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!

Enter to Win a One Week Stay at Lovango Resort + Beach Club!

January 20, 2023January 19, 2023 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning, Good Morning! A few months ago, the St. John Land Conservancy (SJLC) launched their Second Annual Love for the Land Fundraiser, giving all of you the opportunity to win a week-long stay for two at the luxurious Lovango Resort +Beach Club including St. John dining, activities AND airfare credits. And every ticket purchased in an attempt to win this incredible prize goes towards a great cause: Preserving the cultural and natural resources of St. John from unsustainable development. It’s a win, win! But the window of opportunity to win this contest is closing with the drawing happening just after Valentine’s Day (February 18)! So read on to find out more and get your tickets today!

St. John/St. Thomas Car Barge Schedules…Kind of :)

January 17, 2023January 17, 2023 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning! I had a few requests after yesterday’s post on ferry schedules for a similar post regarding the car barge. I always tell folks that the people ferry is pretty much the ONLY thing on St. John that is timely and reliable. The car barges, however, do not fall into that same category. It seems like, a lot of times, one of the barges is down for repairs, contracted out elsewhere or getting an inspection of some sort which really throws off the schedule for those of them that ARE running on a given day. So, a timely and accurate portrayal of what the car barge schedule looks like today, let alone over time, is a bit more difficult to tackle. But I’ll do my best with the disclaimer that these schedules, although sometimes very reliable, can also change on the daily.

St. John Ferry Schedules

January 16, 2023 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning, Good Morning. I have seen a ton of requests and inquiries online recently about ferry schedules. These days we have a ton of on the on-the-water public transit options straight out of Cruz Bay. So, I thought there’s no time like the present to gather them up and put them out there for you!

Love City 101- Protecting the Creatures of Land and Sea

January 13, 2023January 13, 2023 by Hillary Bonner

Good Day everyone! Wow- I was just reading through the comments from last week’s Love City 101 Revisited post and there was SO much thoughtful insight from so many of you that I decided to jump into the next few parts of this series right now! I do so appreciated all of your positive commentary and, although I am admittedly not great at replying to all of it, I DO read all of it and take it to heart. So, with that being said, let’s jump into one of our favorite things about St. John, the furry friends on land and all creatures of the sea…And best practices on how to allow them to thrive in the busy-with-people environment here on island.

St. John Excursions Part Two- What to do When the Beaches are Busy

January 12, 2023January 11, 2023 by Hillary Bonner

Good Afternoon Everyone! I woke up this morning to a notice that there would be nearly 18,000 cruise ship passengers disembarking between Charlotte Amalie and Crown Bay today. CRAZY. That’s a lot of extra humans on St. Thomas, Water Island and St. John for the day! And there are several days throughout the rest of this month (and season) that reflect a similarly high number of cruise ship passengers who will be disembarking for the day to enjoy our beautiful islands. So, I thought now might be a good time to make some recommendations about other fun things to do that will feel a little less busy but be just as fun (and beautiful) as the beach!

Love City 101 Revisited

January 6, 2023January 6, 2023 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning, Good Morning! We were enjoying dinner at Banana Deck the other night when we ran into a long-time visitor turned St. John homeowner who also happens to follow this lil blog. After a lengthy chat and lots of laughs he quietly mentioned to me that he had a story idea…Maybe we should go over the island etiquette again. I thought about it and realized that I HAVE started to see some posts recently about some not-so-positive interactions between residents and vacationers recently. So, I thought, with the midst of busy season all around us, I would take his advice and revisit the Love City 101 columns from a series posted last year around Thanksgiving.

The Inn at Tamarind Court: Mexican Night is a Must Do!

January 5, 2023 by Hillary Bonner

When we walked into the courtyard at the Inn at Tamarind Court for dinner a few weeks ago, we were immediately greeted by good friends sitting at a table adjacent to the kitchen. They were packing up their healthy portions of leftovers into take away boxes and “warning” us about the incredible quality of flavor and thoughtfulness in every bite they had experienced that evening. Anxious to confirm their compliments and taste the source of the amazing smells wafting across the open-air courtyard, lit with warm white lights from the small kitchen, we cut conversation short, grabbed a table (and two margaritas) and got to work on the menu…

2022 on St. John: A Year in Review

January 4, 2023 by Hillary Bonner

Hello! And Happy New Year to you all! We celebrated Christmas and the New Year in the British Virgin Islands helping some friends out with their holiday charter. And man, it was glorious to be over there and seeing our friends who have been so close, yet so far away, for the past few years. In the tradition of the Virgin Islands, there were many blessings made to the old year in the days leading up to the conclusion of 2022. A tradition that I very much enjoy. Because without looking behind us at our accomplishments, our challenges, our joyous times and our hardships, it may be difficult to focus on the new year (and our goals for it) that lies ahead. So, today, as I rejoin you all in cyberspace and reporting from home on St. John, I wanted to take a moment to look back on some high points from 2022 in Love City.

Where to be When the Ball Drops: New Year’s Eve Festivities on St. John

December 29, 2022December 26, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Good Morning, Good Morning! And a happy last year of 2022 to all of you! Katie is filling in for me while Teddy and I head out for a term charter over the next week, and I want to extend a HUGE thank you to her. But I wanted to get all of you updated on the New Year’s Eve happenings on St. John before we shove off!

Happy Holidays From St. John!

December 24, 2022 by Hillary Bonner

Merry Christmas! Happy Hannukah! And a Joyous Kwanza to you all! We hope you will enjoy this collection of photos from some of your favorite people and places in Love City…A holiday card, if you will, straight from St. John to you!