An Online Blog About the Daily Happenings of St. John, USVI
A big thank you to all of our readers who emailed us peacock pictures today. Here is a sampling of what we’ve received so far…
Check back throughout the day as we may post more as we receive them.
Courtesy of Shannon Burgess:
Courtesy of Joanna Wheatley (Image taken by Rev. Anne Marie Porter):
We saved the best for last. Check out this amazing picture courtesy of Leslie McKibben:
Click here to read our earlier story about what appeared to be a white peacock sighting on Bordeaux Mountain Road.
St. John is undoubtedly one of the top destinations for nature lovers. The island is home to an abundance of flora and fauna, as well as an exciting underwater world. But did you know that St. John is also the home of at least one family of peacocks? How about the home of a white peacock? Well neither did I, until recently.
For years, I’ve heard the stories about the flock of peacocks (which is technically called a muster or ostentation) near Frank Bay. Although I’ve yet to be lucky enough to see one for myself, many people have reported the sightings including Karye Carney of Sold on St. John. She saw one this past July and posted a picture over on her blog. Check it out:
I was driving up Bordeaux Mountain Road recently when I came across a rather large white bird. It was a very cool, unique looking thing, so I grabbed my camera and hopped out of the Jeep. The bird was about a foot or so tall and had a head crest just like a peacock. It wasn’t too pleased by my paparazzi antics and started to make an interesting noise. I got it on video (albeit a very shaky video, but it’s there.) Check it out:
So I did a bit of research and I’m about 99% sure that this bird is indeed a white peacock. Here are a few quick peacock facts:
Here is a closer look at the head crest on the one I encountered. (Notice that she is about to yell at me…)
So now I am looking to you, my bird-loving, nature friends. Do you think this is indeed a white peacock? Also, if you have any peacock pictures taken on the island, please send them over to me at [email protected], and we’ll post them.
For those of you who enjoy staying in the heart of Cruz Bay, you’re in luck as a new batch of residences recently hit the rental market and are also being offered for sale.
Grande View Residences at Grande Bay are now available for rent, and according to John Alvarado, director of sales at Grande Bay, these residences represent the best of what St. John has to offer in terms of location, refinement and convenience.
Located across the road from Cruz Bay harbor, Grande View Residences at Grande Bay are steps away from the many shops and restaurants at Wharfside Village and are conveniently located within walking distance from the ferry dock. The Grande View Residences are Grande Bay’s final release of residences, which achieve the vision of providing a luxury residence with amenities and services to match. See for yourself:
The Grande View Residences are available for rent immediately through Grande Bay’s website or by calling (340) 693-4668. Rentals are available for the season, but they are booking up quickly so act fast if you’re interested.
There are four Grande View Residence units available for purchase while two other units have already been sold. The four remaining units have unique benefits for whole ownership. While owners have the option to live on the property year round, Grande Bay has taken a cue from its fractional program and offers Grande View owners access to their own Jeep club, preferred access to its 35-foot Scout and the ability to trade unused time with other luxury properties around the world.
Prices for the Grande View Residences start at $875,000. Click here to learn more by visiting Grande Bay’s website.
Click here to read more about Grande Bay by visiting its NewsofStJohn.com Featured Business page.
Just a quick heads up: The island is currently under a high surf advisory. According to the advisory, breaking waves will be between nine and 12 feet. The large, breaking waves will produce a strong rip current and can make swimming and snorkeling very dangerous, so please use caution.
Want to see the waves, but not on island? Check out this video we took a few weeks ago over at the typically tranquil Maho Bay:
Advertorial
We can’t think of a better backdrop for a wedding than St. John. Whether it’s on a pristine white beach, in an intimate island chapel or a luxurious villa, or perhaps in rustic plantation ruins, St. John offers a variety of options that can’t be beat.
Whether it’s a beach wedding for two or a week-long celebration with family and friends, it’s best to hire a wedding planner to coordinate all of your wedding planning needs. Ceremonies of St. John has been creating memorable island weddings since 1996, and we have to admit, the weddings they’ve planned are simply spectacular.
Click here to view Ceremonies of St. John’s Featured Business page where you can learn more about the services they offer and view a variety of images from their beautiful wedding ceremonies, receptions and more.
You still have time to get in on the action. The party goes until 5 p.m. Click here to learn more.
Now this is one we’ve all been waiting for. Cruz Bay Landing is finally open for business! I don’t know about all of you, but we’re pretty darn excited about this one. And from what we’ve seen, the place looks great. Check out these pics:
There are a few cool things happening this weekend. Here are the details:
Friday:
Join the St. John School of the Arts dancers and actors when they perform Caribbanese 2, a Caribbean and Japanese fusion of art. The event will take place this evening, December 6, at the Kimberly Boulon Fine Arts Gallery located in the Marketplace. The event begins at 5 p.m. and runs through 8 p.m.
Click here to learn more about the event. Click here to visit the St. John School of the Arts website.
Saturday:
Head on over to Coral Bay tomorrow, December 7, for its first ever Bizarre Bazaar. The event promises to be a great one. Here’s some info from the Coral Bay Community Council:
On Saturday, December 7th, Coral Bay, St. John, will host its own version of a “Small-Business Saturday” event by featuring over 50 local vendors, with more than 25 local artists, selling their art works of love and passion to holiday shoppers- like you. Imagine sharing your unique life in the islands with your family and friends during the holiday season by sending them a gift of locally made pottery, jewelry, oils or spices.
The Coral Bay Bizarre Bazaar, sponsored by the Coral Bay Community Council (CBCC), will be held on Saturday, December 7th, at Pickles in Paradise from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The event will feature a Local Brew Competition in conjunction with the VI Brew Club. Beer lovers will have the opportunity to taste seven homemade selections and vote on the winner. St. John Brewers will also be participating in the event. As a big help to shoppers, Keep Me Posted will be there to provide gift-wrapping and shipping to the states in flat rate USPS boxes, so think “Shop & Ship” all in one day.
For that distinctive gift, buy a Mixology Card for your local friends. This card contains eight signature drinks provided by Coral Bay restaurants all for one low price.
Also, a silent auction featuring villa rentals and island hopping charters will be available the day of the event and other prizes can be won by purchasing raffle tickets available now at the CBCC or Keep Me Posted. People do not need to be present on December 7th to win.
A holiday bazaar would not be complete without Santa, Donkey and Pony rides, and other children’s activities. Music will fill the air starting at noon with an open-mic format organized by Lauren and Bo, who are getting their many local musician friends to come out and play.
For St. Thomas folks, the car barge and ferry can get you to Cruz Bay. From Cruz Bay, Mr. Wonderful Taxi will provide discounted rides from the ferry dock to the Coral Bay event for $6 each way.
The CBCC will have tables selling plants, baked goods, household and marine yard sale items, and food & drink.
The CBCC will be raising funds for projects to protect and enhance the environment and community in Coral Bay. Example projects from recent years include: installation of storm water structures to slow down and divert sediment (muddy waters) from entering Coral Bay, restoration of a coastal wetland, and coordination with the VI Dept. of Labor to offer the Coral Bay Job Club, a summer program which helps local teens explore careers and develop necessary job skills. The Coral Bay scenic overlook was recently re-graveled with donations and volunteer help. CBCC funding is a mixture of dues, donations, and various grants which support these projects and more. Wonderful volunteers provide a lot of assistance too. The CBCC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible.
Sounds like a great event to us. Be sure to check it out.
Sunday:
The Friends of Virgin Islands National Park’s annual auction closes Sunday, December 8 at 9 p.m. EST. The auction has 68 wonderful items ranging from weeklong stays at exclusive villas to charter day trips, jewelry and more. As of Thursday night, there were seven items that have yet to yield any bids, so now’s the time to get in on the action.
If you haven’t already, you should really check out the auction. You can get items for a third of the actual cost. For example, On a Clear Day is a spectacular, four bedroom villa overlooking Francis Bay. It typically rents out for more than $12,000 a week, but you can get it now from less than half that cost. And no need to worry, not all of the items are that pricey. You can get a beautiful sterling pendent and earrings for only $25. Again, these prices may not last so act fast!
Click here to visit the auction site.
Since taking over News of St. John back in May, I’ve received countless emails asking me about Maho Bay. Specifically, people wanted to know who bought the 13.8 acre parcel back in December. Quite frankly, so did I.
What I did know early on, like many of you, is that the buyer purchased the land using a limited liability company. The name of the LLC is Maho Bay USVI, LLC. The LLC is registered in Delaware. So the buyer must live in Delaware, right? Wrong.
A lot of people tend to establish LLCs in Delaware because they can do so anonymously. In Delaware, you do not have to list the name of the principle, owner, etc. when creating a LLC. Instead, registered LLCs in Delaware can use what’s called a registered agent. A registered agent is a person designated to officially receive and send legal papers on behalf of a business entity, like a LLC.
After doing a little digging, I learned that the registered agent for Maho Bay USVI, LLC is Georgia-based TRIAD Professional Services. According to its website, “TRIAD is a professional service company offering fully-customized, comprehensive corporate legal support. We provide a range of specialized services to ensure you maintain your corporate responsibilities, enabling you to meet your business objectives.”
(Don’t worry, I’ll get to the buyer’s name shortly.)
I made a few calls and soon learned that TRIAD’s founder, a woman named Mary Paris, was the LLC’s representative. Surely, I could coax Ms. Paris into telling me the buyer’s name, right? Wrong again. Ms. Paris actually chuckled the first time I called her. (Keyword: First. Poor Ms. Paris has received numerous calls from me. I have to admit, she is pretty darn good at her job. Never said a peep.)
So after “striking” out with Ms. Paris, I gave up for a bit. That was until one evening a few months back when I was chatting with a longtime St. Johnian about a story I was working on. Our conversation was nearing an end when I nonchalantly asked if he’d heard anything about the Maho buyer. It was then that he gave me a name. I quickly jotted it down and assured him I would keep his name confidential. Over the months that followed, I heard the same name attached to the Maho property on several occasions. I was pretty certain I had the right guy.
Clearly the buyer wanted anonymity or he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to keep his name private. That, coupled with the fact that I have been unable to get anyone from his camp to independently confirm it, kept me from printing anything on the subject. That all changed last night when a blog post hit the web.
Postcards from Maho Bay is a blog based on one woman’s experience and views of her time at Maho Bay Camp, both as a guest and occasionally as staff. On Wednesday, she posted an entry titled “The Future of Maho Bay Camp.” The article is quite good and I suggest you all give it a look. It gives a very thorough overview of Maho Bay Camp’s past, the quest to save the campground and what its future may hold.
The blogger also named the supposed buyer, and it was the very same name I have heard over and over – Jon Stryker.
Here is what she wrote:
The identity of the new land owner has been an open secret on island for a while. Jon Stryker has become widely known as the purchaser of the land, although there have not been any public announcements of any kind. He appears to be the best possible buyer of the land, after the Trust for Public Land.
So who exactly is Jon Stryker and is he indeed the person who bought the Maho Bay parcel? As I mentioned, I have been unable to independently confirm that he is the buyer but all signs are pointing to yes. And if it is indeed true, Maho Bay is in good hands.
You may have remembered back in April when Stanley Selengut, founder of Maho Bay Camps, said in an interview with the St. John Source that the buyer is “an environmentally-oriented billionaire who’s supposedly going to use it as a family estate.” Well it seems that Stanley was spot on.
Mr. Stryker is an architect and an heir to the Stryker Corporation medical equipment fortune. He has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes Magazine. Mr. Stryker is the founder and president of the Arcus Foundation, a private, global grantmaking organization. Arcus supports the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights, and conservation of the world’s great apes.
Mr. Stryker is a founding board member of the Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy in Northern Kenya, Save the Chimps in Ft. Pierce, Florida and Greenleaf Trust, a trust bank in Kalamazoo. He also serves on the boards of Kalamazoo College and Friends of the Highline, a nonprofit conservancy in New York City.
According to a 2008 article, Mr. Stryker has “poured more than $247 million of his approximately $2 billion fortune into two causes of particular importance to him: gay rights and great ape conservation. He plans to give at least another $120 million to the Arcus Foundation, which he created in 2000, over the next four years.”
Again, we haven’t been able to confirm that Mr. Stryker is indeed the buyer despite contacting each organization that he has ties to. We have, however, heard the same name from several people, some of whom are said to be doing business with the buyer. One thing we are certain of is that the Arcus Foundation is not tied to the property in anyway. So again, it looks like Stanley Selengut was spot on – It looks like Mr. Stryker will be using it as a family estate.
Going back to the words written on Postcards from Maho Bay – If this is correct, Mr. Stryker appears to be the best possible buyer of the land.
Click here to read more about Mr. Stryker’s philanthropy in the article Compassion and Conservationism: donor champions rights of both humans and apes.
Click here to read the entire Postcards from Maho Bay post.
Going to be on island for the holidays and looking to spruce up your place with a festive, holiday vibe? Well then, we know just the lady for you. Her name is Christmas Tree Martha and she is known for just that – She creates unique, one-of-a-kind Christmas trees and wreaths to adorn the homes of St. John.
For the second year in a row, Martha Toomey, aka Christmas Tree Martha, has set up shop over in the Marketplace where she is busy creating personalized Christmas trees and wreaths for the holiday season. Martha creates everything from miniature, edible gumdrop trees – perfect for small guest rooms or boats – to larger, tropical-themed trees. The best part – you get to keep all of the neat ornaments that Martha chooses.
So how did Martha get into the Christmas tree decorating business? It all started during a trip to Florence, Italy.
“I’m semi-retired but did 35 years of fundraising events, and Christmas fundraising events were always the most fun,” Martha said. “I was put in charge of my family tree when I was 6. (During) Christmas 2009, right before we moved here, we were traveling through Italy and we had a tree in our hotel room, but no one was around to help us. We had to drag a very heavy potted tree through the streets of Florence!”
And from there, Christmas Tree Martha was born.
Martha’s trees range in price from $15 to $500 depending on the size and scope of the tree. In addition to creating one-of-a-kind trees for residents and guests, she also designs and installs trees for island businesses. (Check out her tree over at Virgin Fire. We hear it’s quite cool.) Martha also rents artificial trees for $35.
All of the profit will benefit Mary’s Family, a disability advocate group that Martha created in 2001. (Mary’s Family is a registered nonprofit organization.)
And if you’re looking to create some holiday crafts with the kids, Martha’s got that too.
“By all means, we’ve got craft projects galore,” Martha said. “Ribbons, bows, styrofoam shapes, beads, glitter … But supplies are limited and going quickly.”
Martha will continue creating Christmas trees and wreaths through Christmas Eve, but if you are interested, we urge you to contact her quickly as supplies are limited. You can contact Martha by email at [email protected] or by phone at (340) 777-7605.
