St John Where The Swimming is Great For All...Winter or Not!

Please enjoy our February newsletter.....

Hitching a ride -- St John style (photo by Steve McKibben)

There is no denying it -- this has been the winter of all winters! Historic snow in the northeast, ice storms throughout the midwest and northeast causing much of Niagara Falls to freeze, and record cold throughout much of the country including Georgia, South Carolina and even Florida. Nasty stuff!

Here is a great way of surviving the rest of the winter -- plan a trip to St John for this spring. Great Expectations is currently available from May 25 through June 13 of this year for 15% off discount!

Or, plan now to enjoy a week on St John next winter. We already are reserved for several weeks next winter, but we still have some choice dates available. There is nothing better than lounging by the pool or enjoying the clear, warm waters of St John when it is bitter cold -- back home.

If you have never been to St John before, you might enjoy the video we recently received from Don Hyde who stayed at Great Expectations with his family this past Thanksgiving. Even if you have been to St John before you, too, will enjoy the video, and feel the fun they had on St John:

Watch and smile...how can you not?

February St John news flashes & fun St John clips:

• On-St John recently posted a video of Hart Bay. The relatively unknown beach is only accessible by foot so often you will have the beach all to yourself. It is a great location to just sit and be mesmerized by the sound of the lapping waves or do some shell collecting. Hart Bay is just a 5 minute walk from Great Expectations. On calm days it is a good place to paddle board or swim and on rough days we often see surfers braving the waves.

• Last month St John's Mongoose Junction experienced a horrible fire. Luckily no one was hurt. However, the popular Tap Room was totally destroyed and significant damage was done to the North Shore Deli and the Ocean Grill. St Johnians came together to help out and within days both the Northshore Deli and Ocean Grill were up and serving food again. The owners of the Tap Room never lost their spirit or determination to rebuild. They are already set up in a temporary spot (parking lot of Mongoose Junction) as The Temp Room serving their great brews and music offerings and building out a temporary spot until their burned out space is totally renovated. They project the new improved Tap Room will be ready for next season.

• St John Blues Blowout Festival is ON! March 28th will bring lots of music to Cruz Bay's Winston Wells Ballpark. All proceeds to benefit the St John School of the Arts and the Sprauve School

• Check our availability calendar and contact us today to secure your reservation! We will be happy to work with you to, as best we can, accommodate your needs. Our goal, always, is to meet or ideally, exceed your expectations!

Best,

Kristin & Chuck 

owners of Great Expectations

PS Make sure to ask about our special $100 worth of dining and activity certificates from the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism when you reserve a week or more at Great Expectations!

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for news about Great Expectations specials & St John activities

St John Arts Festival Begins Tomorrow - February 14, 2014. Get Ready for Great Music, Dancing, Film and Shows

Get ready to enjoy the 14th St John Arts Festival starting February 14 (Valentine's Day) and running through February 19th. There is something for everyone who loves St John and the wonderful art of the island:

St John tops 'best of' lists (once again)!

Enjoy our May newsletter:

Islands Magazine Best Beach 2013 Photography Contest Has
St John in Top Spot

Island Magazine contestant Matt Erikson's Maho Bay beach photo

Islands.com recently issued their top 10 photos - so far - for their 2013 Best Beaches Photo Contest and St John is Number #1 on that list. No wonder. The St John waters make for a pretty phenomenal canvas. Having a beautiful canvas is a necessary ingredient, but taking great pictures needs more than that. I know. I have hundreds of over or underexposed pictures of our beaches. A few months ago, my husband treated me to one of St John Photographer Steve Simonsen's Beyond the Basic's Photography incredible workshops. If you happen to be on St John when one of Steve's workshops is being offered, take it! He is a delight and in just 3 - 4 hours you will see and photograph St John as never before!

During this past month St John also made it onto the following lists of US News's 'Best of' Lists:

   Best Caribbean Vacation

   Best Caribbean Beaches, and 
   Best Caribbean Honeymoon

And just in case you are thinking of quitting your stateside jobs and moving to the Caribbean you should know that Islands.com declared St John 'One of the Best Islands to Live On'!

April/May St John news flashes & fun St John clips:

• La Tapa (a personal favorite of ours) and La Plancha del Mar get top honors by making it onto the 2013 Best Chefs in America list! What is especially sweet about this award is that the judges were America's top chefs themselves! Not food writers or surveys, but confidential interviews with actual chefs.

  

• Folksinger Kenny Chesney released his new album April 30th about his experiences and time on St John and in the Virgin Islands waters. It is aptly named, Life On a Rock. Chesney says he found peace on St John and the Virgin Islands became a 'safe harbor' for him from all the craziness. Many of us who know St John could not have said (or sung) it better! To help preserve our waters and lands for future generations to enjoy, Chesney has announced that he is donating part of the album's profits to the Friends of the National Park.
   

• The afternoon of April 21st an electrical fire swept through the long-time, popular Cruz Bay restaurant Cafe Roma. Luckily, quick action by the St John Fire Department, St John Rescue, and several folks from local restaurants helped contain the fire. No other neighboring buildings were damaged. OnCafe Roma's Facebook page the restaurant's owner, John Hiebert, thanked all that helped that day and promised to rebuild. That is the St John spirit for you!

• We have a new St John partner who has agreed to offer guests of Great Expectations discounts for their services. We are delighted to announce that Low Key Water Sports will extend our guests a 15% discount for snorkeling equipment rentals and diving! Low Key is known as the very best dive outfit on St John. 

• Great Expectations has a few openings this summer. What better way of ending the winter than enjoying the warmth of the Caribbean? Contact us today to take advantage of our last minute specials. 

Best,

Kristin & Chuck 

owners of Great Expectations

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for news about Great Expectations specials & St John activities
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Our monthly St John newsletter for May which we distribute to all those who love St John and want to be kept up-to-date about happenings on and around our wonderful island. If you would like to sign up for the monthly newsletter, there is a 'sign up' box at the bottom  of the blue column on the right of this page. 

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