Sunday June 3

Up at 5:30 and took a swim from the beach in front of the pool at Flamingo around the jetty to the dock in the middle of the bay in front of the resort. I was going to hike the Simpson Bay, but there was a ditch that kept me from going towards the Simpson Bay Marina, so I went through the Pelican pool area to the street beside the Red Piano Bar and hiked up that way. Hiked all the way to the top of Billy Folly Hill, taking pictures all along the way. Once on top of Pearl Dr. I found an incredible view of Simpson Lagoon, the airport, and the road towards Phillipsburg. I was up by the communication tower and it was a spectacular view! Took another swim before getting with Lynn at Flamingo and making plans for breakfast at Zee Best.

We love Zee Best, the pastries are incredible, eat and pay for what you want. Lynn had the Breakfast Special crepe, scrambled eggs, cheese and bacon with water, while I had Le Roger, a crepe with ham, cheese, and a poached egg with freshly squeezed OJ, total $34.25 including auto 15% gratuity.

Set out for Happy Bay, we had never been there, and I thought it would be easy to find on a Sunday with locals leading the way. We tried to find the easy route outlined on some forums I'd read here, and ended up in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by curious bovine and large iguana. Looked around for the "gate" I had read about, but never found it, only a fence- and lots of pasture patties....:>)

Went back to Friars' Bay, passing a cow leisurely walking down the sidewalk, and landed at Kali's. Got a couple of chairs and an umbrella, $15. Large dark clouds intersperesd with sunlight made for a comfortable day on the beach. Went snorkeling along the right side of the bay, and before I knew it I was even with the catamarans anchored in the bay. I got some water in my mask, dropped my wedding ring to the bottom of the sea, and was fortunate enough to recover the ring. When I came up, I took in some sea water and almost panicked. I got my self together and started swimming backstroke towards the beach. Along the way, I backstroked into a sea urchin that stung my right hand. It was on a rock that was very near the surface of the water that I couldn't see swimming backwards. After a long and arduous swim to shore, I couldn't wait for a drink. I asked Kali what to do for a sea urchin sting and he said "piss on it". I told him I didn't think it would do any good to piss on the sea urchin.....:>) It stung for a few days, but the black marks on my hand gradually faded away with no problems.

Once I got back to the beach, I was ready for a drink! I didn't have any cash, and the minimum for a debit card was $20 which wasn't a problem. Had a few Caribs and rhum punches and before I knew it we had a 41 euro tab for 3 Caribs and 4 frozen rhum punches.

Matchlite charcoal is a challenge on St. Maarten. Didn't want to buy lighter fluid for one cookout, I wanted a bag of Matchlite to cook for a one time grill. Went to 3 different places to no avail.

Back to Flamingo, sitting on the balcony we were approached by the slick talking Ernest, who convinced us to change our plans to go to Mullet or Longe Bay, where we had never been. Instead, we went to the Westin at Dawn Bay, promised a free dinner cruise for attending the time share presentation. More on that later.....

Lynn had leftover Zee Best, and I had grilled Mahi Mahi from BBB with fries, $14, very good. Miami-Boston at the studio, done day.