St. John Island, USVI. Travel Guide, Vacation, Holiday, Honeymoon. It may be the smallest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, but St. John is a natural wonder of luminous crescent bays and perfumed forest groves. It's got miles of pristine parkland, fresh-scented hiking trails, and mossy peaks with panoramic views. It's got probably the best beaches per capita of any Virgin Island. It's got a sleepy, secluded feel if you can't chill out here, well, then better get thee to an apothecary. In fact, St. John is where St. Thomas locals come to "plug out. They don't call it "Love City" for nothing. St. John is no mere pretty face, however. It has in the ruins of 18th-century sugar plantations a landscape dotted with its own trail of tears. It's got churches: 18 at last count. St. John has no airport and no cruise-ship pier. Nonetheless, it is a favorite day-trip destination from nearby islands and a popular ferry excursion for cruise-ship passengers from St. Thomas. But the day-tripper and cruise-ship crowds that stream over in the morning are generally gone before nightfall.

Completely updated with the latest information on resorts, restaurants, and shopping, this new second edition covers St. Thomas as well as the nearby island of St. John. From intimate inns to beachside bars, breathtaking scenery, and exhilarating boat and snorkel trips; from elegant outdoor dining to nighttime jazz clubs; from French, Greek, and Italian cuisine to ice cream stands, this book covers the best of the islands. Also included is practical information for getting around the islands in ease, shopping tips, and the special "gems" of the island that might otherwise be missed.

A husband's secret life, a wife's new beginning: escape to the Caribbean with #1 New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand. Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to sky-writing, sentimental extremes. But as she rings in the new year one cold and snowy night, everything she thought she knew falls to pieces with a shocking phone call: her beloved husband, away on business, has been killed in a helicopter crash. Before Irene can even process the news, she must first confront the perplexing details of her husband's death on the distant Caribbean island of St. John. After Irene and her sons arrive at this faraway paradise, they make yet another shocking discovery: her husband had been living a secret life. As Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her sons find themselves drawn into the vibrant island culture, they have to face the truth about their family, and about their own futures. Rich with the lush beauty of the tropics and the drama, romance, and intrigue only Elin Hilderbrand can deliver, Winter in Paradise is a truly transporting novel, and the exciting start to a new series. "I will just say that, 24 hours after I started this book, I purchased its sequel, What Happens in Paradise, and I did not leave either book to be enjoyed by strangers at the end of my vacation." —Elisabeth Egan, New York Times

Get ready to be transported back to a nostalgic time in St. John's history when survival meant clearing the land for cattle pastures, cultivating the soil and fishing...all the feed one's family. Seven generations of heartfelt stories of love and loss abound in this family memoir about the US Virgin Islands. Rich in history and heritage, the author shares some of the most memorable stories that have been handed down in her family from generation to generation. "When a prominent St. Thomas merchant accumulates 2,500 acres on the island of St. John to raise cattle and cultivate bay leaves, he has no idea that his generation will be the last to farm the land. During the 1920s to the 1950s, Herman O. Creque's hard work pays off on his estates of Annaberg, Mary's Point, and Lamesure, but at the peak of their profitability, he dies, leaving them all to his wife, Emily. Francis Bay is their children's favorite with almost thirty years of summer memories, fishing, hunting, and crabbing. One day, the beach and summer cottage will be theirs, or so they believe. When two conservationists from the United States, Laurance Rockefeller, and Frank Stick visit the island in 1952, they find the unspoiled nature of Emily's lands enchanting and "wish to preserve them for the enjoyment of the nation." Little do Emily's children suspect that life as they know it is about to change forever, and the unthinkable will tear their family apart. Vintage St. John is a collection of their heartfelt memories woven together from personal interviews. They paint a vivid picture of life before the establishment of the Virgin Islands National Park... and life shortly after." * This memoir Includes a brief history of the Creque Marine Railway on Hassel Island, the ownership of the island of Mingo Cay, Jeffrey Epstein's Little St. James Island, Norman Island and 140 acres of Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands. * Other stories include: Vacationing in Cruz Bay 1955, Memories of working at Caneel Bay 1983, Cultivating onions at Cinnamon Bay 1903, Growing bay leaves at Lamesure Estate for the Bay Rum Industry and the raising of livestock with a new type that originated in St. Croix, called Senepol cattle 1930s. With 200 rare photographs of the Virgin Islands, this memoir is a visual feast for those curious about St. John's history under the Danish and US flags. ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

"A fine art nature book. Show casing the small island of St. John in the United States virgin islands images cover aerials, underwater and land scapes, with an introduction, a historic piece and an article about snorkeling the circumfracs of the island. Along with detailed captions in the back."

St. John & Virgin Islands History. Details from the Bottom of its Existence. St John is a volcanic island, part of a undersea mountain range which includes the larger islands of the Greater Antilles, the Virgin Islands, and the Lesser Antilles. This chain of islands begins with Cuba and ends with Trinidad, off the coast of Venezuela. In St John, there is a clear geologic record that stretches back some 100 million years to the late Cretatious period. This earliest stages of island building began when the major continents were closer together. The people in the Virgin Islands come from all over the world. There are African descendants, the French, who have emigrated from French islands, Puerto Ricans, and transplants from the U.S. Also living here are many "down islanders" and a sizeable number of East Indians. Each of the islands has its own celebration. St. Croix's is in December, St. John's is over July 4th and St. Thomas' is in April. Carnival dates back to when Africans first arrived on the islands. Today Carnival is celebrated with colorful parades, elaborate costumes, music, dancing children, fabulous floats, stilt walking mockojumbies, food fairs filled with West Indian dishes, all-night partying, calypso music and steep pan competitions, beauty pageants and more. The origin of MockoJumbies has been traced to the 13th and 14th centuries. It comes from a central African language meaning "healer." In the English language it means "to mock", meaning imitation, as in false spirits. MockoJumbie, the traditional symbol of Carnival, is the "elevated spirit" on 10 to 20 foot stilts, dressed in bright colors that you see throughout the parade. The origins of mockojumbies come from the traditions of West Africa. When the enslaved Africans were brought to the Caribbean, their religious traditions and observances came with them. But they were forbidden by the European slave masters to practice their religious customs, so they transferred it into a festive context, to disguise it, so to speak. But it was just a camouflage for its true religious meaning.