If you win big at the video slots at the new Parrot Club, be prepared to prove who you are.
Tracy and Kathy Carroll from Hermitage, Pennsylvania learned that the hard way.
The couple, who have a two week timeshare at the Westin, come to St. John every October, and this year they decided to play a bit at Cruz Bay’s new casino. They promptly won $1,250, but Tracy being able to recite his Social Security number wasn’t enough to collect. He was asked to show his Social Security card. All Vegas like.
“ We don’t carry Social Security cards with us, so we had to go to the Social Security office on St. Thomas to get proof,” says Kathy. “Tracy spent $100 on taxis on St. Thomas, and we got a parking ticket on our rental car in St. John,” she says. “But we did get the money later that night after presenting the letter we got.”
The House probably doesn’t lose that often, but if you beat it for more than a couple of hundred bucks, you’ll need the same proof too.
Was it worth it? “What an ordeal. See you next year,” says Kathy.
Meet April and Dave Wolf, who have taken over the old Duffy’s Love Shack in Cruz Bay. They’re transforming the space (which had a brief reprieve as Lizard’s Landing before closing down a couple of years ago) into Crazy Cracker’s, and hope to open in early December.
The Columbus, Georgia couple brings an extensive club and restaurant background with them, and say they are creating a fun, party place with affordable food and good music.
But first, there is much work to do, and their posse, many of whom came to St. John with April and Dave, are rolling up their sleeves and getting to work renovating the two story space. (Or, in the case of Jose and Dustin, below, doing away with sleeves – and almost everything else – altogether.)
It could be cheaper, but gas prices are still way down. What a difference a summer makes. The price at the E&C station outside of Cruz Bay today…and six months ago.
The changing of seasons isn’t the only thing those bright red flamboyant blooms have to fear. They are also mealtime favorites of the iguana.
Russ spent three days living in a tree amongst a family of iguanas, hiding in a makeshift blind and surviving on only Cliff Bars and adrenaline, to bring you this up close look.
If you fly American Airlines to earn miles, you may earn fewer of them. As of next year, American is changing the automatic 500 mile minimum credit for individual legs of flights, like the 500 miles you get now for the 60 mile flight between St. Thomas and Puerto Rico. Platinum and Gold members will continue to get the automatic 500 miles. For everybody else, you’ll get the exact miles flown.
Last month, American raised the number of miles required for a free peak travel Caribbean flight from 35,000 to 45,000
If you want to earn that many miles without leaving the Caribbean, you’ll have to fly to and from Puerto Rico 375 times.
Coby Cooper, manager at The Balcony in Cruz Bay, is adapting to the economy.
Like Chateau Bordeaux did a few weeks ago, The Balcony has revamped its menu and lowered prices.
“In this economy, money is a little tighter for people and we’re trying to cater to what our guests are looking for,” Coby, who came to The Balcony from Pastory Gardens two years ago, tells us. “People are looking for more value now.”
The new menu has choices like herb roasted chicken for $26. The price has been lowered on their popular mango glazed babyback ribs, now $32. And they’ve added exotic sounding new menu items like Moqueca, a Brazilian lobster stew, as a less expensive alternative to whole lobster.
And if you come in between 5 pm and 6 pm, you can have a salad or appetizer, any entrée on the menu and a glass of wine for $40.
The Balcony also promises a new lunch menu within the next week or two.
Coby’s recommendation? “Try the veal ragout with pappardella pasta and Chianti for $25,” he says. “That has quickly become the employee favorite.”
It has happened again. St. John claims two more victims.
Meet Mike and Nicole. They visited St. John for the first time in May (and recently made sure their favorite watering hole, The Beach Bar, was well represented at a concert tailgate party in Boston.)
Mike and Nicole also caught the wicked, hard to shake St. John Bug.
“We fell in love. We loved how low key and relaxing it was. The people of St. John we met were great to us and we heard some great stories,” Mike says. “We’re already making plans for our next visit and it won’t be the last as we are indeed looking at a place we can call home.”
Welcome to the other side Mike and Nicole. The bad news is there is no cure. The good news is, why would you want one?
Annie Caswell is a Coral Bay artist who makes beautiful jewelry, mysterious spirit dolls and colorful paintings. But she’s also the first island artist to immortalize the island’s Dip signs in t-shirt design. And she’s pretty funny too. Meet Annie Caswell, below!
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The owners of L’Esprit de la Vie want us to reintroduce you to their Rendezvous Bay home. We’re glad to oblige.
L’Esprit de la Vie is a great place. There is a huge great room, a fantastic kitchen, a big pool, a quiet back patio, four very large bedrooms, and views of one of the prettiest bays around the island.
