How did you get "here"?

[PSUWethr]

Hmm, lets see. Mom and dad first went in 1974 and stayed at Caneel. They went back and took me in 1994 and we have gone at least once a year since. Trip #21 is in May....

Found the board a while ago, even before this newer format. Not sure how, I think I googled

[ShipwreckPat]

Hubby and I were lucky enough to have both been granted work permits in Bermuda and 3 year contracts.
Like the BVI, you are brought in to train someone to
do a job that there are not enough locals to do. At the end of 3 years, my trainee was ready to go and I lost my work permit. Oh my it was just horrible being a beach bum in Bermuda for a few months while a new permit was being arranged by my employer! Joking on
that point but it did make us think about our future and returning to NJ was just not option. We decided we wanted to remain islanders and began a quest for a business. Sent letters to Chambers of Commerce on all
the island we would consider living on. This was an incredible social studies experiment and we received many replies, from small hot dog stands on the beach to mega million dollar resorts.

We were in the process of negotiating for a restaurant
in Anguilla when we were contacted by a St John real
estate agent. Even though we had never even visited
any of the USVI, the idea of working in the good ol
USA again yet still being in the Caribbean was very
appealing. No more work permits made a lot of sense
and the rest as they say is history. June 2009 will make us here 16 years. And they really did say we would never last.We made 2 promises that day, one that we would never put in a TV and that we would never put paper umbrellas in our drinks.

The forum found me when Sherban was looking to put us on his aerial map. I never did say thank you to him but I am very happy to be here and seeing my home
through all your eyes. I have never taken it for granted again.

Shipwreck Pat

[BillVT]

While we struggled with our careers, brought up 2 children and renovated an old school house in VT our best friends, a bit older than us, where able to explore the Caribbean as their business thrived and they were able to get away from it finally.  But as best friends they always had time for us and our children, theirs having grown and moved on.  When they discovered St John they stayed at Maho Bay with their “older friends” and fell in love with the island.  When they came back they began staying at Serindip.  Then as they got off the ferry one day from and excursion on St Thomas they were accosted by a time share salesman who offered them a bottle of rum if they came up to look at the Sunset Ridge timeshares.  I’m thinking this is around 1995 & ’96 the years of Marylin and Hugo. 
When they were finally able to stay at their timeshare it was 1997 and they brought us.  It was close to our 20 year wedding anniversary so they gave us their master suite.  Like I said, they were our best friends.  Of course we fell in love with the island.  In the course of the years we’ve stayed frequently at SRV, the Coral Bay area, the South Shore and Cruz bay.  Our daughter was married in the twilight on Trunk Bay in 2003.  Now there is another generation hooked.
 
I think I found this forum when I went looking for information about how late Skinny’s served food because we would be arriving a little late one year.  This was in the format previous to this one.  And then it became a habit to check back frequently after finding all these people who loved the place as much as us.
 
This year we are new owners at SRV and returning with only one of our friends.  We had been able to get our friend Richard, who had contracted Parkinson’s, down for the last two years but around Christmas, tired of the struggle, he passed away.  It will be different without him but we will have a few Pain Killers for him for sure. 

For any of the old Timers, was the bar at the top of Pusser’s called the Crow’s Nest?  And wasn’t it a great place to watch the ferrys pull in?

[BillnSue]

1.)I "found" STJ in 1985 on my honeymoon with my ex-. My sis had had her honeymoon at Caneel's sister resort and my parents had started coming to STJ many years before...begining in the year that Caneel first opened...their recommendations brought me to this beautiful gift that I now love so deeply. After several "chilly" years in school with no visits, I began coming back , usually 3 times a year, in 1989.
2.) We found the forum during a search for "St John Blogs" after returning from STJ in December. We were desperate to stay in touch and feel what we had just left behind. Sue and I brought our three adult girls, their respective guys and had a wonderful stay at Acqua Blu that week. On Christmas night, with the "kids" gathered around, I asked Sue to marry me...she said YES! We had hoped to return this month, but finances tell me that I need to do a bit of work (ewwww) first.
It's so nice to stay in touch. The forum has been a wonderful find for us!

[ready4paradise]

1. We went on a cruise in March of 2005 that stopped off in St. Thomas. We had already been to St. Thomas before. We did the City Tour and Coki Beach, all the taxi drivers said if you come back you need to go over to St. John. It was 2/3 National Park. That really sounded to good to be true, so we had to check it out. We went over on a day cruise boat to Trunk Bay, the beauty was so breath taking we wanted to come back to stay. We had a chance to take another trip in August 2005, so we decided to come back to St. John and stay at the Westin for a week. Well the island and the Westin got their hooks in us, and we bought a time share. So now we have time every year in July.

2. I found this forum while I was on that "other" forum in 2006. People are rude and fight way to much over there. I like the friendly feeling here. Everyone is very happy and helpful.

[kellyanna]

wontongirl.

[madness]

Back in 1997, I worked at a tiny (75') ski hill so that I could ski for free at the big ski hill. At the end of the season party, I met my husband. The following year there was a new employee at the ski hill (same reason - ski for free), and as the season was winding down, he says to me "I understand you and beau like sailing. I have a house on St. John, and you guys might like to visit sometime." It turns out that my husband's uncle had stayed in the house for the previous three years!! He gave us a deal on an October rental, we were married down there, and have been down several times since.

How I found the board?? Who knows. Another google queen. There was a board moderated by Gina, that talked about a board moderated by Anthony. I had to find that board, and here you are. I love reading posts here, and I always end up here on Friday for the TGIF beach picture. Thanks Captain.

[Barb Y]

My Mom and Step-father were staying on STT and invited me down when they got upgraded due to a flood in the original room. While there we took a day trip over to STJ and that was it. Honeymoon was my first beach and first sting ray. I've been hooked since.

Found the forum while doing searches for info on STJ.

[toes in the sand]

1) Cruise ship excursion in 1980something. Snorkeled Trunk Bay. Fell in love. Returned 1990something for our first villa stay.

2)Google I think, while looking for a villa in 1997

[piscesgirl0314]

In 2003 my husband and I decided we wanted a destination wedding...NO desire to get married in a church with all the fluff...My parents have done a LOT of sailing in the BVI and loved it...so I did some research and LOVED the fact that St John was very small with lots of beachs and not wall to wall hotels and resorts, no night clubs, movie theaters or chain restaurants...I saw pictures and loved how quaint it was...AND the fact that its a US territory was a bonus. We started our life together on St John and will continue to visit, god willing...our 7 year old daughter is in love with the island like us and can't wait to return in June...