ExploreSTJ.com

Hello everyone, and happy Tuesday! We have some fun information to share today!

I don’t know about you, but I love a good sunset. I watched last night’s sunset from the Cruz Bay overlook, and realized that green flash season is right around the corner. Yes, that is a new season that I just made up a few minutes ago. 🙂 The sun is still setting behind St. Thomas, but within the next few weeks, it will shift far enough to the left that it will set over the water. This gives us all a good chance at seeing the green flash.

Not familiar with the green flash? Well it’s something cool that happens here a few times a year. Just as the sun sets over the horizon, you can see a quick flash of green as the upper rim of the sun falls below the water line. It only lasts for about a second or two, so you really have to be looking for it. I’ve seen it a few times over the year, and it’s pretty cool. My friend Anne Bequette, a photographer here on island, captured the green flash a few years ago. Check it out:

Pretty neat, right?

The green flash can also occur during sunrise, so those of you staying in parts of the East End and Coral Bay also have a good chance of seeing it throughout the year.

The sun shifts further to the right (when looking from Cruz Bay) in the summer months, so the Windmill Bar is also a great spot to watch for the green flash during the summer months.

Random fun fact: Our friends over at St. John Brewers make an energy drink called Green Flash.

If you’re looking to catch tonight’s sunset, it’s happening at 5:41 p.m. Want to know when the sun will set during your trip? Please check out our sunset times page here. You can also find it at www.explorestj.com/sunset.

That’s it for today, folks. Enjoy & have a great day!

Hello everyone, today’s post will be short, sweet and to the point, once again. 🙂 The animals on St. John need our support. There is a reason that you do not see roaming dogs here like many other Caribbean islands. It’s because we have an absolutely incredible animal shelter on island – the Animal Care Center of St. John. They take care of our dogs and cats, making sure all have homes and are healthy, spayed and neutered. We’re holding a raffle to raise funds for them, but it ends tonight. So please buy your tickets now!

For just $25, you can enter to win the following St. John vacation:

• A six-night stay at Livin’ the Dream at Grande Bay – (You can choose to stay in either the studio or the one-bedroom unit.)
• A half-day island tour with Explore STJ
• A sunset sail with Palm Tree Charters
• $100 Beach Bar gift certificate
• $50 Tap Room gift certificate plus a St. John Brewers swag bag valued at $75
• $50 Cruz Bay Landing gift certificate
• $50 High Tide gift certificate
• $50 Windmill Bar gift certificate
• A champagne brunch for up to six people at Garden By the Sea bed & breakfast
• A Sam & Jack’s welcome basket courtesy of Crandall on St. John

The raffle has an estimated value of roughly $4,500.

The raffle period has ended. 

How the drawing works: Once the entry period is over, the raffle committee will personally write/type the names of each entrant on a raffle ticket. If you buy one ticket, we will write/type your name on one ticket. If you buy two tickets ($50 total), we will write/type your name on two tickets. If you buy three tickets ($75 total), we will write/type your name on three tickets. And so forth. You will not receive a ticket by mail or email. All of the names will be placed into a secure bucket/basket/box. Once all of the names are written on tickets, we will draw the winner live on video. The winner will be announced on explorestj.com. A video of the drawing will also be posted on explorestj.com. The raffle period will end on Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 9 p.m. AST. The winner will be announced on explorestj.com on or about November 18, 2022. All entries will be treated as donations to the Animal Care Center on St. John.

Now go ahead and enter! Good luck!! And thank you for supporting the Animal Care Center!

Well folks, I am very excited to tell you that a great new spot is set to open in Coral Bay next week. And it’s being opened by some familiar faces we all know and love. 🙂

Richard Baranowski, Dylan Buchalter and Miguel Hernandez recently took over the Oasis restaurant in Coral Bay, which is located directly across from the bay and beside Salty Mongoose. They are transforming it into a Caribbean-inspired barbecue spot, which will ultimately be called Johnny Lime. Richard and Chelsea Baranowski own Lime Inn in Cruz Bay, one of my favorite restaurants on island. Richard and Dylan also own the wildly popular Lime Out floating taco bar in Coral Bay, along with Chelsea and a few of their childhood friends.

The Oasis/Johnny Lime restaurant will serve lunch and dinner Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., or until they sell out. They’re planning a soft opening for this Monday, November 14th at 11 a.m. Exciting!

The menu will feature Caribbean-inspired BBQ and will include an array of spices found in traditional Caribbean dishes. They will serve a smoked jerk chicken with guava and tamarind barbecue sauces, and rice and peas, for example. Local juices will also be on the menu, including a favorite of mine, soursop.

“We want to do as much local products as we can,” Richard told me earlier this week.

The restaurant will have a full bar, and will serve a variety of frozen and craft cocktails, as well as beer and wine. And in keeping with the local concept, they will prominently feature local brews and seltzers from St. John Brewers, as well as Leatherback Brewing and Mutiny Island vodka out of St. Croix. They’re even going to serve draft beer! It’s the little things in life, folks. 🙂

“We want the velocity of money to stay in the Virgin Islands,” Richard said, “and we want to support businesses that are in the Virgin Islands. That allows us all to have a better living standard on St. John.”

I could not agree more!

The Oasis spot will remain a community space for residents, and Saturdays will be reserved for an array of activities including early morning yoga and art classes for the kids. They plan to hold a weekly community day on Saturdays, and they will offer a donation-based lunch every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will continue to hold trivia, which supports a different charity each week, every Wednesday night.

I don’t know about you, but I am very excited about this. That’s all for today, folks. Have a great one!

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Reminder: Our raffle ends this Sunday, November 13th at 9 p.m. AST. For just $25, you can enter to win a St. John vacation, including a week-long stay at Livin’ the Dream at Grande Bay in Cruz Bay. Proceeds will support the Animal Care Center of St. John. Visit www.explorestj.com/raffle for complete details & to buy tickets securely online.