Wednesday, otherwise known as “the day I saw Kenny Chesney from 5 feet away.” It was bound to happen eventually right? He has a house on the island, we visit as much as possible, Philip already spotted him once before. You would think it would be easy! It hasn’t been easy to see him while on island and you know what? I’m glad. It’s his haven, his place to unwind and I would never want to disturb him. However, if the babysitter calls and says he is gonna be at open mic night at Sun Dog Cafe at 7:45pm then you better believe I made my friends show up at 5:30pm! We had to get a good seat after all! Thankfully, Sun Dog Cafe serves a delicious Mahi sandwich in a beautiful open air setting as part of the twists and turns of a shopping complex called Mongoose Junction. Mongoose has many restaurants and shops intertwined with palms, flowers and beautiful stone steps. As many times as I’ve been there, I always get lost and I LOVE it. It is the coolest little shopping area on the planet.
Photo Credit: MongooseJunctionStJohn.com
Anyway, back to KENNY! We sat down at a little table and had some dinner while we waited. Open Mic Night was already going on with Miss Ingrid singing as well as another local named, Lauren, who hosts the Open Mic Nights. They both had amazing voices and made for great dinner music. We also had a visit from the neighboring table’s dog, who in one bite ate Philip’s entire sandwich bun. What a pig! Only in St. John was this funny and would result in a lengthy convo with the neighbors.
Then, as time was nearing, my very sneaky ninja friend, Jenny, quietly gets up from her seat and moves closer to where Miss Ingrid was singing. (Did I mention she is also the one that got the phone call about Kenny and had to convince us it was true for at least 20 minutes…she is sneaky like that!) Next thing I know, I am running up to stand beside her and out comes my favorite singer!! Right there!! Literally five feet from me. You know what? It was cool, like super cool. He sang only one song…Old Blue Chair…but I swear we were there for a whole concert. The audience of locals and visitors were all expressing their love, admiration and support for everything he had done for St. John as he sang. I could see healing in peoples faces. I could see their spirits lift and their smiles get bigger. It solidified what I LOVE about St. John and that is the people….and one of those people just happens to be Kenny Chesney.
For more information on what Kenny has done for St. John and the Virgin Islands thru his foundation, check out Kenny Chesney’s Love For Love City