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US Virgin Islands

USA Today's 10Best Puts St John in 'Top 10 Favorite Caribbean Destinations' List

St John once again is named to the 'Top 10 Caribbean Islands' List, this time by USA Today's 10Best which says St John is:

Window to the wonderful world of St John

@ Little Lameshur Bay

'dominated by national parks, the island of St John -- coming in eighth -- in the US Virgin Islands is the Caribbean of days gone by -- a quieter, more intimate slice of paradise'

While we agree whole heartedly that our island is a quieter, more intimate slice of paradise, we sure disagree with being in the #8 position since St John is TOPS in our mind!

Love the Virgin Islands? Love Rum? Now You Have a Great Excuse to Drink More to Help the USVI

Cruzan Rum is made in the US Virgin Islands 
Each year the US Virgin Islands receives tens of millions of dollars from the federal government as the result of a 'Cover Over Rate Tax' which is USVI rum excise tax monies returned to the US Virgin Islands from the federal government. Actually, over $250 million each year comes back to the US VIrgin Islands as the result of people buying USVI made rum! The cover over tax has been in place for nearly 100 years and benefitting the US Virgin Islands since 1954. The Congressional Research Service produced a history of the Rum Excise Tax Cover Over 3 years ago. 
The 'per gallon' excise tax rate is now in dispute between the US Virgin Islands government and the federal government. The difference is not peanuts in that the USVI is projecting $264 million and the federal government is projecting only $193 million. The difference is based on a lower per gallon reimbursement rate $10.50/gallon vs $13.25/gallon.  If you want to get into the details you might read the letter the USVI's Budget Director sent last Friday to the Department of the Interior appealing for relief of the per gallon rate calculation.
The bottom line for us, though, is the more US Virgin Islands rum that is sold the more money that is returned to the US Virgin Islands for support of our schools, streets,  etc so....drink up to help the islands you love.

Kenny Chesney 'Paying it Forward' to the Virgin Islands Donates Portion of New Album Aptly Named 'Life on a Rock'

kenny chesney life on a rock
Kenny Chesney‘s new album, Life On A Rock, is available in stores this next Tuesday and features a lot of very personal songs inspired by his time in the U.S. Virgin Islands and, specifically, on St John.  Since this part of the world is so precious to Kenny, he’s decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from Life on a Rock to the Friends of the US Virgin Islands National Park.  Chesney, who first came to the Virgin Islands over 15 years ago for a video shoot, found St John to be a 'safe harbor in the craziness' and a place that grounded him in the beauty of the ocean and the shores of the national parks. 
According to ABC News Radio Kenny says, “As the world becomes more developed, protecting these wild places is going to become harder — and the cost of maintaining them needs to be covered.”
He adds, “If you’ve ever seen the trees, the oceans from a ridge, the way it all tangles together, you realize how important making sure lands like this exist for the people who come after us is.”
The songs on Life on a Rock are just as personal to Kenny as his passion for preserving the Virgin Islands.  In fact, his album’s closing track, “Happy on the Hey Now (A Song for Kristi),” was so emotional for Kenny to write and record, he had to do multiple takes in the studio to get it right.
“I still don’t think I’m done with it,” Kenny says of the song, which was inspired by the death of his friend Kristi.  “I would get in the studio, and I would either be very emotional or, it was just hard.” The Hey Now referred to in the song is a boat Kenny and his friends, including Kristi, would ride around the islands.  Paying tribute to her memory to close out this album seemed appropriate to Kenny.
Kenny's website states:  "Our national parks are one of those things you might not think about." Chesney explains. "But once they're gone, you can't get them back, so protecting and maintaining them is so important. I know: I've spent hours in these parks, on these trails and beaches. Over the years, they've been a big part of my time away from the road, and I think they're a great sanctuary for all of us. To me, to connect these songs with something so special is both an honor and a chance to call awareness to the Friends of the Park."
Chesney enjoying the warmth and beauty of St John

Now, it is your turn to come to St John to experience, first-hand, the peace and beauty that inspires Kenny Chesney's latest album.

In the meantime, if you want a slice of Kenny and St John you can buy his album here...

                                                                Life On A Rock

St Thomas - St John to have New Ferry Boats this Year

One of two 85-foot Catamarans being built for specifically for  the
St Thomas - St John  Ferry Route

The US Virgin Islands has commissioned two new ferryboats to replace at least a couple of the very aging boats.  Regular commuters and visitors will be able to count on the dependability of brand new boats, hopefully by year's end. These new vessels, each costing 3.25 million, will be owned by the US Virgin Islands government and leased to the existing ferry company franchisees (Varlack Ventures and Transportation Services).  Each boat will be able to carry 250 passengers. 
If you need an additional 'reason' to reserve your next trip to St John the US Virgin Islands government says that these new vessels will get you to St John quicker and in more comfort!
See the Virgin Islands Daily News for the full article.

We are all ONE with Boston

The Boston Marathon is always a wonderful celebration and this year started no differently with over 26,800 registrants from nearly 100 countries, including one person from the US Virgin Islands.  And, then there was horrific tragedy. Our thoughts are heavy with sadness.  Today, we are all one. When we are not on St John, we live in Boston and can attest that Bostonians are strong and resilient (maybe it is due to our long, cold, tough Boston winters!). May the sun shine and heal all broken hearts and take us forward stronger than ever...
UPDATE: 
The Massachusetts Governor and Boston Mayor have announced the formation of The One Fund Boston, Inc. to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.

USVI falls to Puerto Rico in Championship match despite having top scorer

Better.com's Asterix reports that:
Puerto Rico sweeps US Virgin Islands in a U-19 Championship match – Volleyball news
            Puerto Rico sweeps US Virgin Islands in a U-19 Championship match – Volleyball news
A Group B match of the NORCECA U-19 Boys’ Continental Championship took place on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 between Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands. The preliminary round of the tournament is currently being hosted by Tijuana, Mexico while the match between the two sides was played at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento sports hall. A crowd of 150 spectators witnessed the show as Puerto Rico earned a win by making a clean sweep over US Virgin Islands.
Puerto Rico took an hour and 17 minutes to finish the match at the following final set scores: 25-19, 25-15 and 25-21.
The Puerto Rican coach, Carlos Rodriguez, shared his satisfaction with the win by making the following comments, “In this match we regained confidence, we still have some mistakes and some things to correct but are already in qualification zone, go for a victory in the next round and reach the semifinals, but we also need to improve our transition to reach the level the other teams have shown.”
On the other hand, the coach of US Virgin Islands, Mark Daniel, had the following statement to give at the outcome of the match, “Our captain is sick and it was a big loss for us, we played well at the end, but we need to be more consistent in our play.”     
The player with the highest number of points in the match was Thomas Aseah of US Virgin Islands as he kept the pressure on his opponents by putting up 16 points. On the other hand, the most points scored on the Puerto Rican side were 14 by Jose Pagan. Pagan was helped by his team mate Juan Ruiz Goyco who made his presence felt by adding 11 points.
The first set of the match started off with the Puerto Ricans taking the lead early on but US Virgin Islands was able to close in the gap. However, before US Virgin Islands could gain any sway, the Puerto Ricans extended their advantage and marched ahead to bag the opening set of the match at 25-19.
The loss of the first set had a dampening effect on the performance of  the US Virgin Islands squad and they put in a half hearted effort in the second set that helped Puerto Rico to take an early lead and stretch it further. US Virgin Islands kept trailing behind as Puerto Rico sped on to secure the second set comfortably at 25-15.
US Virgin Islands revived themselves in the third set of the game and kept the score level for the most part. It seemed as if US Virgin Islands would swing things in their favour but their hopes were smashed as the Puerto Ricans asserted themselves by moving on to take the lead in the end and finally grab the third set of the game at 25-21.  More...http://blogs.bettor.com/Puerto-Rico-sweeps-US-Virgin-Islands-in-a-U-19-Championship-match-Volleyball-news-a168347

Plan your next trip to Paradise

After 2 decades of villa rentals, we’ve rented to hundreds of groups of vacationers and find they typically fall into 1 or 2 of 4 categories. We’ve detailed some actual St. John vacations here: