Author: Jenn Manes

Well folks, it’s currently raining pretty hard. Rain is in the forecast for the next few days, but hopefully it will be more on and off rain. Here’s a few ways you can entertain yourselves on a rainy St. John day.

Shop, Dine & Drink

The shops and restaurants will remain open even if we receive monsoon rains. Mongoose Junction is a great place to spend a few hours on a rainy day. Enjoy a locally crafted beer from The Tap Room or an ice cream cone over at Scoops. Looking to shop? I love Sugar Birds for unique souvenirs, Big Planet, Just Beach, and Lulee for clothing, and Caravan Gallery for jewelry. There are a ton of other great spots at Mongoose, so check out everything while you’re there. When it rains super hard, the gut that runs underneath Mongoose will become a raging river. It’s a pretty neat thing to check out.

Grab an umbrella and head over to Wharfside Village. I am fairly certain that The Beach Bar and High Tide will be rocking. There’s great shopping over there too. Or perhaps check out the casino! Check out the Spice Shop, The Little Things, the jewelry stores, and more.

For those of you who enjoy having a shot while you’re on vacation, The Upstairs, which is located across from The Longboard, offers free rain shots. Please drink responsibly!

If you have a vehicle, you can head up Centerline Road and check out Shambles or Mid Way Cafe & Grill. Both have ample covered spaces and are great places to grab a bite or enjoy a few cocktails. The Windmill Bar is holding a fundraiser today to support the St. John Revolving Fund. Be sure to stop by.

Over in Coral Bay? Head to Skinny Legs and join in on the fun. There is a great retail shop there called Mumbo Jumbo, so you can combine some retail therapy with one of Skinny’s famous burgers. Once you’re done, walk across the street and check out Pirate’s Cove or go around the corner to Jolly Dog.

Explore the Island

If you have a vehicle, take a ride around the island. Be careful if it is raining hard because small rocks sometimes fall into the roadway and there can be a lot of water that pools on the roadways.

You can grab a book and sit under the pavilion at Hawksnest, or grab a raincoat and check out some of the island’s rich history. You can explore Catherineberg, Annaberg, or even the Cinnamon Bay Sugar Factory. All are very cool spots, rain or shine.

Hike to a Waterfall

When we get a decent amount of rain like we’ve been getting here and there, a waterfall should form at Reef Bay. This is definitely a sneaker or sandals with straps kind of hike, as it will definitely be slippery. The trailhead for the Reef Bay trail is about five miles outside of Cruz Bay and about three miles outside of Coral Bay on Route 10, also known as Centerline Road. The trail is 2.1 miles in each direction if you are going from the road to the ocean, and it is quite steep. There is a spur trail on the right that will lead you to the petroglyphs where the waterfall will form. Pack a bag, bring snacks, and plenty of water for this hike.

A small waterfall is likely to form between Cinnamon and Maho bays. The water will flow across the road, so be careful when driving in that area.

For those of you who are off-island, you can still see what’s going on. Check out more than 20 live-streaming webcams at www.explorestj.com/webcams.

Stay dry everyone! Sunny skies, soon come!

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now. 

Lovango Resort + Beach Club is holding its annual Taste of Lovango culinary event next week that will feature delicious dishes curated by world-renowned chefs. While the dinner portion of the event may be sold out, there is still time to purchase a ticket to one of their exclusive beach parties.

Saturday, May 3rd – Island Flavors and Culinary Legends Beach Club Party 

The event will feature culinary talents like St. John’s Speakeasy’s Vinny Alterio, The Wine Shop’s Gary Kim, and St. Thomas Fish Bar’s Kenny Claxton, alongside Hawaiian celebrity chef and James Beard winner Sam Choy. Lovango’s Executive Chef Kyle McKnight and his culinary team will be featuring some delicious bites, and celebrity mixologists Will Elliott and Ariel Rosario will craft signature cocktails. Relax at the beach club and indulge in an incredible day of food, drinks, live music and island vibes.

Sunday, May 4th – A Celebration of Puerto Rico Beach Club Party 

Get ready for a vibrant celebration of Puerto Rican cuisine when the Lovango Beach Club is taken over by Culinary U, a Puerto Rican food group and experiential company at the forefront of our neighboring island’s culinary scene. Puerto Rican celebrity chefs Ariel Rodriguez, Rene Marichal, Juan Jose Cuevas, and Xavier Pacheco will showcase the rich flavors of their homeland, serving up delicious dishes throughout the day. In addition to these mouthwatering creations, Puerto Rican based celebrity mixologist Ariel Rosario of Signature Cocktails, along with Lovango’s own mixologist lead Will Elliott, will craft refreshing, island-inspired drinks. Guests can relax, indulge, and experience the best of Puerto Rican culture with live music while relaxing at the beach club.

Tickets for both beach parties start at $150 per person and include roundtrip ferry transportation.

Click here to learn more about Taste of Lovango and to purchase tickets to one or both of the beach parties. 

Lovango’s Beach Club features a 70-foot infinity pool, plus a new adults-only plunge pool. You can opt to rent a poolside cabana, a beach cabana or a waterfront chaise lounge. All food and a welcome cocktail is included in the price. Both beach parties will feature live music. Take advantage of Lovango’s location and hike one of their trails, or hop in the ocean and snorkel one of their colorful reefs. Snorkel gear and showers are included.

Want to know more about Lovango’s Beach Club? Click here to read a recent article I posted. 

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now. 

I can say with 100 percent certainty that Easter Rock was indeed wet this morning, proving that the legend is true!

It’s that time of year! Time for the annual story about Easter Rock!

For those of you who are not familiar with Easter Rock, it’s a large boulder that’s perched on the side of North Shore Road above Hawksnest Bay. Legend has it that every year on the night before Easter, Easter Rock makes its way down to Hawksnest Bay where it takes a drink of water and then rolls back up to its perch on North Shore Road. This all happens before the sun rises over the hill, according to the legend, so no one is around to actually witness it. So even during the driest of droughts, Easter Rock will still be wet on Easter morning.

Legend aside, here is the geological backstory straight of Easter Rock. The following is courtesy of SeeStJohn.com:

Although geologists have not yet succeeded in explaining Easter Rock’s propensity to go down to the sea on Easter Sunday for a drink of water, they can tell us about the origin of this massive boulder, which is the only one of its kind in the valley.

The outer crust of the Earth consists of large masses of slowly moving rock called tectonic plates. About 100 million years ago, one of these plates, called the North American plate, which was moving towards the west, encountered another tectonic plate called the Caribbean plate, which was moving in the same direction.

Life in the Caribbean has long been classified as slower moving than in the fast-paced world of continental America. This phenomenon apparently has a historical and geological foundation because a significant factor in the creation of many of the Caribbean islands, including St. John, is the fact that the Caribbean plate happened to be moving at a slower pace than its continental counterpart.

Consequently, when the North American plate overtook the slower moving Caribbean plate, the American plate, being denser and heavier, slid under the Caribbean plate and pushed it up. The friction from the two giant masses of solid rock grinding against one another produced a heat so intense that it melted some of the rock between the two plates. The fiery, liquefied rock, called magma, built up in enclosed pockets, called magma chambers, and exerted an ever-increasing pressure on the surrounding rock. When that pressure became so great that it could not be contained any longer, the magma broke through its rocky chamber and spewed forth violently into the ocean. This event is called a volcano.

Normally, when super-hot magma comes in contact with cold ocean water, the magma explodes and is dispersed over a great area. In this case, however, the eruption occurred at a depth of 15,000 feet, or nearly three miles, below the surface of the ocean. At this great depth the water pressure is nearly 7,000 pounds per square inch, a pressure that was sufficient to keep the magma from exploding on contact with water and instead causing it to be deposited on the ocean floor in giant solid sheets.

Coinciding with this volcanic activity and the laying down of rock, the action of the American plate sliding under the Caribbean plate caused the latter to bulge at the edges. The combination of these events resulted in the beginnings of a mountain range that was to become the islands of the Greater Antilles. This process of volcanic activity and uplifting continued for millions of years and caused the newly formed mountains to move closer to the surface.

It was during the next period of St. John’s development that Easter Rock was born. A series of volcanoes erupted in the area of what is today called Pillsbury Sound. This time the water was relatively shallow and the volcanoes erupted explosively. The shower of rocks, solidified volcanic ash, and molten lava added substance and height to the older solid sheets of rock and, in conjunction with the continued uplifting of the area, eventually brought parts of the rocky underwater mass above sea level to form islands.

The awesome power of these violent eruptions also served to break off huge chunks of the older rock, heaving them into the air. One of these massive fragments ended up just above what was to become Hawksnest Bay. That majestic boulder, now known as Easter Rock, not only goes down to the sea every Easter for a drink of water, but also serves as an enduring reminder of the fiery beginnings of the island of St. John.

Love it!

Have a wonderful holiday everyone!

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now.