Check out the grouper my landscaper Alfred Berry caught in the North Drop St. Thomas the other day:

Holy fish Batman, that’s huge! Good job Alfred

Check out Alfred’s Landscaping Company here: http://www.dreamscapesdesigns.com/

Get out to Jack’s this Thursday night July 1st to catch 80′s band Ferrari’s!

Come out to Jack’s each and every Thursday for your chance to win prizes including trips to Puerto Rico, Jost Van Dyke, and St. John.

Other prizes include: Dive trips, sailing charters, snorkeling adventures, and couples’ massages.

LIVE Music starts at 7:30PM.

July 1st – Ferrari’s 80′s Cover Band.

Prizes are drawn every half hour starting at 8PM.
Each guest receives one ticket upon arrival, which gives you the chance to win during each drawing.

Brought to you by STOLICHNAYA VODKA, The Sheraton Old San Juan, Sandcastle Hotel, The St. John Inn, the Hard Rock Cafe PR, The Soggy Dollar Bar, The Crazy Cracker, VI Eco Tours, Jester Sailing Charters, Admiralty Dive Center, The Body Garden, Fury Charters & 104.3 THE BUZZ!

As always, Jack’s is one of our awesome advertisers

After all the rain we’ve received over the last few weeks I’m sure you locals have noticed the massive attack of mosquito’s lately.

They are everywhere!

Here’s what you have to worry about:

Dengue Fever(pronounced Den-gay) is a viral infection caused by the female mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus). Dengue fever occurs in tropical and sub-tropical regions and usually increases in the hot and humid months.

Dengue Fever commences with high fever for 2 to 4 days. Then, the temperature drops rapidly and intense sweating takes place. After about a day with normal temperature and a feeling of well-being, the temperature rises abruptly again. Rashes (small red bumps) show up on the arms, legs and the entire body simultaneously along with fever. However, rashes rarely occur on the face. The palms of the hands and soles of the feet may be swollen and bright red. Although the patient may feel exhausted for several weeks, most cases of dengue take approximately one week to recover. Once a person recovers from dengue, he or she will have antibodies in their bloodstream which will prevent them from having a relapse for about a year.

Read all about it here.

Have you visited our USVI Social Network Love To Lime? Check it out, sign up, create your profile and connect to the only USVI Social Network.

Register here: http://lovetolime.com/register/

Click the photo

Someone just started a new group on our new Love To Lime Network called Playa’s Club. It’s basically a group for parents with children to arrange play dates at the beach, BBQ’s etc. It’s a great idea!

Click here and sign up for the group so you can have playdates for your kids

The web address is: http://lovetolime.com/groups/playas-club/

That is the question…

Many of our friends are in the restaurant business and Nicci is a waitress. So the topic comes up often.

I have a heated debate going here, read more and leave your opinion here.

It’s that time of the…Sunday. It’s Sombrero Sunday this Sunday at the Caribbean Saloon. Sombrero Sunday’s have become quite the event and the Mexican food is caliente! But wait there’s more…you get Sex Machine Gun!

Welcome to Love To Lime, our social network (like Facebook) dedicated soley to the US Virgin Islands.

http://www.lovetolime.com!

Here locals from St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and Water Island can socialize with people they live with and meet island hopping.

It’s also a great place for tourists to get info on our islands as well as anyone looking to move here. All the islands are quite different, trust me

So tell all your friends to sign up because this is VI MASSIVE!

Head over to http://www.lovetolime.com and create your profile today! It’s like Facebook only it’s for the US Virgin Islands.

Come out to Jack’s each and every Thursday for your chance to win prizes including trips to Puerto Rico, Jost Van Dyke, and St. John!!

Other prizes include:Dive trips, sailing charters, snorkeling adventures,and couples’ massages

LIVE Music starts at 7:30PM.

June 24 – Barefoot Davis & Becca Darling.

Prizes are drawn every half hour starting at 8PM.
Each guest receives one ticket upon arrival, which gives you the chance to win during each drawing.

Brought to you by STOLICHNAYA VODKA, The Sheraton Old San Juan, Sandcastle Hotel, The St. John Inn, the Hard Rock Cafe PR, The Soggy Dollar Bar, The Crazy Cracker, VI Eco Tours, Jester Sailing Charters, Admiralty Dive Center, The Body Garden, Fury Charters & 104.3 THE BUZZ!

On the tail of celebrating new Kokopelli I figured I’d give you some info on the movie cinema that sits right next door (well, there’s a gym inbetween…).

Sit back and relax kids, because the history of our favorite (read: ONLY) movie theater is nothing if not thrilling.

Caribbean Cinemas is the only major movie theater chain in Puerto Rico (after a competitor, CineVista, shut down around 2008-ish). The cinema chain expanded throughout the Caribbean and is currently playing movies in Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, St. Kittls, St. Lucia, Antigua, Trinidad & Tobago and, of course, St. Thomas. I dug a little and found out Caribbean Cinemas officially opened on STT in June of 1999 with 7 theaters. The other theater on the island, Cinema One, shut down two years later.

While 26 theaters in Puerto Rico (and one on St. Maarten) are showing movies in 3D the St. Thomas chain is not. (score one for the mainland). However, I’ve been to the snack bar and ordered an armful of goodies and been shocked SHOCKED to have it ring in under $20, unlike the mainland where you have to take out a small loan to snack up a family (score one for the island!).

These movies were  playing in St. Thomas as of last Wednesday (click to enlarge, as always…):

Shrek has been replaced by Toy Story 3. We did have Iron Man 2, not sure for how long. We never got Sex/City 2 (but from what I’ve heard that’s not a bad thing, although I’d still like to see it. Oh well).

St. Thomas is listed as USVI Market Square on the website - to find out what’s currently playing click here, and sorry visitors – there’s no purchasing of tickets online, you have to hit the box office window just like the old days.

I’m so happy Pat and Jen bought Kokopelli! It used to be one of our favorite places on the island and for a while things weren’t so great but now we have new owners and they’ve made some really nice changes!

First off they changed the decor to a more pleasant look and feel and completely re-did the bar. Then they tackled the menu. The old favs are still on there but now they have some great new stuff as well.

Check it out:

Appetizers

House Made Hummus: Garbanzo Bean Spread Served with Pita Chips  $6.50   Choose Original or Red Pepper.  Add Tomato Onion Salsa for $2.50  Add Lamb or Chicken for $5.00

House Made Baba Ganoush: Eggplant and Garlic Served with Pita Chips $9.50

House Made Tzatziki: Cucumber Yogurt served with Pita Chips $9.50

Garlic Mozzarella Koko Buns: 3 Homemade Rolls stuffed with fresh minced Garlic and Mozzarella, oven baked $7.50 Add Meat for $3.00

Spinach & Artichoke Dip: Topped with Mozzarella and baked off $9.50

Chicken Fingers: Served with Marinara, Ranch, or Honey Mustard $8.00

Chicken Wings: Served with your Choice of Mild, Hot, or BBQ Sauce    Your Choice of 10 wings $9.00 or 20 $17.00

Spanakopita: Spinach and Feta wrapped in Filo then baked in the oven, served with Kalamata and Pepperoncini’s $9.50

Mediterranean Platters: Platter for Two includes Hummus, Tzatziki, Baba Ganoush and served with pita chips $13.00, Platter for Three includes Hummus, Tzatziki, Baba Ganoush, Falafel, and Spanakopita $18.00

Soup: Enjoy Our Fresh Homemade Soups served to order with a Warm Koko Bun. We make Black Bean Soup Daily or ask about our special soup of the day. This Soup even Mom could love. Cup $5.00 Bowl $8.00

Salads                                                         

House Salad: Italian style, with Fresh Romaine Lettuce, Red Onion, and Tomato, Tossed with our Home style Parmesan Mozzarella House Vinaigrette Half $5.00 Full $8.00

Caesar Classico: Romaine Hearts with Garlic Baked Croutons, Tossed in our famous Caesar Dressing Half $5.00 Full $8.00

Greek Salad: Tomatoes, Artichokes, Red Onions, Kalamata Olives, and Feta Cheese all tossed with Romaine in our own Red Wine Vinaigrette Half $8.00 Full $12.00

Ranch Chicken Salad: Breaded Chicken, Tomato & Onion Salsa, Shredded Cheddar, and Mozzarella, all tossed with Romaine in our Cool Ranch Dressing and topped with Crispy Pita Wontons $12.00

Mediterranean Salad: Romaine tossed with a Chipotle Ranch Dressing, topped with Beef, Black Beans, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Tomato Onion, Served with fresh Pita Chips $14.00

 All Salads are made To Order and served with a Fresh Koko Bun. Add Lamb, Chicken, Pepperoni, Ham, Or Shrimp to any Salad for a small additional fee.

Wraps and Sandwiches

Grilled Chicken Wrap: Grilled Chicken, Tomato Onion Salsa, Bell Peppers, Provolone Cheese, Topped with Aioli, Wrapped and finished Panini Style $9.00

Kickin’ Chicken: Enjoy your choice of Chicken Breast or Breaded Chicken, Bacon, Tomato Onion Salsa, Provolone, and Baked, then Wrapped with Romaine and Cool Ranch Dressing $9.00

Lamb, Chicken, or Falafil Gyro’s: Authentic Middle-Eastern wrap served with Tzatziki, Tomato Onion Salsa, and Tahini $9.50

Chicken Quesadilla: Grilled Chicken, Fresh Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheeses, with Chipotle Aioli, Tomato Onion Salsa, Baked and Served with Our Home Made Black Beans and Sour Cream $10.00

Shrimp Quesadilla: Fresh Shrimp, Fresh Mozzarella and Cheddar Cheeses, with Chipotle Aioli, Tomato Onion Salsa, Baked and Served with Our Home Made Black Beans and Sour Cream $14.00

Grilled Portabella Wrap: Fresh Portabella Mushrooms, Spinach, Onions, Peppers, Feta, Provolone Cheese, with a splash of Pesto Aioli $9.50

Greek Wrap: Hummus, Artichoke, Olives, Peppers, Tomato Onion Salsa, and Feta, add a splash of Pesto Aioli, wrap and finish Panini style $10.00

Salmon Wrap: Fresh Atlantic Salmon Baked, Cream Cheese, Onion, Peppers, Spinach, Tomato Onion Salsa, Chipotle Aioli $10.00

Koko Burger: All Beef Pattie grilled to temperature of choice. Served with choice of Cheese and all the dressings with French Fries $11.00

Add Fries or Salad to any Wrap and make it a filling meal made with the Freshest ingredients for $2.00 or add a soda and make it a combo for $3.00 

Stromboli & Calzones

Stromboli                                                                                                                                                                                                  The Traditional Stromboli, prepared with our fresh Dough, stuffed with Ham, Salami, Pepperoni, Sausage, and Beef, with Mozzarella Cheese. Served with a side of Marinara Sauce $12.00

Calzone Classico: The Traditional Italian Classic, starting with fresh Dough, Stuffed with a three Cheese blend the folded over and baked. Served with a side of Marinara $10.50 or customize it with three toppings $12.00

Pasta and Entrees

Spaghetti and Meatballs: Home style comfort food, Served with our Fresh Sweet Basil Marinara Sauce and served with a Koko Bun. $8.00 Half Order $12.00 Full Order      

Penne Alfredo: Made with Kokopelli’s Creamy Garlic Sauce. Served with a Koko Bun $8.00 Half Order $14.00 Full Order, Add Chicken $4.00 or Shrimp or Salmon $6.00

Chicken Parmigiana: Breaded Chicken Breast Pan Fried, then, baked off in the oven, topped with Sweet Basil Marinara and Cheese. Serves over a bed of Linguine with a Koko Bun $10.00 Half Order $17.00 Full Order 

Pesto Penne: Served with your choice of a Garlic Oil Herb or in a Creamy Sauce. Served over a bed of Penne and a Koko Bun $7.00 Half Order $13.00 Full Order

Honey Breaded Chicken: Crispy Fried Chicken with a hint of Honey in the Batter. Chose Three Pieces $6.00 Six Pieces $10.00 or Nine $14.00 Add Fries $2.00

Half Rotisserie Chicken (NEW): Half of a Rotisserie Chicken Served with choice of Rice or French Fries, and Vegetables $16.00

Mahi Mahi (NEW): Oven Baked Mahi in a White Wine, Butter Sauce, served with Rice or French Fries and Vegetables $18.00

Rib Eye (NEW): 16 oz and Grilled to Perfection, Served with Baked Potato and Vegetables $21.00                                     

We invite you to add Chicken to any Pasta Dish for $5.00 or Salmon or Shrimp for $7.00. All parties of Six or More are Subject to a 20% Gratuity. We offer Free Wi-Fi to customers who Purchase Food and Drinks.

Gourmet Pizza

Pizza By The Slice: Cheese $3.00, Pepperoni $4.00, Veggie $4.00

Traditional Cheese Pizza: Cheese Pizza with our House Made Tomato Sauce. $11.00 Individual $19.00 18 inch

Garden Vegetable: A Medley of Fresh Garden Vegetables topped with Mozzarella $14.00 Individual $25.00 18 inch

La Margarita: Fresh Plum Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Garlic and Mozzarella $14.00 Individual $25.00 18 inch

Spinach and Broccoli: Garlic Herb Oil Base, Spinach, Broccoli, Mozzarella, and Feta Cheese $15.00 Individual $26.00 18 inch

Pesto: Garlic Herb Oil Base, Tomato Onion Salsa, and Fresh Pesto, lightly topped with Mozzarella. Chef recommends adding Shrimp or Chicken to this House Favorite $14.00 Individual $25.00 18 inch

Black and Blue: Garlic Herb Oil Base, topped with Parmesan Cheese, Eggplant, Fresh Spinach, Blue Cheese, and Mozzarella $15.00 Individual $26.00 18 inch

Viva Italia: Spinach, Hot Italian Sausage, and Pepperoni, topped with Mozzarella $15.00 Individual $26.00 18 inch    

Meat Lover: Beef, Hot Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Ham, and Chicken $15.00 Individual $26.00 18 inch

BBQ Chicken: Green Peppers, Red Onions, Sweet Plantains, in our Mango Chipotle BBQ Sauce, topped with Provolone and Mozzarella $16.00 Individual $27.00 18 inch

Every, ”ting”  Pizza: Pepperoni, Hot Italian Sausage, Meatballs, Bacon, and a Medley of Fresh Garden Vegetables. $16.00 Individual $27.00 18 inch 

Hawaiian Pizza: Chose either Ham or Bacon for this new age classic, add pineapple $12.00 Individual $24.00 18 inch

We invite you to build your own new classic with a variety of toppings to choose from.

Vegetables include Tomato, Spinach, Mushroom, Onions, Peppers, Broccoli, Black Olives, Jalapeño, Pepperocini, Pineapple, Artichoke, Eggplant $2.50 Individual $4.00 18 inch

Meats include Beef, Hot Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Meatballs, Ham, Bacon, Chicken, Anchovies    $3.50 Individual $5.00 18 inch

Seafood includes Shrimp, Salmon $5.50 Individual $7.50 18 inch

We also offer a whole wheat crust for any Individual Pizza’s for $2.00

At Kokopelli’s we are dedicated to providing you with the best service on the island. We look forward to continuing the time honored tradition of fresh ingredients, home style cooking and providing a fun, comfortable atmosphere for the whole family. Whether on your way to the movies, the grocery store or just stopping by for takeout, let us make your experience better by telling us know if there is anything we can do to make your next experience more enjoyable. Thank you for stopping by and spending time with us!

Relax and Enjoy,

The Kokopelli Family

I like the new menu items like Rib Eye, Mahi-Mahi and Rotisserie Chicken! I can personally vouche for the chicken and it was yummy.

There are more surprises coming your way from Kokopelli so stay tuned. And you can check them out on Facebook as well, click here.

Some shots of the ‘rushing rapids’ seen on the roads of the Northside today…coming down Crown Mountain. Water rolls downhill (like you didn’t know) and flows down both sides of the road in curved cement side-of-the-road-runways (I’m sure there’s a technical term for it). Unless there’s nothing but hill on the side in which case it just flies out wherever it can – through bushes, down driveways, etc. There are also a few areas where rocks have tumbled down and spilled onto the road creating another minor obstacle. (click to enlarge any photo)

A little downward swoop area on our road – the picture doesn’t do it justice, we watched an SUV go through before us and I seriously thought it would float away, all tires were immersed at the same time.

The ocean, losing some of it’s blue with all of the runoff. We didn’t go into town, but I’m sure there were some flooded areas as flat as it is and with all the water in the hills flowing down all day. Rain remains in the forecast…

To all the great dads out there, like mine, I hope you enjoy a day of dad-stuff…whatever that entails.

I know what St. Thomas dads are doing today…watching our island get absolutely DRENCHED. It poured yesterday and it’s pouring today. The good news? Pools are topped off, cars are getting a nice fresh-water cleanse, cisterns are most likely now full and flowers and plants are happy.

The bad? No beach day for dad, or anyone else.

Plus the cloud cover is really screwing with our satellite. Boo

Just completed attorney Leigh Goldman’s website design, you can see it here: Leigh Goldman Law.

I’ve also recently completed The Parrot Club in St. John and radio station The Buzz 104.3, click on them to check them out.

If you’re in need of a website design that you can maintain and use after I design it send me an email: scott@stthomasblog.com.

We have finally been approved from our condo association to install our solar. It took a copy of the new VI Law and two smart board members voting yes to allow us:

§1156. Prohibited Conveyances for Solar and Wind Systems

(a) Any covenant, condition, or restriction contained in any deed, contract, mortgage, security instrument, or other instrument pertaining to a conveyance, sale or transfer of real property or interest therein which prohibits or unreasonably limits the installation or use of a solar or wind energy shall be void and unenforceable.

(b) A covenant, condition, or restriction is considered “unreasonable” for the purpose of this chapter if the covenant, condition or restriction increases the cost and expense of the solar or wind energy system to its owner or user, or it decreases its efficiency, or otherwise effectively discourages the installation or use of a solar or wind energy system.

Full law can be found here: http://www.vienergy.org/menubar/Act7075.pdf

I had already put our deposit down with Solar Jeff from St. John He’s delivering all the solar stuff next week. So here’s what we got cookin’:

1. Solar Pool Pump: We’re buying 3 – 200 Watt PV panels from Pro Forma Solar in St. John and a Lorentz DC Pool Pump, Controller, DC Disconnect with lighting arrestor.

Solar Jeff (Jeff Smith) will be installing everything. The solar panels are wind rated for 140MPH.

A 2HP/240 Volt pool pump costs about a dollar an hour to run. Depending on the size of the pool, our 3 panels will create DC electricity that is fed through a control module to a DC pump. When the sun shines the pump runs. This “direct drive” operation requires no batteries or inverter.

I figure we’ll save somewhere around $200-$250/month in WAPA costs

2. Solar Water Heater: I’m buying the 80 Gallon Tank and 4×10 Solar Panel from Altona Trading and Solar Jeff will be installing. Here’s how it works (click to enlarge):

And here is the 4×10 panel:

Solar water-heating provides one of the best return on investment of any alternative energy option.

Operating a 240 Volt water-heater is a very inefficient use of electricity. With our abundance of sunlight here in the islands, solar thermal collection is the logical choice. As much as 20% of a typical residential electric bill can be saved in this way. The best solar water-heater is a PV-powered, open-loop circulation system. Water stored in a tank in the pump-room is passed through a thermal collector panel on the roof by means of a low-voltage circulation pump.

I figure we’ll save about $95-$125/month from my WAPA bill

Between the two solar options we should save $295-$375/month! Currently our average WAPA Bill is $580/month so I’m hoping to see a 50% reduction.

The total costs after rebates for both options is $7,600 and at an assumed savings of $325/month we should have payback in 23 months

We’ll keep you posted on actual numbers after the systems are installed.