Today’s Lunch of the Week is Aqua Bistro in Coral Bay.

Here we have the Crunchy Grouper Sandwich, with fries and tartar sauce for $12.

And, the Gyro, lamb today, but you can also choose chicken or veggie, with tzatziki sauce for $12.

The cell tower at the top of Bordeaux Mountain marks the highest elevation on St. John.

According to the iPhone Elevation App, standing at the base of the tower puts you 1,225 feet above sea level.  That’s not right.

The iPhone doesn’t have an actual altimeter, so it uses GPS and Google Maps to do its calculating, and it puts sea level, i.e. at the beach, at 15 feet above sea level. So maybe it’s off 15 feet.

But 1,225 plus 15 still comes up to only 1,240 feet above sea level at Bordeaux Mountain’s top.  That’s still not right, so either the island is sinking or this iPhone app wasn’t worth the 99 cents.

Do you know how high Bordeaux Mountain is?  Enter your best guest in comments.  (And then click here to see how close you were. Don’t cheat.)

This is Max, an 11-year old African Gray parrot from Puerto Rico who lives at the Westin.

Max can allegedly whistle the “Andy Griffith Show” theme song, say “Hello,” meow like a cat and bark like a dog, though Max (who is a she) has never done any of these things for us.

Max is one of several parrots living at the Westin.

His pals include 21-year-old Repo, a Blue and Gold Macaw from Hawaii, who can say “Hola,” and 9 year-old Esmeralda, a Green-winged Macaw born on St. John, who blows kisses and dances.

Let us know if these birds have delivered a performance for you.

The hill between the Westin and the turnoffs for Rock Ridge Road on your left and Roman Road on your right at the top of the South Shore Road is another fairly steep incline.

The South Shore Road at its steepest, just past the dumpster, clocks in at 15-degrees. This is 15-degrees:

Don’t forget to browse the dumpster store before heading up the hill.  Today was appliance store day.

Today’s rum punch is served up by friendly Stephanie, at the Trunk Bay concession hut.

Stephanie makes her rum punch with two kinds of Cruzan rum, choices as the mood suits her. This time, Cruzan mango and Cruzan black cherry rum, punch mix of unknown ingredients from a big jug, no garnish, in a plastic glass.  And, for environmental reasons, no straws at Trunk Bay.

The Trunk Bay rum punch: $7. A pricey punch, but the view is worth every dime.

One of St. John’s longest-running bars is closed. Larry’s Landing was a victim of the economy. Saturday was its last day.

“Business didn’t keep up with rent and expenses,” says Wally Coburn, who came to St. John in 1989 and who’s been running Larry’s Landing the last seven years.

“There are a lot of businesses going under these days, and now I guess I’m one of them,” says Wally.

Wally will be selling the bar’s assets Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to pay outstanding bills. There are two pool tables, three flat screen TVs, chairs, stools, lamps, coolers…everything is for sale including the kitchen sink.

Stop by and make an offer.

Wally says he’d also consider job offers. “Something with ‘executive’ in the title would be nice,” he chuckles.

Alvis Christian Sr., founder of the John’s Folly Learning Institute wants to thank everybody who donated a little money to help fund its kids’ trip to Puerto Rico last month.

And it sounds like they had a busy trip.

“We traveled from San Juan in the East, around the North and West, to the South – visiting the Arecibo Observatory, the largest radiotelescope on earth, the Zoo in Mayaguez and the Park dedicated to Christopher Columbus in Mayaguez, revisited the Indigenous Cultural Center in Ponce, spent time in Aguadilla with people of the Bahia faith, shopped in malls, swam and played at the Villas in Anasco, and enjoyed each other’s company,” says Alvis.

The Puerto Rico trip capped the JFLI’s summer of activities for St. John kids, activities it plans every summer and funds with your donations.

Read a recap of their Puerto Rico trip here, and if you’ve got PowerPoint on your computer, scroll through highlights of this summer’s activities here.

Almost everybody on St. John has a nickname.  And for some, the nickname reflects their line of business.

And the smart guys embrace their nickname, even as far as painting it on their trucks and putting it on their vanity plates.

Occupational nicknames include Solar Jeff, Dinghy Joe, Appliance Paul, Refrigeration George and Dr. Cool.

Can you think of some more?

If you had a business on St. John, what would your nickname be?

Meet Erin Dennis, a Woody’s team member who ended up making a last minute decision that kept her on St. John.

“I was visiting on vacation in 2009, and when the vacation was over I headed to the airport to go home,” says Erin. “I got to the airport and was waiting at the gate to get on the plane when I changed my mind.”

Erin told the Spirit Airlines gate attendant that she didn’t want to go home, and the 21 year old got herself a cab and a ferry ride straight back to St. John, where she’s been for the last two years.

Erin, from Miami, says she goes to the beaches on St. John a lot more often than she did when she lived in Florida, and she has no regrets about her last minute decision to change her life.

“You know when you just get that feeling? I just did it, and it was the right thing to do.”

The three successive switchbacks between Trunk Bay and the entrance to Peter Bay Estates are definitely among the steepest on St. John.

The straight away stretches themselves clock in at 12-degrees, 16-degrees and 17-degrees, but the steepest switchback on the downhill side comes in at a hair-raising 24-degrees. That’s steep.

The ride up the switchbacks might squeal a tire or two, but it’s the ride down where heavy breaking and slow driving is a really good idea. This is 24-degrees:

Haven’t taken the Peter Bay switchbacks in a while? Take a mini Jeep Cam up and back down, below…

Meet 20-year-old Mimi Roller, a competitive sailor since she was 10 who may be heading to the 2012 Olympics.

But training and travel costs money, and she’s looking for sponsors, big and little, to help pay the way. For a big enough donation, she’ll even put your name or corporate logo on her sail.

Mimi, who races single-handed Laser Radial boats and has a room full of trophies from international competitions, is headed to the Pan American games in Mexico next month. After that, it’s off to Australia to train for the first Olympic qualifiers, held in Germany in December.

“When I started sailing, I only wanted to beat my brother, but it’s become a great way to go to different countries and experience different cultures,” Mimi says. “I’ve now got friends from all over the world.”

If you’d like to help Mimi get to the Olympics, donations welcomed. Her goal is $100,000, but even a few bucks would help. Make checks payable to “Virgin Islands Olympic Committee,” write Mimi Roller on the memo line, and send to Mayumi Roller, PO Box 1228, Cruz Bay, Virgin Islands, 00831

And, leave a comment and wish her luck!

Today’s rum punch is served up by Tyler at the Gecko Gazebo at Mongoose Junction.

Tyler makes his with light and dark Cruzan rum, orange juice, pineapple juice, just a splash of grenadine and a Myer’s rum floater, with a slice of orange on the rim and a free-floating cherry.

And like everything with Tyler, there is a flourish: Fresh grated nutmeg, and served in a stemmed glass.

Gecko Gazebo rum punch: $6.50. Being served by Tyler: Priceless.

Don’t know Tyler? Revisit an Our Favorite Bartenders segment with him, here.