Where the waters of St John are pristine and the beaches are silky whiteDecember News flashes:
The latest issue of St John Magazine is now available and is the prettiest issue yet! Noted St John photographer Steve Simonsen's amazing photography is sprinkled throughout the magazine and once again the stories capture the wonderful history and culture of our island. Well done!
To purchase a copy (only $15 including shipping and handling), contact: MaLinda Nelson, Publisher
On their way to a job in Coral Bay, loaded with what we on St John call 'liquid gold' (cement), this truck zigged when it should have zagged and overturned just before Chateaux Bordeaux on Centerline Road just before Chateaux Bordeaux. Traffic had to squeeze by for a day until the truck was hauled away. No word yet on what happened to the truck's cargo!
The Friends of Virgin Islands National Park is dedicated to the protection and preservation of the natural and cultural resources of Virgin Islands National Park and promotes the responsible enjoyment of this unique national treasure. What is not to like about that mission if you love St John and the environment?
 |
| Sail, snorkel, & enjoy some champagne! |
The Friends kick off their on-line auction tomorrow (Friday, November18) which runs through December 4th. Proceeds from the auction will support the Friends programs which protect, preserve, and educate. Making some of the trails accessible, beach clean-ups, research to support protection of our coral reefs, and cultural evenings in the park are just a few projects these proceeds will support.
Bid often. Bid high. Right now you can bid on handmade jewelry, boat trips, vacation villas, spa treatments, and kayak trips. New items are being added every day so check back often.
And, book your trip to St John so you can enjoy St John's beauty for yourself!
Flavors of St John Winners All! Chef Mat Vacharat, center, and his staff are all smiles after winning the night’s best entreé and best dessert categories during the annual Rotary Club’s Flavors fundraising event October 28 (Courtesy of the St John Tradewinds) |
| What a night - on St John with great friends, great food, fun dancing and music and an opportunity to give back to St John. Life is good! After lots of tasting, the overwhelming verdict of judges declared Mathayom Private Chefs and St John Catering the winner of 'Best Entree' and 'Best Dessert'. More than a dozen caterers, mixologists, and restaurants joined in to support the Rotary's Annual fundraiser supporting college scholarships for local students. Other winners (besides the students getting the scholarships, of course!) were High Tide for 'Best Drinks' and Starfish Gourmet and Wines winning 'Best Appetizers'. Judges had the hard duty of tasting such tasty items as braised short ribs, Cuban sandwiches, leak soup and, of course had to wash it all down with some of the best drinks (beers, wines, and of course lots of rum!) available in the Caribbean. Again, tough duty, all for a great cause. |
St Johnians are all about having fun - day or night, any day of the year; but, Halloween tends to bring out the wackiest! If you happen to be on St John tonight check out Skinny Legs which always proves a good time.
Skinny Legs 'guests'
Yikes! Well, no worries 'mon that is if you be on St John...but, if you are in the northeastern US watch out and while you are stuck inside during the storm looking for things to do why not plan your next trip to St John where it is summer 12 months a year! As an incentive, here is today's forecast on St John: 
Enough good reasons to plan a trip to St John? We hope so! Come to St John - and Great Expectations - to experience the magic for yourself.Best,Chuck & Kristin
owners of Great ExpectationsP.S. Check out our availability. We have a few great weeks open this fall and winter! Think about starting 2012 off at our St John villa; contact us today to reserve your place in the sun.Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for news about Great Expectations specials & St John activities.
Cover of Steve Simonsen's 2012 St John calendar
It is true that Steve is an amazing artist. His photographer's eye is very special yet so is his landscape! This is the 6th year Steve has produced a calendar and this year's result is in a word - stunning! Both landscape and underwater scenes capture the magic of St John. Each month is more delicious than the last one. Having this hang in your home or office during the cold winter months will surely take a bit of chill out of the winter's air -- that is, until you can get to St John yourself! These calendar's can be purchased at several stores on St John or through Steve's on-line store. Until you get the calendar or visit St John yourself, you might enjoy peeking at our webcam which, hopefully, will entice you make a reservation for your St John vacation.If you are more of a graphic artist type of person you might also enjoy the work of another fabulous St John artist. Elaine Estern is, among other things, a wonderful watercolorist who has also been producing St John calendars for a number of years.
The title of this one says it all: 'Living the Dream'
Elaine's calendar is also available on St John at her studio as well as in other shops or on-line; and, when on St John her studio is a must-see.
Our brand new HD St John webcam has already won a 'Top 10 webcams' award in from the International web directory, EarthCam. We are delighted to help people enjoy the beauty of St John USVI no matter where in the world they are at any given time. Sometimes it is blustery, sometimes calm, but, always beautiful and warm! Bookmark our webcam and come back often to enjoy. Let us know if we can ever entice you to come enjoy the beauty and breezes for yourself. Tell us you found us because of the webcam and we will extend our Webcam special for you!
Published on St. John SourceReef Bay Petroglyph Raises Questions An eagle-eyed visitor spotted a petroglyph that was hiding among those known at Reef Bay. V.I. National Park archeologist Ken Wild saw a photo of the petroglyph among photos of Reef Bay petroglyphs taken decades ago, but hadn't located it. The petroglyphs are located at a pool on a side trail off the Reef Bay Trail.So, when it came time to lead a Friends of the V.I. National Park seminar to Reef Bay on Jan. 21, Wild took along copies of the photo contact sheet that contained the picture of that petroglyph."I wanted to put more eyes on it," he said.Wild initially found the contact sheets containing the elusive petroglyph in the park's archives.Darrell Borger of Kenosha, Wis., was the first to spot it. They key was in looking for rocks that differed from the others, Wild said."Turning around with my back to the pool, I scanned the rocks, looking for the distinctive tilt in the fissures. I could hardly believe it, but those rocks were right in front of me," Sue Borger wrote in an article for the Friends newsletter, "Tidings."She went on to say that her husband, Darrell, spotted the petroglyphs and yelled "Here it is! We've got it!"The known petroglyphs date to 1400 A.D. and are attributed to the Taino Indians but Wild said this one could be as old as 100 B.C. or as recent as 500 A.D. In any case, it is older than its neighbors at the Reef Bay pool."It tells us that this was somewhat of a sacred place," Wild said.While the other petroglyphs are rounder and have faces, this one is linear. Wild said they resemble the ones found in South America and St. Lucia.This petroglyph raises many questions. Coincidently, on the day this petroglyph was spotted, Wild stumbled on a piece of Saladoid pottery dating to the same era along the trail. The Saladoid immigrated into the Antilles from what is now Venezuela some 2,000 to 1,400 years ago, bringing horticulture and pottery technology to the islandsHe suggested that this petroglyph and the pottery belonged to the ancestors of the Taino Indians that came later. Additionally, he said that while St. John saw earlier migrations of people coming up from South America, this find indicates that whoever inscribed the petroglyph and made the pottery were settled on St. John."They had villages. They practiced animal husbandry and grew crops. They're kind of the first settlers," he said.Petroglyphs are rock art carvings whereas pictographs are rock art paintings.The old photo taken of the petroglyph has it outlined in caulk to make it more visible, but Wild said that practice erodes petroglyphs. Instead, he suggested that if people want to make it easier to see, they splash water on it.Even worse, Wild said several years ago someone enhanced another petroglyph using a rock as a tool."That's against the law," he said.
Surfers enjoying St John's Hart Bay
St John Cinnamon Bay sees huge (for St John!) waves
The Christmas Winds brought great weather for sailing, surfing, shell collecting, and just plain relaxin'!
Low Key Watersports and Great Expectations Hosting SCUBA for Disabled Veterans
Written by Tradewinds Staff
Friday, 03 December 2010 06:00After completing a course in the pool at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a SUDS participant, above, got his diving certificate in St. John waters last year. The group is back on St. John with a new group of divers this week.Low Key Watersports in Cruz Bay will again help sponsor an Adaptive Dive Program based out of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., called Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba (SUDS) the first week of December.The group of 11 will be staying at Great Expectations near Chocolate Hole and diving will be provided by Low Key Watersports. They will be on St. John from December 2 through 7. The SUDS Program is for veterans who have received severe injuries in Afghanistan and Iraq. Aquatic therapy and scuba diving can be very beneficial to the rehabilitation process and promotes mobility.
The injured veterans do their initial SCUBA training at Walter Reed and then travel to the Caribbean to complete their dive certification. The SUDS Program runs eight to 10 trips a year and this St. John trip will be the group’s second time on St. John. SUDS is a 501c(3) non-profit organization and a chapter of the Wounded Warrior/Disabled Sports Project.
When the SUDS group was on St. John the first time in the Spring 2009, the local community really came together to support the injured veterans. Any and all contributions, whether in services or in donations, are very much appreciated. In addition, the one area where immediate assistance is needed is food.
Anyone interested in providing a breakfast, lunch or dinner for a group of 11, should contact Carla Chatterton at (207) 504-6661 or carla@johnchatterton.com
