The Little Things is a great new gift shop located in Cruz Bay near the ferry dock.
There is a great little gift shop that recently opened in Cruz Bay, and I think you are all going to love it.
The Little Things is the island’s newest gift shop, which sells a large assortment of custom-made items. Everything is made onsite with new items being added daily, owner Christy Collins told me recently. Christy, a St. John resident of more than 20 years, opened the shop to fill a gift giving need she saw amongst friends and family.
“Being here for so long, gift giving is challenging,” Christy told me recently. ” I wanted to open a shop where we can give personalized things that are from the heart to each other.”
The shop isn’t just for residents, of course. It offers a variety of fun and creative items for everyone from personalized cups and tumblers, to customized St. John puzzles, Tic, Tac Toe games and more. Check out a few pics:
Christy’s love of creating personalized items began after the 2017 storms when she began etching glass. From there, she started working with lasers, and soon, The Little Things was born.
Items range in prices from $18 for a pair of custom-made earrings created from local birch wood to custom-made cups that start at $35. Personalization is an added charge. Custom orders are accepted and welcomed.
The Little Things is located right near the ferry dock and beside Mooie’s. High Tide and Freebird are just across the street. The Little Things is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.- ish everyday.
Parking on St. John is limited, especially at some of the beaches. So today I’m going to share some tips on beach parking at the more popular North Shore spots. I’ll also let you know what can get you a pretty hefty ticket. I don’t know about you, but nothing ruins a fun vacation faster than getting a parking ticket.
General Parking Rules Straight from the VI National Park
I reached out to the Park for guidance, and I was told that when parking along the roadway, all tires and mirrors need to be completely off the road and behind the white line (when there is a white line). I was unaware of the mirror rule, so that’s a good tip to know.
A few other rules straight from the Park: Never park in front of a gate or an entrance, and never push a stone with your vehicle that is being used to make a boundary. When parking along the road, do not push back any trees or break any branches when trying to find a parking spot. And lastly, no parking really means no parking, the ranger stressed. There are numerous “no parking” signs near the beaches. The ranger asked that we all be mindful to the arrows on those signs as well. Some are no parking to the right, some to the left, and so forth.
Tickets
Parking tickets start at $125. They can be higher depending on the violation, the ranger said. She also stated that some car rental companies often charge the renter double the fine, especially when a vehicle is towed.
Tips for Specific Beaches
Soloman/Honeymoon
There is no parking at either of the beaches. You can either walk in via the Lind Point Trail, or take the $6 shuttle provided by the Caneel Bay Beach Club. If you park behind the National Park Visitor Center, you need to get a handwritten pass from the Visitor Center (if they are open). They will ask that you back into the designated spot for permit holders and display your parking permit on your dashboard. You can also park at the top of the hill near the Virgin Islands National Park sign (near a large construction area) and walk down the Lind Point Trail. You do not need a permit to park there. If you opt to take the shuttle, you can park on the grounds of the former Caneel Bay Resort.
Hawksnest
There is a decent amount of parking at Hawksnest. You can park before and after the parking area on the beach side, as long as your tires and mirrors are completely off the road. It is not suggested that you park anywhere across the street as you may damage the trees, the ranger said.
The vehicles parked on the left are ok, per the ranger. There really isn’t enough space on the right without hurting a tree.
Oppenheimer/Gibney
There are only three parking spots, so this is a beach to get to early. Park on the left side. when facing the gate.
Denis Bay
You can park in the small lot for Peace Hill to access Denis Bay.
Jumbie
There is a small parking area across the street from the trailhead. It is not recommended that you park on the beach side, as there is a driveway there and you can also damage trees, the ranger said.
Trunk Bay
This is definitely one of the busier beaches, so you want to get to Trunk Bay early. When parking in the main lot, be sure not to take a spot designated for the taxis. They park along the back of the lot, beside the entry booth, facing the street. There is a small patch of grass to the right of where the taxis park (if your back is to the road.) Do not park on this grassy patch unless you’d like to leave with a ticket or possibly get towed, the ranger said.
You are allowed to park across the street near the plantation building as long as your tires and mirrors are off the road. You will see there are no parking and no parking beyond this point signs in that area. I have seen numerous vehicles ticketed here for ignoring those signs, so keep an eye out and look for arrows.
Also, there isn’t any parking along the roadway on the beach side before of after the Trunk Bay parking lot. I see people create spots, and those vehicles routinely get ticketed too. There are a few new no parking signs up the switchbacks too. Trunk is pretty well marked when it comes to where you can and where you cannot park. If you do not want to deal with Trunk’s notorious parking issues, you can always take a taxi.
Please do not park right next to a no parking sign like this yellow Jeep. The vehicles on the right are fine per Park rules.
Tires on the road = a ticket, per the ranger.
Cinnamon Bay
There are two large parking lots, so this is an easier place to find a spot. You can also park along the roadway a bit, but again, all tires and mirrors off the road, and please do not park in a way that you can damage a tree. There are a handful of spots where you can park along the road inside of Cinnamon Bay (near the parking areas) too.
Maho Bay
Maho is also extremely busy, and parking is tricky. On the Maho Crossroads side of the beach (closer to Cruz Bay), there are several designated parking spots along the beach. Once you pass the final shade structure, you can no longer park on the beach side. This is a sea turtle nesting beach, and there are also small plantings along the beach that cannot be harmed.
Parking on the sand at Maho is not allowed, per Park rules.
There are also some parking spots across the street in between large boulders along the roadway. Then there is a decent-sized lot at the turtle side of the beach (the opposite side from where the tiki bar is). You can also park along the roadway near the parking lot as long as your tires and mirrors are of the road. This is tricky because there isn’t a ton of space, so there is only room for a handful of cars to do this.
I hope this didn’t come across as being preachy, because I hate preachiness. 🙂 I simply wanted to provide some guidance to what is often a tricky parking situation on the North Shore.
As always, if there is something you’d like to know more about, please feel free to email me at jenn@explorestj.com. In the meantime, have a fantastic day everyone!
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourFull & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
I am extremely excited to tell you that Quiet Mon’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is returning for this first time in what seems like forever!
The annual parade – which was forced to take three years off due to Covid – will take place on Saturday, March 18th. The last time it was held was on March 16th, 2019, so this will be a much-welcomed return. The parade is one of the shortest in the world, starting at the roundabout and ending just past Woody’s near Connections.
The parade starts at High Noon … ish.
I am also excited to share that my son Dalton has been invited to be the parade’s Grand Marshall. He was originally asked back in 2020, but the parade was cancelled because of Covid. A big THANK YOU to Quiet Mon for inviting him back! We have the crown ready… fingers crossed that this little four-year-old behaves! 🙂
Dalton will be five this summer. He currently attends Gifft Hill.
I am certain that there will be a lot of celebrations in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay on March 17th, so it looks like we will have a two-day St. Patrick’s party this year! Woohoo!
That’s it for today, folks. Have a great one!
Looking to take a St. John island tour?
Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tourFull & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.
There is another great new webcam to add to your daily viewing list! My friend Elaine Estern, owner of Coconut Coast Studios on Frank Bay, just added a brand new webcam, and the view is great!
The webcam looks west toward St. Thomas, which means you will catch the sunset every single night. Exciting! There is also a microphone attached to the webcam, so you can listen to the waves gently hit the shore 24 hours a day. Check it out:
Tonight’s sunset is at 6:27 p.m. local time. We are an hour ahead of New York City time until this weekend. We do not change our clocks here, so when daylight savings happens, we will be on the same time as NYC. Click here to check out our upcoming sunrise and sunset times.
Last night’s sunset
I added this webcam to our webcam page, so you can see this and more than 20 other great St. John webcams at www.explorestj.com/webcams.
Elaine Estern is known for her stunning watercolor paintings that often depict the beauty of the underwater world. She welcomes you all to visit her studio, which is located just down the hill from Gallows Point Resort in Frank Bay. The studio is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can purchase original paintings, reproductions, calendars, note cards, magnets and more. You can shop in the store or online. Click this link to check out Coconut Coast Studios online.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week! It’s been a bit since I’ve posted an island update, so here we go!
Season is here, and the island is busy! March is one of our busiest months of the year, and parking at the beaches has proven that once again. The lots are filling up rather quickly, but do not be discouraged, you will still be able to visit your favorite beach when vacationing. The key is to go early or later in the afternoon. Trunk Bay is always the toughest, so you want to be there no later than 9:15 a.m. to get a spot. You can also go later in the afternoon. Or better yet, take a taxi. Maho also fills up rather quickly. I’d suggest getting out there no later than 10 a.m. to get a spot. Earlier is better. It’s another super easy spot to taxi to. (Click here to view the current taxi rates.)
If the North Shore beaches are full, you can always drive east. It’s always a little hotter out there and there are less raindrops overall on the east end. Just something to think about. There are two beaches at the end of Route 10 (Centerline Road ) – Hansen Bay and Saltwell Bottom. Both are great. Check them out. And when you’re at Saltwell Bottom, be sure to check out their handmade souvenirs too.
The view from Saltwell Bottom. No filters. It’s this pretty. ( I never filter pics.)A few souvenirs made by the owners of Saltwell Bottom. (This beach is located outside of the VI National Park.)
The water right now is absolutely incredible. It looked like a lake yesterday. There is almost no wind happening right now, so it’s a great time to hop on a boat. Check out Palm Tree Charters out of Cruz Bay and Flyaway Charters out of Coral Bay if you’d like to spend a day on the water.
You may encounter some delays due to the ongoing pole installation, which has been happening since the 2017 storms. They are currently replacing the wooden poles with stronger poles near Zootenvaal and on Bordeaux Mountain, so you may have a few short delays when traveling in those areas this week.
Now let’s talk about the restaurants… The are full, but not crazy. I still suggest making a reservation in advance for the fancier spots (Morgan’s Mango, Extra Virgin, La Tapa, Lime Inn, ZoZo’s and The Terrace) to make certain you get a spot. You can also reserve bar seats at all of these restaurants if you prefer that over a table. The walk-in restaurants are full, but I haven’t seen or heard of any crazy long wait times like we had back in 2021 and a bit in 2022.
Don’t have a vacation planned, but you want to see what’s happening here on island? You can check out our webcams at www.ExploreSTJ.com/webcams. I have more than 20 webcams posted there, and I am always adding more.
And for those of you who are lucky enough to be on island now or have a trip planned and you want to get to know the island a little bit more, I would love to take you out on an island tour! You can email me at jenn@explorestj.com or check out www.ExploreSTJ.com/tour to learn more & to check out my reviews.
I think I am going to end this post here. As always, if there is anything you’d like to learn more about, please feel free to email me or inbox me on social media. Thanks so much & have a great day!
