Pat's statement reminded me of the old Yogi Berra quote "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

But she has a point. Back in the day, you could take the little ferry over, find a fairly comfortable place to get chairs, and feel like you had taken a short trip to another island. We would wonder through the little shopping area, wade out far in the water, and grab lunch (always a little pricy but what we expected for having the facilities off island)

Now we do feel a little like sardines on a busy day. Expensive, crowded, and pretty noisy on our last trip.

That being said, if you have never been over there it is worth a trip because it is a different perspective of SXM, the water is shallow and usually very calm, it is a chance to try a new place to eat, and you can make up your mind for yourself. On a clear, calm day it can be quite breathtakingly beautiful.

I don't know if coolers are still allowed. We used to take them simply because we have a lot of kids and take coolers everywhere for various reasons, but I think that might be frowned upon these days. I remember music in the restaurant, but not live music.

And another point is that it is a very short trip over. Once or twice we have gone over for a couple of hours just to do something different, sat on our towels when we were not in the water, and limited our costs to the ferry and to a round of drinks. But that was when we were younger and without our kids.