Love for Love City

In October 2006, my husband and I jumped off a cliff and commenced building a home in St. John, USVI - also known as Love City. Like many others who took on this adventure, we ran out of money and time, and have been working to complete it ever since. The house is still not finished. Today, we are heading to Love City to see our half-baked home, and I have to say I am a bit anxious about it.

St. John is such a breathtaking place, with two-thirds of the island designated as a national park. While it may not be the home away from home that Casco, Maine has become, it is a special place for me and the Husband. Last September, Love City was pummeled by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, as were the remaining USVI and British VI. My husband is a builder by trade and built the crap out of our house. While houses that surrounded us were either blown to the ground or severely damaged, our little house stood up to the wrath and came out relatively unscathed. I say relatively because, although our house remained standing with the roof in tack, a piece of debris from our neighbor’s house, which was utterly destroyed, pierced through our roof creating a hole. Unfortunately, this hole went undetected until the Husband was able to fly down to see the house in late October 2017. Thankfully, I purchased extra roofing material back in 2007 when he actually put on the roof, so he was able to make the repairs before returning back home. We were so lucky – so many people lost everything.

Still, due to the water intrusion, we had significant water damage, and today we will face the music. We will deal with the aftermath of the storm, both inside and outside of the house, and for me, I will endeavor not to panic. The island may be bruised and battered, but its physical beauty and the incredible fortitude of its residents still shine.

The last time I was in St John, April 2017, I learned that my father was stricken with esophageal cancer. I fled its shores for those of Long Island so that I could stand next to my father as he battled cancers demons. I am ready to return now, with the Husband by my side, to help heal wounds of a different sort. I know we face a lot of work and some heartache, but Love City has a way of soothing the soul.

A bit more on our St. John journey can be found on the Welcome page for my website secondhalfandbeyond.com. Have an awesome weekend folks!