years who’ve said they’re spending time at Maho, we expected to see a beautiful little beach full of young studs and lasses. It turns out they are all up in the hills, repairing walkways, doing laundry and cooking food to pay for their room and board. We walked around the Maho campgrounds and it’s kinda Swiss Family Robinson cool. But… one observation: Everyplace you go, there is the overwhelming smell of Off wafting through the air. Little Maho, below…
This snorkel mask with a built-in camera made its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, (and was even mentioned on the usvi-on-line forum recently.) We’re in line to get a few to put in our online store. But first we need to field test it. We’ve been told we’ll get one by early March. I see rocks. Russ sees turtles. He’ll field test. Stay tuned. (In the meantime, check out Liquid Image’s Website for sample photos and video.)
The Roanoke car barge is back after refurbishment in Puerto Rico sporting a new, Rasta-like paint job. This is our favorite barge. It’s the one with the palm trees and, even though it’s not the fastest barge in service, it’s the one that’s most fun to ride over on. You can get out of your Jeep and sit on one of the decks instead of being trapped next to the garbage truck that keeps its diesel engine idling the whole trip. Roanoke, Capt’n Vic, General II and Mr. B are the current barge team. The original General is still around. It was sold to a company on Tortola last year, and can be seen running cargo around the BVIs.
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Boatman Point is a lot like Klein Bay. Both have some great houses with incredible views. Both are close to town. Yet neither one is on many people’s radar. (And we suspect folks who live in these neighborhoods like it that way.)
This house is in Boatman Point…past Chocolate Hole, just before Gifft Hill Road. We just shot it, and this is a VERY cool house.
Currently it is not in a rental program, but it would be a fantastic vacation rental. The views are also amazing, and a bit different from the usual South Shore views in Chocolate Hole or Great Cruz Bay. And the house and the property appear to be extremely well maintained. Big lot too. Almost an acre.
RENDEZVOUS VILLA: 3BR, 3BA, GREAT LOCATION: $1,850,000.
