I am extremely excited to tell you that Quiet Mon’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is returning for this first time in what seems like forever!
The annual parade – which was forced to take three years off due to Covid – will take place on Saturday, March 18th. The last time it was held was on March 16th, 2019, so this will be a much-welcomed return. The parade is one of the shortest in the world, starting at the roundabout and ending just past Woody’s near Connections.
The parade starts at High Noon … ish.
I am also excited to share that my son Dalton has been invited to be the parade’s Grand Marshall. He was originally asked back in 2020, but the parade was cancelled because of Covid. A big THANK YOU to Quiet Mon for inviting him back! We have the crown ready… fingers crossed that this little four-year-old behaves! 🙂
Dalton will be five this summer. He currently attends Gifft Hill.
I am certain that there will be a lot of celebrations in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay on March 17th, so it looks like we will have a two-day St. Patrick’s party this year! Woohoo!
That’s it for today, folks. Have a great one!
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourFull & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
There is another great new webcam to add to your daily viewing list! My friend Elaine Estern, owner of Coconut Coast Studios on Frank Bay, just added a brand new webcam, and the view is great!
The webcam looks west toward St. Thomas, which means you will catch the sunset every single night. Exciting! There is also a microphone attached to the webcam, so you can listen to the waves gently hit the shore 24 hours a day. Check it out:
Tonight’s sunset is at 6:27 p.m. local time. We are an hour ahead of New York City time until this weekend. We do not change our clocks here, so when daylight savings happens, we will be on the same time as NYC. Click here to check out our upcoming sunrise and sunset times.
Last night’s sunset
I added this webcam to our webcam page, so you can see this and more than 20 other great St. John webcams at www.explorestj.com/webcams.
Elaine Estern is known for her stunning watercolor paintings that often depict the beauty of the underwater world. She welcomes you all to visit her studio, which is located just down the hill from Gallows Point Resort in Frank Bay. The studio is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can purchase original paintings, reproductions, calendars, note cards, magnets and more. You can shop in the store or online. Click this link to check out Coconut Coast Studios online.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week! It’s been a bit since I’ve posted an island update, so here we go!
Season is here, and the island is busy! March is one of our busiest months of the year, and parking at the beaches has proven that once again. The lots are filling up rather quickly, but do not be discouraged, you will still be able to visit your favorite beach when vacationing. The key is to go early or later in the afternoon. Trunk Bay is always the toughest, so you want to be there no later than 9:15 a.m. to get a spot. You can also go later in the afternoon. Or better yet, take a taxi. Maho also fills up rather quickly. I’d suggest getting out there no later than 10 a.m. to get a spot. Earlier is better. It’s another super easy spot to taxi to. (Click here to view the current taxi rates.)
If the North Shore beaches are full, you can always drive east. It’s always a little hotter out there and there are less raindrops overall on the east end. Just something to think about. There are two beaches at the end of Route 10 (Centerline Road ) – Hansen Bay and Saltwell Bottom. Both are great. Check them out. And when you’re at Saltwell Bottom, be sure to check out their handmade souvenirs too.
The view from Saltwell Bottom. No filters. It’s this pretty. ( I never filter pics.)A few souvenirs made by the owners of Saltwell Bottom. (This beach is located outside of the VI National Park.)
The water right now is absolutely incredible. It looked like a lake yesterday. There is almost no wind happening right now, so it’s a great time to hop on a boat. Check out Palm Tree Charters out of Cruz Bay and Flyaway Charters out of Coral Bay if you’d like to spend a day on the water.
You may encounter some delays due to the ongoing pole installation, which has been happening since the 2017 storms. They are currently replacing the wooden poles with stronger poles near Zootenvaal and on Bordeaux Mountain, so you may have a few short delays when traveling in those areas this week.
Now let’s talk about the restaurants… The are full, but not crazy. I still suggest making a reservation in advance for the fancier spots (Morgan’s Mango, Extra Virgin, La Tapa, Lime Inn, ZoZo’s and The Terrace) to make certain you get a spot. You can also reserve bar seats at all of these restaurants if you prefer that over a table. The walk-in restaurants are full, but I haven’t seen or heard of any crazy long wait times like we had back in 2021 and a bit in 2022.
Don’t have a vacation planned, but you want to see what’s happening here on island? You can check out our webcams at www.ExploreSTJ.com/webcams. I have more than 20 webcams posted there, and I am always adding more.
And for those of you who are lucky enough to be on island now or have a trip planned and you want to get to know the island a little bit more, I would love to take you out on an island tour! You can email me at jenn@explorestj.com or check out www.ExploreSTJ.com/tour to learn more & to check out my reviews.
I think I am going to end this post here. As always, if there is anything you’d like to learn more about, please feel free to email me or inbox me on social media. Thanks so much & have a great day!
There are now three ways to ferry between St. John and St. Thomas, as the Charlotte Amalie “downtown” ferry is scheduled to resume its schedule today after being offline for several months.
Charlotte Amalie Ferry
The ferry to Charlotte Amalie will leave Cruz Bay everyday at 8:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. It will leave Charlotte Amalie everyday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The cost of this ferry is $13 for people ages 12 and up. The cost is $3.50 for children ages two to 11. (Residents receive $1 off the adult fare.) Bags are $4 each. This ferry leaves from the main ferry dock in Cruz Bay beside the beach.
The main ferry between Cruz Bay and Red Hook leaves at Red Hook at 5:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Beginning at 9 a.m. it leaves every hour on the hour until 11 p.m. There is also an 11:30 p.m. boat. There isn’t a 5:30 a.m. boat on the weekends.
The main ferry between Cruz Bay and Red Hook leaves Cruz Bay at 6 a.m. and continues every hour on the hour until 11 p.m.
The cost of the main ferry is $8.15 for people ages 12 and up. It is $1 for children ages two to 11. Bags are $4 each. (There are discounted rates for USVI residents.)
If you are lucky enough to be on St. John this weekend, you’re in for a treat! We have not one, but two great events happening!
Let’s start with sports. Our ball field, which is located beside the National Park Visitor Center and across from Mongoose Junction, is being used for the first time since the 2017 storms. And it’s inaugural event is a good one! An international women’s softball tournament began Wednesday and continues through Sunday. There is plenty of shade, so head to Cruz Bay and check it out. Yesterday Love City Wing Spot and Love City Delights (the island’s ice cream truck) set up near the field. There was even a full bar onsite. Games start at 11 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and will continue through the evening. The finals start at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Now let’s talk music. The VI Jam Fest began over at The Windmill Bar yesterday, and it continues through Saturday night. Music begins at noon and continues until 11:30 p.m.
There is no entry fee during the daytime, so you can go up and enjoy lunch or the sunset while listening to some amazing bands. Admission is $50 per person after 7 p.m.
