St. John Talk Blog

Looks like Greenleaf Commons, the shopping complex being built across from the Westin resort is nearing completion (we’re going to ignore the sign that’s posted outside the construction that says “Fall 2007 Occupancy”).  The first two store signs are already in place.  The first one (above) is for Green Island Breeze,  featuring islandwear, accessories and gifts.  Since this photo was taken the other day, another sign for a day spa has been placed.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and is now enjoying Black Friday shopping.  Today’s an overcast one here on St. John so Pond Bay and Chocolate Hole don’t look too colorful.

According to some local sources, rolling brownouts are currently in place throughout the island as WAPA continues to restore permanent power to St. Thomas and St. John.

When I awoke for work this morning at 5 AM power was on, but went off again at 6:57 AM and is still off at 8:00 AM

Current time is 9:30 PM and the power is still out throughout St. John and parts of St. Thomas.  The latest word from WAPA is not very optimistic for a quick solution (although at 13 hours without power, that boat’s already sailed).  They hope to have power restored by morning.

Power is still out on St. John (and apparently St. Thomas as well) at 4 PM.  According to St. John Source, this was due to a boiler tube bursting and causing a small fire in the switch yard at WAPA’s St. Thomas plant this morning.  They still expect power to be restored soon, whatever soon means.

Power is out across the entire island of St. John this morning, since about 8:30 AM.  According to the only friend we could find to answer his cell phone this morning,  John McCann of John McCann and Associates Real Estate, the outage is also affecting parts of St Thomas and is expected to last at least 5-6 hours.

Times like these make us incredibly happy we splurged for a generator instead of buying a second car.

Can anyone tell me what type of butterfly this is?  This isn’t a quiz as I don’t know the answer.  These two were found snuggling back to back on the underside of a leaf along the Caneel Hill trail.  If you haven’t done this hike, it’s under a mile (although all uphill) and can be accessed from just beyond Mongoose Junction or further uphill by Estate Lindholm, and is worth it.  The top affords beautiful views and there is even a little observation tower at the peak (unshaded unfortunately) where you can sit and rest before continuing on to Margaret Hill or retracing your steps back.

Sorry for the lack of postings recently.  We’re adopting the “island time” mentality.  That and Matt’s parents are in town visiting this week.

This week, regular gas has dropped to below $3.00/gallon at E & C.  It is currently $2.86/gallon.  As oil prices remain low, WAPA, which generates electricity from oil combustion (one of a small percentage of utility companies in the US that relies solely on oil to generate power), continues to apply for rate cuts.  The most recent rate cut, hopefully to be reflected on the next bill, is 27%!!  At least that’s some good news in this crappy economy.

This is how Pond Bay looks this morning, Nov. 14 (coincidentally the 14th update – play that lottery number tonight)

On Sunday afternoon, we hiked down the Reef Bay Trail.  We made it to the beach and made our way back up.  We also took walk to the petroglyphs.  The waterfall is still … well … falling.

Here’s a quick video of the waterfall and the petroglyphs:

We recently learned that the rental vehicle of preference on St. John in the 60s and 70s was the Mini-Moke.  I had no idea what that was or who made it.  So, I did a little research online.  Wikipedia has this to say about the Mini-Moke.  It was designed for British Motor Company who makes the Mini we all know.  The Mini-Moke in fact shared many parts with the Mini.  It was a 4-speed transmission that was produced between 1964-1993.

Like the Minis, the Mini-Moke may be revamped and reintroduced.  A concept car has been developed.

In any event, I thought it was kind of cool that this is how people tooled around the island 30 or so years ago.  Now, I want one.

We recently noticed this boat moored in Jost van Dyke and couldn’t get over the number of warning signs plastered by the controls.   Now, we’re not denying the importance of safe boating but the warnings themselves are enough to make a captain turn to alcohol.  Maybe it’s just better if the boat stayed in port and everyone just sat down quietly on it reading a good book.

It’s getting there.  Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Very distant outer bands from Tropical Storm Paloma have resulted in generally unstable conditions in our atmosphere.  This had lead to the development of torrential rain tonight on St. John with the southwest (Cruz Bay Quarter) portion of the island being hardest hit at the moment.  The rains, which began shortly before 6 PM local time have resulted in 3-4 inches of rain already (in less than one hour) in portions of this area.  Based on the precipitation radar maps, it looks like Annaberg area has received about 4-5 inches.

We were honored to celebrate the 35th wedding anniversary of Lonnie and Albert Willis last night at The Fish Trap, a restaurant they used to own and have now passed on to their son, Aaron.

When asked what’s the best part of a marriage 35 years on, Lonnie responded, “The level of comfort.  When I first met Albert, I just felt so comfortable with him so after 35 years, that feeling is just so much stronger.”

We wish them all the best and many happy returns.