Every year the island of St. John holds the World’s Smallest St. Patricks Day Parade. For the second year in a row, The Beach Bar is the host. Jaguar was asked to play the after-parade party this year. Since we started playing at 12:30 PM, we had to wake up early, eat a quick breakfast, and load everything in our cars by 9 AM. This would allow us to make the 10 AM ferry to St. John.
Everyone was awake by 8 AM, except we couldn’t find Jason. I finally found him sleeping on the balcony. Now that is a room with a view! We made the ferry in plenty of time. We headed to St. John for Jaguar’s first performance in 2 years. We also had not rehearsed in 2 years. We thought, what’s the worst that could happen?
We set up the gear just in time. Meanwhile, Debra got to see her first St. John’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. In most parades, the participants throw bead necklaces and candy from the trucks to the spectators. Well, as we know, things are a little different in the Virgin Islands. While watching the parade, Debra got hit in the head by a beer can! Yep, they throw cans of beer from the Heineken truck. Thankfully, the Jameson truck was next. She did get a shot of whiskey from the Jameson truck, so I guess that helped numb the pain. Best St. Patricks Day Parade ever!
The after-parade party was a blast. We played 3 jumping sets.
We were amazed all the St. Thomas friends that came over to see us. Here is a list of the friends I remember. Let me know if I missed anyone.
| Pricilla Lynn from Street Level VI | Bill Crique and Christy Mitchell |
| Walter and Becky from Everlong Excursions | Suzi Grbinich |
| Paul Perkins | Judy Houston |
| Lolly Bridges | Ken & Charmagne |
| Susan Kinder |
After we were done playing and packing away the equipment, Sherry and Reed (owners of the Beach Bar) treated us to an authentic Irish corn beef and cabbage dinner. Everyone agreed it was the best we ever tasted. EVER! Sherry told us it was her special recipe and the food was made onsite. OH MY GOD, she and the staff knocked it out of the park.
The band that laughs together, stays together.
After that fabulous dinner, we took the 5 PM ferry back to St. Thomas to get provisions and check in to our villa. Shopping at the Food Center is always an adventure. Debra and Rick love the selection and prices. Who wouldn’t love a place called Food Mart? $400 later we were headed to Casa de Jaguar for the week. This was our first stay on St. Thomas since 2020. Our rental has a beautiful view of Charlotte Amalie and was just up the hill by Frenchman’s Reef. It was a cozy 4 bedroom villa with a pool, a view, 2 cats, and chickens. We were very happy that this would be Jaguar’s headquarters for the remainder of our trip. Very happy.
Now that’s a house with a view
We unloaded the cars, assigned rooms, and we all gravitated to the pool. It was a great place to relax and reflect on the whirlwind of the past 2 days. This was the after party after-party. It was great friends enjoying a great view. We could not be happier.