Visitors Report on Unforgettable St. John Vacation

The Corazzo Family, photo by Thia Muilenburg

We spent a week in Saint John at Stonegarden Cottage. First let me say that the Muilenburgs, who own the property, are some of the nicest people we've met on our travels. This was the perfect place for our family (it didn't hurt that our seven-year-old daughter Emma hit it off instantly with the Muilenburg's daughter). We love nature, and we felt like we were staying in a tree house up high on the mountain overlooking beautiful Coral Bay.

    Every day on Saint John was an adventure, without the stress. Emma snorkeled for the first time at Trunk Bay (it was great hearing her exclamation of surprise through her snorkel tube the first time a giant purple parrot fish swam by!). We thoroughly enjoyed all the wildlife on the island, especially seeing a giant manta ray glide under our kayak in Francis Bay. We even saw some green sea turtles stick their heads up out of the water! Of course the beaches on Saint John are some of the most beautiful we've ever seen, and we didn't get to see nearly as many of them as we would have liked.

    One night we went to a drum jam at Cinnamon Bay. Unbeknownst to us, after we spent all night learning to play the drums, we found out that instructor Eddie Bruce is originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, where we're from! I thought, Wow, it really is a small world, and that is how we came away from Saint John, feeling like we were leaving a real community. You can't say that about every travel destination these days. We will be back to Saint John!  

-- Amy Farrar, Paul and Emma Corazzo, March, 2012

St. John USVI: It's CARNIVAL 2012 on St. Thomas!

Carnival photo courtesy of www.caribplanet.com

It’s time to CELEBRATE on St. Thomas for Carnival 2012!  The party lasts throughout April but the must-see events begin Friday, April 20^th with the opening of Carnival Village (Fort Christian parking lot) and runs through Saturday, April 28 with the 10am parade and the 9pm fireworks.

Some of the other highlights during the week of Carnival 2012 include:  Sunday’s 5pm Steelband Jamboree; Tuesday’s 8pm Senior Citizens’ Quelbe Tramp; and Friday’s 10am Children’s Parade.  And for those wild partiers looking to dance the night away…..don’t miss  J’ouvert on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 4am.   For a complete schedule see schedule at http://www.stthomasblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/carnival-2012.jpg.

Maho at Bajo with Featured St. John Art

To visit St. John is to be surrounded by the natural beauty of the island.  Many local artists have captured this beauty in various media and display their unique perspectives at St. John's own Bajo el Sol Gallery http://www.bajoelsolgallery.com/index.html located at Mongoose Junction in Cruz Bay.

Each month Bajo el Sol features a special showing of a few of the island's artists and invites the public to a wine and cheese gallery opening on the first Friday of the month--the artists work is then displayed for the rest of the month.  The next opening, Friday, May 4 from 5:00-8:00pm, features the work of William Stelzer, Patty Tacquard, and original glass art pieces by the Maho Art Center.  All glass art created by Greg Lee and Mariel Bass is hand blown from recycled glass bottles at the glass studio located at Maho Bay Camps eco-resort.