Wow, what a week it has been here on St. John. First, we lost our free wifi. Fortunately, that was restored to the island yesterday. Second, we had a major fire at our substation Wednesday night. Fortunately that was extinguished rather quickly and power was restored the next day. And third, we had a pretty good earthquake last night. Sure we get little ones all the time, but last night’s was a 5.2. That’s unusual, and many of us felt it. Fortunately that did not cause any damage. They say things come in threes, right? So we should be off the hook for awhile. 🙂 Now on to much more positive news…
Yesterday marked seven months since Hurricane Irma passed through the islands. And you know what, St. John looks absolutely incredible. Sure we have some areas that will need much more time to heal, but overall, the progress continues to amaze me.
We went back this week and took several of the same pictures that we took just days after Irma. Check them out below…
Look at all of those boats!!
Do you see the butterfly??!!
How amazing are these pics??!! Well, the entrance to Caneel still looks like Jurassic Park, but at least it’s a green Jurassic Park!
Again, the progress over the past seven months has been extraordinary. And that is thanks to our incredible residents, all of the government agencies who came to our aid, the volunteers groups who came to help us (and many who are still here), the Bloomberg Foundation, Kenny Chesney and his crew, and all of you!! To those of you who have had the ability to come back, thank you! And to those of you who have trips booked, thank you! To those of you who donated in some way, thank you! And finally to those of you who simply love this place, thank you! Good vibes are just as important as everything else!
Now go ahead and enjoy your Saturday. I know I will. 🙂
Thank you so much for all the updates. It is the first thing I look for every morning. Will be there next Friday. Hope we can meet up with you. Can’t wait to be in my favorite place!
My wife and I just returned from a month on St.Thomas and many visits to St John (we used 2 ferry commuter books!)….wonderful trip!! We are so glad to see the progress and thankful that all of our friends are doing well! We already have our reservations for 2019!
Thanks for all the updates!
The before and after pictures are amazing. Got married in 2017 on trunk bay and stayed at caneel bay… it was and always will be paradise for me. Can,t wait to return for our anniversary!, love you St.John!
So happy to see the progress! I would love to visit some day! Nothing can ever change the beauty of that beautiful water!!❤️❤️
Nice job with the befores/afters. Pictures are worth thousands of words. So much dedication, love and HARD WORK are evident.
Very much looking forward to returning in 2019! We have already made some reservations. We we’re crushed that we couldn’t go this year and miss you all. So happy to see your progress. We think about you often!
The before and after pics are amazing! We have booked a 10 day trip in August to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. I am counting down the days!
My brother Mack and I just returned from a wonderful week on STJ and it was so incredible to see the amazing recovery, enjoy visits with our old friends and create new ones too. Thank you keeping us a part of it until we can return.
Jenn .. you continue to amaze!! The before and the 7-months-later photos show not only the strength
and hard work of St. Johnians, but also the rebirth of nature. Beautiful!! We loved our March 2018 visit
to “Love City” and have already booked for March 2019!! Thanks so much.
Thank you for all the updates, I check in daily. We are booked again for 2019.
I love seeing all of the progress that’s happening to my beloved little island. My husband and I just booked our first trip back to St. John since 2013 and I can’t wait.
…and yet NOTHING has been done at Cinnamon Bay Campground! Redwood Parks is 100% negligent and should lose the contract immediately so the NPS and volunteers can restore it to a usable condition before next winter.
I love those pics and just saw each of this locations in person! We just returned home on April 7 from our week on st john, and we experienced the loss of wifi, the power outage, and felt the earthquake. Regardless, it was an amazing week spent hiking the trails, relaxing on the beaches, and snorkeling in the water. St John is beautiful and recovering quickly!!
Photo shopping in the butterfly….. Well played Jenn!!!!
The updates are always appreciated in the “bold North”.
These pictures simultaneously broke my heart and lifted my spirits! I was having flashbacks to those first few days post-Irma! So great to see everything coming back beautifully!!
VIStrong!!
wow- little gut punch to see those September pics again. We were there in late February and it really is looking AMAZING, and the people there are just awe inspiring. Thank you for the side by side pics, Jen! We are booked to return with the kiddos this July and cannot WAIT!!!
It was heartening to see the progress made as a result of the work of so many caring folks. The before and after pics were very impactful. Looking forward to coming back in July.