All Roads Lead to St John

Enjoy our September newsletter:

 The views go on forever and ever

St John's remote East End 

If you are a beach goer, St John can be your slice of heaven or, as many say, your happy place. Take your pick of nearly 40 beaches around the island and place your towel down for the day. But, even if you are not a beach goer, St John can be your happy place as well. In addition to (or instead of) lying on the beach, there are so many things to do on St John it might just make your head spin. Our fabulous property manager, Coby Cooper, having lived on and sailed the waters of St John for many years is a wealth of information and ideas of activities and can advise you based on what you and your group might enjoy. Here are just a few ideas for filling your day...

• Take a road trip out to the East End of St John. As Steve Simonsen's photo (above) depicts, the vistas are magnificent and the roads are windy, but fun to drive as long as you watch out for the donkeys and goats that freely roam the roads. Plan on stopping by Vie's Snack Shop for some of her scrumptious fried chicken and Johnny Cakes or conch fritters, then keep on heading east to stop by Sloop Jones to browse his magnificent wearable art which reflect the wonderful colors of the Caribbean. If you want to try your hand at creating your own 'Sloop Jones' piece of wearable art, plan on attending one of his workshops. On the way back to Great Expectations, you might want to stop off in Coral Bay at the Skinny Legs complex to play a game of horse-shoes or just hang out in a Jimmy Buffett environment.

• Take a boat trip. There are tons of options from renting a paddle board, dinghy, or kayak to being chauffeured around the waters of St John in one of the many charter sail or power boats. We have arranged with a number of the charter outfits to give our guests a discount so check out the outdoor activities and have a great day on the water.

• Take a hike. If you are too antsy to sit on the beach, bring your hiking shoes to St John with you and head out to any one of over40 hiking trails. Some of the hikes are quite challenging and others are just downright breathtakingly beautiful! One of our recent guests e-mailed me this photo taken while they were hiking the Reef Bay trail proving that St John is even beautiful when it rains:

Rains last month from Tropical Storm Bertha created fabulous waterfalls

Or, just take the day off and do nothing at all! Hang out at the Villa - lounge in the infinity pool, arrange to have an afternoon massage (no need to leave the villa for that!), and take a nap. Vacation time should be time to relax and recharge and St John is the perfect venue for doing just that!

September St John news flashes & fun St John clips:

• Islands Magazine included St John's Maho Beach in their '20 Beach Photos That Will Make you Were There Right Now' as well as their '7 Easy Three-Day Getaways Every Traveler Needs to Take' lists. Why is it easy? Islands reports that there are 10 airlines that fly daily non-stop to St Thomas where it is then breezy (literally and figuratively) ferry ride from Red Hook to St John. Why Is St John Exotic? Islands reports that this Virgin isle is small on development and big on nature: Its national parkland covers two-thirds of the island. Jungle trails wend past petroglyphs and hermit crabs unfazed by curious guests. The park even extends underwater for 5,600 acres — see 225 yards of it on Trunk Bay’s snorkeling trail, where damselfish slide through sea fans and parrotfish glow almost neon. Afterward, nearby Cruz Bay awaits with coconut shrimp and mango coladas (made with local Cruzan rum) at Morgan’s Mango.

• Life Cheat Sheet named St John on their 'Forget the Passports - 7 Best US Islands to Visit' list.

• Destination Weddings named St John's Trunk Bay one of the '12 Best Caribbean Beaches for Weddings' list.

• New partner - new savings! This month we partnered with another wonderful charter boat to extend our guests a 10% discount. Sail into yesteryear on this magnificent 84' foot 'pirate' ship aptly named Goddess Athena. She is large enough to take your whole group out for a sunset sail or a full day on the waters. Check her and some of our other wonderful sailboat options for a wonderful day on the waters.

• Special savings of $2,876!Great Expectations is already totally reserved this winter season with the exception of the last six nights of 'High Season': Sunday, April 12 - Saturday, April 18, 2015. To celebrate spring ('soon come') we have decided to offer this six night period for 'Low Season' rates saving you $2,876! Contact us today to take advantage of this savings!

As you can see from our availability calendar, Great Expectations is already reserved for almost all of this winter (with only 6 nights remaining available) and much of next spring and summer. We never want to disappoint previous guests -- or potential new ones -- so please contact us as soon as you can when you start your trip planning.  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!

These are just for you if you love the colors - and views - of St John

Hot off the press the January newsletter from Great Expectations:

Artist Sloop Jones captures the beauty of the St John sunrise
on his 'canvas'

Photographer Steve Simonsen uses a camera to as his 'canvas'
to capture the sunset's colors
 

Both Sloop Jones and Steve Simonsen are passionate about their respective crafts about the beauty and colors of St John. Sloop is an artist who captures the colors of St John on anything 'wearable and useable' whether T-Shirts, dresses, hats, rugs, wall hangings, or banners and signs. Rather than a paint brush, Steve Simonsen uses a camera to create his art. Steve often takes to the skies (in an airplane or helicopter), water (diving or boat), or the beach or hills of St John to capture his pictures. His fabulous photography can be seen on the covers of travel magazines, walls of cruise ships, or art galleries around the world.

Both Sloop and Steve offer workshops aimed at giving you a peek into their worlds and helping you capture the magic that is St John:

Sloop Jones Workshops: Every Tuesday morning from January - April, 2013. Classes are limited to 6 people to ensure that everyone gets a good deal of Sloop's attention.

Steve Simonsen Workshops: Scheduled sporadically (it is the islands 'mon) are workshops on Underwater Photography, Snorkel, Tropical Light, and Beyond the Basics. Steve looks for groups of 6 people for his workshops. This weekend I am attending the Beyond the Basics Workshop with the hopes of being able to capture in a lens the beauty I see through my eyes.

OK, assume that you have worked all morning at one of these workshops, what better way of relaxing than spending the afternoon in our new pool:

Watch the clouds float over St John from our new pool

January St John news flashes & fun St John clips:

• Once again St John makes several 'Best of' lists. Travel + Leisure launched its first annual 'Beach Beach on Earth' survey and after much debate identified the top 30 best and several Virgin Islands beaches made the list including St John's Trunk Bay in the 'Best for Wildlife Watching'. The Toronto 'The Star' newspaper/blog declared that St John is THE Caribbean island to explore.

• The latest issue of St John Magazine is now available and the reviews are terrific (maybe the best yet!). Each year, MaLinda Nelson outdoes herself to produce an issue that is fresher, bolder, more interesting, and more beautiful than the year before. The 2013 issue is just that! Steve Simonsen's fabulous photography captures St John's magical beauty and Amy Roberts captures, in words, the turmoil in our plantation years. Come to St John to buy one yourself or, if you must order on-line contact MaLinda directly. 

• News of St John (a wonderful blog) had a great posting about how to prolong the 'St John buzz'. We have great musicians on the island and always have lots of live music options available. Several of the groups have put out their own CD's so you can hear St John even when not here. Here are just a few: Inner Visions (for Reggae), Victor Provost has perfected steel drums & pans, and Marty Beech who you can hear at Caneel Bay's Turtle Bay where he sings songs of Frank Sinatra. Best to come to St John to hear these folks in person!
   
• Carnival season has begun in the Virgin Islands. St Croix ends the 'old year' and starts the 'new year' with its Festival. This year's activities were, as usual, spectacular. The next Festival will be on St Thomas during the month of April. St John rounds out the activities for the Virgin Islands with its Festival activities (our favorite) which are scheduled during the last couple of weeks of June and culminate with food fairs, parades, and music during the first week of July.
   
• Rumored for years but it finally happened: Maho Bay Campgrounds was sold! Just as the clock struck twelve on the old year, the deal was sealed so says the island's rumor mill. No one knows for sure who the buyer of the spectacular site is for a steal of a price ($13.9 million), but we can all hope that it is someone who appreciates the beauty of St John who believes in preservation. The Campgrounds is open until May 15 after which they plan the biggest 'garage sale' in the history of St John. If you are interested in a propane burner, tent, table, or other camping gear contact the Stanley Selegut, the owner of Maho Bay Campgrounds, directly.

• Beau Geste, the Guest House of Great Expectations, is currently available for 10% off from Saturday, February 16 - Sunday, February 24 (President's week). Beau Geste has 3 bedrooms, including a connecting bedroom, swimming pool and hot tub, and, of course, fabulous Caribbean views. Contact us today to get out of the cold!

  Enjoy the holidays and we hope we see you at Great Expectations or Beau Gestein the new year!

Best,

 

Chuck & Kristin

owners of Great Expectations

P.S. While Great Expectations is already booked most of this winter, we have a five night opening in March (check out our March Madness Special), 5 night opening in April, and then no  availability until May. We are already taking reservations for 2014, so contact us soon  for your choice dates.

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

If you love the colors of the St John sunrise or sunset or waters then this blog is for you! And, as a bonus, you can now work directly with the artist.

Sloop Jones captures the beauty of our sunrises in his clothing

St John is fortunate to be the home for lots of interesting characters and fabulous artists and Sloop Jones is both. For years, Terry McKoy (aka Sloop Jones) and his wife, Barbara Alperen, have lived on St John's East End where they own and manage the business of 'Sloop Jones Studio'. The colors of St John and the Caribbean have inspired them to create both magical wearable and usable art pieces from t-shirts, dresses, shirts, and capes to rugs, banners, and signs.  You name it and I bet Sloop Jones can make it happen and it is sure to be colorful.

Sloop Jones has recently created their own blog so you can follow along and get inspired no matter where you reside. It is a fun one to bookmark and an take a peek when you need your 'St John fix'!

And, these days you too could be a 'Sloop Jones'! Sloop has started a come and create your own masterpiece project. During this winter, each Tuesday morning  from January 8th through April 30th, Sloop is offering Art Workshops. These sessions are limited to 6 people which will ensure that each person gets Sloop's full attention so if you are interested you should be sure to sign up early! 

This could be you working with Sloop Jones. What a fun way to spend a morning on St John!

Christmas Trees decorations helping the kids of St John

Mrs Larson and her class, with mom Petrolina and son Zack. The students are making their own ornaments and decorating

a tree that will be offered by silent auction

Many people who live on St John have an island name. There is Straw Hat Dave (yes, he always wears a straw hat), Mr Wonderful (our friend Leo Maximum who drives a Safari Taxi, builds just about anything, and, yes, is pretty outgoing), Pumpkin (the St John supervisor for VITELCO, St John's telephone company) and, now '

Christmas Tree Martha

'.  

Christmas Tree Martha is a dynamo of a person who has a passion for helping the kids of St John.  Her view, one we love, is that all kids have Abilities, not DisAbilities.  Martha is striving to bring those Abilities alive to shine for all to see. 

Over the years Martha's interests have grown to appreciate kids with lots of different disAbilities and last year, with the support of the St John Community Foundation, she founded the Adaptive Tennis Program for St John. Meeting every Tuesday morning at the St John public tennis court Martha, several volunteers, and a bunch of super eager kids come to the tennis court to experience just how able they are!  

KD Munnelly, Special Education teacher at Julius Sprauve School, with her students and Martha Toomey.

Making paper chains! 

Now, back to Christmas Tree Martha. This year Martha is offering christmas tree decorating services (upstairs at the Starfish Marketplace) and 100% of the profit will go to support her St John programs such as the Adaptive Tennis Program! If you would like to support the kids of St John stop by the Marketplace and buy a tree or a decoration. Not on St John -too bad for you!- but you still can help by contacting Martha directly on her Facebook page (Christmas Tree Martha) and she will be happy to tell you how to contribute to help the kids.  Donate (minimum bid of $100) to win the decorated tree in their silent auction! For more information about the variety of Christmas trees (including one decorated by Sloop Jones take a look at the recent issue of the St John Tradewinds. 

Martha, several volunteers, and budding tennis stars

If you find yourself on St John stop by the tennis court any Tuesday morning (usually around 8:30 AM) to volunteer and meet some of the kids. You will be the better for it!