david's island blog

If you have looked at the guest book pages of our website you will see repeated references to the spectacular views from Palladio’s View. There are, of course, excellent views from many villas on St. John. However, what makes Palladio’s View special in this regard is the way in which the design of the villa accentuates the views.

I'm sitting at Palladio's View as I write this. We visit PV several times a year. At those times I look at the comments that guests have written in our guest book since our last visit, and transcribe the comments that guests have made about our home into this website. It is very gratifying to see so many folks from so many different places describe the pleasure they have had staying here.

The United States acquired what are now the Virgin Islands of the United States (USVI) from Denmark in 1917. The USVI was administered by the Department of the Navy from 1917 to 1931, when responsibility for administration was transferred to the Department of the Interior. In that year President Herbert Hoover appointed Barbara's maternal grandfather, Paul M. Pearson, as the USVI's first civilian governor. He served in that position until 1935.

If you're going to be on St. John during the winter months, you might want to consider signing up for a Friends of the Park seminar. You can see descriptions of the 2008 seminars at http://www.friendsvinp.org/Programs/seminars.htm.

If you would like to learn about St. John's past, check out the St. John Historical Society's website, http://www.stjohnhistoricalsociety.org/.

Many houses on St John have names. Some names identify the owners. Some suggest the house's location, or history. During the several years between our purchase of the land where our house sits and the completion of construction, we considered many names, some of our own imaginings and some recommended by friends. We considered names that related to our Quaker affiliation (e.g., Friends Meeting) or location or vegitation (Calabash Hill, Tamarind Grove).

Look for upcoming posts about Palladio's View, Barbara's garden and happenings on St. John.