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17 Signs You’re Addicted to the Ocean

Daily STJ January 22 2014

If you’re like me, chances are you’re addicted to the ocean. That’s a large part of our attraction to St. John, isn’t it? Well, The Huffington Post recently put out a list of 17 signs that prove you’re addicted to the ocean. We can relate to almost all of them. How about you? Check it out:

17 Signs You’re Addicted to the Ocean by The Huffington Post 
The ocean — or any brilliant, large body of water — is a powerful and beautiful thing. It gives you special moments that nothing else in the world can, from haunting yet serene silence to electrifying energy.

Some may argue that this fascination borderlines addiction. It is, after all, the only way to explain that euphoric high that being in the ocean gives you, right?

Below, 17 signs you are actually addicted to the ocean. (And are maybe going through withdrawal right now…)

1. You don’t understand the appeal of a ski vacation when you could be here:

Daily STJ December 10 2013

The beach is the only vacation you ever want.

2. When you’re close to a beach, somehow more sand ends up inside your car/purse/pockets than in the sandbox at your local park.

And you never bother to clean it out.

3. The weather and/or surf report of your favorite beach is a website you visit daily …. Or perhaps News of St. John 🙂

What do normal people fantasize about?

4. Words cannot express how much you love summer.

I.just.need.it.

5. Your Instagram account (is filled with beach photos). 

If there’s a sunset without an ocean, you just don’t see a reason for capturing it.

6. You don’t get it when one of your friends say, “I like going to the beach, I just don’t like going in the water.”

Seriously, why are you even here?

7. You’ll take a beach work out over a gym work out any day of the week.

Sweating is soooo much better when it’s by the sea.

8. Bali, Tahiti and Fiji are all on your travel bucket list.

And when you get there, this beach dance is completely necessary.

9. Your phone or desktop wallpaper looks something like this right now:

Cinnamon Bay

+50 points if the image is underwater. +100 points if it’s an image of you underwater.

10. Your heart actually hurts when you see photos of other people’s beach vacations on social media.

It’s just not fair.

11. The beach-boho trend is the perfect excuse for you to dress like it’s a beach day, everyday, regardless of weather.

A style? Nope, it’s a way of life.

12. You’ve seen every single ocean-related documentary on Netflix.

Deep sea animals are very, very trippy.

13. You either have a GoPro or have been begging for one for months.

And when you finally get one, your Instagram game jumps up 500%.

14. Your swimsuit is always easily accessible:

And it makes you smile just to see it every now and again.

15. You probably grew up close to a body of water, but if you didn’t, you definitely took on any mission just to get there as often as possible.

Whatever it takes, right?

16. You completely lose your sh!* during shark week.

I’ll see you in about seven days, kthxbye.

17. You believe, whole heartedly, that this is one of the best feelings in the world:

17 Signs You're Addicted to the Ocean 1
And you’re forever chasing that stoke.

Connections: The Who, What, Where, When & How of St. John

Connections 2

Hey tourists, this one’s for you…

Are you sick and tired of squeezing all of your liquids into tiny three ounce bottles and then cramming them into a quart size bag all so you don’t have to check a bag at the airport? Are you also sick and tired of lugging your suitcase around Cruz Bay on departure day (aka the walk of woe)? If this sounds like you, you’re going to want to read on.

Chances are you’ve walked past Connections one time or another while strolling the streets of Cruz Bay. Connections is located in an unassuming little building just one block from the passenger ferry dock. It’s a hub of activity for locals, but it also provides some great services for tourists.

Opened by Cid Hamling 32 years ago, Connections is the who, what, where, when and how of St. John. It offers an array of services from mailings to message boards. It receives packages for residents and tourists, and will also hold your bags for a small fee.

For those of you looking to mail a package ahead of time (for example, you’d like to send a full size bottle of shampoo for your vacation or perhaps some sunscreen), Connections will gladly receive the package on your behalf and will store it until your arrival (for a small fee which varies depending on the size and length of storage). If you plan to mail an item to Connections, you must call the office in advance at (340) 776-6922 as postal and Homeland Security requirements are necessary. You can also email them at [email protected]

For those of you who want to enjoy your last few hours on the island sans luggage, you can drop that off at Connections too. Connections charges a storage fee of $3 per bag per day. You do not need to notify Connections in advance to store a bag for a day – simply walk in.

Connections is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It’s open on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Connections is closed on Sundays. (Just a little FYI, there is a second Connections location in Coral Bay which opened 21 years ago.)

If you would like to learn more about the services offered at Connections, please visit its website at www.connectionsstjohn.com

And the Winner of the Living the Dream Problems Contest Is…

Bushwacker Norman Island

All I can say is wow!

When we came up with this crazy idea for a contest last weekend, never did we ever imagine how popular it would become. We had more than 4,000 votes, 4,267 to be exact. That’s unbelievable! Thank you to each and every one of you who submitted hilarious “Living the Dream Problems.” Now on to the winners…

Coming in with 25% of the vote, the winner of a super duper, super swanky, News of St. John swag bag is… (drum roll please!):

Dawn with “While I was snorkeling at Maho, a donkey ate my lunch” – a living the dream problem indeed.

We have to give credit where credit’s due, so here are our second and third place winners…

Coming in with 24% of the vote and only 40 votes shy of first place is Cinnamon with “I hung my backpack from a tree at Waterlemon, only to return from snorkeling to find a mongoose hanging from the bottom of it eating my granola bar!”

And then in third place with 23% of the vote (it was such a close contest) is Kerry with “Cistern runs dry before my Rum does.” I have to admit, that’s a personal favorite of mine.

Swag bags all around!

And here are a few standout write in votes:

  • Left out a painkiller for Santa instead of cookies and milk on Christmas Eve.
  • My kids Virgin drinks cost more than mine.
  • Rum is cheaper than coffee, so I drink 1 cup of coffee and 2 cups of rum in the morning.

Seriously, you all rock. News of St. John readers are clearly the best in the world! Thanks again for participating and another big congrats to Dawn, Cinnamon and Kerry!

Locally Handcrafted Jewelry in the Heart of Coral Bay

Jan

Looking to purchase custom, locally-handcrafted jewelry while on the island? Then you’re going to want to check out Jan’s Creations By the Sea.

Jan’s Creations By the Sea is a quaint little shop in Coral Bay. It’s located in front of Aqua Bistro in Cocolobo Plaza and offers a collection of unique, handcrafted items. Jan Keisler opened the shop in 2009. At that time, it was located near Lily’s Market on the other side of Aqua Bistro. Jan moved to her current roadside in November 2011.

Jan began making jewelry back in 2005 during a trip to New Mexico. She was visiting the state with friends when they happened upon an open air bead market. Jan’s husband Lance suggested they buy some turquoise rocks to see what they could do with them. Jan then picked up some Lapis and the rest is history.

“I didn’t take long to discover that not only could I make jewelry, but also that it was fun,” Jan said. “I’m hooked on the beauty of gemstones and crystals. The healing and soothing power of a gemstone is great.”

So how did Jan end up in Coral Bay? Well like many people, she grew tired of the cold, wintry weather of the Midwest. Jan and Lance bought a sailboat and sailed around the Caribbean for five years. During that journey, they discovered St. John. Soon after, Coral Bay became their home.

In addition to Jan’s handcrafted jewelry, the shop also sells hand-painted glassware by Stephanie Clark, leather goods by Tracey Keating of Awl Made Here, pottery by Sharon Coldren, recycled glass items by Ralph and Nina Fette and local artwork. Jan is always looking to bring new exciting goods into the shop.

Jan’s Creations is open Monday through Friday, October through August, from noon to 7 p.m.

Jans Creations By the Sea

Ceremonies of St. John: Why Hire a Wedding Planner?

Advertorial
i do plate

So last Friday, we celebrated numerous couples who tied the knot on the beautiful island of St. John. Today, we wanted to piggyback on that story and let you all in on the secret for planning a stress free wedding. Two words: Wedding Planner.

People often wonder, “Why should I hire a wedding planner?” Well, the answer is simple: Because no one wants stress to accompany the most important day of their life. This is where Ceremonies of St. John comes in.

Ceremonies of St. John provides brides and grooms a worry-free wedding day. Ceremonies’ takes care of all of the important little details from picking up and delivering bridal flowers, to finding the best wedding cake, champagne and more. They also make arrangements for photographers, videographers, caterers, musicians and more, but most importantly, they make certain that all arrive on time and are waiting for your arrival on your special day.

Brides and grooms really just need to show up. Ceremonies of St. John will handle the rest.

Not sure what to wear? Or perhaps you’re looking for a unique wedding favor or bridal gift with some island flair. Ceremonies of St. John can help with that too. They can also arrange accommodations, welcome cocktail parties, sunset sails, scuba diving excursions, spa days for the bridal party, fishing charters or golf outings for the men, massages, private hairstylists, and anything else that you need to make your dream wedding come true on the island of St. John.

Ceremonies of St. John’s staff lives and works directly on St. John, so they know all of the ins and outs of the island and can address any need that may arise. Interested in learning more? Call its toll free number at 1-888-282-3933 or email at [email protected]

Want to know more about wedding locations, wedding requirements and more? Click here to visit Ceremonies of St. John’s featured business page.

On the Market: Watch the Sun Rise from Windchime

Windchime pool view

Located on top of Gifft Hill, Windchime offers sweeping South Shore ocean views as well as stunning sunrise vistas. Its unobstructed views to the east are dramatic and the breezes and sun/moon rises are spectacular. Windchime is one our our favorite villas here at News of St. John.

Set on a private 1.4 acre estate, Windchime is close to the border of the National Park, affording privacy while still being easily accessible with only a 10-minute drive to Cruz Bay.

The villa is situated around an expansive great room with a private master suite located in a separate building above the pool deck. It has a great deal of outdoor space with multilevel decks, both shaded and sunny. This home is great for families and couples alike.

Great room
Great room
Kitchen
Kitchen
windchime outdoor space
Expansive outdoor space

Fragrant key lime, papaya trees and palms dot the professionally landscaped grounds while a large 24 X 20 ft. pool and six person spa await to indulge your senses on your next island adventure. There is room to expand therefore making Windchime an exceptional value.

windchime entrance hot tub
Professionally landscaped grounds, hot tub

This home, which boasts nearly 2,200 square feet, is listed at $1,295,500. Click here to view its MLS listing by Holiday Homes of St. John.

Not ready to buy? Windchime is also offered for rent. Windchime is managed by VIVA! Vacations. Click here for more information on its rental listing.

Celebrating Love City’s Loves

Heart Rock

First and foremost, Happy Valentine’s Day! As many of you know, today’s the day that dozens of couples will head over to Trunk Bay for the annual Celebration of Love vow renewal ceremony. This free ceremony starts at 5 p.m. so head on over and take part.

We wanted to celebrate a few St. John couples ourselves this Valentine’s Day. As you may remember, we put out a call last week for couples who were married on the island. We received a tremendous response and quite a few interesting stories. Here is a small sampling of what we received:

Skip and Chriss Benvie, Married June 9, 1985 at Maho Bay Camps

Skip and Chriss Benvie
Skip and Chriss Benvie, Maho Bay Camps, 1985

“My wife and I were high school sweethearts but drifted apart during our college years,” Skip said. “I ended up on St. John; (my wife) Chriss (White) moved to San Diego. I arrived on St. John in February 1982 on a 10 day vacation visiting friends and managed to talk the Maho manager into hiring me as a maintenance man to finish out the winter season. Summer of ‘82 I was kept on and he allowed me to rent out a sunfish that was on loan to me. The beach concession grew considerably over time. (I eventually bought the sunfish.) Summer of ‘83 Chriss came to visit me and the spark was reignited. She moved from San Diego to spend the winter of 83-84  with me to see how things would work out. She started out working at the clinic (she’s a nurse) and ended up working with me on the beach.

“By 1984 we had sunfish, windsurfers, chairs, floats and snorkel gear, and decided to take out a loan to purchase ‘Perstare’ (from Latin, to persevere), a Morgan 34 that was already part of the day sail fleet out of Maho.  I took guests out sailing and Chriss taught windsurfing and rented out the beach toys. We married at the Maho Bay Camps Pavilion in June of ’85 and honeymooned on my new mother-in-laws roll out couch in Holbrook MA, south of Boston where we grew up. In ’86 we purchased a lot with a nice view in Coral Bay for $42,000 with owner financing. By ’89 we grew tired of the beach toy business and sold it and day sailed together. Fall of ‘89 hurricane Hugo blew Maho apart and we took on temporary jobs helping to put it back together. Fall of 1990 we found out  that we were going to have a baby daughter and put the day sail business up for sale. By this time Chriss was the controller at Maho and in May of 1991 I was offered a job as Asst. G.M.

“Fast forward to 1999 and a son, a new house and few more hurricanes, and I was  VP/COO by the time we left. I worked in Bermuda as the project manager for construction of Daniel’s Head Village and was there until the summer of 2001 when it opened. It was modeled after Maho Bay but had many operational problems and eventually closed. It is now undergoing upgrading into a cottage colony with timeshares.

“After Bermuda we moved to the Mass. south coast to be near our families and for our children’s education. I work as a housing developer for a nonprofit agency, the Corporation for Independent Living, creating group homes for people with disabilities. Chriss is a nurse at student health services at Brown University in Providence. Our daughter Emily is a planner for Humboldt County in CA; our son is a sophomore at U Mass Amherst.  Sadly, Perstare burned to the waterline a couple of years ago in Coral Bay. We remain happily married.”

Missy and Luke Stevens, Married November 1, 1997 at Caneel:

Missy and Luke Stevens, Caneel Bay, 1997
Missy and Luke Stevens, Caneel Bay, 1997

“My grandmother always told me it was the most beautiful place on Earth, “Missy said of her decision to marry on St. John, “and from what I have seen so far, she is right. My parents have been back at least once a year every year since and we have been back about half that!

“My husband’s name is Luke. We were married at Caneel (before they even had a ‘wedding planner.’) This picture is at Turtle Bay Point. Even though we had never been to St. John before this, my grandmother always told me it was the most beautiful place on Earth! We trusted her advice and booked the wedding. All the arrangements were made via phone and fax. It was truly amazing! And definitely one of the most beautiful places I have seen!”

Shana and Jeremy Horseman, Married October 12, 2012

Shana and Jeremy Horseman, October 12, 2012
Shana and Jeremy Horseman, October 12, 2012

“We had 28 family members and friends come to the island,” Shana said. “We planned everything from Kansas City which people thought was crazy because I had never been to St. John. We had a pastor start the small ceremony with a prayer and then my husbands best friend and best man (Will) walked up and took over. We hadn’t told our guests that Will had gotten ordained and even had his paperwork notarized at the courthouse in St. Thomas so it was a big surprise. I met my husband and Will at 14 and then 14 years later after many years as friends or out of contact, we were getting married on the most beautiful island on earth.”

Here are a more couples (and News of St. John readers) who’ve exchanged vows in Love City:

  • Gary Smith, 1985
  • Mary Brockway and Richard Ruggiero, May 20, 2000 by Anne Marie Porter on the great veranda of villa 2B Peter Bay overlooking Peter Bay Beach. “We had our wedding moon on St. John with 32 friends and relatives who stayed at 5 villas from May 12 till May 25. We have made over 30 trips to St. John since our first visit in January 1996.”
  • Rodney Butcher, July 1, 2001 at The Beach Estate in Cruz Bay
  • Patricia Hurley, May 1, 2002 at Trunk Bay. She got engaged at the Rhone
  • Tom Pelton, 2003
  • Jen and Kurt Kavanaugh, January 28, 2004 at Cinnamon Bay “by the lively Anne Marie,” they said.
  • Larry and Laura Ruggiero, July 10, 2004 at Trunk Bay
  • Ashley Stinson, July 9, 2005 at Trunk Bay
  • Karen and Bill Sims, July 29, 2005 at the Westin
  • Kelli Mackay and John Murphy, July 31, 2005 at Cinnamon Bay. “Sunset – sandcastles – Anne Marie – just beautiful,” they said.
  • Amanda and Kanwa Nzambi, October 20, 2006 at Hawksnest with a reception afterward for 70 at the Westin.
  • Belinda Messersmith Hodgson, March 21, 2007 at Hawksnest with Ann Marie Porter “Fabulous!”
  • Gita and Jon Bafundi, November 12, 2008 at Hawksnet
  • Jacy Robinson, June 13, 2009 at Hawksnest. “Best wedding we have ever attended,” they said.
  • Colin and Valerie Cunningham, July 3, 2009 at Cinnamon Bay with a reception afterward at Waterfront Bistro. “Everything was amazing!”
  • Mindy and Eugene Brady, September 12, 2009 at Trunk Bay
  • Kathie Swanson’s son married Cat in April 2011 at Trunk Bay.
  • Amber and Danny Peterson, June 6, 2011 at Trunk Bay
  • Lee and Sabrina Manto, August 8, 2011 at Trunk Bay
  • Lynn Benfante, October 21, 2011 at the Westin with 80 guests.
  • Carol Rocco, April 15, 2012 at Siempre Azul, Friis Bay
  • Hannah and Matthew Fros, July 6, 2012 at Hawksnest
  • Kaitlin Burt, June 8, 2013 at Cinnamon Bay
  • Tim and Amber Mayo, August 7, 2013 at Trunk Bay
  • Alisse and Dan Wilkey , March 1, 2013
  • Donna Krieder, October 22, 2013 at Trunk Bay
  • Brittany MacNealy, November 2013
  • Alison Sullivan Schaefer, January 6, 2014 at Kalorama Villa
  • Amy and Derek Page, January 26, 2014 at Trunk Bay

Ahh, Love City at its finest. xoxoxo

Choose Your Top “Living the Dream Problem.”

Bushwacker ...mmm.
I can’t drink my Bushwacker before it melts … Living the Dream Problems.

A few days ago, we asked all of you to tell us your favorite “Living the Dream Problem.” We received nearly 100 responses and narrowed it down to our favorites. Now it’s your turn to choose the top three Living the Dream Problems.

Choose your favorite below. The top three vote getters will receive a fancy News of St. John swag bag and bragging rights of course. Voting ends Sunday at 9 p.m.

A Little Villa Eye Candy

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Who needs a little villa eye candy today? Warm yourself up with this quick video from our friends over at Villa Vacations. The villa’s called Casa de Sonadores and it’s located over in Virgin Grand Estates. Check it out:

Check Out the USVI’s New Unofficial Anthem

Pressure Virgin Islands Nice

So there’s a video that’s been making its way around the internet the past few days. We just got around to watching it ourselves and we absolutely loved it.

The song’s called “Virgin Islands Nice” and it’s by a man named Pressure. You can say it’s the Virgin Islands’ new unofficial anthem.

Here’s a quick review courtesy of LargeUp.com, a global platform for Caribbean music, arts and culture.

“‘All hail, our Virgin Islands, Em’ralds of the sea,’ go the lyrics to the Virgin Islands March, a solemn dedication to these little but impactful Caribbean rocks that’s been the US Virgin Islands national anthem for over 50 years. Now, the USVI has a new, unofficial anthem to go along with it, courtesy of international reggae artist Pressure Buss Pipe.

“Last month Pressure released the track “Virgin Islands Nice,” a soulful one-drop tribute to his home soil. DigitAK Films has brought Pressure’s lyrics to life, sparing no expense when it comes to stunning visuals. Just as the song references many of the USVI’s most notable sites and figures (the band Midnite;  Niyorah; boxer Julian Jackson and family; NBA legend Tim Duncan), these and more are all represented in the video, which captures footage on all of the territory’s major islands—St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John. The USVI Tourism Board couldn’t have asked for a more appealing document.”

You’ve got to check it out for yourself:

Pretty sweet, right? The song is available over at iTunes for only 99 cents. Click here to download it.