Debra and I met Walter and Becky of Everlong Excursions in 2023 when they contacted me and asked if they could take Debra and I on a jeep tour. We spent the day with them. They are now our friends for life. As soon as the 2025 Jaguar dates were booked I called Walter and said let’s take the band on a jeep tour of St. John. He said no and hung up the phone. Just kidding. He said “Me, Becky and 2 jeeps. Let’s do it!” Walter and Becky came and picked us up at Casa de Jaguar bright and early. We mounted up and drove to the ferry. Walter, Chris and Jason in “The Beast”. Becky, Debra, Rick and I in “The Survivor”. Our first stop was the Windmill Bar. No, not because we needed to get our drink on. It was for the spectacular view. Oh my god Becky… look at that view!
Our next stop on the tour was the Catherineberg Estate Ruins. One of the first significant slave rebellions in the New World occurred on St. John. The Catherineberg Estate, also known as the Hammer Farm, served as the headquarters for the African slaves who took over the island for six months in 1773. Today, this former sugar and rum factory is known as the Catherineberg Ruins. Located within Virgin Islands National Park, this historic site includes the ruins of an impressive windmill tower that’s almost four stories tall, a factory, still, horse mill and a stable. Visiting the sugar plantation ruins has been on my wife’s bucket list for a few years. Well let’s cross that off her list. It truly was a site to see.
Our next stop was the Skinny Legs restaurant in Coral Bay for lunch. Their famous hamburgers are legendary. Oh my god Becky…look at that burger. Everyone agreed these were really, really good burgers. Really Good Burgers. After lunch our next stop was Hansen Bay Beach for some much needed St. John beach time. Man, did it hit the spot. It was a nice, quiet beach off the side of the road. We all got wet. Chris even got to do some quick snorkeling. He is amazing with one good leg.
We left Hansen Bay and raced to catch the 4:30 car ferry back to St. Thomas. We made the ferry and then Walter and Becky took us back to our house. What a great day. What a great experience. What a great way to spend the time with great friends. This is what makes the islands so special. The people that live here.
Cheers to the car ferry back to St. Thomas
Deb and I got cleaned up and headed to dinner. Bill Creque and Christy Mitchell asked us to meet them for dinner at Cuvee. It’s a fancy little restaurant in Charlotte Amalie. We met Bill in 2020 when the band came down and we rented cars from him. We have remained friends ever since. Jason asked us if we could drop him off at Taphus on the way. Willow Hill, a band from Nashville was playing and Jason loves country music. We dropped Jason off and we met Bill and Christy. We had a wonderful dinner. The food was excellent. Bill and Christy are the best! On the way home we stopped at The Taphas to pick up Jason and listen to Willow Hill. We had met them in 2023 when they came to see us play at the Beach Bar on St. Patrick’s day. They are amazing. I told Alexandra that Jaguar was now the 3rd best band on the island. She laughed but I think she knew I was right. I am so glad we got the meet and greet. It was a great day because we got to spend time with wonderful people.
