St. John resident Jeremy Zuber won this morning’s 8 Tuff Miles road race for the sixth year in a row. The 28 year old crossed the finish line in Coral Bay in 49 minutes, 35 seconds, just shy of his finish time last year.
On his heels, 31 year old Court Lilly from Cincinnati, finishing in second place at 50 minutes, 20 seconds. And third place to 43 year old Andy Cherry, from Philadelphia, at 55 minutes, 30 seconds.
First place among women was 46 year old Heather Gracie, from Peapack, New Jersey finishing the race in 1 hour, 3 minutes, 40 seconds.
This is the perfect hike for you Type-A personalities. A clearly marked beginning, a measurable halfway point and an end that puts you right back where you started, all in about a half an hour.
We’ll show you around below. (We’re not historians. We just read the signs.)
This is an easy stroll. You’ll see several ruins, a cemetery and some bugs and stuff.
This is Jim and Susan Murphy. The couple bought Villa Serendipity in 2005 and three years later, like St. John Spice, they did something they did not know would change the daily routines of thousands of St. John lovers. They installed a Webcam.
“I did it for two reasons,” Jim tells us. We live in the Northeast and I wanted to be able to see my view during the frigid months, but I was also looking to increase exposure for the villa.”
And that worked. The Webcam, which went live in March of 2008, was featured on the USVI-ON-LINE.com travel forum shortly after. Its pristine shot of Chocolate Hole and St. Thomas over the hill went from just a few hits a day to about 4,000 a day now. “Rental inquiries have doubled since I installed it,” Jim says.
Jim also just changed the angle a bit.
“I was sitting on the deck Saturday watching one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen, and I noticed the Webcam was missing it. So I got on a ladder the next day and moved it about 15 degrees.”
We saw this “Obama” license plate in the window of a car recently. Then we saw the same plate on a taxi. And then another on a truck.
We checked, and you can’t get one of these, but there are a dozen or so of them floating around. Mementos, and not valid plates, they were given by the Virgin Islands DNC to delegation members who traveled to Denver for the Democratic Convention in August. Quite the sought-after prize. Or passed on gift.
You can still get a Friends of the VINP “Obama” plate. According to Friends, as of this post, no one has requested it. (But for that matter, also available: “Bush,” “Clinton,” “Reagan,” “Carter,” “Ford,” and “Nixon.”)
We’d be exaggerating to say Obama is everywhere, but there is a lot of support for the new President being shown around the island.
The Front Yard closed last year, and Courtesy Car Rental relocated a couple of blocks away a few months ago, leaving the landlords with a prime piece of real estate on their hands. What better use of a parking lot…than parking?
Smith Square Parking opened over the weekend, right next door to the police station.
“The leases were up and we decided to do something on our own,” says Frankie Smith, who calls the venture a family affair. “We have other plans for the property down the road, but I don’t want to say anything more about that right now.”
$5 buys you 90 minutes, and $10 is good for four hours, same rates at the Slimman’s lot a couple of blocks away.
Gifft Hill Garden Apartment, a spiffy three bedroom rental on the first level of a two level townhouse in the Gifft Hill neighborhood, now has a pool, making this rental an even better bargain. The owners are marketing toward longer-stay guests, but they’ll gladly do one week rentals too.
Great location, a minute or so from Centerline Road’s mid-point; Cruz Bay in one direction, North Shore Beaches and Coral Bay in the other. (The entire townhouse is also for sale, for $895,000. The upstairs is identical to the main level.)
More on Gifft Hill Garden Apartment here. And check out the new video, below.
OSJ reporters Michael and Mike skipped town yesterday and went to Trunk Bay. It was a bust. The snorkel trail was closed and beachgoers were advised to swim at their own risk.
M&M say Jumbie was much calmer, and packed.
“We saw lots of live conch and a giant hermit crab of a thing eating one of them!”
Maybe the crab was just looking for a bigger house. A foreclosure vulture.
Contant Point loops around the hillside between Great Cruz Bay and the barge dock. We’ll start at the top of Jacob’s Ladder and end up at the dumpsters by the E&C gas station.
The truck belongs to Mike Garbo, who runs the sandwich shop at Larry’s Landing and Redbeard’s, and it turns out there’s no real motive behind the message.
“I needed a tailgate, so I cut a piece of plywood. I didn’t want to leave it blank, and I had a can of spray paint” Mike says. “I’ve got nothing against vegetarians, but I’m from North Dakota. I eat meat and potatoes. Sometimes three times a day.”
Mike also still cooks up Prime Rib Night at Tamarind Inn, and, proof that not all restaurants are suffering right now, he says G-Spot (for Garbo) had its best month ever last month.
Cruz Bay Watersports took us up for a first-hand look at parasailing, and it was a very fun morning. You should do this.
You’ll leave from the Westin, head out of Great Cruz Bay and, depending on conditions, go either north or south. Ask your captain. You may even have a choice. Be sure to ask for a “dip” and a “freefall” too.
And heck, when you’re done, recount your harrowing experience over lunch and drinks on the beach at the Westin. You’re already there.
