TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) SXM Trip Reports and Photos "Fun in the Sun" Week #4 + 2 Days

Week # 4

Nov.21- We got up early today and after breakfast we got ready to spend the day on Orient Beach. Travel via Philipsburg took only 25 minutes and we were soon at Club O and set up our chairs beside our friends, Maureen and Larry.

It was another beautiful day with the usual 86 degree temperature and bright sunshine. There was scarcely a breeze today so we had many trips to the water to cool off. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the beach today and of course a few refreshments to quench our thirst. The beach was quiet today in spite of the fact that there were 5 ships in port so it was a most relaxing day.

Dinner tonight was a return visit to Lal's with Jeannie and Ann and Steve. The food was very good as usual and the service was friendly and first class. Sitting by the water and enjoying a meal with good friends is always most enjoyable.

We left Lal's around 9:30 and spent an hour or so warming up the machines at the Dune's Casino. This casino is not as busy as the others and there is not as much smoke so we find it a comfortable place to spend some time at the end of the day. The slots there are new and some do pay fairly well and there is parking in a well lit lot which is not always the case at some other locations.



Nov.22- We commenced the day with breakfast at Bon Appetit. Hema, a local conserige and her son Aaron met us there and we enjoyed seeing her again and catching up. The food was good, but there are no free coffee refills so be prepared for $1 charge for a refill.

Following breakfast, we returned to the condo and spent a relaxing day by the pool and enjoyed lunch and some afternoon drinks on the balcony.

We had been invited to Bill and Elaine's for Thanksgiving dinner so we prepared the food we were bringing and arrived about 3:30 P.M. Cocktails were served prior to the meal and we watched a very nice sunset from the balcony there. We were all amazed to see the "GREEN FLASH" and David actually captured it with his camera! The cheers went up and everyone was so surprised to actually see a picture of it.
We all enjoyed a wonderful turkey dinner with all the trimmings and apple pie and key lime pie for dessert. It is always special to enjoy Thanksgiving with our American friends and brings back great memories of our years living in Florida.

It was truly a lovely day!





Nov.23- The day began with a clear blue sky and bright sunshine. After breakfast we enjoyed some time "at home" and then had a light lunch.

Since it was a picture perfect day, we set off with our cameras to capture some of the island's beauty from the peak at Pelican Hill. You can literally see for miles from this look-out point and we got some very nice shots. Then we stopped at the Atrium Resort to see the staff there and to check on the renovations. As owners, we can use all the facilities even though we are not staying there at present so we enjoyed the afternoon relaxing in the pool and enjoying drinks from the Greenhouse located poolside. Happy Hour at the Greenhouse was from 11 A.M. till 7 P.M. during this part of the season. We met some very nice people from Alaska and enjoyed our time there immensely.

We were meeting Maureen and Larry at Chesterfield's for dinner so we were a bit concerned about the traffic going towards Philipsburg in the evening. Well it fortunately was not a problem as when we came out Billy Folly Road all the cars were moving along nicely and we arrived at Chesterfield's within 15 minutes.

We all enjoyed a lovely dinner there. Maureen, Larry and I all had the seafood sampler which consisted of shrimp, scallops, mahi and calamari, grilled in a garlic sauce with rice or potato and vegetables. David had the filet mignon with the same sides. All the meals were very good as was also the service. We felt the prices were very reasonable for both the food and the drinks. The setting here by the water and the nice ocean breeze added to the enjoyment of the evening.

On our way home, we stopped at the Princess Casino to make our deposit and our money bags were empty upon our departure .





Nov.24- Definitely a beach day today, so after breakfast we got ready and left for Orient Beach to spend the day. We met Maureen and Larry there and enjoyed more time with them. The water was warm and calm and so refreshing! We had lunch on the beach and left around 4:00 P.M.

Dinner tonight was at the Harbour Queen Restaurant with our friend Patty. We all ordered the ribs with the two sides. The ribs were tasty but the serving was much smaller than offered at other restaurants. The rib platter we ordered was $11.95 and all you can eat is $19.95. At most places all you can eat is too much food, but that would not have been the case here. We were disappointed as the ribs here have had good reiews in the past. The server was cleaning our table before we had finished our drinks and there were only two other tables with people in the restaurant. Some server training is required here!

After dinner we stopped by the Buccaneer Beach Bar to enjoy a cocktail and listen to the music by Ronnie Santana and Amin. We had hoped to meet Georgia and David there so we stayed until 10:00 P.M. but they never showed up so we left and spent the rest of the evening at the Hollywood Casino. I met some interesting people and had fun until midnight.




Nov.25- This morning we awoke to a few showers so we had a full cooked breakfast in the condo and caught up on some e-mails and other correspondence. We decided to have lunch here too and as soon as the sky cleared we headed to the beach. Since it was now early afternoon, we decided to try Cupecoy since it was close and we had not managed to spend a day there yet.

When we arrived, we were greeted by our friends Todd and MJ who had also decided to spend a quiet day there. The sand was very sparse and there was lots of wave action today, but the sun was now shining brightly and the water pools provided a refreshing cool-off from the hot sun. We enjoyed some beer and Danny's delicious rum punch on one of the island's prettiest beaches with good friends. The afternoon passed quickly and it was soon 5:00 P.M. and time for Happy Hour.

Since we were in the neighborhood, we decided to stop in to the Ocean Club and have Happy Hour with Ken and all the fine people there. We were joined by Rich and Laurie and several other fun loving folks. We ordered some nachos as an appetizer and had several great drinks. We left around 8:30 and decided to have dinner at home since we were still in our beach clothes and not really in the mood for dining out tonight.

Islandgem Cafe tonight featured scalloped potatoes, talapia and mixed vegetables with a nice bottle of mediterranean wine. We both enjoyed our meal and had some after dinner drinks to complete the evening. Another wonderful day in paradise!








Nov.26- We had a quick breakfast here today and got ready promptly and went to Orient Beach for the day. We settled in close to the Perch and enjoyed another wonderful day of sunshine and warm water. Georgia and David and Josephine and Paul stopped by for a visit and it was great to see them again. Maureen and Larry kept us company throughout the day and we always enjoy their company very much.

Lunch today was turkey sandwiches, chips and carib on the beach. We left the beach at 4:30 and joined Maureen and Larry for dinner at the Dinghy Dock. This place has new owners again so things have changed a bit again. Kurt is back working there and they still have pour your own drinks only at the bar. Drinks are half price from 5-7:00 P.M. and the crowd seems to be about the same with most tables filling up quickly. David, Maureen and I had the fish and chips which were good, but not exactly as we had there previously.They are also served in a plastic basket now so the presentation is not as nice. Larry had the pasta carbonara and he said it was very good. We each had two cocktails with our meal and the total was $90 with a $12 SC already added. No credit cards are accepted there until new machines arrive, so cash only for another month or so according to the new owners.

We left Oyster Pond and came home for a quick shower and got ready to go to the party at the Dream Bar. We arrived around 8:00 P.M. and we were very surprised to find the bar closed and everyone gone home. I guess some people just can't party as long as we can! We were assured that people would be there for a long time, but that didn't happen. Sorry we missed you all, but we tend to party at night and not in the afternoon!

Since we were in the parking lot, we decided to spend a few hours at the Dunes Casino. David broke even and I won $30 so it was a fun evening.

We finished the day with cocktails in the condo and drifted into dreamland.





Nov.27- Another lovely day in paradise! We had steak, bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast and then enjoyed relaxing here and doing a few things we hadn't had a chance to do yet. I cooked some delicious shrimp for lunch and we enjoyed that with rice and vegetables.

After lunch we went out to do some shopping at the Shipwreck Shop and made a few extra stops.

Tonight we had booked the sunset cruise with Neil on the Celine . We enjoyed Happy Hour at Skipjacks before we boarded the boat. The cruise was great as usual and Neil and Tamara do a terrific job keeping everyone happy. We met some TTOL members and also a few others enjoying a night on the water. There was a nice sunset and a beautiful full moon shone on the water coming back.

We decided to have dinner tonight at Pineapple Pete's as we had not done that yet this trip. Once seated we noticed that almost everyone that was on the sunset cruise came there for dinner too. We had a fantastic dinner and the service was excellent as usual. I had the spinach and crab crusted grouper which was delicious and was served with rice and vegetables. David had the garlic scallops which were equally as good. We both had wine and creme brule for dessert. The creme brule there is the best we have ever tasted!

We stopped in to SPLASH JEWELLERY by the Hollywood Casino to do some last minute shopping and helped Santa complete his list. Then we went next door to the Casino as it was just so convenient. We spent about three hours there and made a small donation to the SXM economy tonight.

This completes our fourth week on the island and we just can't believe how quikly the time has passed. We have only two more days remaining so we are looking forward to more fair weather and calm seas. It has been the best November we have ever experienced in our little slice of heaven!





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Nov.28- Well this is our last full day on the island so if everything goes as planned it will be a busy day. We enjoyed breakfast "at home" and tried to get some of our breakfast foods used up. We did a quick load of laundry so we will be taking all clean clothes home and then ran a few errands. We stopped by Happy Hour Tours to see Dave and Adrianna's new puppy and then went to Karakter Beach to spend the remainder of the day.

We met up with Todd and MJ, Georgia and David, Ann and Steve and Lee Ann and Maurice and had a fabulous day. We ordered the Taste for Two which comes with champagne and we also enjoyed some refreshing frozen cocktails with dinner and throughout the day. We always find a day at Karakter to be relaxing and fun and the employees there do a fantastic job with the meals and beach service.We often like to spend our last day there.

We met Dave and Adrianna for drinks and dinner at the Yacht Club tonight. Their new puppy Tequila also joined us and was very popular with all the ladies. After several drinks and a great meal, we went home to pack and prepare for our departure tomorrow. We are always sad to leave our island friends, but feel after a full month on the island, we are now ready to go home and prepare for the Christmas season with our family and friends there. Our motto is "if we don't leave we can't come back"! Thinking of coming back is always a really nice thought!
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Nov.29- Well departure day has finally arrived and everyone here knows the drill. We were awakened to another marvelous day of clear sky and sunshine and a beautiful view of the cruise ships arriving. We had breakfast of fresh croissants and pastries with coffee . Sadly Jeannie was not able to join us as planned, but we spoke with her which was nice. Sometimes work just gets in the way of having fun!

Since we had most of our packing done last night, we put the last few things in our bags and had some time to relax before leaving the condo.

As is our tradition now for several years we met Bill and Elaine for lunch at the Buccaneer Beach Bar. Annie joined us this time too so it was very nice. I always have their famous cheesburger cooked to perfection and finish my trip with the island's best BBC! Wanda makes an award winning BBC and believe me I have tried many! Willie, at the Perch comes in a close second. Sitting by the water there and cementing that view in my memory bank always carries me through to our next trip!

Our flight today wasn't leaving until 4:55 P.M. so it was nice not to have to rush to get to the airport. We didn't leave Buccaneer until after 2:00 P.M. and then we returned our car to Empress. We were very impressed with their service and would definitely rent from them again. If renting two weeks or more, they include liability insurance with the price and their price was very reasonable, actually the best we have got to date. We rented for a month from them for the same price we have paid others for two weeks. They are also a sponsor here which is another good reason to support them.

We arrived at the airport with no line for check-in and went swiftly through security. Our flight was on time and was very smooth with no problems at all. Westjet always does a fantastic job and I would compare them to their American equivalent Jetblue who we had flown with for our April trip.

With a connection in Toronto, we arrived home just before midnight. The air was cooler for sure so it was a shock at first, but non the less most refreshing! We were soon snug in our beds with visions of sand and azure water dancing in our heads. We had a wonderful month in paradise, but it is always nice to return to the comforts of home and then look forward to another vacation!

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