Can you believe that today is the last day of the year? I certainly cannot! The year 2024 was another great one here in St. John! We were not as busy as we have been in previously years, which was a nice reprieve if you ask me. Here is a little recap of a few of the great things that happened in 2024!
- The federal court case regarding land ownership rights at Caneel Bay was settled. Caneel Bay is now part of the Virgin Islands National Park. You can access Caneel Beach from the main resort (despite it being closed still). You can access Salomon and Honeymoon beaches via the Lind Point Trail. You can access Honeymoon via taxi. All other beaches within the property are accessible by water only. You can also park at Caneel Bay (Lot A) as a park and ride option, which just began an a new effort to relieve parking issues at the popular North Shore beaches.
- The restaurant at Concordia reopened in late January providing a new, beautiful view for diners.
- The 8 Tuff Miles road race was wildly successful, once again. It is one of my favorite days of the year!
- The St. Patrick’s Day parade relocated to the waterfront in Cruz Bay this year following the closure of Quiet Mon Pub at the end of 2023. That, too, was a lot of fun!
- And Carnival, well that’s just a given that it was a good time! Parade, fireworks, music, and more – what a celebration it was!
- A new ferry is currently being built to transport people between St. John and St. Thomas. Hopefully it comes online in 2025.
- Oppenheimer, the movie, won an Oscar earlier this year, which shined a light on St. John, once again. Tens of thousands of people visited ExploreSTJ.com right afterward to read about Robert Oppenheimer’s life on St. John. Click here to read the story in case you missed it.
- VRBO named Villa Cin Cin the best vacation rental IN THE WORLD in 2024. How amazing is that?!
- Speaking of accolades, Trunk Bay was named the best beach in the world, too, in 2024! No surprise there!
- Sharky’s opened in Coral Bay this year, as did Karma in St. John. I’ll have more on that next week.
- Sadly, we lost one of St. John’s most important businesses in 2024 – Connections in Cruz Bay. We were sad to see it got but we were thrilled when The Pelican Post opened in its place!
- We had soooooo many power outages in May and June. It was truly a miserable time to be living in or visiting the island. It prompted me to get solar, which was completely life changing! Email me at jenn@explorestj.com if you’d like details!
- Speaking of miserable, it rained for nearly an entire month between October and November. The good news if that the island is so green because of it!
- STJ Hideaway, now dubbed STJ Speakeasy, opened mid-year, and has been receiving rave reviews ever since!
- St. John has a brand new ferry dock now complete with bathrooms!
- We have a new barge now, thanks to Big Red Barge. The Virgin Pride has been added to its fleet.
- Tropical Storm Ernesto blew through in July, causing quite a bit of tree damage.
- The flamingos continued to hang out around the island this year. Such a great sight!
- The old Danish building on the beach at Cinnamon Bay is being restored. It is currently fenced off, but hopefully work will be completed soon.
- The National Park finally out put a request for qualifications to rebuild Caneel Bay. No other information has been released as of yet.
- Paulie’s Luncheonette opened at the Lumberyard in Cruz Bay. It serves delicious sandwiches! Do yourself a favor and check it out.
- The old Islands Blues building in Coral Bay was finally torn down. Thank goodness for that!
On a personal note, 2024 was a fantastic year for my family. Dalton is now a first grader at Gifft Hill, and he is loving every moment of it. Mike and I are continuing to do work on our new house that we bought last year (even though he prefers that we stop all the house projects – lol). It’s a labor of love, and I am so happy with the progress we have made. I became a realtor earlier this year, and I love it more than I ever dreamed I would. Thank you 340 Real Estate Co. for having me on your team! We adopted another rescue from the Animal Care Center a few months ago. Sweet little Linda joined our family in late September.
You guys know me, I always like to do something new. Well, we may have something new and exciting brewing, so stay tuned for an exciting announcements soon if all goes as planned!
That’s it for today, folks. Happy New Year! Stay safe tonight! Dalton and I will be enjoying it from the comforts of our couch in Fish Bay, but if you find yourself in Cruz Bay, swing by The Beach Bar and say hello to Mike! You can also check out the action on our webcams at www.explorestj.com/webcams.