Crown Bay seen from Fort Shipley on Hassel Island

More Hassel Island Photos

St. John Live Music Schedule for tonight, Wednesday, February 29

Aqua Bistro – Rascio on Steel Pan – 5:30 – 8:30 – 776-5336
Beach Bar – The Gomorrans – 9:00 – 777-4220
Castaways – Kenny Floyd – 8:00 – 777-3316
Coconut Coast Studios – St. John Flutes – 5:30-7:00 – 776-6944
Driftwood Dave’s – Paradise People – 7:00 – 10:00 – 777-4015
High Tide – Chris Carsel – 6:00 – 9:00 – 714-6169
Miss Lucy’s – David Reed – 6:00 – 9:00 – 693-5354
Shipwreck Landing – Christobal and the Jons – 7:00 – 10:30
Sun Dog Cafe – Wednesday Night Jam – 7:30-10:00 – 244-9713

See the weekly St. John live music schedule

Friends of the National Park Needs Construction Volunteers

St. John Source
By Lynda Lohr — February 23, 2012
Help wanted. The Friends of V.I. National Park needs volunteers to help with building an extension on the park’s Francis Bay accessible trail. Work starts at 8 a.m. Monday and is expected to last up to about six days.

Friends President Joe Kessler is calling “as many as would like to come out.” Volunteers should meet in the Francis Bay parking lot adjacent to the beach…. read more

St. John Live Music Schedule for tonight, Friday, February 24

Aqua Bistro – Mark Wallace & Rich Greengold- 5:30 – 8:30 – 776-5336
Beach Bar – The ISH with John Magne & the Subdudes – 9:00 – 777-4220
Castaways – Mikey P – 9:00 – 777-3316
Driftwood Dave’s – John W Lee – 7:00 – 10:00 – 777-4015
Island Blues – Long Lost Friend – 8:00 – 11:00 – 776-6800
Miss Lucy’s – David Reed – 6:00 – 9:00 – 693-5354
Morgan’s Mango- Lauren – 6:00 – 9:30 – 693-8141
Ocean Grill – T-Bird – 6:30 – 9:00 – 693-3304
Shipwreck Landing – Woody Lissauer – 6:00 – 9:30

See the weekly St. John live music schedule

Events

St. John Folklife Festival
Annaberg Plantation – 10:00 – 3:00 … more information

The above photo was taken from Fort Shipley on Hassel Island. See more Hassel Island photos

St. John makes the Frommer’s Top 10 Favorite Spots list
The recently released Frommer’s top 10 favorite spots list includes: Sanibel Island, Florida; Island of Bali, Indonesia; Paris; St. John in the U.S. Virgin Island; Cairo, Egypt; Bonaire, one of the ‘ABC” islands of the southern Caribbean; Chiang Rai, Thailand; New York’s Greenwich Village and Kenya’s wildlife….
Read More

Lonely Planet Ranks U.S. Virgin Islands as top U.S. Travel Destination for 2012
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism is pleased to start the New Year with news that the Territory has been ranked number one on Lonely Planet’s list of “Top 10 US travel destinations for 2012.”…
Read article from South Florida News

St. John Music Schedule for tonight Wednesday 1/18

Castaways – Kenny Floyd – 8:00 – 777-3316
Coconut Coast Studios – St. John Flutes – 5:30-7:00 – 776-6944
Driftwood Dave’s- Carly Powell’s Caribbean Band – 7:00 – 10:00 – 777-4015
Sun Dog Cafe – Wednesday Night Jam – 7:30-10:00 – 244-9713

Virgin Islands Photo of the Day

St. John Music Schedule Tuesday, March 8

Beach Bar – Tom Mason & the Blue Buccaneers – 8:00 – 777-4220
Castaways – Steve & Friends – 7:30 – 777-3316
High Tide – T-Bird and Kenny – 7:00 – 10:00 – 714-6169
Island Blues – Bo & Lauren – 7:00 – 10:00 – 776-6800
Larry’s Landing – Classic Rock with John – 10:00 – 1:00 – 693-8802
Morgan’s Mango – Greg Kinslow – 6:30 – 9:30 – 693-8141
Shipwreck Landing – Chris Carsel – 7:00 – 10:00 – 693-5640

A word of caution: I’m doing the best I can to present an accurate music schedule, but to be sure, it would be a great idea to call the restaurant or bar beforehand to confirm.

Weekly Music Schedule

Soon after coming to the Virgin Islands in 1969, I made two major purchases, a 1954 Mercedes Benz with running boards and a four speed shift on the steering column and a 16-foot fiberglass runabout with a 35-horsepower Johnson engine.

I have loved boats for as long as I can remember, which goes back to being about four years old, with my mom and dad, who had a small boat named after me, which they kept on City Island in the Bronx.

But now, I was in boat heaven, the Virgin Islands, venturing farther and farther from the home port, Charlotte Amalie Harbor on St. Thomas.

One day I met a nice young couple who suggested a camping trip to one of the many “deserted tropical islands,” which beckoned to be savored and explored. Sounded like a great idea to me!

Let me say, that although I had a great deal of experience with small boats, it was all on the American mainland. Tropical-island-wise and camping-wise, I was a complete novice. However, my new friends expressed a proficiency with camping out, needing only bare bones equipment and supplies, and we soon resolved to put together an overnight camp on a deserted tropical Virgin Island.

We headed out one morning not long afterward. For a reason that I can’t remember, probably no real reason at all, we chose the island of Great Thatch as our camping venue, ignorant of the fact that it was in the British and not the American Virgins, but in those days it hardly mattered.

We made it in to the beach through the shallow reef that extends the full length of the beach on the island’s south coast without incident (to this day I don’t know how) and set up a rudimentary camp, which consisted of a lean-to covered by a piece of canvas. We spent the day snorkeling, fishing, picnicking and walking around the beach, the interior of the island being for the most part inaccessible to us either because of the thick bush or the steep hillsides. At night we made a fire, cooked up a fish and some potatoes and retired for a night that I remember as being somewhat uncomfortable, due to lack of a soft mattress, the occasional rats that boldly approached wherever there was any food and the not so occasional mosquitoes and sand flies against which chemical warfare was declared.

On the positive side, the night sky on that moonless night, which in those days was almost completely unchallenged by the loom of electric lights from Tortola, St. John, or the east end of St. Thomas, provided us with a sky that contained more stars than I had ever seen before or have ever seen since.

Virgin Islands Scorpion

I awoke early in the morning to a powerful stinging sensation on my leg. Looking down I saw that I had been stung by a rather large and evil-looking scorpion. I had never even seen a scorpion before and I was, shall we say, “concerned.”

I didn’t know what to do, if anything, and I woke up my new friends hoping that they would know something.

The guy was like me, clueless, but his girlfriend seemed to know something about scorpions.

“They’re poisonous,” she explained, “very poisonous!

“Are you sure?” I asked the girl.

“Absolutely,” she answered.

“Oh great,” I thought to myself. “This is one hell of a place to get stung by a poisonous scorpion.

“What should I do?” I asked.

“You need to get to a hospital right away or you’ll die,” she answered.

On the one hand, I don’t feel like I’m dying, but on the other, I’m staring to feel panicky.

“OK, lets go!” I say.

We loaded the boat and hastily head back to St. Thomas where supposedly, doctors would give me some rare anti venom and save my life. But by the time we reach Caneel Bay on the north shore of St. John, I’m feeling fine. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that I’m not poisoned and “every little thing is gonna be all right.”

“Let’s stop on St. John,” I announce, “I really feel fine. I want to talk with someone there, someone who knows what to do.”

Well on St. John, I found out a bit about scorpions, which is that unlike some other varieties found in the desserts, Virgin Islands scorpions, do sting, (haa’d me son) but, unless you are allergic to them, don’t cause much harm, let alone kill you.

That was that. I was out of the woods. Nonetheless, even though it was still morning, I knocked down a shot of rum, to cool out.

We hung around Cruz Bay for the rest of the morning, had lunch at Eric’s Hilltop (now the Virgin Islands legislature offices) and returned to St. Thomas in the afternoon, my supposedly fatal scorpion sting reduced to a small red bump on my leg that maybe itched a little.

And so ended my first experience with camping out. All in all, good memories.

USVI to Receive Economic Aid from the President’s Stimulus Package
President Obama’s economic stimulus package, which has been passed by the US House of Representatives, includes funding for the USVI.

The package includes significant tax cuts for the middle class and working families. As these tax cuts would negatively impact the Virgin Islands’ revenues, a provision has been included in the bill to reimburse the Virgin Islands for this loss.

Read article in Caribbean Net News

Largest Cruise Ship Ever will Include the Virgin Islands in its Itinerary

The 4,200-passenger Norwegian Epic will sail to St. Thomas beginning in 2010. Read article…

The economic recession has been hitting the Caribbean rather hard. After all, when times are tough and people feel they need to tighten their financial belt, I would think that travel and vacation spending would be one of the first things to go. Statistics from the Virgin Islands for October visits are down some 39% and in order to mitigate this trend, the Virgin Islands, like other Caribbean destinations are offering deals, discounts and incentives.

On St. John, the Westin Resort and the Estate Concordia Campground are participating in the USVI’s Winter Escape incentive, which includes $300.00 in Travelers Checks, $50 credit on meals and attractions, $1500.00 worth of discount coupons, a fifth night free and the SPF100 Sunshine Protection Plan, which reads : If it rains on your vacation, we’ll give you $100.

You’ll have to book before January 31,  for travel until March 31, 2009

New York Time, Sunday Travel Section

By MICHELLE HIGGINS
Published: January 25, 2009

“…Entire islands are on sale. The United States Virgin Islands, where visitors dropped 39 percent to 104,969 for the month of October, has an Extended Winter Escape promotion for travel through March that includes $300 in American Express traveler’s checks, $100 in vouchers toward island attractions and restaurants and a fifth night free at various hotels including the Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott on St. Thomas and the Westin on St. John…”

It is interesting to note that a United States citizen living in any part of the world, be it on the remote banks of the Amazon, in the mountains of Tibet, the North Pole or, I would imagine, in a submarine hundreds of fathoms below the surface of the ocean or circling the Earth in a space station, all can cast their ballot to decide who will be the next president of the United States.

Except, that is, if that citizen happens to reside in the United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico or in another United States territory or possession. United States citizens living in these territories, commonwealths or possessions do, however, retain the right to be drafted into the US military.