St. John Talk Blog

At least record breaking for me.  I have seen the temp go to 67 or 68 late at night in January but never at midday in March.  The rain associated with the cold front that still lingers over us has brought unusually cold temperatures.  The tourists are NOT looking happy but at least they’re patronizing local establishments.  45 minutes wait for a table at Jake’s at noon today and full tables at Sun Dog/Gecko as well.

We are reportedly in for a very wet weekend according to the National Weather Service.   A cold front is thought to be moving over the USVI and Puerto Rico before stalling to our south and lingering with us through at least the middle of next week.  Best chance for lots of rain is tomorrow and Sunday (currently at 70% which pretty much means it’s gonna rain).  The weather geeks say, “Definitely the best front that we’ve had all winter since the Christmas evening 2009 event.”

We could certainly use the water.  I’ve never seen so many water trucks on the roads as I have this past month.

Okay, we went out to dinner tonight.  Because I am not a complete idiot, I won’t tell you where we went.  However, take a look at the snap below:

I would love to know where they caught our local salmon here on St. John.  With water temperature hovering around 80º, tell me where the cold water river is they pulled that “local catch” from.

I’m sorry; I couldn’t resist.

From our deck today as we were getting ready to go in the pool, Howard asked, “Is that a water spout forming?”  We looked and, sure enough, it seemed to be a water spout forming.  It never actually touched water, but was still pretty cool to see:

Flickr Video

A waterspout was spotted trying to form earlier this afternoon over Buck Island, St. Thomas.  It dissipated several minutes later.

Spyglass, the new restaurant at the former site of The Balcony restaurant at Wharfside Village had its soft opening last night.  This included an OPEN BAR (read as FREE!!!!) from 5:30-7 PM as well as free chicken wings.  The place was pretty well packed.  We were some of the lucky few to be offered Patron Reposado shots as well.

Our group was one of the few to stay beyond those hours and try out their dinner menu.  It is still in the works and was largely beef-based.  I had a pepper rubbed NY strip with crispy onions and white truffle butter fries which were the most ridiculously yummy fries I’ve ever had.  The steak was very well sized for the price, by St. John standards, $28.  Our group also had Jamaican jerk beef brisket with yellow rice, pigeon peas and grilled zucchini  – this received high praise ($29) and Sherry braised short ribs, which were reportedly unbelievably good ($29).  Only negative is that the steaks were a little overcooked based on their requested doneness.

Okay.  So, this is pretty old – from like a year ago.  Of course, I missed the best part – the iguana being frightened from the upper deck and falling 15 feet into the pool.  By the time I got the camera, turned it on and got back outside, this is what was left to shoot:

In a word, it simply SUCKS! Three flights in a row f’ed up by AA! Hate them!

Have you guys been to St. John Market in the Greenleaf Shopping Center near the Westin?  Maybe I should keep it to myself, but the produce is really good and approaches Stateside prices.  Latest example – Driscoll Strawberries.  $11.49 at Starfish Market.  $4.95 at St. John Market!!!!!  I couldn’t even get below $5.99 on my last big shopping trip to St. Thomas.

Plus, and this is a BIG plus, the people who work there are SUPER nice!!!  Having said that, the meat selection is still typically better at Starfish, but I certainly intend to make St. John Market a regular, if not first, stop on my grocery expeditions.

About 13 months ago, we reported on the Green Flash phenomenon (http://www.stjohntalk.com/blog/?p=665) so thought it was time to revisit the subject.   Above is another completely unedited photo of the green flash phenomenon, the last light one sees as the sun sinks below the horizon.  Truth be told, the green flash the night before this one was even MORE spectacular.  However, we were viewing it from the hot tub and didn’t have a camera handy (grins).

For those who ask once again to “tell me more about this Green Flash of which you speak” please check out the wikipedia article:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash

Yesterday was the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season.  However, many people don’t know about “Hurricane Thanksgiving” which is an officially recognized day in the Virgin Islands, the third Monday in October, after which point the likelihood of being hit by a hurricane in this part of the Caribbean is pretty small.  A lot of people observe this day, which is said to stem back to the 1700s, by going to church.  People may or may not have the day off from work as well.

Nevertheless, it’s easier to take a sigh of relief once December 1 rolls around.  Now, bring on the Christmas winds!!!

Apparently, there was a 3.2 magnitude earthquake yesterday morning at approximately 8:10 centered about 10 miles NNW of Cruz Bay, St. John.  Many people on island reported to have felt the quake although having worked until 2 am, I slept right through it.  Yes, I checked the cisterns – no cracks, no leaks.  Whew!!

Last Thursday when my friend Colette and I were coming back on the car barge from a day of shopping on St. Thomas, the Department of Homeland Security was out in full force at the Red Hook ferry dock, inspecting all vehicles – under the hood, mirrors underneath the chassis and bomb sniffing dogs.  I haven’t seen anything like this since my last trip to Egypt.  Not sure if there was a specific threat called in or if they just felt like flexing their muscle in paradise for a while.

Often by mid to late November, the Christmas winds have already kicked in and there is a sudden palpable change in climate from summer heat to winter warm.  Not the case yet this year.  Temperatures through Thanksgiving are expected to be 88-91 degrees at lower elevations and winds, although constant, are not the typical strong Northeast breezes that are characteristic of the winter months.  Humidity also remains on the high side.  As I write this, it is 91 degrees with 65% humidity on our outdoor weather station in Estate Rendezvous and Ditleff, 400 feet above sea level.  Last year at this time, I’d guess that temperatures were closer to 85 and that REALLY makes a big difference.  So, if visitors to the island want to know what it’s like in the hot months of September and October, this is pretty much it minus a little wind.

For a time, we were regularly posting updated pictures of the Pond Bay development at Chocolate Hole.  However, for the past month or so, development has halted.  Rumors suggest funding has dried up.  Therefore, it seems a bit silly to continue to upload pictures while no changes are taking place.

Therefore, until development resumes, we will halt the Pond Bay updates.

St. John has just lost one of its kindest smiling faces.  Toni D’Puia Schulze passed away last night in Estate Pastory at the home that she and her husband, Gary, were building.   Toni was only 50 years old, having celebrated her big birthday this July.

Toni, you have so many people here who love you and will miss you terribly.  A part of you will always be in our hearts and nothing will ever take that away.