Travel: Left Iowa the day after yet another blizzard had struck. I had called the county road guy the night before so our road got open, but we had to open son’s road with our tractor and loader to the highway to get them out and to the airport. We had to leave DSM on Friday to Atlanta because yet again Delta had screwed up our flights and rather than leave early am on Saturday, had no choice but to go to ATL the night before, luckily I have accumulated quite a bit of points due to business travel thus the rooms near the airport were not an added expense. Left ATL and arrived in SXM on time. Rented our car yet again from Michael and Unity, have used him every trip we have ever made to the island. As always smooth, seamless service, always our constant. On our return, for some reason we sat in our plane on the tarmac for approx an hour; they made up some time but unfortunately one bunch of our friends , 2 couples, that was returning home via Omaha missed their connection. Delta did not hold the plane; refused to do anything for them and they would not put one couple on our DSM plane nor would they put them up in ATL for the evening. Not a good thing!!! IF Delta had not juggled the schedule to begin with there would have been no problem for them to make the connecting.

Accommodations: Checked into Pelican Marina Residences without issue for our 1st week. Stayed there last year and really enjoyed it; it did not disappoint. In addition to our son and daughter in law, 2 other couples were traveling with us. They were also at PMR as they were able to execute an exchange at the last minute. We enjoyed the view and the activity of the Simpson Bay strip. Week 2 found us sending family and friends home and meeting other friends arriving to join us. We moved from PMR to our TS at OBBR. We enjoy the relative intimacy of OBBR and have made some very good friends thru the years that we enjoy seeing once a year and spending time with.

Shopping: Spent the obligatory day(2)at Philipsburg to allow our friends to experience it. Made our annual deposit at DK Gems. Deepti is such a doll, so enjoy visiting with her. The big guy treated me to an upgrade that I am thrilled with. I meant to bring his wedding ring down to have her design a new one so that he can wear it on occasion but with all weather upset/worry, I forgot it. She will send me a reminder before our return. One of our friends got a new suit from Luis that is just awesome and matches her ‘Sex in the City’ hat. She also got an awesome deal on a special camera lens from one of Deepti’s relatives. A couple of quick stops at Rima finished the ‘bring home’ items. We also met our legal limit of MauDouDou. A pleasure as always.

Activities: We contacted Neil last summer about renting the Celine for a day and invited 17 of our closest friends to come along. Neil is a great host and after having sailed on 4 or 5 other boats over the years have come to the conclusion that, for us, the Celine is really the only option. He is a great host, great chef, and plenty of food and drink as always was outstanding. Additionally, since you can no longer do the mud at Tintamarre, Neil brings his own special blend and we did it on Happy Bay Beach. Also, he is very good with children as we had one child, a 4 year old with us. What fun!

Beaches/Beach Bars: Beaches visited: KimSha, only because we were close, Simpson Bay at Karakters (multiple times}, Mullet, more than once, Bay Rouge, Happy Bay from Celine, Pinel, Galleon, Dawn, and Orient. Favorite beach bar, Karakters has edged out, ever so slightly, Andy & Cheryl’s. It is still a close call, but we just loved spending time at Karakters and love the food!! Still love Rosie’s ribs. Didn’t eat at Gus’s this year but is traditionally one of our favorites also. Didn’t eat on Pinel.

Restaurants: Discovered Pizza Galley, you guys are right, great pizza actually ate there twice. Hilma’s multiple stops for her jonny cakes with salt fish, just love them and her. Tried Claude’s Mini for the 1st time for their lobster buffet. It was very good, however found the cold lobster much tastier and seemed fresher than the ‘warm’ lobster. Significantly so. Don’t normally eat dessert, but there was some apple dish on the table that I couldn’t get enough of, go figure. Ate twice at Sky’s the Limit, finally had the Christophines that some of you often mention, you’re right, they were great. Had shrimp and conch, nothing outstanding but good food. Had dessert on the street at Harmony nights, homemade coconut ice cream, flan, and a caramel crepe. In other words, we grazed the street food vendors after dinner. Poulet ‘d Orleans, Tony is a great chef and wonderful host. It had been on our list for a long time, so finally made it. Our 2 couples were the only ones there that evening. Had the mahi mahi special and a creole conch dish, along with a great appetizer variety platter. Because we were the only ones there, we were able to have the nicest visit with him and also his daughter as she arrived before we left. He has a connection to Iowa which was fun to hear. Cost for dinner for 4 with 2 bottles of wine was $120.00. Of course – Yvettes- an always stop for us. Actually ate there once each week. The 2nd week a bunch of our friends from OBBR joined us and our party of 20 altogether had a great time. Ran into Bill and Elaine there also and enjoyed a short but nice visit. The stewed conch and dumplings is the must have favorite for the big guy. I change my up, this year I had garlic conch once and the grilled snapper, both hardily enjoyed. Yvettes is nothing fancy, just good St. Martin style food. Cost including a couple of beers for us $50.00. Mama’s pizza, Oyster pond, did pick up one evening as it was kind of rainy and we were tired. What is it about the pizza in SXM, not like we have at home, and I can’t get enough of it. Chesterfields, again a good meal, pretty busy that night, cost approximately $70/00 for us with drinks. Had an evening meal in Maho, can’t remember the place in that strip above Cheri’s, had some seafood pasta dishes, 1 drink, almost $100. Not that memorable obviously except for the price. Friend’s choice, not ours.

In conclusion, the island was as green as we have ever seen it in January. Never seen mosquitoes in January, they were unbelievable, especially at OBBR, used up all the deet that we had carried with us for years and rarely used. The big guy kept trying to figure out how he could get his tractor and sprayer/fogger down there to help them out. The new roundabouts, really improving traffic flow, can think of a few more places they can be used, hope they keep adding them. The statues/memorials they put in the middle of them are really special. Traffic was heavy at times, but the big guy just zips around like he was at home. It was great spending time with our friends and also our week 3 friends at OBBR, they are a great, fun bunch. Enjoyed chatting with Bill and Elaine, and also meeting and visiting with Ray face to face for the first time. A first for us also was a stop at ‘shell beach’ between Orleans and Oyster Pond, the guy that hangs out there is a hoot, 2 bunches of our friends made return trips and he took them out thru the water to the rock/shell island. They had a blast. Made a couple of trips to the bakery in Orleans, loved the pastries and breads as usual. Made my yearly stop at the old US Imports. I just love that meat/cheese case. She and I have an understanding; she doesn’t understand English, I don’t understand French, but we muddle thru my choices and her suggestions.

Just received our confirmation for weeks 3 & 4 at OBBR for 2011. Life is good! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" />