...........We seem more and more inclined to do less and less. Is this the definition of sand gravity?

Friday 4/19

This was a totally lazy day. We hung out here at RI all day. Breakfast in the room from the last of Jeannies goodies, and then read out on the balcony for a bit until DH’s tradesman lunchtime alarm went off at noon so we had baguette sandwiches and drinks. We really needed to get off the balcony so we wandered down to the pool and loved the time there. Watched the planes come and go and listened to the sounds of the island - the planes of course coupled with the waves rolling in just off the pool deck, and the sounds of the kids splashing and laughing in the pool and all the while the sun beating down and the scents of the flowers in the air all around us. Could it possibly get any better?

Dinner was at Skipjacks, one place I would definitely suggest making a reservation. The parking sucks but the lobster was out of this world.

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Observations of the island so far - they so desperately need rain. It’s hot and the landscape anywhere beyond the watered vegetation is burned to a crisp. No green hills and they’re suffering a severe drought. The gold course is a sad sight to see, particularly so if you remember its days of glory. The grass in so many areas looks more like straw. And they are now experiencing brush fires routinely, there being a big one today on the French side.

The recovery progress the island has made from when we were here last November to now is amazing. God bless the people of the island - they’ve suffered through so much hardship but they haven’t given up. In speaking to a young woman who works here at the hotel I’m reminded once again just how bad that b itch Irma was and how much hardship she caused so many.

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Saturday, April 20

So we had to hit the grocery store and we were all out of pastries. Typically we would have gone to Zee Best but decided to hit Jules in Jordan Village since we had been told it was a good breakfast stop. The food was not at all what we expected and though the pastries and fresh squeezed oj were wonderful, we should have stuck with our original plan and gone to the Yacht Club. But c’est la vie. We hit the grocery while up there and were quite surprised at all they carried - seemed like much more than the Carrefour at Porto Cupecoy.

Back to RI and another day at the pool. Lunched on salads at Tortuga.

Dinner at Palapa Grill in Simpson Bay. DH had coconut shrimp and a rib-eye steak w/frites while I had their beef carpaccio and lobster linguini. We finished off the meal with lemon grass creme brûlée. Everything was perfect - service was excellent, staff so very friendly and the food? Beyond delicious. I would definitely recommend it. And you will be amazed at what an interesting decor they have created in a roofless hurricane damaged building. The stamina and determination of the island continues to amaze me at every turn.

We tend to dine early as it’s much easier to find parking, particularly if you’re heading to Simpson Bay, and because of this we got back just in time to see the little show the casino performers put on.

Another perfect island day.