I had intended to post daily, but the internet in our room isn't working, so every few days will have to do....
As usual, this trip report is actually the personal journal of our trip, and is therefore very detailed. If that bothers you, you’ve been warned!
Since we purchased our tickets before we moved to North Carolina, our flights originated from RIC. We drove up on Friday, which allowed me to get a great haircut from my stylist, and a mani/pedi at my favorite spot. It’s the little things…..We checked into the Doubletree at the airport, dumped our bags, and immediately headed out to dinner. Upon arriving back at the hotel, we realized that the heat in the room wasn’t working. A call to the desk brought a mechanic who couldn’t fix the heat, so we moved to another room. The manager told us this room was on the inside of the hotel, and we “might hear a little noise from the band.” A little??? Oh well, at least they stopped playing at 11.
Wake up at 4:45 AM, and caught the shuttle to the airport, a 5 minute ride. I had printed our boarding passes and paid for our checked bags before we left home, so check in should have been quick; however, there were two people in front of us who were not as prepared as we, and it took them at least 15 minutes to check in. We still had plenty of time to get to the gate. Our flight to Philly was late leaving because the plane had to be de-iced, but we still arrived in plenty of time to catch the shuttle to our terminal and pick up salads to eat on the plane (thank you to whoever recommended Salad Works; they were excellent!).
We had exit row seats which allowed a tremendous amount of legroom, and the flight was quite comfortable. We arrived at PJIA about 30 minutes early, sailed through immigration, and had to wait about 15 minutes for our bags. Alain’s (AAA) guy was waiting for us, and Myra arrived after about a five minute wait. Back at AAA’s new office (next to Beachside Villas), computer problems prevented Myra from preparing our contract, but she hand-wrote one and we were on our way. A quick stop at Sharon’s to pick up our phone turned longer than expected, as two people were ahead of me when I got there. They were having computer problems too….
Check-in at LaVista was as smooth as always, and we were in our studio in no time. What a treat to find a beautiful welcome basket from one of our favorite island friends! That, along with our grocery order from Jeannie, assured us that we really didn’t have to do any shopping for a couple of days. I immediately popped open a cold Carib, and plopped down on the balcony to drink in the island’s beauty.
As has been reported here, the maintenance fees at LaVista have increased about 14% over last year, after several years of very small increases. There have been varying descriptions of the improvements made which prompted that increase. What I see in our unit is new cabinets in the kitchen, with granite countertops and a new backsplash. The look is very clean and modern, and it is a great improvement. The bathrooms also have new vanities and countertops (I think they’re quartz). The unit has been repainted a nice cream color, and the bedspread has been replaced. The look is bright and fresh, and with the new upholstery from last year (which is not stained in our unit, as someone had reported), the flat screen TV in the family room, and additional chairs at the pool, I feel the increase is certainly reasonable. We have never paid a special assessment since we’ve owned here, and each year the resort looks better than the year before.
Even though we had everything we needed to stay in for the evening, we decided to walk down to BBB as they had live music advertised. Ronny Santana was playing, with someone else who played the harmonica, and the music was very enjoyable. We had a Pirate Pizza (with extra anchovies, Elaine), and a couple of Caribs each. We could only eat half the pizza. We decided to share a BBC for dessert, and were enjoying that when Elizabeth (IslandGem) and David arrived and scared the bejezus out of me! After chatting with them for a while, we headed up the hill towards home. One the way, a five minute downpour erupted and soaked us (we should have taken you up on the offer of a ride, Elizabeth) .
Sunday morning brought the typical St. Maarten dawn….gorgeous. We had already decided to hang out at the pool at LVB for the day, and we did. Leftover pizza for lunch with a couple of beers was all we needed to be happy in paradise. We headed down to the Greenhouse for Elizabeth’s party at 5, and it was so much fun to see old friends and meet some new ones as well. It was a very nice time, and we thank Elizabeth for making the effort to organize the event! Afterwards, we decided to go to the Red Piano with Todd & MJ, and the Gomez Brothers certainly didn’t disappoint! They are great, and pretty much play anything you request. Bill and Elaine showed up after a while, and a good time was had by all…..maybe a little too good…….
Monday morning dawned way too early for me, having had more fun than I should have had at the Red Piano. After coffee and a light breakfast on the balcony, we headed for Orient, going through Maho and Marigot to avoid the traffic. It took us almost an hour to get there, with no backups to speak of. Carl at Kakao is sporting a new beard, and GP’s KO Bar has been expanded, but other than that, everything is just as it was last year. We settled in and took our customary walk, although we stopped when we got to Pedro’s as the cabs had just let out a ton of cruisers intent on gawking. There’s a lot of seaweed on the beach.
A couple of GP’s spicy Bloody Marys helped to ease the pain of the night before, and by noon I was feeling fine again. Lunch was the chicken special at Kakao: A chicken breast stuffed with spinach and shrimp, rolled and baked, and served with an assortment of vegetables and a delicious pan sauce. With a bottle of Rose, and a bottle of water, the total came to around $100, service included of course. Our Privilege Card reduced that by 10%. A pricy lunch? Sure, but where else can you get gourmet French food in your swimsuit and bare feet?! After lunch we took another walk and headed back to the room to relax.
The internet in our room is not working, so we have not been able to connect since we arrived. I’m having some serious withdrawal symptoms, but I think I’ll survive. Unfortunately, my calendar, with all of our plans, is in Google mail and until I can get online, I can’t check that. Somehow we’ll get by……
Tuesday morning we headed back to Orient to meet friends off a cruise. Again, we took the long route through Maho and Marigot to avoid the construction traffic in Philipsburg. It was another gorgeous day on the beach, and we enjoyed our day at Kakao. Today David and I shared the Pizza Speciale and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Our pizza was fabulous, as usual. My friend had the shrimp Caesar salad and her husband had a cheeseburger, which they enjoyed. The beach was extremely busy today, with four or five ships in, including the Norwegian Epic and a Disney ship. Had our friends not been in we would have spent the day at Palm Beach to avoid the crowds, but they are familiar with Kakao and wanted to eat there. Of course, we love it there too, so no problems!
As I type, I’m watching the sunset and waiting for David to shower so we can head out for dinner. I think we’ll just have a casual meal at Pineapple Pete tonight. I hope Ronny is playing….
We had a reasonable meal at Pineapple Pete. I had the fish special which was quite good. David was not impressed with his cocoanut shrimp. Their preparation used to be unique (not fried as you normally see), but now they’re just a frozen product that they fry. We did enjoy a Spanish coffee after dinner waiting for Ronny to play but had forgotten that they have a band on Tuesday evenings.
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