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.
I know how much you all love a good webcam, and there are two new ones to add to your list!
The folks over at La Jolla Caribe in Catherineberg have not one, but two live webcams! The first shows a northwest view from the property. You can see the Peter Bay neighborhood in the bottom left portion of the screen, and the east ends of Lovango and Congo in the middle left. Little Tobago and Great Tobago (both British) are on the horizon line in the middle. The west side of Jost (British) is on the horizon line on the right, and the west side of Whistling Cay is just below that. Check it out:
The northeast webcam view shows a portion of Cinnamon Bay beach and Cinnamon Cay. You can see Whistling Cay in it entirely (the island thats shaped like a turtle). Jost is the island top left. You can see a portion of Great Thatch (British) in front of that, and Mary Point (St. John) in front of that. Tortola and Little Thatch (British) are in the top left side of the screen. Check it out:
(I previously added the second webcam to our webcam page, but the link was changed, so it stopped working.)
Lime Out is the Caribbean’s only floating taco bar. Image credit: Lime Out
St. John is lucky to be the home of the Caribbean’s only floating taco bar – Lime Out. And today I’d like to tell you how it just got easier and a little more affordable to visit this incredible, and delicious, business.
Lime Out has partnered up with the folks over at Salt Deck and together they are offering the new Salt & Lime Express. This new shuttle services runs five trips every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The trips are two hours total, so guests have about an hour-an-a half to about an hour and 45 minutes to spend at Lime Out. Here are the shuttle times:
I am also excited to tell you that you can now visit Lime Out during an Explore STJ island tour thanks to the new Salt & Lime Express! This is only available for our full day tours, which typically includes a lunch stop. So you now have the option to explore the island, and then have an amazing lunch or perhaps a cocktail or two over at Lime Out. Feel free to email me at jenn@explorestj.com for more information. You can also learn more about my Explore STJ island tours at www.explorestj.com/tour.
For those of you planning to use the new Salt & Lime Express, there is free parking in Coral Bay across from Johnny Lime. For more information on the Salt & Lime Express and to book your tickets, please visit www.limeoutvi.com/shuttle-1 or www.saltydazeusvi.com/limeout.
There are only three spots reserved for the public, currently, at the ferry dock.
When I cruised by the ferry dock yesterday, I saw that several public parking spaces are now being reserved for taxi parking. This is due to the construction of a new ferry terminal. We now only have three spaces reserved here for public parking, as you can see in the image above.
Additionally, the small, free parking lot near the National Park Visitor Center has been cordoned off due to a women’s softball tournament that begins tomorrow and continues through Sunday. The tournament will feature teams from the USVI, BVI, Curacao, Aruba, Jamaica and St. Maarten. Between the softball tournament and the construction last the ferry dock, we are temporarily down about a dozen or so parking spaces.
Here is where you can currently park in Cruz Bay:
Free Parking
Ferry dock: There are three spaces facing the water. The spaces are located to the far right if you are looking at the water.
BMV parking lot: This is located beside the tennis courts. The spots against the building are reserved for Bureau of Motor Vehicle customers only.
Customs lot: This is located across from the post office.
Mongoose Junction: These spots are reserved for customers at Mongoose. There are numerous spots reserved for employees during the day, so look for the unmarked spots.
National Park Visitor’s Center: There are numerous spots reserved here for people hiking the Lind Point Trail. You need to go into the center and get a free parking pass for these spots during the daytime.
Nature’s Nook: There are a few spots beside and behind Nature’s Nook, which is across from the bulkhead area.
National Park dock: These spots are closed as of today, February 28th. They should reopen following the softball tournament, which ends on March 5th.
Paid Parking
Gravel lot: This is located near the car barge exit.
King Street: This is located across from Lime Inn, and beside Cruz Bay Hotel and Dave & Jerry’s.
L&L: This is located beside Extra Virgin Bistro.
The Lumberyard: This is the largest paid parking area in Cruz Bay. It is a self service. You can to pay on a website. It is located up the hill from the bulkhead area, which is where the Crown Bay ferry pulls in.
Slim’s main lot: This is located along the one-way street after you pass the ferry dock. It is across from Wharfside Village.
Slim’s second lot: This is located across from Woody’s and beside Tap & Still.
Still not sure where these locations are? Click here to see Explore STJ’s Logistics Map. It is located at www.ExploreSTJ.com/logisticsmap. The Logistics Map is a searchable map that includes parking, public restrooms, gas stations, dumpsters, grocery stores and more.
And for those of you who are looking for more information on this week’s softball tournament, here is the complete schedule:
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourFull & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
If you are lucky enough to have visited St. John previously, you’re probably aware of the fact that we do not have a single stoplight on island. The only time a stoplight appears is when we have road construction happening, and it forces a regular two-lane road down to one.
Rather than traffic lights, we have one roundabout in Cruz Bay. It’s located right near Dolphin Market at the intersection of Route 10 and Route 104. The roundabout is only about 15 years old, and prior to that, there was a Texaco gas station somewhat in its place. That business was forced to close in 2007 when the government took the land it was leasing through eminent domain.
I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy learning about island life from years past. And for some reason, I find the fact that there was a gas station right at the roundabout rather fascinating.
The Texaco gas station was owned by the late Robert O’Connor, Sr., a former Senator who operated it for 40 years. (Mr. O’Connor also operated his car rental company out of it at the time. That company remains open today.) He didn’t want to close the gas station, per old news reports, but was forced to, as the land was leased from the Territory, and local leaders said it was needed for the roundabout’s construction.
The Texaco in Cruz Bay. Image credit: Frank Barnako
That’s Dolphin Market on the left behind the red vehicle.
At that time, it was one of three gas stations. E-C was open over near the basketball courts and remains open today. There was also a gas station open in Coral Bay at the time, which closed years ago.
The roundabout was built to alleviate congestion in the area. It was constructed in advance of the opening of the current car barge dock, which they anticipated would increase traffic in the area. It was also built so larger trucks could take a left onto Route 104 (Southside Road) when traveling down Route 10 (Centerline Road) more easily. Prior to the roundabout, they’d have to “back and fill” to make the sharp turn.
Beginning stages of construction at the roundabout
I was perusing the internet looking for additional pics of the area when I came across a video taken by Frank Barnako. Frank was the original owner of News of St. John. I purchased the business from him in 2013. I then sold it to a part-time resident in 2020. The video is pretty cool in my opinion. Check it out for yourself:
And there you have it, folks. I hope you enjoyed reading this super random post today.
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourFull & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
Are you looking for something new to do during your next St. John vacation? If you’re an animal lover like me, you should add a visit to the Animal Care Center to your must-do list.
For those of you who are lucky enough to have visited St. John previously, you probably noticed that there aren’t any stray dogs that roam the streets like on many other Caribbean islands. Well that’s thanks to the Animal Care Center, St. John’s nonprofit, no-kill shelter.
The shelter currently has six dogs and eight cats that are looking for homes. The dogs get walked twice a day, and the shelter relies on volunteers to help.
Volunteers are needed Monday through Friday for 8:30 a.m and 3 p.m. walks. The walks are typically around a block, which takes about 20 minutes or so. Volunteers are needed to walk the dogs on the weekend too, but weekend times may vary. Dog walkers must be 18 years or older to handle the leash. Younger children are more than welcome to accompany an adult on a walk.
The cats also need some care, and more importantly, socialization and cuddles. Volunteers are needed for general cleaning Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. You can stop in at any time during business hours to cuddle the cats.
Not visit St. John anytime soon, but want to help? The Animal Care Center just updated its Amazon Wish List. The list includes leashes, cat and dog food, cat carriers and more. Click here to view their Wish List on Amazon.
And before I end this, I just want to let you all know that I’m a gal who practices what she preaches. I adopted Charlie, an amazing little pitbull/corgi mix back in 2014, and I adopted Lucy, a crazy little kitten last summer. I even convinced my sister in Connecticut to adopt a puppy two years ago, and I personally delivered him to her. 🙂
