Here’s Captain Jay and wife Debbi (pictured with St. John Ruth at the Beach Bar.) This couple, regular posters on the www.usvi-on-line forum, are among the latest island newbies. They moved down from West Virginia to St. Thomas just a couple of weeks ago. Debbi has a great job at the University of the Virgin Islands and they’ve got short-term housing on campus. (Yes, that’s right. Debbi has the job. Jay’s along for the ride, BUT HEY, he just found some work too!) Island vehicle purchased and registered, iPhone working…what more to do? Maybe keep their blog updated. Good luck guys. Keep us posted. (St. Thomas is that big island with traffic, right?)
Thanks to Steve McKibben from Melbourne, Florida for spearheading a fundraising drive on the USVI Online forum. Steve says nearly 20 forumites contributed amounts ranging from $25 to $125 for a total of $1,015. The money raised from forum readers, along with the rest of the money raised at this weekend’s event, will help pay growing medical bills for Ocean Grill co-owner Jim Gillfillan. In case you missed it, you can read about the event here.
Here’s a flat, uneventful ride, except for the goats in the road (or sheep…how does it go? Tail up: Sheep, Tail down: Goats. Or is it the other way around?) Coccoloba to Skinny Legs, below!
Lion in da Sun operators Matt and Josh have quietly been working on a second boat for their charter business, and after weeks of working by day as Captains and by evenings as engineers, their new boat finally went in the water this week. Wednesday was their second double trip day, with brother one at the helm on the original boat and brother two piloting number two. The new boat is a 2003, 28 foot Scout and it’s a mono-hull, unlike the original power cat. But Matt says they’re very pleased with the way it handles the waves. And it’s also got a larger deck so it’s more comfortable for larger groups up to six, a group the original Lion in da Sun was a little cramped with.
Hire ‘em both and have your own flotilla! Like Chief Brody said, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” And the boys now have it. Double the pleasure, double the fun.
This new tourism commissioner, Beverly Nicholson-Doty, is earning her pay. If you’re in Atlanta, start looking for billboards, and ads on busses (this is one of the print ads) and a big radio and newspaper blitz, including trip giveaways. And Beverly is there this weekend to kick it all off. This ad campaign looks like it’s heavy on the “Come to St. Croix” side, but that’s okay with us. St. Croix needs a little boost. (A St. John Westin rep is also among those in Atlanta for the promotion this weekend, as are Delta Airlines reps, promoting their nonstop USVI flights from their Atlanta hub.)
“Georgia is one of the top ten geographic markets for the destination with over 110,000 visitors in the last five years,” Nicholson-Doty says in a statement. “ Our initiatives in Atlanta, as well as those cities we plan to visit in the upcoming months, create an exceptional opportunity to directly influence potential visitors from our most important markets.”
If you’re in Atlanta, free Cruzan rum punches at the Georgia Aquarium this weekend! If you’re not in Atlanta, the tourism team is heading to Washington, Philly, Boston, Dallas and Chicago next.
Here’s a big stretch of coral and pebble beach halfway between Coral Bay and Salt Pond, and you’re not likely to run across many other folks here. Johns Folly Beach below…
An update on Tigger. Cathy Noonan, a professional masseuse and acupuncturist, worked on Tigger for two hours yesterday. Tigger is holding his own, and his appetite isn’t suffering. Dinner last night, which he snapped up, was a rib from Skinny Legs and a piece of coffee cake. Ann Marie says “Keep the prayers up. I think they’re working.”
Congratulations to On-StJohn.com reader Laura Bentley, an office manager who lives in Napa, California (Wow!). Her purse giveaway entry had the earliest time stamp, at 12:17 am. EST. Laura was last on St. John in July ’07, and plans two trips this year; March and July. Cool! Kudos Laura. Your purse is on the way. Winners 2 through 5 are getting a really cool, new OSJ sticker. Heck. Make a purse out of it.
The answer we were looking for was: “FIVE DRUNK BUFFALO STAGGERING AROUND CRUZ BAY”
St. Thomas duty free chain Royal Caribbean has opened its St. John location at Mongoose Junction. Good location for traffic, just below Paradiso. Didn’t notice much in the way of audio or video electronics, but there is a lot of iPod accessories, cameras, portable DVD players and such… in addition to cases full of jewelry and watches. It’s Royal Caribbean’s 4th store…it has three locations on St. Thomas.
It’s very bright in there. If you’re jewelry shopping, don’t forget to look at the other places on island that carry locally designed and made goods too.
After climbing around the red rocks on this hike, you’ll enjoy an easy stroll across two little beaches, Little Reef Bay and Genti Bay. Then it’s back into the woods for a short hike to the ruins. That’s where we pick up. RBCH, Part Two below!
Somebody is about to get our Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park license plate purse!
The winner will be determined by the time stamp on their entry, in this case accepted only as a comment posted below. To keep the contest fair, no comment (entry) will be posted until 5 p.m. today. But the first reader to submit the correct answer will soon be swinging a hot little purse. Because we’re suckers for fashion fights, modest runner-up prizes will be given to the next four correct readers.
If you’ve been playing along, use the answers you found from previous clues to solve the following riddle:
Six bison stumble into the Beach Bar and start drinking themselves silly. One of the bison dies! The rest stumble into the street. What are they?
We just took a tour of the Hillcrest Guest House, and I gotta tell you, if you’re on a budget and there’s a vacancy here, you should take it. Owner Phyllis Hall runs a good property. There are four adorable air-conditioned guest suites, one of them big enough to accommodate 5. The place is spotless and it is an easy walk to town. The thing about this place is “bang for buck.” You don’t get bottled water and crackers and cheese on arrival. You get bottled water and crackers and cheese and soda and beer and a fruit basket and eggs and bacon and juice in the frig. Items may vary, but Phyllis does more guest stocking than anyplace we’ve ever been. There’s WiFi, cable, parking, beach chairs and a great view over Cruz Bay. Check it out. The Hillcrest Guest House Website is here.
