Congratulations to Islandhopper for finding all 16 island-centric plants in the General McWade meets President Obama photo.
Xislandgirl came very close, as did Yez, who, like some, overshot with things Greg didn’t add. But it was Islandhopper who found the one thing nobody else saw (us included.) The Spanish Doubloon pin on Wade’s jacket.
They were:
-Medical Marijuana jacket pin
-Tropical motif tie
-Neptune jacket pin
-Corps tat on Wade’s neck
-Petroglyph ring on Obama
-Love tats on Obama fingers
-Trunk Bay picture on wall
-Freedom statue on credenza
-Cruzan single barrel rum on desk
- USVI lapels instead of MC lapels
-Wade nametag
-Skull and Crossbones buttons
-U.S. Virgin Islands flag medal
-Spanish doubloon pin
-Jamaican flag pin
-Jolly Roger flag pin
And just for fun, (#17) Greg makes a political statement…and puts a book titled “Socialism” on the President’s desk.
And for your winning powers of observation Islandhopper…your prize is….a Bongo purse!
The loveable little 200 page St. John Phonebook has taken a giant leap into the 21st century.
Check out this new hyper-interactive site, St. John Live. It’s Facebook meets RSS feeds meets blogs meets Websites meets photo galleries meets chat rooms all rolled into one somewhat overwhelming social media hub. And it’s free for businesses to be part of it.
” Hank [Slodden, the publisher] wanted to re-do the Phonebook Website, and we wanted something more dynamic than a static site, and I thought it’d be really cool to have an interactive directory that everyone could participate in,” says Jena Squires, the Phonebook’s graphic designer. “The general idea is to make it a hub of information for the community that everyone can update and contribute to themselves.”
The St. John Phonebook has no plans to ever charge for membership and that means it is, at the very least, free advertising for businesses that jump on board.
It’s got the potential to be a good source of information for visitors too, not just locals. To be honest, we haven’t quite figured it all out yet, but the more you poke around, the more you start getting it. Check it out, here.
The Commander-in-Chief recently called on General McWade for advice on how to deal with all the sharks in Washington.
OSJ reader TLT called some of you gullible for taking St. John artist Greg Damron’s fancy Photoshop of the No Littering sign seriously. “Next up, Wade the Shark in the Oval Office,” she posted.
Next up indeed.
Here’s the fun part. We know Greg is a master at graphic alteration. But can you find all of the liberties he’s taken here? Deadline is midnight Thursday. Whoever finds the most by then, or whoever finds them all first wins the prize. (Remember, our prizes rock.)
Click on the photo for full size. Click a second time for full resolution if your browser requires. You’ll have to look very closely. Hint: There are way more than a dozen island-centric plants in this Photo(shop).
JJ’s Texas Coast needed a way to lure in more business, and JJ says she’s found it. A $5 Happy Hour small plates menu.
“We’ve lost our walk-in traffic from visitors who would see us from the ferry since the park construction and fence have blocked us from view, so I needed to find a way to get more traffic,” JJ tells us. “I figured everybody is already doing Happy Hour drinks, so I came up with Happy Hour food and it’s been very popular.”
So what do you get for $5? Nachos, hot & spicy wings, veggie burger, potato skins, chilly, chicken wrap, Mexican pizza, peel and eat shrimp, mozzarella sticks, or crispy tacos…just to name a few. The peel and eat shrimp and potato skins have been the biggest hits.
She also says she’ll keep the $5 Happy Hour menu, even after the park renovations are done.
Locals and regular visitors still know where to find JJ’s, and when you do, here’s your new view. Hey, you get to see what they’re doing. Consider it a dinner theater!
Skinny Legs owner Moe Chabuz and his wife Toni are getting away for a while. Far away and for quite awhile. The two just bought an RV and plan a six month, cross-country tour of America and maybe Canada, and will leave Skinny Legs in the very capable hands of its staff.
“I’m 61, and after 32 years of being in this business, I told my wife last year that we needed to take some time off,” Moe tells us. “But what to do? I get sea sick, so sailing was out, but I like to hike and run and we want to see America.”
They’ll start in Florida, where one daughter lives, and head to Long Island where another daughter and grandchildren are. Moe plans to take a little break to visit Poland with his mother, and then it will be off on a cross country trip in the RV.
“We bought a 29 foot Class-A motor home. We wanted something bigger than a van because I don’t want to be crawling over my wife at 3 o’clock in the morning to go to the bathroom. It has a nice queen sized bed. We’re also traveling with two dogs. That’s 12 feet. We need some room.”
So how are they preparing for their adventure?
“We just watched RV with Robin Williams, and laughed all the way through it.”
Here’s Jonathan Mongie, winner of our recent Villa Vittles Chicken contest with his booty. Woody’s hot sauce, Java Booty Rub, nutmeg and a grater and of course Cruz Bay Grill Rub. You should enter our contests often.
Mongie, pictured here with Savannah and Wyatt, young St. John fanatics.
Hercules Pate Delight is officially open for business again, rebuilt and ready for hungry customers after a fire last August burned it down.
Arthur and Monica Hercules opened their restaurant more than 20 years ago and the mainstay of their menu has always been the pate, which confuses lots of tourists.
“We get a lot of continentals coming in and expecting to get a liver dish,” smiles Hercules. “I’m always explaining our pate is a flour-based dough that we knead and roll, and then fill with meat and fry.”
Chicken, fish, mutton and shrimp are some of Hercules’ most popular pates, and the place gets busy for its $6 lunch plate on Thursdays.
Arthur Hercules serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week and will expand to evenings soon, with a dinner menu that will include lobster tail, prime rib, steaks and conch.
Next time you’re nearby, stop in. Arthur Hercules is always eager to give pate newbies a chance to try some delicious local specialties.
Who would’ve known that a non-profit selling raffle tickets for a fundraiser would violate PayPal’s online gambling policy?
The folks at ACC certainly didn’t, but they’ve had to take down their online raffle sales through PayPal just hours after launching.
ACC sold several hundred dollars worth of tickets online Thursday, and we’re told PayPal has agreed not to void those sales, so if you bought some they’re still good.
We’ll let you know if and when ACC figures out another way to sell its “Woof-fle” tickets online.
If you can’t make it to Wagapalooza this year, or just want to get a jump start on your raffle – er, Wooffle ticket buying, you can online this year.
There’s lots of stuff this year. Two nights at Coconut Coast Studios Villas or Gallows Point or Grande Bay or Lavender Hill or Maho Bay among them. Lots of gift certificates too, many for some of your favorite restaurants.
Our official Park Renovations Correspondent Ruth captured a rare “fence open” peak inside the park from her St. John Spice perch, and as you can see there is progress. At least from the “out with the old” point of view.
See that plywood box to the left of the truck?
For whatever reason, the decision was made not to try to move the park’s Freedom statue during renovations, but rather work around it. So, it is temporarily protected it in a museum-like crate.
