Mongoose Junction, St. John US Virgin islands (USVI)

The merchants at Mongoose Junction hosted a wonderful children’s Halloween party, which I believe was the best attended so far. Beautiful kids of all ages! Beautiful community!

The following photographs were taken by one of St. John’s newest residents, photographer, Yelena Rodgers, formerly of New Hampshire, America. Enjoy!

Westin Resort, St. John US Virgin Islands (USVI)
Several of our blog readers have been asking for updates on the conditions at the Westin Resort since the damage incurred by the heavy rains a few weeks ago.

The pool is still not in operation, but workers were present and the job of refinishing seems to be progressing nicely.

The tennis courts have been cleaned up and all the old surfaces removed, but thus far, that’s it. Rumor has it that the hotel is thinking about putting down a hard surface instead of the old synthetic turf, but because of the significant expense involved, it appears doubtful.

The Kid’s Club, Arcade and Conference Rooms are still out of commission. The Beach Cafe is still closed and is being temporarily replaced by the Cruz Bay Prime above the hotel lobby.

My take is that work is being done, but certainly not at particularly feverish pace, and I would be surprised if much is completed before Thanksgiving.

Will keep you informed…

G

Cinnamon Bay Self Guiding Trail

It appears that the Virgin Islands National Park is doing some work on the Cinnamon Bay Self Guiding Trail. Concrete pathways are in the process of being installed, making access easier and safer and wheelchair friendly.

bay rum tree lined trail

Flowing gut along the Cinnamon Bay Self Guiding Trail

white tailed deer

Video: Cinnamon Bay Gut

Westin Resort, St. John, Great Cruz Bay, US Virgin Islands (USVI) 10/15/2010

Westin pool drained once again - scheduled for cleaning & resurfacing

The Pool
Last week I came across the water trucks filling up the Westin Pool and reported that repairs were under way and that the pool would be ready in a day or two. Not so.

Either by mistake or by design, when the pool was filled to a level whereby the pumps could circulate the pool water through the filter system, the mud within the pipes, pump and filters were released into the pool. This resulted in a clean pump and filter system, but a dirty pool.

The pool has been draining and is almost dry and the mud and debris is being cleaned up. Apparently the Westin is taking this opportunity to resurface the pool, something that needs to be done periodically.

The long and the short is that the pool won’t be ready for a while, but my guess is that it will be competed before the Thanksgiving Holiday.

The Beach, Beach Bar and Beach Restaurant
The beach is being cleaned up and should look back to normal soon. The restaurant will need some time as it appears that the hotel may be taking this opportunity to make some improvements as well as repair the flood damage

Kids Club, Arcade and Ballroom
The gym is up and running, but the Kids Club, Arcade, ballroom and conference rooms have all suffered flood damage. At this point everything that got wet has been removed and is either being cleaned up or replaced. Again this might take a while, but again I suspect this too will be ready before the end of November.

Tennis Courts
The green surfaces have almost all been removed. They will either be replaced or there is talk that the hotel may opt to recover the courts with a hard surface.

Still Lookin' Good!

Tennis Court

Playground - Ready to Go

My Recommendations
I’ve been receiving a lot of e-mail asking my advice for people scheduled to arrive at the Westin this month. The following is my personal take on the issue:

Visitors should be coming to experience St. John, to me the accommodations are secondary with the caveat that they be comfortable.

The pool is nice, but the beaches are better. The best beaches by far are on the north side of the island, so missing out on the man made beach at the Westin is no big deal. The hotel is even offering a shuttle service to Hawksnest, Trunk and Cinnamon Bays.

The Westin rooms are indeed comfortable, so I would be happy to be on St. John even without all of the normal hotel amenities. The real fun is snorkeling, diving, hiking and the beautiful National Park Beaches – all still available after Otto.

So, I personally would not cancel my plans to come to St. John, with one exception. If you are bringing young children, kids too young to be turned on by snorkeling, hiking, beach going or diving, then no Kids Club, no arcade and no pool would be a big deal and I would reschedule my trip.

There is something for the kids, though, the playground is up and running.

I repeat, this is just me. Please make your own decisions and please continue to monitor the progress at the Westin

From the Westin Website:

Inclement Weather Update
Due to extremely heavy rain October 5-7, 2010, related to Tropical Storm Otto, the area around The Westin St. John Resort & Villas experienced heavy flooding resulting in damage to the property. The resort operations’ team is working quickly to return to normal operations. The resort is open and under limited operations; however, the hotel is waiving all cancellation fees as well as the Resort Charge from now until November 14, 2010.

A resort update:
• Beach Café Restaurant is scheduled to reopen October 27, 2010.
• Snorkel’s Bar & Grill is closed & is scheduled to reopen November 14, 2010.
• The resort is utilizing Cruz Bay Prime as its main restaurant.
• The Pool is closed for repairs & is scheduled to reopen November 14, 2010. Our customers will be able to use the pools located in the Virgin Grand Hillside villas. The resort will also be offering complimentary round trip shuttles at three set times per day to St. John’s most beautiful beaches: Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay and Hawks Nest Beach.
• The Kids Club & Arcade are closed but are anticipated to reopen November 10, 2010. Our Activities Department is providing babysitting service as well as activities for all ages around the resort.
• The Tennis Courts are closed & are scheduled to reopen October 27, 2010
• The government has issued an advisory of “swim at your own risk” for all Virgin Islands beaches until the water quality can be tested and deemed safe. For the most up to date information please visit www.dpnr.gov.vi/notices.htm *
• The Westin Work Out Facility & Spa are open.
If you would like to reschedule your upcoming reservation to a later date please contact our Reservations Team at 888 627 7206 or email STJon.01098@Westin.com.

*DPNR update 12:00 noon 10/15/2010
The following beaches meet water quality standards and are safe for swimming or fishing:

St. John

St. John US Virgin Islands: The Pool at the Westin Should be Back in Operation by Tomorrow or Friday

The flooding caused by Hurricane Otto particularly effected the Westin Resort with damage to the pool, some of the guest rooms, the beach area and beach restaurant and the tennis courts.

Repairs are underway and should be completed shortly. Guests that stayed during and after the flooding reported that they were treated exceptionally well by the management and staff of the hotel.

St. John Water Trucks Line Up to Fill the Westin Pool

Hoses Bring the water from the Trucks to the Pool

Backhoe at Work Making Repairs at the Beach

Westin Resort, St. John US Virgin islands

It’s been raining quite hard here on St. John for the last day or so causing significant flooding. I’ve heard reports from Coral Bay about rock and mud slides and other flood related problems. On St. Thomas, I heard that Crown Mountain Road is all but impassible.

But here closer to home I’ve seen quite a bit of damage in the area around the Westin where Guinea Gut overflowed. Flood waters ran through the resort and undermined the bridge over the gut and for several hours vehicles could no longer pass between the Westin on the east and the St. John Market on the west. The causes of  it all are two areas of stormy weather, one now a named storm, Subtropical Storm Otto and another referred to by the meteorologists as Invest 97.

At the Westin some rooms were flooded, as was the pool and the beach area. Large breaking waves caused a sailboat anchored in Great Cruz Bay to was up on the Westin Beach adding it to the other unfortunate craft brought ashore by Hurricane Earl.

Bridge over Guinea Gut

Tennis Courts

Sailboat is washed ashore by breaking seas

It’s Wednesday night and still raining, hopefully the rain will stop soon.

Photo by Bill Wakeham

Bob Garrison, better known on St. John as the “Trail Bandit,” has produced the ultimate St. John Trail Map, a must have for any resident of St. John as well as for anyone visiting the island, hiker or not. The maps are available on St. John or can be downloaded or purchased on Bob’s website: trailbandit.org. Back in April of this year, I published an interview of Bob, which our readers may find interesting: Trail Bandit Interview Every year on the last Saturday in September, Bob hosts “Henniker’s Annual Pumpkin Festival” at his airport in Henniker New Hampshire. People arrive from all over, some in their own planes. When weather permits there’s an Air Show where, according to Bob, “People do silly things in airplanes.”

Bob's Plane - Italian Fighter-Trainer, Symmetrical Wing

Trail Bandit Airport - 3000 foot paved runway with lights

biplane parked at hanger

There’s a big barbecue, homemade pies, and hard and soft beverages. Bob personally prepared and marinated 120 pounds of chicken for the event. Mary brought her apple pies, but because of dangerous cross winds she didn’t fly them in herself as she normally does.

Bob "Trail Bandit" Garrison and Mary, the Trail Banditess

Autumn Colors at Airport

Barbecue

The highlight of the day is the trebuchet pumpkin launch. First Bob grows the pumpkins. Then on the day of the festival he sets up the trebuchet. An old wrecked automobile is fork-lifted down the field about two hundred yards from the trebuchet to serve as a target.

Trebuchet

Ammunition

Pumpkin in flight

The trebuchet is armed using the force of about five or more people using a line to raise th 800-pound concrete counterweight. The trebuchet arm is then secured by the trigger mechanism and the pumpkin loaded into it’s pouch. Someone is chosen to pull the trigger and the pumpkin flies off to it’s target at a speed of 69 mies an hour. (Someone was there with a radar gun to verify the speed)

What FUN!!!

Hurricane Season on St. John
For several decades before Hurricanes, Hugo and Marilyn, Virgin Islanders didn’t think  too much about hurricanes, even during hurricane season. This was probably due to the fact that there hadn’t been a major hurricane for so long. I remember reading in a tourist pamphlet when I first arrived in 1969 that “the Virgin Islands were situated so far north of the hurricane belt that the islands were rarely visited by these fierce Atlantic storms. Imagine, Foxy held his famous Wooden Boat Race on Labor Day weekend. It would be totally unheard of today to schedule any event involving sailing vessels right in the middle of the hurricane season.

But now we do think about it and for just about everyone on St. John, hurricane season means financial lean times.

I like to look at the bright side, however, and I actually welcome the season, providing there are no storms. Why is this?

To begin with, the water is warm. This means a lot to me. I love to swim and snorkel, but I just get too cold during the winter. Plus, there are no ground seas in the summer, providing a storm system doesn’t pass close to us on the north, like Hurricane Earl did this year. Ground seas are ocean swells generated by low pressure systems and storms in the North Atlantic that break when they come into contact with the north facing coastlines of the islands. These seas churn up the water reducing the visibility when snorkeling.

The hurricane season tends to bring days when the seas are flat calm, great for small power boats like mine. I can get to Virgin Gorda or even Anegada quite easily on these days. Moreover, swimming and snorkeling are a delight in these warm, mirror-flat waters.

But what I like best about the season is knowing just about everyone I see in town, out on the road, on the beaches and even on hikes. Tourists are few and far between and life is just more “Islandy.”

(“September Remember, October All Over,” Island Saying)