Way too much to cover so maybe a few highlights to share, heh.
KEY WEST (1 week): A way station for attitude adjustment to hit the ground running upon arrival in St. Maarten. Stayed at a Hyatt Sunset Harbor townhouse situated on the Hilton Marina. Enjoyed the first annual free Symphony under the Stars within the Civil War era Ft. Zachary Taylor. Tumblers of mohitos at Blue Haven, chat with artist Wyland at his gallery opening, fresh fillet grouper at BO’s Fish Wagon, turtle races at Turtle Kraals and an afternoon of suds and tunes by Michael McCloud at Schooner Wharf Bar. Rich Cuban coffee and fresh key lime pies at La Dichosa. The chief meteorologist led a tour of the new Cat 5 designed NWS hurricane center. Wifey shocked typically sedate Hyatt poolside crowd by wearing her very small neon lemon thong. Overheard one fellow proclaim to his wife “my gawd, there’s a thong in the pool”! Little did he know the Wicked Weasel was in hot standby for St. Martin.
ST. MAARTEN (3 weeks): Stayed on Simpson Bay for 2 weeks, then migrated to Orient Village for the last week. Did lots of morning 3-4 mile walks only to be rewarded by a treat from Zee Best or La Sucriere…incredibly decadent goodies!
[color:"blue"]Adventures[/color] – For Carnival did the early morning Jouvert. Perched ourselves at the new roundabout at Nisbeth and Sucker Garden Roads. Enjoyed Violet’s chicken soup, Johnny Cakes (fried not baked) and buckets of Caribs. The next day we did a nice attitude adjustment at Villa Royale with BBCs, buttery nipples and plenty of Ma DouDou. Then made it back to Violet’s for ribs, chicken and Caribs. Watched the Grand Parade on Front Street for probably 3-4 hours. This year’s event was significantly better than the 2005 version. Brenda Wathey’s Bling Bling Group was fantastic.
Popped in to chat with Bogart at radio Island 91.9. Always enjoy catching up on the latest gnews. Another highlight was a day on a friend’s sailboat. Sailed from Simpson Lagoon around the lowlands to Happy Bay. Had a great beach fish-fry with fresh grouper, veggies and plenty of Caribs.
The annual trip to Pinel Island was over the top. Caught the 10:00a boat and returned on the last boat at 4:30p. A few morning Caribs then the six of us had an awesome lobster lunch in the exclusive “penthouse” beach hut. 3 bottles of Ma DouDou set the tone for the afternoon frolic in the water. Two more bottles of Ma DouDou topped off the afternoon (best I can recall that is) <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cool.gif" alt="" />. Then back to Villa Royale for some soaking, eats and recovery. There were subsequent reports that one wifey really enjoyed having her toes sucked.
[color:"blue"]Shopping[/color] – Found an incredibly detailed roadmap of the island at the Shipwreck Shop. Wow, what a value! A couple of new beachwear creations from Luis, one being a knock-off Wicked Weasel to compliment Wifey's hot pink number. Lots and lots of treasures but really enjoyed a remarkable set of French dinner knives from Danielle B. Diffusion in Bellevue. Also purchased a gorgeous Venice Carnival mask at a shop in Port La Royale.
[color:"blue"]Eats[/color] – Always a problem as the list of restaurants gets longer each year and something’s got to go. A couple of trips to Talk of the Town, the last being a major disappointment as the lady with the homemade coconut ice cream had left the island for a week. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> Did a rib comparison at Johnny B Under the Tree and Lido. We found Johnny B’s ribs to be superior. Other highlights include La Belle Epoque, The Greenhouse, L’escargot, Taloula Mangoes, Poulet d’Orleans, Le Piccolo, Daniels by the Sea, Pasanggrahan, Bali, and Sol e’ Luna. It’s always nice to see Brigette and the girls. The lobster bisque was great but the duck was way over the top.
[color:"blue"]Events[/color] – We were fortunate to see the Quicksilver SXM Challenge at Orient Bay. There were lots of kite surfing, wind surfing and hobbie events for 3 days. It was really a treat to see Thomas Coquelet – a 19 yo who is the 2005 European kitsurfing champion. Much to our amazement was a sudden waterspout at Orient Bay. All the beach dwellers were standing on the beach as if in formation looking in the same direction watching and photographing the funnel.
[color:"blue"]Flying Machines[/color] – As always, [color:"red"]
American Eagle sucks[/color]! Leaving St. Maarten almost 3 hours late makes for a very difficult trip back to Seattle (on the other side of the planet). But with 4 weeks of chilling out, even that didn’t phase thanks to American Airlines who delivered us home only 15 minutes later than the original schedule. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />
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