In one week, the Fifth Annual Friends of Virgin Islands National Park Villas for the Park Auction goes live! The annual auction features beautiful homes and accommodations in the Virgin Islands and gives you the opportunity to stay at these incredible lodging options…For possibly a fraction of the cost! Even though the auction doesn’t go live until November 12, I wanted to give you all a little heads up to get your five minute, FREE registration set up so you can start browsing the options and commence the bidding wars next Friday!
Hello! I have some GREAT news to share with you all today! I received an email on Friday from CiCi Davis with Cinnamon Bay Campground containing some tidbits about what they have been up to at the campground…And we can look forward to some more information in the weeks and months to come on the upcoming (hopefully December!) re-opening!
Many times in the past, I have shared with you videos and photos and even web cams of St. John in order to give you a little virtual vacation and way to transport yourself to our happy place. Well, today I want to share with you a way to virtually transport yourself to the historic Annaberg Plantation. In 2015, Virgin Islands National Park and Friends of Virgin Islands National Park teamed up with CyArk, “a non profit organization founded in 2003 to digitally record, archive and share the world’s most significant cultural heritage and ensure that these places continue to inspire wonder and curiosity for decades to come.”
Explore the history of the Annaberg Plantation online!
It’s a great way to enjoy some sites of St. John AND dive into the sordid history of this island…long before the days of beach vacations and happy hours…And, you just might learn something!
Good morning everyone! I hope your weekend is off to a great start and that you all are staying warm up there. I have some great news to share with you today in regards to the re-establishment and resurrection of one of the baseball fields in Cruz Bay!
Good Morning Everyone- Hillary here. I have another contributor to introduce to you today who has previously written for NOSJ and brings a vast knowledge of the boating industry and St. John history to the table. Leah Randall Hanson has been on St. John on and off since her dad moved here in 2006 and made her own transition permanent in 2013. She is the Commodore of the Coral Bay Yacht Club and co-owner of Flyaway Charters with her husband, Colin. Leah has a passion for snorkeling and diving in the waters of the USVI and a strong interest in the historical sites and stories of St. John.
Leah and Colin have consulted for the VINP on underwater archeological sites as well as the VI State Historical Preservation Office. Here, she shares some On the Water safety tips that will hep protect you, the beautiful waters surrounding you and others who are utilizing that beauty for an equally amazing day! I, personally, am looking very forward to her insights from the Coral Bay and “on the water” perspectives!
Leah, Colin and their little guy, Thatch. We all know who is really in charge here 🙂
Good Morning Everyone! If you have been on St. John during this busy (thankfully!) holiday season, you may have seen some new signs at the entrances to some of the VI National Park Beaches. These signs were installed by the VI National Park in order to promote awareness and education about what you can do to protect the reefs, while enjoying their beauty!
Dreaming about a Virgin Islands vacation? Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park have organized an online villa auction that makes it easy for you to bid to win a safe and socially distanced stay on St. John or St. Thomas!
If you look for Caneel Bay Resort in the news, there unfortunately isn’t much in the way of updates as to the future of the beloved St. John resort. But, one man continues his diligent search for information on ongoing policies, politics and processes that may eventually decide the fate of the establishment that was once one of the largest employers in Love City.
In this first part of two Caneel Bay updates this week, we will give you some background on what has been going on with the property as reported by National Parks Traveler.
Last Thursday we shared a pretty cool picture over on our Facebook page. The picture (above) showed the North Shore Road in 1948.
According to the St. John Historical Society, “the picture was taken by Ronald Morrisette, and the women on horseback are his wife, Sarah Morrisette, left, and Helen Auble (Ms. Auble, a St Thomas resident for many years, gave the picture to [Island Resources Foundation] before her death in the late 1990s). The road is near the bottom of Hawksnest hill, in the distance is the Oppenheimer end of Gibney beach, then called Hawksnest beach. They were passing through the eastern side of the Caneel Bay property, which then stretched from the Creek in Cruz Bay to include the present National Park Hawksnest Beach.”
We found the picture to be so interesting that we sought out to find a few more that we could share all of you. We’d like to extend our thanks to David Whitney Knight, Sr. and Eleanor Gibney for sharing the following pictures with us.
Courtesy of David Whitney Knight, Sr.:
How many of you recognize the pristine beach shown in this picture? According to David Whitney Knight, Sr., it was taken c1949-1950. “The lady in the picture is my mother, Anna, with her dog Spooky; the photographer is my father, Dr. George H H Knight.”
Photograph taken by Dr. George H H Knight
The following images are courtesy of Eleanor Gibney. The descriptions are courtesy of the St. John Historical Society.
“A locally-built cargo sloop lowers sail and prepares to come alongside the Cruz Bay dock, c 1959. Up until the 1970s Caribbean-built cargo vessels such as the “Baby Mac,” “Pride of Tortola” and “Miranda Stout,” were St. John’s primary link to the outside world, carrying everything from fuel oil and livestock to mail and passengers.”
“Caneel Bay, 1959.
One of the original cottages from the late1930s on what is still called “Cottage Point” They were replaced in the early 1960s.”
“The impact of modern development on St. John’s landscape becomes staggeringly apparent when you compare Chocolate Hole today with how it looked in the late 1950s (photographer unknown).”
“The iconic Trunk Bay view–here in a slide by an unknown tourist in 1963. The main building of the former Boulon guesthouse is still very visible on the hill, where it was a popular lunch spot, run by Caneel Bay.”
