Exploring off-the-beaten-path destinations can add an exciting element to any vacation, offering a chance to discover hidden gems and creating unforgettable memories. Robbie and Gina Johnson seek those experiences at their favorite location in St. John Virgin Islands as a regular retreat get away.
One of those out-of-the-way beaches in St. John Is Oppenheimer Beach where the Johnsons found their way early one morning to “snag one of four parking spots at the beach.” Interestingly enough, East Tennessee has other connections to this beach.
History reads that Robert Gibney, a New York City writer, bought 40 acres of land including that beach area but due to financial hardship, sold acreage which included that beach in 1957 to Robert Oppenheimer, the atomic scientist overseeing the Los Alamos location of the Manhattan Project and who was known as the “the father of the atomic bomb.” Of course, Oak Ridge was another location of the Manhattan Project, thereby my reference to other loose East Tennessee connections to Oppenheimer Beach.
Oppenheimer built the yellow house for his wife and daughter as a vacation home and lived there after he retired. After his daughter’s death in 1976, she left the land to the people of St. John for a public park and recreation, where it is a community center today.
Petroglyphs “Do you see the face carved by the Tainos?”
Another interesting trek in St. John’s outlying countryside was mentioned also by friend Beverly McMahan when she posted a picture of The Reef Trail petroglyphs which are a group of Taino petroglyph carvings found in the national park on the island.
The Johnsons’ plans for other beach days on the island are for more remote and untrampled seaside hideaways which sounds like the best vacation ever!
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