Please be aware - this is a long report.

Sunday, May 23 – Left Austin for Atlanta on Delta at 5:40 a.m. (10 minutes late). Grabbed some food in the Atlanta airport to eat on the plane. Loved the individual televisions in the seatbacks. Flight was full, a few minutes early & uneventful. Immigration was fairly quick, considering an Air France landed a little while before us. Baggage was on the carousel by the time we got to baggage claim. Unity was waiting for us. Off to their office & out in about 5 minutes. Next stop was Royal Palm to pick up our phone from Sharon Harris. Then it was off to Club O. While I was checking us in, Gary found a “small” problem with the car. The key got stuck in the driver’s door & he could not get it out. The front desk staff was kind enough to call Unity for us (our phone was locked in the car). Joseph from Unity responded quickly, problem solved – do not lock car!! It was then off to our home for the next 11 nights, mini suite #147. Quickly unloaded luggage & back into the car to hit up a grocery store. Wanted to go to Grand Marche next to Mark’s, but it was closed, so we ended up at Market Garden. It was the only grocery store we could find that was opened. Someone told us it was a holiday, Pentecost Sunday. Back to Club O to unload groceries & then to Papagayo’s for dinner. We both had Chicken Oscar. Since we had been up since 3:00 a.m., we called it an early night.

Monday – Up early for our walk from Club O to Mount Vernon & back. Breakfast in our room – “Vacation Coffee” (coffee & Kahlua), pastries, yogurt & fruit. Then it’s off to the beach for the morning. Lunch was sandwiches in our room, & then back to the beach. After lunch it was time for the beach ball races organized by Dr. J. Gary entered Lake Travis Luci & actually won his first race. Since the winds were not blowing onto the shore, he won first prize for the first ball to reach Pinel ! Went to the Manager’s Wine & Cheese Party & then back to the room for a bit of air conditioning. Ended up back at Papagayo’s for dinner. Since we were not very hungry, we just ordered appetizers.

Tuesday – Repeat of Monday. Gary & Luci II won another race today. Dinner tonight was at Sunset Café, thanks to a recommendation from Mike & Linda (Gitter). We shared 2 appetizers, their swordfish special, & chocolate lava cake with ice cream. We had never eaten at Sunset Café before, but it will probably be a usual stop for us on future trips.

Wednesday – The day we have been looking forward to. Breakfast in room & then off to Oyster Pond for Peggy & Paul’s cruise. This is not their usual day, but Tom (tbone) arranged for a Wednesday cruise. There were 4 couples counting us. First stop was to snorkel on the north side of Tintamarre. Next we did the mud baths at Petite Cayes. Paul brought the mud with him. We then went snorkelling at the reef near Anse Marcel. By then everyone was getting hungry, so it was off to Happy Bay for lunch. Peggy made sandwiches, pasta salad, & fruit salad. This was in addition to ribs & chicken from Danny. Paul brought 2 beach umbrellas from the boat & tied them up to the picnic table, so we lunched in the shade. After lunch, we continued around the island. We anchored off Maho to watch the planes land. Wonder if the folks on the planes could see the crazy naked people on the boat? Finished our trip around the island & then back to Oyster Pond. We had an absolutely wonderful time. Peggy & Paul made sure everyone had a great time. This is something we will do on future trips & highly recommend. Dinner tonight was at Pizza Galley & then a small deposit at Casino Royale.

Thursday – Took a break from our usual routine & walked down to Andy & Cheryl’s for breakfast. Since it was early, we did not get to see Cheryl, but did get to see Andy & Adrian. Today was designated as “Shopping Day”, so after breakfast we headed into Philipsburg. First stop was to see Deepti & Kamal at DK Gems. Since we had celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary 2 week before our trip, a purchase from DK was on the agenda. With Deepti’s help, Gary purchased Berne a very beautiful diamond ring. (Thanks, honey). While the stone was being set & the ring sized, we continued with our shopping. Next stop was Cannegie Liquor Store, owned by Barbara’s husband. Asked for the “Gardener” but he was not in. Made our purchase & continued down Front Street to Penha for perfume & cologne. Lunch was at Taloula Mango’s for lunch. Sat out on the second floor deck with a great view of the Boardwalk & all the cruisers. Dinner tonight was in Grand Case, so on the way we stopped at Tijon to pick up some suntan products & who should be standing there when we entered, but Eric Hill. It was nice to finally meet him, although Carol was not with him. If you have never been in this shop, you are missing a very nice store with some great products. Dinner was at Le Cottage, featuring Bruno’s summer menu. Bruno is a very gracious host & this was an absolutely fantastic meal. Each plate consisted of 5 small items (bite size). The first plate, which we shared, was 5 cold items we chose from about 10 choices. For the second plate, we each chose 5 hot items. For dessert, we shared a plate with 8 different desserts. We could not get over how wonderful the food was. While eating, we had a nice conversation with Eric, who had walked down to the restaurant to see Bruno.

Friday – Usual morning routine, lunch at Perch, afternoon at the beach. Dinner tonight was at Creperie BZH in Oyster Pond, based on a recommendation from SXM Norm. Gary had one with smoked salmon & Berne had one with ham, cheese, mushroom & eggs. These were actually buckwheat galettes, which the waitress told us were from the Brittany region of France. They were very good, but very big & we should have shared one, as we also had a salad, which was, again, very big. The highlight of tonight was a trip to the Dinghy Dock to see Gianfranco perform. He is Gary’s favorite island musician. The other reason for this outing was to finally get to meet the very lovely Elaine, & her handsome husband, Bill. An added surprise was meeting Joanne & Marc (Jomarc) as well.

Saturday – Usual morning routine. Lunch was at Chez Leandra, based on a recommendation from Pauline & David (Modi). We shared conch chowder & a shrimp/lobster wrap. Food was very good. The owner’s daughter is a United States Marine, & mom has several pictures of her daughter hanging on the walls. Back to the beach for the afternoon. Dinner tonight was at Lee’s, where we shared a 4 lb. lobster. This was the first time we had grilled lobster & enjoyed it very much.

Sunday – Usual morning routine, with lunch at the Perch. For dinner, we were joined by Pauline & David (Modi) at Talk of the Town. Food was good (ribs & chicken) but service was very slow, especially when trying to pay the bill.

Monday – Breakfast in room & then to Baie Rouge for the day. This is an absolutely beautiful beach, but the sand is very hot & the water can be rough. Lunch was at Chez Raymond’s. On the way back to Club O, we made a quick stop at Rima’s. Stopped by the Manger’s Wine & Cheese party & then off to Simpson Bay. Dinner was at the Greenhouse. Berne had swordfish & Gary had swordfish stuffed with crab meat. Both were very good. Last stop of the day was at the Red Piano Bar to hear Gianfranco perform. Again met up with Elaine & Bill.

Tuesday – Usual morning routine ( we are very boring people). Lunch at Chez Leandra with Pauline & David (Modi) & Mur & Mario (Baycruisers). Berne & Gary shared a conch wrap which was excellent. Back to the beach. Left the beach a little early so we could stop by the animal adoption center on the French side to visit Ursula and play with the puppies. Of course, I wanted to bring home several, but since we already have 3 Labs, this was not an option. Ursula & her volunteers are doing a great service for the island. Dinner tonight was at Pineapple Pete’s with Modi, Baycruisers, & Bonnie & Al (Ciaooo). The 2 of us shared an appetizer, & then for dinner Berne had the lobster thermidor/garlic shrimp combo & Gary had a mahi/shrimp special. We then shared a dessert of coconut bien me sabe, which is our absolute favorite & a must order every trip no matter how full we are. A great dinner tonight was even more special as it was shared with our great, new friends.

Wednesday – Our last whole day <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> Usual morning routine, with lunch in our room (last night’s leftovers). Wanted to get in as much beach time as possible. Tonight we attended the “Governor’s Ball” at Peg Leg Pub, hosted by Wallace & Susan (Yellowrose). There were about 30 of us at dinner and a great time was had by all. We met Wallace & Susan on our first trip to SXM and found out they live about 20 miles from us. Made a small deposit at Princess Casino. Back to room to pack.

Thursday – Very sad day. Our last morning walk, breakfast in room, & then a few hours at the beach. When we were at DK Gems, Deepti had given us a bottle of champagne, which we saved to enjoy on the beach our last morning. It was then time to say goodbye to all our friends. Last minute packing, then return phone, return car, and off to airport. Our flight left a few minutes late. Highlight of the flight was that we took off the opposite way, over the water instead of the mountains. A nice little surprise. Landed in Atlanta, did the whole customs routine, & then took the Metro from the airport to our son & daughter-in-law’s house. We have not seen them since Thanksgiving, so we had a nice visit with them. Flew back to Austin Friday evening.

Notes/Observations – Seems there were lots more trees/plants blooming than our usual June/July visits. We were surprised at the heat/humidity. Did not expect this for May. Sand gravity really hit hard & we did not do some of the things we planned (kayak over to Green Cay/spend day at Pinel/spend day at Happy Bay). Also, we did not get to half of the restaurants that were on our list. Traffic was no worse than we have experienced on prior visits. Never felt unsafe while traveling the island, even late at night. Club O was as great as ever. We did discover that #147 had a working blender! Paving of road into Club O is progressing as fast as can be expected. We enjoyed, as usual, making new friends & spending time with them.

Special Thanks – Mary & Jim Ruos (Caribbean Island Services), Michael & Joseph (Unity Car Rental), Sharon Harris (Queen of SXM), Deepti & Kamal (DK Gems), Bruno (Le Cottage), Peggy & Paul’s Cruise. All of you made our vacation extra special. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />