US Airways’ first class meals have gotten a lot better. They really have.

Here we have the BBQ chicken breast with sweet potatoes and roasted corn and black beans, with a salad and multi-grain roll for $443 plus airport tax and status upgrade.

And the cheese and vegetable tortellini with salad for $443 plus airport tax and status upgrade.

And both with a quite lovely tomato and fresh mozzarella appetizer with a balsamic vinegar reduction. By the way, the front lav is reserved for us, so turn around and go back to steerage little person!

Today’s Bushwhacker is whipped up by Beach Bar’s Boo.

Boo makes her Bushwhackers with a cup of ice per drink, equal parts vodka and Bailey’s Irish Cream, equal parts Frangelico and Amaretto, coffee liquor, creme de cacao and a splash of Coco Lopez.

Blended, served in a plastic glass properly painted with chocolate syrup, and topped with chocolate decorations of her choice, today a Jolly Roger and a palm tree.

The Beach Bar Bushwhacker: $8 all day long. Did you see the video?

Steve Simonsen has put together another beautiful coffee table book chock full of his outstanding photos. This one encompasses St. John, as well as St. Thomas and St. Croix.

We’ve come to expect incredible images from Steve.

But this book also features another talented St. Johnian. Andrea Milam, a freelance writer who moved to St. John in 2005 from Columbus, Ohio, and who has been writing for publications like the Tradewinds, Caribbean Travel+Life and several travel Websites.

Andrea wrote the introduction and all the captions and this is her first book.

“I’m so thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Steve,” Andrea says. “The printing is superb, the colors are vibrant, and it’s just the kind of book to bring warmth to those unfortunate souls suffering through winter in the states.”

The United States Virgin Islands coffee table book is 128 pages of photos from the three islands, and sells for $40. It is available in stores throughout the Virgin Islands now, and can also be ordered online here.

Breakfast tomorrow morning at Woody’s.

While they’re not usually morning people, they’re getting up early tomorrow to serve up breakfast for the second year in a row as part of their sponsorship of this month’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life. (The relay’s coming up soon… February 11.)

Breakfast is tomorrow from 7 am to 11 am. Proceeds go to Woody’s Relay for Life team.

“We’ll be serving our signature BBC pancakes (banana, Bailey’s and coconut, just like the drink), breakfast sliders which are English muffins, eggs, bacon and cheese, breakfast tacos, fruit and yogurt, steak and eggs, shrimp, cheese grits, tater tots, sausage, fruit smoothies, Bloody Mary’s and coffee,” says Mike Hedy.  “Dan and I will be doing the cooking, just like last year.”

The wait staff is taking turns working tomorrow morning and all tips also go to the team.

Have morning Woody’s tomorrow.

It’s a great story to tell. From a couple of guys coming down to have fun for a little while, to deciding to find a way to stay, to brewing beer in their apartment, to ending up with a hit on their hands. And, without a million dollars and a warehouse full of equipment to scale up themselves, taking the leap of faith to hook up with a stateside partner to brew it on a large scale.

That first 1,300 cases shipped down took every dime they had, and a whole lot of nerve. “We were either going to sell a lot of beer that first summer, or we were going to be drinking a lot of our own beer,” Kevin remembers saying.

Check out the St. John Brewers story, below…

[See post to watch Flash video]

Or watch on

The annual Friends of the VI National Park Gala is coming up February 4 – that’s this Saturday – and if you’re a Steely Dan fan, you’ll want to go.

This year’s Gala is being held at the home of Judy and Michael Skurnik, Marea, on Ditleff Point, and it will include music all night long. St. John’s own “In the Sand Band” will perform, as will the Jon Herington Band from New York. That’s Jon Herington, the former guitarist for Steely Dan.

There’s a raffle, shuttle service from Cruz Bay and a fabulous culinary spread.

And, there’s a limited ticket jewelry raffle too. Check out that bling. A necklace and earring set of handcrafted 18k gold with 66 ctw of polished emerald nuggets by R&I Patton Goldsmithing worth $4,200.

You can view the necklace set at R&I Patton at Mongoose Junction right now. Raffle tickets for it, only 100 of them, are $50 at the Friends of the Park store, or by calling 340-779-4940.

Tickets for the Friends Gala are $200, and if you can’t make it, raffle tickets for other drawings are $25 each or 5 for $100. Tickets are also available at the Friends store, or by phone, or at Connections.

Tropical Blessings has three big bedrooms and baths and two big balconies overlooking the water, and its new owner has done up the place to the nines.

This is a convenient in-town location and would make for a great home base for big families or traveling couples. Check out Tropical Blessings, below…

[See post to watch Flash video]

Or watch on

On-StJohn.com reader Steve Vanderbosch has crunched the numbers, and determined it would be cheaper to fly to St. John over Superbowl weekend and spend a week at a villa than it would be to actually try to catch the game Lucas Oil Stadium. Let’s let him explain:

It would be cheaper, much cheaper for folks to fly to St. John to watch the Super Bowl at their favorite bar instead of driving to Indianapolis, rent a little hotel room (far from all the action) for three nights, and see the game in person.

(I just picked Espirit Villa at random from your sponsors.)

Here’s a link to some Superbowl packages in Indianapolis:

Tickets alone are running $3,350 each… so two tickets: $6,700

Let’s check this website’s Standard Travel Package:
3 day stay at a Hampton Inn 28 miles from the stadium,
some food, one ticket: $4,100 x 2 = $8,200
(says nothing about travel to and from the game)
doesn’t include the cost of gas from New England
There is a deluxe condo package includes 2 tickets for $46,500

Let’s check flying to St. John to watch the game:

2 non-stop tickets on American Airlines from JFK to St. Thomas
departing 2/3/12 (flight #655) retuning to JFK 2/6/12 (flight #412): $935.80
One week stay at Espirit Villa covering those dates: + $3,900.00
——————-
$4,835.80

Not having to watch a Madonna concert at halftime? Priceless.

The only problem with Steve’s plan is the guests that will be checking into Esprit on Monday. If the game goes long, that 10 am checkout time isn’t go to sit too well with your hangover.

Robin, his reputation established by his Best Painkiller Award, will start our new Best Bushwhacker contest.

Robin makes his Bushwhackers with a cup of ice per drink and four splashes of the bar’s own Bushwhacker mix: 7 different liquors, including light and dark Cruzan rum, creme de cafe, creme de coconut, amaretto, hazelnut liquor and Irish Cream. And Robin’s secret ingredient…a splash of commercial ice cream mix.

Blended until smooth, served in a hurricane glass, with proper chocolate syrup painting, whipped cream, a cherry and a paper umbrella.

The Banana Deck Bushwhacker.  $8 all day long.

This is Logan Michael Prout, who came into the world November 8 weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces and now lives with mom Megan and big brother Parker in California.

Logan starts life without a dad. Mike Prout, one of the founding chefs of St. John’s La Plancha del Mar, died six months ago after an accidental fall at his home on St. John.

Says a friend of Megan’s, “Parker was initially upset that Logan was not a girl, but quickly got over his disappointment and enthusiastically proceeded to count Logan’s fingers and toes, ensuring all 20 were there.” (They were.)

Megan, Parker and Logan have each other, but could still use a little help as they look ahead to the future, and donations to help Mike’s family in the wake of his passing are being accepted via the St. John Revolving Fund at both Connections locations and by phone: 340-776-6922.

Your dad was pretty cool Logan!

Meet the Mele family – Maddie, Claire, Frank and Anthony – from WIllow Grove, Pennsylvania. You met daughter Maddie a couple of years ago.

This year, Mom and Dad are visiting St. John without the kids and they’re planning two weeks on island.

Claire has a high-class problem, and maybe you can help.

“My husband is a serious Cooler Person and insists on cooking all of our evening meals at the villa, but this time he says we can go out to dinner two times during our two week stay,” says Claire. “It is truly a miracle because he always cooks, and I don’t want to squander this opportunity!”

Your suggestions for just two very special nights out for a couple traveling without their kids for the first time in years?

Say hello to Judy and Mike Buchholtz, who moved to St. John full time about a year and a half ago from Terre Haute, Indiana. Judy and Mike heard about Coco, and came to the rescue.

“We found out about Coco when we were reading your Blog one morning last week and while we were drinking our coffee on our porch overlooking the BVI’s, Mike said ‘You want to take a dog to Texas?’” Judy says. “We already had a trip to Dallas scheduled for Jan. 23 to visit Mike’s mother, so it all just sort of fell into place.”

Coco left St. John named Coco, but she arrives in Dallas with her new name, Jumbie, and her new parents, Jon and Natalie.

If the opportunity to help get a dog to the states comes up again, Judy wants to let people know how much work the ACC did. “They figured out all the details and made all the arrangements and just told us what to do,” she says. “The only thing we did differently was take the 6 am ferry instead of the 7!”

So did Jumbie make it to Dallas?  See for yourself.