Since I got the bad out of my system in Part I the rest is mostly good.

Arrived in St. Maarten about 4:30 on Saturday Jan 30 and grabbed our bags. The line at immigration was pretty short, and we went to meet Sandy from Beach Island Car Rental. No Sandy. After a couple of phone calls by a nice local guy at the airport Sandy arrives to pick us up about an hour late. Very apologetic. She claimed to have written down the wrong date for our arrival, but I think she may have just forgot. In any case we had our rental car and drove in the dark to The Westin at Oyster Pond. Driving in the dark is an adventure on St. Maarten. Driving in the dark, immediately after a 4 hour flight, on our first day in St. Maarten was challenging, but we found it pretty easily. Even after we had to stop for a couple of beers to celebrate our arrival.

We checked in, changed into shorts and sandals and drove down to Big Fish for dinner. See below. The Westin is a nice property, with good service, and we had a room with a lovely ocean view. The next day after breakfast at the Westin we lounged by the pool and took a dip in the ocean. How great that felt! We took a ride over to Marigot and had lunch at one of the small outdoor cafes by the market. It was another nice meal enjoying some of the locally cooked food.

We went grocery shopping at the Grande Marche on the road to Cole Bay and checked into Pelican Resort our home for the next two weeks (three weeks next year). The Pelican studio sleep 4 unit is B168 fronting the B pool. Nice (if worn), comfortable for what time we spend in it, and very handy to the pool where we spend a great deal of time.

Meals <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />
Breakfast
Westin - We shared a large omelet and sliced fruit. Very good.
Zee Best – We glutted through the basket of french pastries served with coffee and then had a veggie and cheese crepe. Wow! Only later did we realize that you are charged for every french pastry. Duh! But they were good.

Lunch
Rosemary’s in Marigot - We went to Rosemary’s, one of the small café’s near the market in Marigot. It was Sunday so most businesses were closed. We had a creole chicken meal that was enjoyable.
Le Galion in Marigot – One of the best meals we had on the island was a lunch at Le Galion on the marina in Marigot. Deb had mussels in a curry sauce and I had a three fish medley (mahi mahi, grouper and talapia) that was superb.
Cheri’s in Maho – We go to Cheri’s every year just to enjoy the setting in the open air underneath the blowup toys. We just had a grilled chicken ceasar salad and some funky drinks. Good fun.
Mr. Busby’s on Dawn Beach. Deb and I shared a salad and a crab salad sandwich on a baguette. Very good.

Dinners
Some restaurants automatically include a service charge other don’t. Just ask and they will tell you.
The Stone is now located in the water level of the Pelican Residences near AquaMania. The food was excellent and stayed nice and hot on the stone it is cooked on. We had scallops as an appetizer and they were outstanding. I had tilapia and Deb had sesame crusted salmon that she loved.
Lido’s is a lolo in Cole Bay – The ribs and sides were much too salty and disappointing.
Pineapple Petes - I had a large chunk of mahi mahi and Deb had to have the lobster thermidor. Hers was just what she wanted. Mine wasn’t bad but afterward I wished I had ordered something else. A bit too bland.
Antoines’s on Front Street in Phillipsburg – Deb had duck breast that had a delicious sauce. Deb is fond of duck and said it is the best she had ever had. I had grouper and it was very good.
Izi’s is located in Simpson Bay across from Pineapple Pete’s. Deb had veal marsala that she said was excellent. They made it special for her off the menu. I had lasagne that was just okay.
Valentino’s in Simpson Bay is in the shopping center near Jimbo’s. Deb had veal ravioli that she thoroughly enjoyed and I had chicken parm.
Big Fish in Oyster Pond across from Mr. Busby’s. We had four kinds of shrimp with different dipping sauces. Very good.
Pizza Galley in Simpson Bay near Skipjack’s. We had the JP Special Pizza and enjoyed it so much we came back again the following week and had the same thing.
Mark’s Place in Phillipsburg next to the Grande Marche – The ribs were the best I have had on the island. Deb had lambchops that she liked pretty well. I can see why it is a favorite for many.
Skipjacks - Deb and I shared a salad and a mahi mahi that was just okay.
Topper’s on the Beach in front of the Flamingo. We both had chicken marsala. It was disappointing.

Miscellaneous
1. The weather was almost perfect. Warm and sunny every day. Very little rain. Always a comfortable breeze.
2. We were lucky getting out weatherwise, but many people were left delayed or stranded by bad storms in the New York and Washington DC area. We felt really bad for those poor travelers.
3. The traffic in and around Marigot was just terrible. Parking was equally bad. I saw many buses from the cruise ships and wonder how they navigate through there. The roundabout in Cole Bay seemed to help the traffic congestion in that area.
4. The new grocery store at the corner of Billy Folly and Welfare Roads had a good selection and was very handy for people staying in the Pelican Resort area.
5. The people on St. Maarten, to a person, were friendly, kind, and gracious.
6. I didn’t get to do everything I planned, nor eat at all the restaurants I wanted, but there is always next year.

Activities
We caught up with old friends from prior years Tony and Marie Codero from Long Island, Carl and Janet Johnson from Harwich, Mass., Carl and Elizabeth Simmons from Toronto, Canada, and David and Coleen Kahle from Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is always a highlight of our trip. We also really enjoyed making new friends. We met and really enjoyed Dick and Maureen Aronson from Danbury, Conn., Tom and Marilyn Bartlett from Beverly, Mass., Tom and Nancy Authier from Monson, Mass. and Neil and Barbara from Toronto. Can’t wait to see them all next year and make new friends.

I got a little crazy and had my ear pierced. My adult kids said that I will probably come back home next year with a pegleg, an eye patch, or a parrot on my shoulder. In St. Maarten you never know…..

On a Tuesday we took an Eagle Tours cruise around the island on one of their catamarans. There were only about 37 passengers (the boat can hold over 80) so it wasn’t crowded. It was a lot of fun with stops at Tintamarre, Creole Rock (for snorkeling), Grand Case for lunch and Simpson Bay for swimming. It was nice too see the entire island from the waterside. The crew was great.

We did the Sunset Cruise again out of Pelican Resort and as usual had a great time and met some new friends. Enjoyed the “wave” from our friends on the beach near Cupecoy.

We went to Dawn Beach for a day and the surf was surprisingly mild. My pale skin Canadian wife is not a big beach person.

We ended up going to Phillipsburg twice for shopping and Marigot three times.

I can’t think of a better place to be in February. We were so sorry to leave.

Sorry for the long report.

Tim and Deb King

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