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Author: Jenn Manes

Meet Elin Hilderbrand at Lovango Resort

Jenn Manes 0 Comments
The dock at Lovango Resort & Beach Club

If you are a fan of author Elin Hilderbrand, you are going to love this!

Elin Hilderbrand is scheduled to spend the day at Lovango Resort & Beach Club next month, and you’re all invited to meet her! Elin is a best selling author, and her 27th novel is set to debut later this year. Three of Elin’s books – the Paradise series – are set right here in the US Virgin Islands. Several familiar faces & places are mentioned in the books, including Lovango Resort, La Tapa, and Bridgett and Jimmy Key, owners of Palm Tree Charters, among others.

Elin Hilderbrand’s Paradise series was set in the US Virgin Islands.

Elin will spend the day at Lovango’s Beach Club on Friday, March 31st where she will be on-hand to chat with fans. There will also be a short interview with Elin and her sister during the daytime event.

Later that evening, Elin will attend the Sand & Stars beach party. The Sand & Stars party happens every Friday night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. It features live Caribbean music, dancing, signature cocktails and a Caribbean-style buffet.

Elin Hilderbrand on the Lovango ferry. Image credit: lovangovi.com

Day passes for the Beach Club start at $135 a person, which includes roundtrip ferry transportation from Cruz Bay or St. Thomas. Anyone who books the Beach Club for the day has the option to stay for the Sand & Stars party at night. Ferry tickets for just the Sand & Stars party are $25 roundtrip. (Discounts are available for USVI residents.)

The Resort is offering a 20 percent discount for all overnight stays that weekend with a two-night minimum.

I absolutely love spending the day at the Beach Club at Lovango. Click here to read a story I posted about my last visit.

Learn more about Lovango Resort & Beach ClubĀ 

Click here for more information on Lovango Resort & Beach Club and to book your Beach Club passes or an overnight stay.Ā 

 

 

New Webcam Offers Great New Island Views!

Jenn Manes 4 Comments
The view from Villa Circe’s webcam

A brand new webcam just popped up on island, and I think you’re all going to love it!

Villa Circe is a beautiful six-bedroom villa located high atop a ridge in Coral Bay. This vacation rental has an incredible panoramic view, and the owners want to share that view with all of you! The webcam faces north, and shows views of Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, the Sir Francis Drake Channel and other smaller islands.

What I really love about this webcam is that you can watch the boats in real time travel over to the British Virgin Islands. Check it out:

The Villa Circe webcam was also added to the Explore STJ webcams page. You can see more than 20 webcams at www.ExploreSTJ.com/webcams. Click here to check them out. 

Want to learn more about Villa Circe? Please click here for more information, rental rates and to see additional pics. 

Note from Jenn: All content from IslandTidbits.com has been moved here to ExploreSTJ.com. Rather than maintain two entities, I have decided to merge the two. Please follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ExploreSTJ and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/ExploreSTJ. 

STJ Restaurant Owner Heads to Turkey to Help with Earthquake Efforts

Jenn Manes 7 Comments
Andy is an owner of The Windmill Bar & also The Upstairs.

Hello everyone, and happy Friday! I have an incredible story to share with you all today.

Andy Peter has lived here on St. John since 2013. He moved to the island straight from Iraq where he worked as a private contractor with the State Department. He was a paramedic for years, but opted for a different career once he moved to the island. For those of you who’ve been visiting us for quite some time, you may recognize him from his early days when he bartended over at The Beach Bar.

Enter September 6th, 2017 – the day Hurricane Irma ravaged the island.

The storm hit us on a Wednesday. For the first couple of days, no relief workers arrived on island. We saw helicopters swirling above, but it wasn’t until Sunday, to my recollection, that the relief workers actually arrived on the ground.

I remember walking in Cruz Bay right near Connections when I first saw a couple of men with D.I.R.T emblazoned across their backs. The Dirt team, as we came to know them, was part of Help.NGO, an international team that specializes in emergency response among other things. They became a crucial part of our early relief efforts, helping with search and rescue, and telecommunications. They were the reason, according to Andy, why we were able to get those all important text messages out during the early days post-storm.

Recognizing the importance of this team coupled with his background, Andy decided to join Dirt. He worked with them on St. John for the next year-and-a-half.

Since then, Help.NGO has called on Andy to assist with efforts in other countries that need needed help. He’s gone to Ethiopia, Madagascar, Bolivia, Mozambique, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala and Colombia over the years. He deployed to the Bahamas in 2019 to help with the Hurricane Dorian relief efforts.

Andy in Bolivia
Andy in northern Mozambique.

Andy received a pretty casual text message last week asking him what he’s up to. He’s a pretty busy guy being an owner of both The Windmill Bar and The Upstairs in Cruz Bay. However, Help.NGO needed his assistance in Turkey, and Andy immediately said yes.

Andy started his 30-hour journey this past Wednesday and has since arrived safely in Adana, Turkey. He is currently assisting with high-resolution drone mapping, which will be used in the earthquake search and recovery operations. Andy plans to return to St. John in early March.

I met Andy at The Upstairs earlier this week to chat about his upcoming trip. A few hours later, he sent me this text:

“Been thinking about our talk,” Andy wrote. “I’m not lost on the fact of the places I’ve gone and the things I’ve done. It comes down to a very simple thing for me. It’s just what I do. This stuff is normal. It’s not for many, and it shouldn’t be. But it is for me.”

I’m not sure how to end this post other than to say thank you. And kudos to you Andy for being a good human being who thrives off of helping others. We appreciate you.

 

 

Watch the Super Bowl on the Beach!

Jenn Manes 1 Comment
This could be your view for the Super Bowl!

Who wants to watch the Super Bowl on the beach? Well if you’re lucky enough to be in St. John this weekend, you can!

The Beach Bar is planning to put not one, but two screens directly on Cruz Bay beach for Sunday’s big game. They will have one large inflatable down on the sand and a second projection screen on the beach stage. They have four televisions inside the bar, so you will be able to see the game from every single barstool. They’re having a lot of drink specials too, including a bucket of Bud Lights (five beers) for just $15.

There are so many spots to watch this game this Sunday throughout the island. Here’s a quick rundown of some other options. (Please contact the business for exact details.)

The Tap Room – They have several TVs behind the bar, plus they make beer, so that pretty much goes hand-in-hand with the Super Bowl, right?

Greengo’s – Another spot with a ton of TVs behind the bar. This will be another happening spot.

The Windmill Bar – They are offering reserved seating, although purchasing one is not required to attend. They have TVs behind the bar and will have a large projector screen set up too. Another great spot for the Super Bowl with a view!

Cafe Roma – They have a brand new television behind the bar & are offering food & drink specials.

Lovango Rum Bar – They’re holding a ticketed event that includes a buffet and reserved seating.

Drink – They’re having a Ladies Night event with drink specials too!

High Tide – They have two TVs at the bar.

Quiet Mon Pub – They have TVs behind the bar.

Inn at Tamarind Court – I hear there is a little potluck party happening here.

Cruz Bay Landing – There is one TV behind the bar.

Skinny Legs – They are holding a ticketed event too, which has already sold out.

Want to see where all of these restaurants are located? Click here to check out my restaurant map.

Want to watch some live images of how we Super Bowl here on St. John? Click here to check out our webcam page and see live images from the Beach Bar, The Windmill Bar & more!

See beautiful sights. Go off the beaten path. Explore the island’s rich history. Or perhaps check out a tiki bar or two. Book your Explore STJ island tour today!

My New Business Venture

Jenn Manes 2 Comments

Hi all! I am super excited to tell you all that STJ To Go is launching tonight! They say that all good businesses start in a bar, right?? Well STJ To Go is one of them! šŸ™‚

I was sitting at The Tap Room last month with my friend Dan Frenette, and we were talking about the lack of restaurant delivery services here on island. We don’t have Uber Eats, Door Dash or any of those fancy companies you all have stateside. Many people have talked about offering this type of service over the years, but logistically it’s tough. As many of you know, Centerline Road is only 12.8 miles long, but the ride takes about 50 minutes. That’s a problem. The fact that we don’t have widely-known street addresses is tough too, although there is a current initaitive working to change that. So in order to pull this off, you really need to know this island well and know the location of several villas. Luckily for us, I drive these roads daily giving my island tours, and Dan cleans villa pools. So together, we feel confident that we can successfully offer this service to all of you. We pulled in Mike Hedy, who happens to be my other half, and together we are launching STJ To Go. Did I mention how excited I am??!!

We are doing a soft opening tonight, and then will launch officially on Tuesday, January 19th. We have to start small because we want to do this right. Therefore we are only delivering four restaurants at the get go. They are 1864, Banana Deck, Extra Virgin and The Tap Room. Our delivery zone initially is Cruz Bay to Gifft Hill and everywhere in between. We plan to expand both the number of restaurants and delivery zone in the near future.

The delivery/service charge is a flat $30 fee. That pays the driver and covers operating expenses. Unlike Uber Eats and the like, we are not charging the restaurants to provide this service. They have had one heck of a year, and we want to help them. Restaurants are at 50 percent capacity due to Covid, so essentially their businesses have been cut in half. We are hoping to help them with that.

We are planning to offer STJ To Go Tuesday through Saturday from 3 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. You can order the day of or up to 14 days in advance. We are limited in the number of nightly orders, so we suggest ordering in advance if possible.

Please take a few minutes to check it out at www.STJToGo.com

And as always, you can always email me at jenn@explorestj.com or inbox me on Facebook.

Thank you all for reading! Have a wonderful weekend!