Hillary Bonner

Hi! I’m Hillary Bonner. I’ve been on St. John for 8 years and have worn A LOT of hats in my time on island. Most of us do tho…A lot of times island life calls for ingenuity, flexibility and resiliency. And those things are what I kind of LOVE about the people in our Love City Community. Between boat days and day hikes and happy hours with so many happy faces, you may have seen me behind the bar at Asolare, Zozo’s, The Terrace or Drink (once upon a time, Motu) over the years. But after Hurricane Irma, I jumped from behind the bar into non-profit work. That desk job made me remember that, way back when, I DID go to college and I might have been letting some of those skill sets get a BIT rusty. My degree is in Journalism and Public Relations. When asked if I ever used it, my programmed response was, “Bar tending IS relating to the public.” But, back to the desk job…I was doing everything. Which is, again, what you do in a small office on an island. Events, marketing, handling in-kind donations, unloading containers, attempting to figure out logistics I didn’t even know how to spell, community meetings, board meetings, FEMA meetings. All of the meetings. One day, I decided that there were aspects I loved. And aspects…Well, not so much. So I started my own thing, supporting local small businesses and non-profits in the realm of design, marketing and events (specifically music related events…you’ll hear a lot about music from me). I have a bleeding heart for the small yet ambitious non-profits on St. John. And an overwhelming amount of respect for the small business owners who made their ideas take flight in a place where it’s very difficult to do so! I love life here on St. John. The highs are the highest and the lows are not so low as they can be in other places. The accessibility to Mother Nature on this little slice of perfection is unparalleled. She’s all around us all of the time. You can watch the phases of the moon, the rotation of the planets, the shifting of the sunset and the tides. Every damn day. Mother Nature’s restless spirit reflects the transient nature of the people here as well. That was hard for me at first. The coming and the going. But now, I like the fact that I will rarely visit a place that I don’t have a place to stay and a friend to catch up with from St. John. So, now, here I am (using my degree, Ma!). Contributing to a long standing super positive blog. Here I feel like I’m in a position to use my voice to entertain and inform you about the community and island that I love so much. I’m grateful for this opportunity and am ALWAYS open to story ideas! Let me know what, where or who you want to hear about!

BVI Update: Relaxed Entry Protocols and Mask Mandates

June 20, 2022June 20, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning, Good Morning! I’m coming to you live from St. Simon Island, Georgia this morning after a nice relaxing vacay with the fam this week. I head back home to St. John tomorrow (without having to deal with the travel portal!), but wanted to take a few moments today to share with you all some information in regards to the recent changes to COVID-19 protocol in the British Virgin Islands that hit the press last week.

Cast Your Vote: 2023 Steve Simonsen Calendar Cover!

June 18, 2022June 17, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

If you’re like me, the annual Steve Simonsen Photography St. John Calendar is high on your list of priorities around the holidays. I grab one for my folks each December so that St. John is on the wall and and warming their spirits 365 days a year. Well, the Simonsen’s are currently wrestling with a decision about their cover for the 2023 calendar. And I thought maybe we could help them out a bit!

Tomorrow is World Sea Turtle Day 2022!

June 13, 2022June 15, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Tomorrow is a day to celebrate our FAVORITE creatures from under the sea….The Turtles 🙂 And, I have a few ideas about how you can SHELLebrate World Sea Turtle Day 2022!

Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority Gives Heads Up on Hurricane Prep

June 14, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Well, we had a splendid Sunday here on St. John…The entire island was without power for a total of twelve hours between midnight on Sunday morning and 9PM that evening. And, well, here in Love City we KNOW how to get by without power for a multitude of weeks at a time (thanks Irma!). But, this Sunday’s outage got Teddy, our neighbors and myself into a deep talk about hurricane prep. And, as the third and final blackout of the day happened right as I was making dinner (grateful for the gas stove!) I realized how much updating my hurricane boxes and bags need.

Travel Guide- St. John Boat Charters

August 3, 2022June 13, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning, Good Morning. Today, I want to address something that has really been grinding my gears for the past few months. So, there are all of these different boat broker companies, “concierge” companies and Facebook groups and charter booking operations out there that are offering a service to the consumer (that’s you!) in an attempt to help you find the perfect boat for your day on the water while visiting. Which is GREAT. It makes your life easier when all of the options are in one place, right?

However, I have noticed that many of these websites and group pages offer almost exclusively St. Thomas BASED vessels. Even on the St. John pages on their websites! Yes, they do pick up on St. John and do trips and excursions around Love City. But, I thought maybe visitors to St. John might be interested in knowing that you are booking a boat and crew that are actually based here on island. And, in order to do that, you need accurate information, right? Misinformation is my biggest pet peeve and many other charter boat owners have expressed their frustrations about all of this to me. So, in light of all of this, I created a list of St. John based boats for you to peruse the next time you are planning a trip and looking to get out on the water for a day of fun!

Island Update!- Restaurant News, Traffic, BVI and Dry Season

June 10, 2022June 10, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning, Good Morning! Are we ready for the weekend? We surely are here on St. John! If you are visiting this weekend, you may want to take a trip to St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon for the King of the Wing competition at Magens Bay Beach. This all day event is a chicken wing competition that will be sure to turn out some of St. Thomas and St. John’s finest and the event will boast drinks, festive fun and METHOD MAN! For full information on this amazing annual event to benefit the Virgin Islands Children Museum that was halted due to COVID but is making a 2022 comeback, visit their website and get out there and join in the fun this weekend. Oh, but we were talking about a ST. JOHN island update, right? Haha, ok. Back to business 🙂

Celebrate World Ocean Day by Winning a Getaway to St. John!

June 8, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Good Day to you all…And, a good day it is! Today is World Ocean Day. A day to celebrate the beauty, the life, the energy that our Mother Ocean brings to the earth and to the beautiful Virgin Islands. Let’s face it, as enchanting as it is, if St. John were not in the middle of this big, blue, beautiful sea that we are fortunate to call our home, the allure might be just a little bit less 🙂 So, in honor of World Ocean Day and to celebrate and promote conservation efforts to protect and restore our blue planet, let’s join in supporting Cruz Bay Realty, Kekoa Sailing and Virgin Islands Expedition Company. This fundraiser could get YOU a four night stay on St. John in order to enjoy that big blue something that surrounds us, and, unlike other fundraiser we have done in the past, this one doesn’t cost you a thing!

Progress Report- LOOK at These Roads!!!

June 7, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning, Good Morning! After spending the entire weekend at home, catching up on projects and unpacking from weeks on Asante, I finally took an hour yesterday to drive around and check out the beautiful new blacktop on the streets of Cruz Bay and the progress on the Centerline Road repairs. I am pleased to report that no more will we be driving over pot holes and metal plates in Cruz Bay that shake our already shuddering island rides. No more do we need to maneuver around craters on (most of) Centerline Road. As of this weekend, we see amazing progress on our roads on St. John.

Tis the Season for Departing Island Friends…

June 6, 2022June 6, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Hi friends! I’m going to get a little personal today in this post…I hope you don’t mind a break from the “news!” Those of you who have lived here in the past or who live here still may get a little emotional with the prose I am about to share. Every few years, it seems like there is a mass exodus of long time residents from St. John. Folks who have lived here for a while…People who started to dig in roots here, people we call family, who we began to build our holidays and birthdays around. People who we depend on for laughs, dance parties, boat days, beach days, hiking dates and long talks. Every few years, around this time, it feels like a lot of the good ones take off. And this year is one of those years.

Recycling Made Easier on St. John!

June 3, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning, Good Morning and Happy Fri-YAY! I don’t know about all of you, but I have had one chaotically busy week and am ready for a little fun in the sun this weekend! If you have been following along, you’ll probably understand that the recycling program on island is something that I am very passionate about. When I moved here in 2012, I was astonished that there was disposable plastic EVERYWHERE and no good way to dispose of it (Wait, no recycling?!?).

Well, here we are, ten years later, with many businesses on board for making changes to their long time use of #7 plastic cups, Styrofoam to-go containers, straws and plastic bags. And this year, the team at Island Green Living implemented PLASTIC recycling into their already well-established aluminum can recycling program with the assistance of a partnership with PADNOS. And NOW, through a partnership with VI Waste Management, dropping off your recycling and being an environmentally responsible visitor and/or resident just got easier!