Explore STJ

Hello everyone, and happy Thursday! I thought I would take a few minutes to share a little island update with all of you.

I am happy to report that the rain has finally stopped… thank goodness! Yes, we could always use some, but four straight days of soaking rain was a little much. We had some rain early Monday, which was followed by clouds, and it’s been sunny ever since!

We had so much rain that there continue to be little waterfalls around the island. The gut near Cinnamon Bay has had a small waterfall all week. The one beside the petroglyphs at Reef Bay must be raging at this point. I’m a tad too laxy to walk down to take a photo for you all, so please just take my word on that one – lol.

The island has definitely gotten much busier in recent weeks. Season is here! We’re by no means overwhelmed, but there are definitely more groups of people milling about. The parking lots are fuller, but I am still seeing availability at the top spots like Trunk Bay and Maho around noon, which is nice for all of us beachgoers.

Speaking of the beaches, when it rains as hard as it did over the weekend, there is a considerable amount of runoff that gets into the bays. Maho Bay gets a fair amount of brown water, which seems to cause the turtles to take a little vacay. The water should be back to normal in a day or two, and we will see more turtles over there. I have only seen a handful over the past few days.

If you are lucky enough to be on island or if you are checking out Explore STJ’s Webcam page, you will see just how green and lush the island currently is. It looks absolutely incredible! And all of our flowers are in bloom. Seriously, St. John is looking pretty amazing at the moment.

Speaking of season, nearly all of our restaurants have reopened. Friends invited us to Extra Virgin Bistro for its opening last night, and it was absolutely perfect. Banana Deck, another favorite of mine, reopens tomorrow night. We’re still waiting on info from Lime Inn, but hopefully they do reopen this year… fingers crossed!

Well there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this little island update! Have a great day everyone!

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with us!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

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Hello, and happy Monday everyone! It’s raining. It’s actually pouring. It has been for days, and I honestly do not know when it will end.

We’re in the midst of an extremely wet weather pattern at the moment. Yes, the island always needs water. Yes, our cisterns are happy. Yes, everything is beyond green and lush. But I have to admit, I miss the sunshine!

An island tour guest reached out to me last week asking about the weather. “It looks like a lot of rain over the next few days,” she said. “Really?” I asked. I hadn’t checked the weather and told her that it usually does say it’s going to rain, yet that rarely comes to fruition. Friends of mine visited from October 20th through the 27th, and the forecast showed rain every day prior to their visit. It only rained about two hours during their entire trip. “I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” I told my guest.

Boy was I wrong!

If I were a betting woman, and let’s be honest, I am (hello Parrot Club!), I’d say that St. John has received well over five inches of rain since Friday, if not more. And it’s still coming down. The weather shows additional measureable rain for the next several days.

So what do you do when you’re on St. John and it’s raining? Well you can do what Dalton and I did yesterday and take a drive. The island is still beautiful in the rain. We drove past Frank Bay and then stopped at the Cruz Bay and Caneel Bay overlooks before Dalton convinced me to let him play at Hawksnest.

We stayed and played for about 30 minutes, and we were absolutely drenched. But it was so fun!

On the way home, we checked out some little waterfalls that popped up along the road, as well as the gut near our house. The water was raging!

So that’s how we opted to spend our rainy Sunday while daddy was over working at The Beach Bar. If you’re on island and it’s raining for prolonged periods of time, you can also check out some of the island’s historical sites like Peace Hill, Annaberg or Catherineberg. Grab an umbrella, put on a hat and explore some of the island’s rich history.

You can also do a little shopping. Mongoose Junction is a great place to check out in the rain. It’s an outdoor shopping and dining complex, so be sure to bring an umbrella here too. Check out St. John Spice or The Little Things if you’re over near the ferry dock. Over in Coral Bay? Then check out our friends at Jolly Dog, Pirate’s Cove or Coral Bay Adventures. All are great little shops.

If you are feeling extremely adventurous, you can hike the Reef Bay trail. It is going to be rough and extremely slippery, but there will be an amazing waterfall down near the petroglyphs.

Or last but not least, drink and dine around the island. We have so many great places to choose from. You can see them at on our restaurant map at www.explorestj.com/restaurantmap.

And for those of you who aren’t on island at the moment, you can always check out what’s happening live. We have more than 20 live-streaming webcams listed on our webcam page at www.explorestj.com/webcams.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with us!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj

Tag: Rainy day in St. John

I’ve been getting a lot of emails about restaurants that remain closed for low season. Well, I have good news to share today. A few more of your favorites are set to reopen very soon!

Dazey Drive In, Coral Bay’s shaved ice spot reopens today, so be sure to stop by if you’re on island! Click here to read all about this great sweet spot. 

Skinny Legs and Drink plan to reopen on Halloween. Both are having costume parties (with prizes) to celebrate their respective reopenings. Click here to read about all of this year’s Halloween Happenings.

Our friends over at Extra Virgin Bistro are working hard to reopen. They installed some new kitchen equipment while they were closed for off-season, and if all goes as planned, Extra Virgin will reopen next Wednesday. Fingers crossed!

I also reached out to Banana Deck today, because, truthfully, I need some B-Deck in my world. If all goes as planned over there, they will reopen at the end of next week, potentially Thursday or Friday.

The Cinnamon Bay campground will reopen on November 1st. The food truck and watersports rentals have remained open during off-season.

Miss Lucy’s announced earlier this week that it will reopen on December 1st.

Zozo’s plans to reopen on December 13th.

Lovango Resort + Beach Club plans to reopen in mid-December.

Lime Inn and VI Wine Shop remain closed. Neither business has a reopening date at this time, which really bums me out because they’re two of my favorite spots!

Want to know where all of these restaurants are located? Please check out our searchable restaurant map at www.ExploreSTJ.com/restaurantmap.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with us!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Follow Explore STJ on Social Media

–> www.facebook.com/explorestj

–> www.instagram.com/explorestj