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A New Way to Find Vacation Rentals in St. John

Jenn Manes 0 Comments
11 Peter Bay

Hello everyone, and happy Tuesday! I know many of you are dreaming of your next St. John vacation, and today I am excited to share that there is a new way to find the perfect vacation rental!

David Thomeczek and Julie Hoy have lived on St. John for the past 10 years. You may recognize their names and faces if you’re an avid HGTV watcher like me. The couple appeared on the popular House Hunters International show back in 2016 when they showcased a home they own on St John.

David and Julie began their property management career on St John back in 2013 when they moved here to manage Coconut Coast Villas, which is a nine-room boutique hotel located in Cruz Bay. People began asking them to manage other properties over the years, and ultimately they decided to launch their own full-service property management company – Caribbean Soul Vacations.

Caribbean Soul Vacations is a family-run property management company that offers a variety of short-term vacation rentals ranging from one-bedroom condos to palatial and luxurious six-bedroom villas. David and Julie are dedicated to helping guests find the best properties that suit their needs. They love helping guests plan the perfect vacation and will assist guests in every way possible along the way.

And for those of you who did watch their House Hunters International episode, they rent out Hali Lani and Casa Mare, two of the villas featured on the show.

A very exciting development for Caribbean Soul Vacations is their partnership with Homes and Villas by Marriott Bonvoy.  You can now book their properties using Marriott Bonvoy points. How exciting is that?! Their properties are listed on the Marriot Homes and Villas site, and you can pay with cash and points, or simply just points. This partnership can make your dream of visiting St. John or perhaps a return trip to the island much easier for many. You can learn more about this program at www.homes-and-villas.marriott.com. (The homes and property managers listed on the Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy website have been hand-selected through a curation process that is backed by Marriott International’s trusted standards.)

A Few of Caribbean Soul Vacation’s Properties

David and Julie manage nearly two dozen properties. Check out a few of them below:

Rotunda

Rotunda

Rotunda is a stunning five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bathroom villa with unparalleled views of Trunk Bay, St. John’s beautiful North Shore, and beyond.

Casa Mare

Casa Mare

Casa Mare is a stylish and contemporary villa that features five bedrooms and five bathrooms and is conveniently located less than 10 minutes from Cruz Bay.

Mystic Ridge

Mystic Ridge

Perched high on a hilltop and surrounded by National Park, Mystic Ridge was designed with a quality lifestyle and the love of beauty in mind. This home features four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms, and views of Coral Bay, the British Virgin Islands, and beyond.

Seagate

Seagate

Seagate is a beautiful, five-bedroom home overlooking Chocolate Hole. There is ocean access, with snorkeling onsite, and 24-hour concierge services.

Tropical Seabreeze

Tropical Seabreeze

Tropical Seabreeze is a brand-new four-bedroom villa located in the quiet and private Fish Bay neighborhood. This new home has a pool and ocean views.

David and Julie are excited about this new adventure and look forward to giving the same great service to all the new guests they look forward to meeting who book on the new site.

Looking for additional information or ready to book? Please visit www.caribbeansoulvacations.com to learn more.

Congrats David and Julie! So happy for you both!

Take a St. John island tour with me!

Get to know St. John. Visit beautiful beaches & centuries-old plantations. Perhaps stop at a tiki bar or two. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. 2023 & 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Winner. Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour  

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

Oppenheimer: His Life in St. John

Jenn Manes 0 Comments
Oppenheimer house beach St. John
Robert Oppenheimer purchased land on St. John in 1957.

Following last night’s Oscar wins, there will likely be a renewed interest in Robert Oppenheimer’s life on St. John. For those of you who have visited the island, you have likely passed, or perhaps visited, Oppenheimer beach, which is located on Hawknest Bay on St. John’s North Shore. It is the same stretch of sand that is widely referred to as Gibney beach.

Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb, found solace in St. John beginning in the late 1950s. Oppenheimer, his wife Kitty, and their daughter Toni began vacationing at a guest house on Trunk Bay, which closed when Trunk was sold to the Virgin Islands National Park. The Oppenheimers subsequently purchased land from Robert and Nancy Gibney in 1957 and began building a small cottage for themselves.

Like many things here in St. John, construction didn’t occur in a timely fashion. Therefore Kitty desperately asked Nancy if she could spend some time at the family’s home during the summer of 1959, so she could check on the cottage’s progress. This story is hilariously retold by the late Nancy Gibney in the book “St. John People.”

A screenshot from the Kindle version of St. John People, which is available on Amazon.

In her essay, Nancy Gibney recalls her frustration over the number of times the Oppenheimer’s daughter Toni and her friend washed their hair, using the island’s precious water, and how Kitty would rummage through the ice chest at all hours of the night so she could chill her cocktails. This summer, described by Nancy as “seven hideous and hilarious weeks” led to a well-documented feud between the Gibneys and Oppenheimers.

Alas, construction at the Oppenheimer’s cottage was eventually completed on the east end of Hawksnest Bay.

Robert Oppenheimer and his wife Kitty built a small cottage on the east end of Hawksnest Bay in St. John.

The Oppenheimers were known to throw parties at their cottage and began renting it out to vacationers, further fueling the feud with the Gibney family.

The Oppenheimers spent several years on St. John, where Robert was presumably able to escape media attention. Robert, a chain smoker, ultimately died of throat cancer in Princeton, New Jersey in 1967. Kitty spread his ashes at sea.

Oppenheimer left the cottage to his wife Kitty, who died in 1972 during a sailing trip from St. John to Panama. Their daughter Toni inherited the cottage and lived there until her death in 1977. Toni took her own life at the cottage, and on a note, left the home to “the people of St. John.”

No money was left for the home’s upkeep, so it quickly fell into disrepair. The Virgin Island’s government subsequently took control of the land and refurbished the cottage. That building is available to rent for events through the Department of Sports, Parks & Recreation.

The building at Oppenheimer Beach pre-Irma.
The Oppenheimer building in recent times.

A tire swing used to hang from a palm tree at Oppenheimer that stretched over the bay’s turquoise waters. The swing was removed during the summer of 2017, and sadly the palm fell during Hurricane Irma.

The famous tire swing at Oppenheimer in 2016.

And this is what Oppenheimer looks like today:

If you would like to read Nancy Gibney’s essay about her summer with Robert Oppenheimer in its entirety, you can purchase St. John People in several stores on St. John. You can also click here to purchase a paperback or Kindle version on Amazon. The book includes numerous stories about St. John residents told by St. John residents. It’s a very good read.

Take a St. John island tour with me!

Get to know St. John. Visit beautiful beaches & centuries-old plantations. Perhaps stop at a tiki bar or two. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. 2023 & 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Winner. Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour  

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

Something Very Cool Just Happened!

Jenn Manes 6 Comments
Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket as seen from Utopia Villa in Upper Peter Bay. Image credit: Al Scott

Well folks, something cool just happened over St. John. The sky lit up as Space X flew over the US Virgin Islands!

Not a fan of Elon Musk? Well neither am I. 🙂 But regardless of our thoughts on the man, this was a very cool sight!

According to my quick Google search, what we saw was the Falcon 9 rocket, which is supporting the Starlink 6-43 mission. (Click here to learn what all of that means.) The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:05 p.m., and it was seen flying over St. John less than 10 minutes later. This mission, again, according to Google, will add 23 Starlink satellites “to the low Earth orbit constellation.”  Starlink provides satellite internet around the world. I even have a few friends here in St. John that utilize it.

Al Scott owns Utopia, which is an incredible property in Upper Peter Bay. He took the following pics and videos between 7:13 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Sunday night:

Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket as seen from Utopia Villa in Upper Peter Bay.
Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket as seen from Utopia Villa in Upper Peter Bay.

Amazing. And how lovely do those chirping frogs sound in the video??!

And here is one that Mike (my other half) sent me while working at The Beach Bar tonight:

Space X as seen from The Beach Bar.

If you happened to be watching our webcams around 7:15 p.m. tonight, you may have caught a glimpse of it. Here is a screenshot from Coconut Coast Studio’s webcam, which overlooks Frank Bay:

Space X as seen from Coconut Coast Studios.

Pretty cool stuff right here. That’s all for tonight. Have a great one, everyone!

Take a St. John island tour with me!

Get to know St. John. Visit beautiful beaches & centuries-old plantations. Perhaps stop at a tiki bar or two. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. 2023 & 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Winner. Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour  

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

Huge Event Happening at the Windmill Bar!

Jenn Manes 0 Comments
The view from the Windmill

Hello everyone, and happy Friday! I can’t believe another week has past! Today’s post is all about one of our favorite spots on island – Windmill Bar.

The Windmill Bar is holding its annual VI Jam Fest this weekend, and it is completely free this year! So if you are lucky enough to be on St. John today or tomorrow, you can head up to the Windmill Bar and listen to a variety of bands and solo artists, all while taking in one of the most beautiful views on St. John.

Today’s music starts at 1 p.m. and continues until 11:30 p.m. There is a late ferry back to St. Thomas today and tomorrow. It will leave from Cruz Bay at 12:30 a.m. Music starts tomorrow at noon and continues until 11:30 p.m. Here is the full schedule:

Again, this event is completely free. The Windmill Bar will remain open for regular business (lunch, dinner & bar) during the VI Jam Fest.

The Windmill will be closed on Sunday. They’re going to need a day to recuperate. 🙂 It will reopen for normal hours again on Monday.

Can’t be there in person? You can always check out the crowd and sunset action by watching Windmill’s webcam. You can see that, plus more than 20 other live-streaming webcams at www.explorestj.com/webcams.

Have a great day everyone!

Take a St. John island tour with me!

Get to know St. John. Visit beautiful beaches & centuries-old plantations. Perhaps stop at a tiki bar or two. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. 2023 & 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Winner. Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour  

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

New Webcam: Watch the Floating Taco Bar LIVE!

Jenn Manes 0 Comments
Image credit: Lime Out

Wish you were at Lime Out, St. John’s floating taco bar? Well now you can be from anywhere in the world!

Lime Out just launched a brand new webcam that shows the fun that happens over in Coral Bay each day. The webcam is live from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. AST seven days a week. And just as a little reminder, AST is an hour ahead of New York City November through March. Beginning this Sunday, we will be the same time at New York City. The US Virgin Islands does not observe daylight savings.

Check it out:

I just added this to Explore STJ’s webcam page. Visit www.ExploreSTJ.com/webcams to view more than 20 live-streaming webcams from around the island.

Have a great day everyone!

Take a St. John island tour with me!

Get to know St. John. Visit beautiful beaches & centuries-old plantations. Perhaps stop at a tiki bar or two. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. 2023 & 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Winner. Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour  

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

“Stay Wild” for St. John’s Wildlife

Jenn Manes 0 Comments
I love the donkeys!

Hello everyone, and happy Wednesday! There is a great event happening on St. John this weekend, and you are all invited to attend! Not on island? No problem! You can get in on the action from home too!

St. John Wildlife and Donkey Rescue is an all-volunteer, charitable nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that was formed to provide assistance and care for sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife and to promote stewardship and compassion for the wildlife that call St. John home. This includes our donkeys, goats, birds and more. It is an amazing organization, and I wholeheartedly appreciate and support all of their efforts.

St. John Wildlife is holding its first event this Saturday. “Stay Wild for the Wildlife of St. John” will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Our Place in Coral Bay. Our Place is a community space that is located on Centerline Road (Route 10 on the map) about a quarter mile or so from the Coral Bay Triangle (main intersection of Coral Bay).

This family-friendly event will feature live music, a silent auction that will feature more than 100 items from a variety of St. John businesses, a 50-50 raffle, food and drink. It should be a great time.

The online auction is available to everyone, even if you cannot attend the event in person. There are 15 items currently up for bid online, including a seven-night stay in Italy (bidding starts at just $800 for this one!), a family photo shoot on St. John, boat trips and much more. Click here to see all of this items. 

If you are visiting St. John and you find an injured animal, an animal in distress or a baby animal who appears to be abandoned, please contact the following people/organizations:

Click to enlarge. Information provided by St. John Wildlife.

Click here to learn more about St. John Wildlife.

Take an island tour with me!

Get to know St. John. Visit beautiful beaches & centuries-old plantations. Perhaps stop at a tiki bar or two. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. 2023 & 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Winner. Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour  

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj