We flew US Airways there on 7/26—BWI by way of Charlotte. The trip down was uneventful and arrived on time. We flew American back on 8/9 and 8/10 by way of Puerto Rico. On 8/9 after a 5 hour lay over in Puerto Rico, we the plane had pulled out of the gate when they found that there was some type of ventilation problem. The Captain brought the plan back and after 20 minutes, we were deplaned so that techs could better repair the problem. After about four hours, they announced that the plane would not be taking off and they issued vouchers for the airport hotel—very tiring. The plane took off 8:30AM on the 10th.

Brief report on our visit:

First of all, I want to thank everyone for suggestions on my second week stay and answering questions while on the island. This was around our 25th year going to the island and did so under some unusual circumstances for us. One was that we were traveling with our adult sons and their wife and significant other. As always, we booked a villa in Terres Basse but just for one week instead of two. We were worried that it would be awkward for the grown kids sharing the villa, but it was wonderful. Another unusual circumstance is that my mother who I had moved in with me due to illness passed away. As it turned out, we really needed the trip this time due to that.

The kids left after the first week, but it was wonderful to witness how much they loved St Martin and showing them around. They really got why their parents return each year.

I know that some do not care for Cheries, but we always take first time visitors there for dinner and to see the whacky show. It was pretty much the same as many of you know it and they loved it! The rest of the week consisted of Baie Rouge walks; Orient for parasailing; snorkeling trips; a trip to Shoals Bay in Anguilla (kids only); jewelry shopping and just great beach time at Mullet. A great deal of the time was spent enjoying the villa and pool. One of my sons and his wife are quite the gourmet cooks and insisted on cooking most every meal that we ate in. This was very much appreciated, because I hate to cook.

When we went to Orient, we pretty much selected the firsts group of beach chairs that we saw. After parking ourselves, I looked behind us and guess what! We were directly in front of Andys and Cheryls. Well I just had to try some of those much talked about mussels and they were wonderful! I engaged in conversation with both Andy and Cheryl and they were very nice and personable.

One of my sons and his wife disappeared on the clothing optional sided and enjoyed the experience sans clothes.

As the kids became more familiar and aclimated to the driving, they went out to discover on their own. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> So, they did get to visit Dawn beach and the Oyster Pond area. They soon realized that they cannot do it all in a weeks trip and are planning their trip for next year.

Some other places that we ate the first week (we are not foodies) were:
-Pineapple Petes twice—good as usual
-Le Tastevin—this was my birthday meal. It was as good as usual except the lobster was a little overcooked
-Pizza Pasta—good but they did have a flying ant problem in the back dining room.
-Talk of the town twice-good for the money


The kids left after a week and we moved into the Cliffs. My husband and I loved this place. We really wanted to stay at Beachsides Villas, but I have this overheating problem and was not sure that I could deal with no air conditioner in the living room at night. We did very little as we planned—dinner, shopping, and Casinos and beach as we had planned.

Places that we ate:
-Marks Place—twice after shopping in Phillipsburg. Plentiful and good food for the price.
-MontMaitre (sp) in Cupecoy—I go every year and love this place.
-Hidden forest Café (lunch)—Outstanding duck salad! This was my first time and will not be my last!
Cheries for lunch—Twice. Good salads and burgers
-Moulin Fou--good
-Rosies at Mullet—One day we just took ribs back after the beach
-Skip Jacks—Nice atmosphere, but we did not like the food at all. I forgot what my husband had, but I had the fried seafood platter. The shrimps and scallops were over breaded and greasy.

I know that I forgot some places, because we ate out pretty much every night.

Various Things:

This was the first time that we had not taken any meats, such as steak and chicken to cook at the villa. That is why I asked about cost-u-less while there. We did not find the meats to our liking at Grand Marche (by Marks Place). So we went to cost-u-less. We found it to be somewhat expensive and we had to toss a package of the chicken, because it did not smell great when we opened it. I know that this is not for some, but we will be bringing our steaks and chicken from home next year. No biggie for us.

I understand from Deepti, that Elaine lives at the resort that is next to the Cliff. I am soo envious.

As always, I was sad to go. So, I am now planning the trip for next year to get the edge off. I can’t wait to retire so that we can hopefully do this more often.

As we get older, I realize that the trip report is more boring,but boring is just the fix that we needed.

I did not proof this. So forgive the typos.