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Hello everyone, and happy Sunday! I am sorry that I took a few days off from writing. I have family visiting, so I’ve been pretty busy with that and my island tours. But now I’m back. 🙂

For those of you who’ve been lucky enough to be on island the past couple off weeks, you probably noticed that we’ve had some pretty cool boats hanging around St. John. Today I’d like to tell you about a few of them, and I’m also going to show you how you can learn more about a boat that you see here on St. John or anywhere in the world.

Let’s start with the Rising Sun, which is currently anchored out in Round Bay on St. John’s East End. It is one of the largest, privately-owned yachts in the world at 138 meter or roughly 453 feet long. The Rising Sun is owned by David Geffen, who is responsible for launching the careers of the Eagles, Guns ‘n Roses, Aerosmith and more. He owned MCA Records, and then co-founded Dreamworks. The Rising Sun visits St. John every Thanksgiving, and it hangs out in our waters for several weeks. It’s a pretty incredible yacht to see in person.

If you look closely at that picture, you will see a small boat to the left of the Rising Sun. That’s probably a 28-30 foot boat. It looks so tiny next to the Rising Sun.

We also had a pretty cool cruise ship visit the island yesterday. No need to worry, we only get very small cruise ships here on St. John. (Click here to get all the details on cruise ships that visit St. John.) Yesterday we had a pretty incredible tall ship visit, named Sea Cloud Spirit. It anchored off of Cruz Bay for just a few hours, and then left mid-afternoon.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about a boat you see in the water, download the Marine Traffic app on your phone, or visit www.marinetraffic.com. You can zoom into any spot on the world. When you do, simply click on a boat icon. That will pull up its details including its size, current location, port calls and more. Different color icons indicate whether it’s a pleasure craft, a cruise ship, passenger vessel, etc.

Marine Traffic is definitely a fun little app (or website) to check out.

This is all I have for today, folks. I hope you have a great Sunday, and we’ll chat again tomorrow. Thank you so much for reading Island Tidbits!

I have to be honest with you all, I’m a little late to the party with today’s post. But that doesn’t make it any less exciting! A great new market opened up in Coral Bay, and I think you’re all really going to like it!

Coral Bay Fresh Market opened up exactly two months ago today, and it’s a great addition to the island. It’s located out in Coral Bay (hence the name 🙂 ), and it’s in the same complex as Salty Mongoose, Surf Club Cantina (formerly Wok on the Beach), Jolly Dog and more. Now you might be thinking, why is a grocery store so exciting Jenn? Well it’s because this spot isn’t your typical grocery store. There’s so much more to it.

For starters, it just feels nicer as you walk in. It’s small, but laid out very well. The fresh fruits and local produce are displayed in cute wooden crates, and there is an entire wall of items imported by The Italians on St. Thomas. (Not familiar with The Italians? They sell gourmet Italian foods and wines, and they even offer a fun little wine and dine option in St. Thomas on Saturdays where you can sample items before you buy them. It’s pretty incredible.) But back to the Fresh Market…

Coral Bay Fresh Market also offers hand-cut meats, a variety of seafood items, and, of course, wine among other things. Homemade Meals To Go, which is delicious by the way, operates out of the space too and offers delicious daily specials. Check out a few pics:

Doesn’t it look great?!

Coral Bay Fresh Market is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. Breakfast items, such as veggie wraps and French toast, for example, are served beginning at 7 a.m. Lunch, which features a variety of items including prepared foods for the beach, comes out around noon. Dinner pickup is available beginning at 4 p.m. The dinner to go menu typically features two daily specials. The day I popped in to take a few pics, they were offering a pork chop entree stuffed with cream cheese, spinach and sun dried tomatoes, as well as a shrimp scampi dish. Entrees are around $20 to $25, and they can be reserved in advance.

Looking to dine in? You can do that too! Poolside in fact! For those of you looking for a relaxing spot to enjoy your takeout meal, you can opt to dine poolside, although actually swimming is not allowed. 🙂

Coral Bay Fresh Market even offers wine tasting every Friday night from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. They hope to start offering evening dining with table service, as well as Sunday brunch by the pool next month.

Want to see exactly where its located? Click here to check out Island Tidbits’ Logistics Map, which includes markets, gas stations, dumpsters, public restrooms & more. You can find that map online at www.explorestj.com/logisticsmap.

Great things are happening in Coral Bay, folks, and I am super excited to share it all with you. That’s all I have for today. Have a fantastic day everyone!

A brand new store opened in Cruz Bay last week, and I am super excited to share all of the details with you.
Golden Hour – a wellness, apothecary and feel-good lifestyle store – opened last Friday in the former R&I Patton space over at Mongoose Junction. The store, owned by Rebecca Reinbold and Lindsey Soper, features a carefully curated selection of products to help you live well and thrive. R&I Patton closed its doors earlier this year after being in business for 49 years.

“To live well is to live happy, fulfilled, and healthy,” Rebecca recently told me. “Our goal (in creating Golden Hour) is to help make wellness part of your every day, whatever that looks like.”

(Rebecca and Lindsey also own Lulee, an island-inspired clothing and accessories boutique, with locations at Mongoose Junction and over at the Westin resort.)

Golden Hour offers offer a range of products that feature powerful, time-tested ingredients to support increased energy, better sleep, stronger immune health, and more. Manuka honeys, functional beverages, and polyphenol-rich olive oils line the shelves along with sea mineral eye serums, antioxidant-rich facial oils, hand-poured candles, organic essential oils and more in this re-imagined space. Golden Hour also carries fine jewelry, featuring select designs from the iconic R&I Patton jewelry collection as well as resident Katherine Stuart’s “Honey” line of 14k gold jewelry.

Check out a few images from inside the new store:

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited about this spot.

“We believe that living well means making a conscious shift in our thoughts, intentions, habits and rituals, and making mindful choice to prioritize health and vitality,” Rebecca said.

Golden Hour is open on Sundays and Mondays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

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Island Tidbits would like to welcome our newest advertiser Holiday Homes of St. John. Holiday Homes has been specializing in St. John real estate since 1960. You can visit their storefront at The Marketplace or visit them online at www.HolidayHomesVI.com.