St. John Talk Blog

Happy Friday one and all.  Hope you like the sassy new format ratio of the pic, designed to enhance your Pond Bay viewing experience.  I think it’s going to look great when it’s done and the landscaping takes hold.

We made reference a couple of days ago to the green flash with a Wikipedia link to explain the phenomenon.  Well the following day, we had what I thought was a pretty good example of one.  This was taken from our deck on Oct 27 at about 5:51 pm local time.  The last light the sun gives off before sinking below the horizon clearly has a greenish hue.

Woohoo!!!!!  Gasoline prices at the E & C Service Station in Enighed (the only gas station on the Cruz Bay side of the island and only one of two currently operational stations on the entire island, the other being Domino in Coral Bay) have taken another steep plunge earlier today from $4.07/gallon to $3.38/gallon.   This comes in the wake of a 75 cent/gallon rack rate cut from Hovensa last Wednesday.  Diesel prices however, remain unchanged.    

This was the first time we tanked up since Omar, holding out as long as possible after the last price cut, knowing that another one was on its way.  WAPA will probably soon have ANOTHER power rate cut approved given the persistently low price of oil.  Stay tuned.

We look forward to welcoming back our snowbird neighbors from Buffalo, Peggy and David, who should arrive tomorrow.  These guys basically built their house, two doors down from us, BY THEMSELVES!!!! over several years, bringing down things from New York as necessary via container (kitchen cabinets, railings, etc.) and then selling the container down here when they were done with it.  Talk about crafty.  These guys are role models.

For many people who live in the Chocolate Hole/Great Cruz Bay area of St. John on the southwest corner of the island, many months out of the year, the sunset cannot be seen sinking to the horizon as it sets behind St. Thomas.  Starting about a week ago, the earth’s tilt which will continue in the same direction until the winter solstice, has now allowed the sun to set south enough for us to see it all the way to the horizon.  This should last for just under six months now!  Good news for Green Flash seekers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash)

CAUTION:  Answers given here to yesterday’s mystery quiz so check out that post first if you want to play the game and not have your fun ruined by the answers below.

The ANSWER to the mystery questions of yesterday:  That is Mic, from the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost van Dyke (yeah, we know, it’s part of the British Virgin Islands and you need your passport to get there, but at only four miles from St. John, it’s really just an extension of it - most people there are usually either from STT or STJ anyway).  He can multitask like no one I have EVER seen, mixing up to 12 drinks at a time, taking lunch orders, collecting money, handing out cigarettes….truly amazing.  And all with a completely un-fazed smile.  The donut police patch from the other day is amongst hundreds of real uniform patches (law enforcement, etc.) fastened up on the beams above the bar.

And the photo above is just a reminder to be careful when you swim from your boat anchored in White Bay to the Soggy Dollar Bar.  Watch your step as this stingray was seen just inches away from our feet in about four feet of water.  I’m sure he would have moved as we got closer but an ounce of prevention never hurt anyone.

We mentioned that Cafe Roma was set to re-open on the 24th.  And it did.  We checked it out last night.  We ignored warnings that one should, as a general rule, not try a new restaurant or a re-opening restaurant on opening night and it’s a good thing we did.  We enjoyed ourselves and chatted with John, the new owner.  Here’s John at opening night:

John Hiebert on opening night

The menu remains largely the same, with a few changes and tweaks.  You can check out the current menu here.  We were lucky enough to get to sample some innovations John is working on.  We’re not going spill any beans.  The floor is retiled, but the clouds remain (you can see them in the picture below).  Food was delicious.  Service was good.

We ate early, around 6:30.   Other diners were still just arriving:

Check out Cafe Roma.  We’re sure you’ll enjoy it.  Welcome (again) to John and his family.  Good luck with the restaurant!  We’ll be back.

This is our new favorite bartender in the Virgin Islands.  What is his name and which bar is he mixing drinks at here?  The first part is not so easy if you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him – he is an awesome guy.  The second part is really really easy if you’ve ever been to this place, and if you haven’t been to this place at least once while visiting the Virgin Islands, then just SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!

Hint:  The donut police patch from a couple of days ago is proudly displayed at this bar.

According to the Virgin Islands Daily News, http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17629673, mosquito fogging will again take place on St. John this Sunday, the 26th, from 6pm-9pm.   The usual precautions apply for people who are sensitive to the chemical and those with respiratory conditions.

Anecdotally, we have noticed far fewer mosquitos on our property over the last few weeks, but that may be due to the repositioning of our SkeeterVac (http://ww2.bluerhino.com/br/OUTDOORLIVINGPRODUCTS/MosquitoTraps/index.html) onto the main deck, bringing it up from underneath the house.

The latest and greatest photo of construction progress.

P.S.  Yesterday’s mystery person is Cid from Connections, of course!  The dummy is also Cid from Connections, fashioned by friend, Kate from Kate N Design,  for Cid’s 40th birthday party (probably within the last year or so…..you’re welcome Cid).

I was doing some research into “green” companies which might make for good investments while the economy is still down.  You know the adage:  “Buy low.  Sell high.”

So, I found this article on Kiplinger.com. The article is from less than a year ago – October 25, 2007.  As far as “green giants” that Kiplinger recommended on October 25, 2007, take a look at is number 2 pick:  American International Group.  Yup, that’s AIG, the company the federal government just sunk about $125 billion in to save.  So, less than a year before its humongous collapse, Kiplinger was recommending investing in AIG.

It’s a good thing I read this article after AIG’s collapse.  Makes me wonder how much faith I should put in Kiplinger’s recommendations.

This quiz is a two-parter. 

Who is the wonderful St. John local on the left and who’s the dummy above and to the right, or at least what was the occasion for which it was made?  The first part’s easy for anyone familiar with St. John.   The second part isn’t so easy.

OK, Contestants.  At which establishment in the Virgin Island chain can this patch be found?

The E & C Gas station in Enighed has drastically dropped the price of a gallon of regular gasoline late last week a day or two after Omar passed by the Territory from $4.67 to $4.07.  It almost looks CHEAP now in comparison to prices this summer ($5.05 was the highest I can remember).  Of course, everyone tanked up at the old rate in anticipation of the storm so many haven’t yet had the opportunity to take advantage of the new lower prices.  By that time, they will have hopefully not risen again.

One of our newly favorite websites is Failblog, www.failblog.org, full of all sorts of funny signs, videos and products.  We noticed this sign the other day between the now-closed Subway and the First Bank.  We call it ”Parking Violation Fail.”  I’m not sure if I’d rather be towed or boothed.  Is that like a phone booth?  or a New York diner booth?  What kind of booth will they put you in?  If  the violation occurs on Nov 4, maybe it’s a voting booth.

P.S.  The location of yesterday’s mystery sign is JJ’s Texas Coast Cafe in Cruz Bay

We have it on good authority (Cafe Roma itself) that Cafe Roma will be re-opening this Friday, October 24th.  [Hopefully, this post will guarantee us a table for Friday evening!]