You might recognize this festive guy from EVB. (Pic from the 2018 sweater party)
Hello everyone, this is going to be a super fast, but informative post. 🙂
The Tap Room’s Sweater Party is now being held on Tuesday, December 13th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. This party is super fun, so if you are going to be on island next Tuesday, you definitely want to check it out. The Tap Room is located on the second floor of Mongoose Junction, right next door to Caravan Gallery. You’re invited to wear your favorite Christmas sweater (or any sort of holiday outfit). Not the festive type? Bah humbug! Just kidding! You can party in regular clothes too.
The Tap Room will also hold a Best Cookie/Holiday Treat contest during next Tuesday’s sweater party. You’re invited to bring a pie, fudge, fruit cake, Christmas loaf, etc., which will be judged that evening. Prizes will be awarded to the winner.
The sweater party is open to people of all ages.
Fun stuff is happening on island these days! Come visit us!
As I mentioned in this morning’s post, there are some pretty bigs swells happening on island right now, and they’re expected to continue for a few more days. I put together a little video to share with all of you. Enjoy!
Hello everyone, and happy Monday! How about a little island update? I have so much to share with all of you!
Let’s start with the island itself. The island isn’t super full right now. You know what that means? It means you should start looking at airline tickets, and come and visit us! December is typically a busier month, as it’s the start of our “season,” but this one seems to be a bit slower than the last few years (2020 excluded, of course). I’ve driven past Trunk Bay numerous times this week and have seen a half-empty parking lot around 10-11 a.m. more times than I have not. The parking at Maho has been pretty empty too when I passed there around the same time.
Trunk Bay parking lot at 10:35 a.m. last week.Maho Bay parking lot at 10:55 a.m. last week.
Ok, now let’s talk restaurants. There is so much to share! How does grabbing a slice of pizza in a beautiful, turquoise-colored bay sound? Pretty amazing, right??! Well I’m excited to tell you that Pizza Pi is reopening today for the season. Pizza Pi is located in Christmas Cove, which is behind Great St. James, which is an island that’s somewhat between us and St. Thomas. You have to take a boat to get to Pizza Pi, and any boat charter company on St. John can take you there.
Pizza Pi reopens today! Pic taken during sunset last night.
Now let’s chat about a few restaurants here on St. John. We told you last month how Ronnie’s Pizza was moving to a new location next to the Westin Resort. (Click here to read all about if in case you missed that story.) Well Ronnie reopened last Thursday, and is now serving pizza and more Monday through Saturday. Be sure to check it out!
For those of you who’ve been on island recently, you’ve probably noticed that The Longboard has been closed and covered with brown tarps. They’re undergoing a pretty extensive renovation, and they plan to reopen around December 15th, according to owner Clint Gaskins. Here’s a quick sneak peek of the new look (which is still under construction):
The bar at The Longboard is getting a complete makeover.New floors and paint in the restrooms too!
Ok, now let’s talk about the Caneel Bay Beach Club at Honeymoon beach. This is a spot we were the first to tell you about back in October. (Click here to read that story in case you missed it.) It has yet to open, although they are ready to go. They are simply waiting on the Department of Planning & Natural Resources to sign off on its permits. I will let you know when they finally reopen.
We were also the first to tell you (shameless plug, sorry! lol) about a new bar coming to Cruz Bay – The Upstairs. It’s going into the spot where Dog House and Castaways used to be. They hoped to open last month, but the island didn’t allow that to happen. So they’re now hoping for a December 15th reopening… fingers crossed on that! Click here if you missed our story on The Upstairs.
And lastly, let’s talk about the water. We have a huge swell on the North Shore right now, which is expected to last a few more days. This means there is dangerous surf and a high risk of rip currents. The waves were crashing pretty hard at Trunk and Cinnamon yesterday. They water was up to the tree line in sections of Trunk yesterday, and it’s expected to be a bit worse today. There were even small waves at Maho yesterday. Please be careful if you head out to the North Shore beaches. Looking for somewhere calmer? Head to Salt Pond, Lameshur, Haulover south, Hansen or Saltwell bottom. All are beaches on the island’s south side.
Trunk Bay waves on Dec. 4, 2022
It’s pretty crazy how high the water is in some spots currently!
Well I think I will end today’s post here. Time to take guests on another island tour! Want to explore St. John while learning all about this place? Please consider taking a tour with me. You can learn more at ExploreSTJ.com.
Thanks everyone! Have a great day!
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The Rising Sun, pictured in the distance on the far right, was anchored off of St. Thomas last week.
Hello everyone, and happy Sunday! I am sorry that I took a few days off from writing. I have family visiting, so I’ve been pretty busy with that and my island tours. But now I’m back. 🙂
For those of you who’ve been lucky enough to be on island the past couple off weeks, you probably noticed that we’ve had some pretty cool boats hanging around St. John. Today I’d like to tell you about a few of them, and I’m also going to show you how you can learn more about a boat that you see here on St. John or anywhere in the world.
Let’s start with the Rising Sun, which is currently anchored out in Round Bay on St. John’s East End. It is one of the largest, privately-owned yachts in the world at 138 meter or roughly 453 feet long. The Rising Sun is owned by David Geffen, who is responsible for launching the careers of the Eagles, Guns ‘n Roses, Aerosmith and more. He owned MCA Records, and then co-founded Dreamworks. The Rising Sun visits St. John every Thanksgiving, and it hangs out in our waters for several weeks. It’s a pretty incredible yacht to see in person.
The Rising Sun on St. John’s East End Saturday
If you look closely at that picture, you will see a small boat to the left of the Rising Sun. That’s probably a 28-30 foot boat. It looks so tiny next to the Rising Sun.
We also had a pretty cool cruise ship visit the island yesterday. No need to worry, we only get very small cruise ships here on St. John. (Click here to get all the details on cruise ships that visit St. John.) Yesterday we had a pretty incredible tall ship visit, named Sea Cloud Spirit. It anchored off of Cruz Bay for just a few hours, and then left mid-afternoon.
The Sea Cloud Spirit was anchored off of Cruz Bay Saturday.Image credit: Palm Tree Charters
For those of you who are interested in learning more about a boat you see in the water, download the Marine Traffic app on your phone, or visit www.marinetraffic.com. You can zoom into any spot on the world. When you do, simply click on a boat icon. That will pull up its details including its size, current location, port calls and more. Different color icons indicate whether it’s a pleasure craft, a cruise ship, passenger vessel, etc.
This image is from the Marine Traffic app.Once you click an icon, a screen like this will open on the Marine Traffic app.
Marine Traffic is definitely a fun little app (or website) to check out.
This is all I have for today, folks. I hope you have a great Sunday, and we’ll chat again tomorrow. Thank you so much for reading Island Tidbits!
The Last Resort is hosting the ACC’s fundraising gala next month.
Hello everyone! Can you believe that it’s December 1st? I certainly can’t! For those of you who’ve been reading Island Tidbits over the past two months, you probably know that I absolutely love the Animal Care Center here on St. John. They are such an important organization that puts in so much effort to help our island cats and dogs. Well I’m excited to tell you that they are holding their first fundraising gala in three years. It’s being held at one of the island’s best villas, and you all should go!
The Animal Care Center is holding its winter gala “Caribbean Nights” on Saturday, January 21st at The Last Resort villa in Chocolate Hole. This is the first fundraising gala that the ACC has been able to hold since January 2020. The gala is the ACC’s main fundraising event.
The Last Resort is an incredible six-bedroom villa. The ACC held an event here years ago, and I am super excited that they’re doing it again.
Tickets to the ACC’s gala are $175 in advance and $200 at the door. They can be purchased in person at the ACC, St. John Hardware and Connections in Cruz Bay starting next week. Not currently on island? No worries! You can also purchase tickets by calling the ACC directly at 340-774-1625.
There will also be an online auction starting three weeks before the event and ending the day of the gala. (I’ll keep you posted on that.) Items up for grabs will include boat trips, villa and hotel stays, gift certificates and more. There will be a silent auction at the gala, as well as a raffle and a great door prize.
Tickets will also be available this Saturday, December 3rd, at the ACC’s gift wrapping table from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Mongoose Junction. My friend Denise Walker, an ACC board member and owner of Cruz Bay Hotel, will personally wrap gifts “with precision and a smile,” Her words! 🙂 All of the proceeds will be donated to the ACC.
And for anyone who is looking to add a new family member to their world, the ACC currently has four sweet dogs, and several cats and kittens up for adoption. Check out this cutie I met yesterday!
This adorable kitten is looking for a fur-ever home!
I just can’t with that face!
If you want to learn more about the ACC or see which animals they currently have up for adoption, please check out their website at www.stjohnanimalcarecenter.com.
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