Author: Jenn Manes

Hello everyone and happy Sunday! I am so sorry that I’ve been absent for a bit, but we’ve been dealing with some stuff over here at the Explore STJ household. I’ve always been brutally honest with you all, so here’s what’s been happening.

On December 22nd, I flew up to Connecticut to spend the holidays with my family. My son and his father were already up in Connecticut. (We have a small house there.) Less than 36 hours after landing, I learned that the woman who was babysitting Dalton was exposed to Covid and tested positive. (I tested negative upon landing that Tuesday.) She never told us she was exposed, and she never told us she felt the need to get tested. She watched Dalton for three more days while awaiting her test results. Pretty infuriating.

About six hours after she notified us that she was positive, Dalton started showing signs of Covid. Within hours, he struggled to breathe. When we should have been eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival, we watched Dalton gasp for air. He tested positive the next day.

Dalton’s father and I started showing symptoms that weekend as well. Covid is a strange thing, I’ve learned, because the symptoms can vary so drastically. Dalton and his father both had coughs and had issues breathing at times. Dalton had a high fever as well. I’ve been lucky in that my breathing has remained fine. Instead, I’ve had some pretty intense stomach pain and zero appetite.

Dalton’s father tested positive the same day Dalton did. I tested positive a few days later. Since then, both Dalton’s father and I have lost our sense of smell and our taste has been affected too. As of today, Sunday, January 3rd, all three of us feel great.

So we’ve essentially been living the quarantine life up here in Connecticut since Christmas. Instacart is a pretty amazing thing, I’ve learned! 🙂 We were supposed to fly home yesterday, but had to postpone that until we are cleared to travel by the CT Department of Health. Dalton’s last day of quarantine is today; Mike and I have two more days to go. The bright side: Connecticut is expecting a few inches of snow today, so that should be fun to see.

I am so excited to return to the island with my family, and I am excited to resume my island tours. I am also excited to announce that Mike and I, along with our good friend Dan, are launching a new restaurant delivery service upon our return called STJ To Go. It will be very similar to Uber Eats in that you can order your meal and beverages online through STJToGo.com and we will deliver it right to your doorstep. I am super, super excited about this! We launched a Facebook page, so please go over and give us a like. You can find it at www.Facebook.com/STJToGo

Well, that’s all I have to share today. If you feel safe coming to the island in the near future, I would love to show you around! And if you are waiting for the vaccine to travel or simply waiting for things to feel a little more normal, I totally get it. We will be waiting for you when you decide the time is right for you. Happy New Year everyone. xoxo

Hello everyone! It’s been awhile since I posted a blog entry, so I thought today would be the perfect time to spread some love, kindness and overall beauty. But in doing so, I cannot ignore the ginormous purple elephant in the room… Election Day. I obviously prefer one candidate over the other, but as a US Virgin Islands resident, I do not have the right to vote for president. So I do not have a horse in today’s race. What I do hope, regardless of who wins today, tomorrow or whenever the results are finalized, is that everyone is kind and spreads love. Because that is what the world needs right now.

Ok, my preaching is over… lol 🙂

I hiked over to Honeymoon last week, and I took a little video for you all. It was one of those days when it’s hard to believe just how beautiful St. John is. But rather than take my word for it, please see for yourself. It was a little windy this day, but beautiful nonetheless. Enjoy!

And for those of you who are curious about what’s currently happening on island, I wrote a little update that will be published on News of St. John today. Click here to read it!

Looking to see the island with me? I would love to show you around! Please email me at jenn@explorestj.com or call/text 203-376-3786 for more information on my island tours. Can’t make it to the island? No problem! I am now creating virtual tours too! Please reach out to me for more details.

Thanks all, and have a wonderful day!

Hello everyone! I’ve missed you so much! As most of you probably know, I sold News of St. John earlier this year, so I haven’t been writing much other than the occasional story for the new owners. And you know what? I miss connecting with all of you! So yesterday, after drinking wine at an outdoor restaurant in Connecticut, I decided to start writing again. They say some of the best decisions come after a cocktail or two, right?? lol

This Explore STJ blog will be nothing like News of St. John. My days blogging about the island happenings are over, although I had an amazing run. 🙂 Instead, I plan to simply chat with all of you and let you know what I’ve been up to, where I am in the world (which is pretty much between St. John and Connecticut considering my good ole’ passport doesn’t work in too many places these days … ugh!), what current projects I’m working on, etc. I hope you all enjoy it, and I hope I don’t bore you all too much!

(For those of you who want to know about the goings on of the island, be sure to check out NewsofStJohn.com for the latest info. I know I do!)

So at the moment, I’ve put all of my island tours on hold for the next month-ish. I had always planned on spending a good deal of time in Connecticut this summer, and, truthfully, this pandemic led me to spend a little more time up here than I originally anticipated. And that’s ok. 🙂 Dalton turned two earlier this month and is having a blast playing with his cousins and is absolutely loving being able to see Papa and Mama News of St. John all the time. I am excited to say that I have plans to fly south very soon. Oh wait… I guess we need to rename them to Papa and Mama Explore STJ now, don’t we??!! Ha!

I know there are so many of you who wish you could visit the island right now, but can’t due to Covid or a myriad of reasons. So you know what? I am working to bring the island to you. Stay tuned friends!

Love and miss you all! -Jenn xoxo