ExploreSTJ.com

Baby’s Mini Mart – the place where you could buy everything from chips and booze to diapers and fishing lures – is no more. The store closed its doors for good last week.

Baby’s was the only convenience store left in Cruz Bay. It was always stifling hot in that store, but they had absolutely everything. According to the Coconut Telegraph, the store is set to become yet another Airbnb.

Baby’s Mini Mart was located beside the Catholic Church in Cruz Bay and right next to the old Fish Trap restaurant. The property sold back in 2020 and has been undergoing a significant transformation since.

The owners of Baby’s are looking to reopen in another location. I will keep you posted on that.

For those of you looking for a blast from the past, the last convenience store to close prior to Baby’s was located across the street from The Longboard. You had to walk through it to get to Rhumb Lines restaurants, an oldie, but goodie that has also closed for good.

There’s always something happening on this island. Be sure to read ExploreSTJ.com to get the scoop.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now.

Friends of Virgin Islands National Park will launch its annual Villas for the Park auction tomorrow, one of its largest annual fundraising events.

Currently, there are 30 villas, condos and hotels available for bid. The auction begins on Friday, November 14th and continues through 3 p.m. EST on Friday, November 28th (4 p.m. St. John time). Here are the properties currently up for bid:

• Bombalassy Villa
• Catch ‘N’ Keep Cottage
• Concordia Eco Resort
• Coral Caribe Villa
• Cruz Bay Boutique Hotel
• Desert Rose Villa
• Dream Come True
• Dreamview
• Estate Lindholm
• Fish Tales Cottage
• Gaia’s Pearl
• Marketplace Suites
• Mayan Sky Villa
• On a Clear Day
• Pebble Cove
• Rebecca’s Fancy
• St. John Inn
• Samuel Cottages
• Seaside at Grande Bay
• Stonehouse
• Sunnyside Villa
• Sunset Ridge Villa
• The Hills St. John
• The Other World Villa
• Villa Circe
• Villa Tiffany
• Wharfside Village Hotel
• The Fred Boutique Resort & Spa (St. Croix)
• The Green Iguana Hotel (St. Thomas)
• The Mary Ann Boutique Hotel (St. Thomas)

Click here to view all of the properties and to register to bid. Good luck everyone, and thank you for supporting Friends of Virgin Islands National Park!

Friends of Virgin Islands National Park is a non-profit organization and is the official philanthropic partner of the Park. The Friends supports the National Park Service in assuring the Park’s unique terrestrial and marine resources are protected, the Virgin Islands’ cultural treasures in the Park are preserved, and visitors and community are connected to their Park through volunteerism and education.

Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Book Now.

I have so much to update you on! There are a lot of small things happening here, so let’s get right to it!

Let’s start with the restaurants. Lots of our favorites reopened over the weekend. Drink and Skinny Legs reopened on Halloween with their annual costume parties. I came home after Trunk or Treat, so I wasn’t able to attend either in person, but from the pictures I’ve seen, it looked like both events were a tremendous success! The Windmill Bar and Johnny Lime each held haunted houses over the weekend, and both of those were awesome too!

Banana Deck reopened on Saturday and will be open for dinner seven nights a week this season. Such great news! The Caneel Bay Beach Club also reopened last week.

Pizza Pi reopened up over the weekend too. They’re the floating pizza boat that’s located in Christmas Cove, which is a beautiful turquoise bay located behind Great St. James. This is such a fun stop on a boat day. If you haven’t visited before, be sure to stop by the next time you’re on island.

It’s not quite high season yet, but the island is definitely starting to pick up. There was actually traffic today on North Shore Road, which I have not seen in several months. Parking at Maho and Trunk was also full when I drove past those beaches this afternoon. If you are visiting soon, you may want to head to the beaches by 9 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. to ensure you get a parking spot.

The government is still closed, as I am sure you are all aware. The Visitor Center in Cruz Bay remains closed, as do the restrooms beside it. The rest of the Virgin Islands National Park remains open, including the parking lot at Caneel Bay.

I was just looking at the upcoming cruise ship calendar, and that is picking up too. Next Wednesday, November 12th, has more than 22,000 people visiting St. Thomas via cruise ship. That’s a huge influx of visitors for one day! The first cruise ship of the season visited us here on the island last week. The ships that anchor off of Cruz Bay only carry a few thousand passengers, so we do not get affected too much.

If you are looking to book an island tour over the next few months, please do so sooner than later. My schedule is very full now through the end of February. It’s best to reserve your spot early. You can learn more about my island tours at www.explorestj.com/tour.

Have a great day, everyone!