Day 21 "Fun in the Sun"
We were pleasantly surprised when we opened our eyes this morning to a few clouds and intermittant sunshine. We were actually expecting more rain as per the forecasts, so this indeed was a nice treat!
David cooked breakfast in the condo and after a short time we were off to Karakter on Simpson Bay Beach to spend the day with friends. We met up with Todd and MJ, Piper and Brant, Georgia and David and also met some other people there who actively read TTOL. It was interesting that they recognized most of us from our pictures here. They were very nice folks and I encouraged them to sign up and join the TTOL family, so hope they do!
Our group all gathered together at a large table and had a most enjoyable lunch there. The grilled mahi mahi, quich with zuccini with goat cheese, and crab cakes were the selections chosen and fresh apple pie and ice cream for dessert. All the meals were delicious and the service was fast and friendly. A couple of buckets of beer, wine and guavaberry cocktails were the freshments of the day. It was a lovely day spent with good friends on a beautiful piece of paradise. The sun shone brightly for most of the day and around 3:00 P.M. we decided to leave and go back to the condo to shower and get ready for the events of the evening.
We were meeting our beach buddies for a little farewell party at the Dream Bar at Caravanserai to start the evening. Elaine and Annie also joined us and we all had a very nice time! While we were there a large shower descended upon us and we all moved INSIDE the bar at Marty's request so we could stay out of the rain. First time ever that we partied with the owner in his space! It was hilarious to see Marty mixing the drinks as he tried to work around about 30 of us. He sure is a wonderful guy! Thanks Marty for all the laughs and good times during the last three weeks!
We had been invited out to dinner tonight by the owner of the condo where we were staying at Son Risa. They arrived on the island on the week-end and wanted to show their appreciation for how we handled a couple of the incidents that I spoke of earlier in my reports. They are a lovely couple and are very concerned about everything being right for their clients. This gesture was certainly not expected, but very much appreciated. We have enjoyed our time here so much and this was the icing on the cake!
We met them at Pineapple Pete's at 7:30 P.M. and enjoyed a lovely meal together. We started with a nice bottle of red wine and I chose the coconut shrimp in a mango sauce served with rice and mixed vegetables and David chose the garlic scallops with the same sides. The others chose chicken and pork tenderloin. All the meals were very good and of course the service there is always top notch! Ziggy was our server and was entertaining as usual. Pierre stopped by to check on everything as the attentive owner he is. Irish coffee finished the meal for me and the others all had regular coffee.
We left there and proceeded to the Hollywood Casino to finish the vacation in winning style. We left with more money than we came in with so that always makes us happy!
We arrived home around midnight and had to do the remainder of our packing for our trip home tomorrow. We are always sad to leave, even after three weeks. However, we are happy to be returning home to see our children and precious grandchildren and get ready for the Christmas season which will soon be upon us.
A fond farewell to all our St. Maarten friends. Thanks for all the good times and until we meet again, God Bless!
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