It has been over four months since the hurricanes have passed. I know, with a fair degree of certainty, that I will not return to the islands to live. I envision myself visiting my old haunts, many years from now, as a tourist. My friends will have aged. Businesses and houses from my past will […]
David Conro and Robin Eldridge are baby boomers. They grew up in small farming communities. Dave in the Catskill Mountains of New York and Robin in Northeast Iowa. Dave completed service in the Marine Corps. Robin graduated from college. Both set off for new adventures beyond the small towns of their youth. Near the end […]
Considering island life? Welcome to the Virgin Islands! This might be the perfect home for you. Then again, a short vacation at a luxury all-inclusive resort might be the better choice. Take this quiz to find out how long you will last in the Virgin Islands.
Kareso Studio takes its name from the traditional folk music of the Virgin Islands. Kareso, or cariso, comes from the Carib word carieto which means joyous song. Now located at Estate Eden, the neighborhood where owner Karen Samuel grew up, this art studio showcases the culture and traditions of St. John from an insider perspective. […]
I grew up in the retail business. My mother started her first store in New York when I was six selling vintage clothing (a.k.a. her old clothes). After a few different ventures, she opened Flashbacks in Sag Harbor, New York where the entire family was involved in the business. In 1991, after my sisters visited […]
Crystal D’Abbraccio has been in love with dancing for as long as she can remember. Starting at the age of five, her training was well rounded, progressing through performance, to costumes design, to dance education. Since moving to St. John in 2012, Crystal has taught dance, theater and creative movement to both children and adults. Crystal’s […]
I’m always at a bit of a loss when people ask what I do for a living, or whether I travel for business or pleasure. Basically, I get paid to move other people’s boats around for them. Sometimes it’s fun and sometimes it is the worst job in the world. If you think that a […]
The tiny house craze seems to have enveloped the Virgin Islands and the joke about tiny houses and their rentability just keeps getting bigger. Stained Glass Irene, who is almost always right, told me never to relate this following true tiny house story in print. Did I listen to her? Nope. This tale is macabre […]
Native St. Thomian DaraMonifah Cooper is one of the bright stars of the Virgin Islands art world. An artist of many talents, she is also major community organizer and educator who dedicates herself to working with St. Thomas’ youth and teaches them about their culture through music, art, performance arts, and engaging in technology through […]
When Bob Shinners imagines the movie of his life it opens with him as a young man standing on a Milwaukee bridge in a thick parka. He climbs the safety rail, closes his eyes, and jumps. As he plunges into the icy water, his steel-toed boots and heavy winter clothes suck him into the murky […]
Carolyn Goodlander is truly a woman of the world. When I met with Carolyn to share lunch and words at the Cruz Bay Landing on St. John, she had just returned from her third circumnavigation aboard the sailboat home she shares with her writer husband Captain Fatty Goodlander, the editor-at-large at Cruising World Magazine, author […]
Lots of cruising sailors wash over the collective bow of St. John. Many are capable and navigate the Sir Francis Drake Channel like it was a lake. Others fall into the category of quirky and fade quickly from memory. Others just stick because they are so real. John St. John is one cruiser that I […]
“He just bought 1000 earthworms on Amazon,” Mathayom Vacharat’s girlfriend whispered to me as I sat down next to her at Ground Breaking, one of the themed full moon dinners presented by St. John Catering and Mathayom Private Chefs at their St. John event venue at the Windy Level. “Mysterious purchase,” I laughed, but we […]
The story of surfing in the Virgin Islands is an exciting one. This might be hard to believe if you’ve spent any time on one of the VI’s world-famous beaches. The gentle ripples on tranquil turquoise bays don’t bring to mind the incredible thrill of cutting down the face of a ten-foot wave. However, those […]
As the sun began it’s descent, the colors radiated a golden hue and a zen vibe enveloped the space. The chaos of the busy town seemed distant from our 260 degree perch. The only intrusions were the distant sounds of church bells, a steel pan band practicing and the odd rooster. I asked this extraordinarily humble man about his life as a disciple of martial arts, a conscious excavator and his hopes for humanity and his Virgin Islands community. Our conversation seemed as limitless as the azure sky overhead.
I don’t think I’m a singer, I’m more of a chanter. Chanting is more spiritual to me. Not that singing isn’t. I feel like when you chant a song to The Most High, you chant up an invocation, you don’t really sing it. I bring words of positive messages and try to tap into someone’s train of thought. This is where I like to aim my frequency.
