This was our 11th visit to St. Martin, our 2nd to Anguilla, and our initial stop-over at the beautiful island of Saba, Unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean. We had a very relaxing trip with a good deal of beach time, and even a little work mixed in.

Flight was blissfully uneventful on US Airways, arriving 1 hr. and 15 min. early. Coming from Kansas City, arriving at 12:30PM left us with a good deal of our first day still available. AAA Car Rental was easy and we were quickly on our way. Groceries, phone top up, and we are at Alamanda in Orient Village very quickly. Dropped off our bags, said a few hellos to old friends, then we are off to the beach! This abbreviated report is intended to hit the highlights only, and in no way can it provide all the wonderful detail. Bring on the questions, I’ll do my best!

Activity Highlights are:
A Day Trip to Saba was incredible! We are definitely returning soon and will stay overnight next time. See our pictures at Saba Pix. The place was surreal, clean, and very friendly. We climbed the entire length of Mount Scenery at 3,000 ft (incredible views), and we even rented a car, yet hardly touched it. The following day I asked my wife to give me 5 adjectives to describe the island.
My List - Bonnie’s List
1. Enchanted - Quaint
2. Surreal - Breathtaking
3. Mystic - Enchanting
4. Quaint - Exhilarating
5. Picturesque - Folksy
You must see this to really appreciate it. At $86 R/T, the flight alone was worth the investment!

A Halloween Party at Red Piano was whimsical!
Met AXARob and Mary for a fun evening of live music and lively costumes at the RP. Saw several TTOL members and other island friends as well. The night was a hoot. If you missed it, I was the Tacky Cruise Ship Passenger.

A perfume class at Tijon was informative! Bonnie and a friend, Mrs. AXARob, signed up and took the class and were thrilled with the experience. Class is expected to take 2-3 hours. I got in a little beach time and returned to pick up a Beaming bride. A new custom scent is born, Eau de LuLu. Thank you John and Cyndi for a great experience.

An Evening with Cover to Cover was entertaining.
We have always caught the show at Peg Leg Pub on each trip, but this seemed particularly enjoyable.

A Day Trip to Anguilla with friends was relaxing!
Pre-arranged day trip to avoid a heavy cruise ship day was well timed. We spent the day with AXARob and Mary. Drove the island snapping more than a few photographs, ate an over-priced breakfast, and a great lunch meal. The beaches are indescribable on this quiet little island. Saba, Anguilla, and St. Martin are all quite different, but each easily stands on it’s own merit. Thanks for all the AXA planning Rob.

Attended a TTOL Gathering at Tijon’s and met up with several old friends. As is always the case, meeting our friends on island is the highlight. Elaine and Bill, we really enjoyed visiting with you again. DK was a great stop visiting with our friends, though Deepti was off-island. We met with each of our artists, updating them on our current sales and sharing new ideas, and our retail meetings cleaned out our entire on-island inventory! A particularly proud moment was seeing our products in Shipwreck Shops at the departure lounge at the airport!

Ate a Plethora of great meals!
Tried six (6) new restaurants this time, Bacchus, Safari Grill, Palm Beach, Chesterfield’s, Little Italy, and Enold’s Caribbean Creole Food (Thanks to a tip from Bill & Elaine). All were found to have good food, in good quantity, and at fair pricing. .
Talk of the Town, 3 times, food was as usual, service was a serious drop-off. Return is questionable.
Cote Plage in Orient Village twice. Very good food, fish, fish, and more fish, and excellent service. Though we have eaten there before, it has moved far up our list of favorites.
Peg Leg Pub, 3 times. Had KC Strip every time, and it was consistently excellent!
Calmo’s Café for a great evening in the sand.
Le Pimente was good as usual, but felt a little pricey for the ware.

Counting down the days to an April/May arrival, and wishing I were still on island!

JeffV