Just got home a few hours ago and want to make my report while everything is fresh We say every year we had the best trip yet, but it really did happen this time. We met so many wonderful people via the TTOL parties or just bar hopping every night. So many great memories!! Put on a pot of coffee-it's gonna be a long one.<br><br>Flights: Took American Eagle from Logan to JFK. Got up there at 4am. It was great not having to fight the crowds at the main AA counters for the big jets. Got off on time with a smooth ride. JFK sucked as always. Bad signage for gates, you have to walk a bit outside to your gate due to terminal construction. Totally disorganized at the carry-on security area. The security women were chomping on gum...it was a three ring circus. Took forever and they paged us cause they were getting ready to go. Arrived on SXM at 12:40pm so it was all worth it. Did SJU to Boston on the way home. For the first time ever SJU was a breeze. We got it all done in a half hour <br><br>Beaches: Went to Mullet the most. Always have a great day there. Most of the time the water was like a pond-very calm and great for kids. Went to Orient once. Had a swell time. The water was gorgeous as always! Very windy but I like it. I prefer a nice breeze while roasting on a spit Took a long beach walk and ran into Marybeth and Don at Baywatch. Great folks! Met them last year and they're alot of fun Totally shocked at the missing beachfront, especially at Kon-Tiki. We hung there last year and they have virtually no sand in front-plenty of real estate last year. Hope it all comes back at some point.<br><br>Resort: Always stay at Royal Islander. Superb as always! We miss Arnoud at the Lobby Bar, but Erica was very nice. Not as busy down there as other years. Arnoud was a fabulous host at the bar and we were lost without him. We did run into him at the Lady C on Saturday night-so great to see him!! Charming as always La Terrasse is coming along nicely, but man is it huge. They still say it'll open this June, but I'll believe it when I see it. They had all the sliders and windows in, but not sure what's been done inside.<br><br>Food: We bring some stuff down and shopped at the Ram's in Cole Bay once. Fully stocked and clean. Had everything we needed. No complaints. We went to Antoine's for my birthday dinner-there were 12 of us. Always a delightful time! Jean-Pierre was a perfect host as always. I had the Filet with Bernaise-melt in your mouth delicious and done to perfection. Others had the rack of lamb and of course, the duck. Big fave with our group. We raided Lee's one night late for burgers-they were killer. Great live entertainment and Chi-Chi was alot of fun. Ate at Hot Tomatoes twice. Stayed after the 3/11 party and got a bunch of pizzas. Also met up with Dicky there after the 3/14 party. Had another pie and tried some of Kirby's Ahi Tuna Ceviche. Really great! The pizza's were scrumptious and Brad was a great host His wife and I share a birthday. Just in time for a piece of the decadent cake they had for her that night. Tiramisu to die for-pretty sure it had bananas in it as well. Really loved it there and we'll be back for sure next March!<br><br>TTOL Parties: So much fun! Had two of the coconut concoctions at the 3/11 Hot Tomatoes party. Good Gawd! We did our best to mingle and were sorry we missed some people who left early with dinner plans, etc. A bunch of us hung out and had dinner later on. Dicky is such a wonderful guy! Great host and charming as hell. We loved him!! Frank was a huge hit with us. Such a sweet dog and great with people. Miss him already. Nice to see my buddies Augie and Sue and BobD and Bette. We just adore them and seeing them is a highlight every March! The 3/14 Party at The Greenhouse was a blast. We met up with a few people who missed the 3/11 party. Cole and Michaela were wonderful hosts. Great talking to them. Very happy to see Pat Italy again. She's a great lady and so fun to talk to. I'd met Sugarae at Contessa's first pahty at her clubhouse. GREAT to see her again. Trust me, she was having a fun night Gretchen bought an SXM TShirt for me for my birthday and had everyone sign it. Neat idea and it was a hoot reading all the well wishes. Ken and Kathy wished me a Happy 60th! I'll get you guys back next March [img]/images/icons2/laugh.gif[/img] Conan wasn't there but Carlos was and kept asking to buy me a drink. Next thing ya know, he hauls out a 32 oz. fishbowl with a Malibu Bay Breeze in it. Yup-I finished it [img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img] Jack had left the mardi gras beads for us and it was really sweet of him. We were all decked out! A great time was had by all. Really enjoyed our night there. Thanks again to Cole and Michaela [img]/images/icons2/kiss.gif[/img]<br><br>Nightcrawlin-I must say we partied like rock stars this trip [img]/images/icons2/clapping.gif[/img] We began the week at Buccanneer Beach Bar to see Neil. He entertained us til closing. Love him! I'd asked if Wendell had been in and he had been by earlier in the day. He made a return appearance later on we all became fast friends. Love that guy. Very, very nice and he traipsed around with us for the next few nights. We missed him before he left-I'll be in touch Wendell! We also met Gary and Nancy from the board there. They couldn't attend the parties due to other plans, but it was nice meeting them! We ended up at the Lady C Boat Bar (the Absolut Floating Bar) in Simpson Bay every night after that. FUN place! Lots of locals, met a ton of people there. Crews from the gigantic yachts, the guy who runs the tugs on the island-completely hilarious man. I can't quote a thing he said since this is a clean board, but boy did he entertain us! We had so many laughs there I can't even tell ya. And ladies, if you do go there, please pinch Colin the bartender's bum for me ok? [img]/images/icons2/laugh.gif[/img] He's a young Robert Redford and I must say we acted like smitten 16 year olds around him. Embarassing [img]/images/icons2/laugh.gif[/img] I highly recommend the Lady C for excellent service and great atmosphere and inexpensive drinks. Stopped by Bamboo Bernies for drinks and left after they ignored Gretchen at the bar for 15 minutes. She blew a gasket and rightfully so. Great setting, but they need to work on the service. People have money to burn and it really sucks that they don't really care. Kirby also wanted Sushi. They gave us the runaround and said they had no tables. The dining room was wide open. Never again. Stopped by Bliss a few times. They jacked their drink prices from last year. My $4.50 drink last year is now $6. Still love the place and closed it down on Sat. night [img]/images/icons2/hairy.gif[/img] And no matter what you hear...that was NOT me at The Platinum Room til 6am Sunday morning [img]/images/icons2/hairy.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/yikes.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/laugh.gif[/img] OK maybe it was LOL We were hanging out with a bunch of people who crewed a yacht. Super cool people and that's where they wanted to go. Why the heck not! My liver is in sad shape and I think I'll kiss the ground when I walk into work on Monday. Need to lay off the sauce [img]/images/icons2/laugh.gif[/img]<br><br>Lasting Friendships: Kirby (Gwleo) will be a lifelong friend. Gretchen and I befriended him here and helped him get to SXM. Wonderful man [img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img] Had a zillion laughs with him and I think we convinced him to come down for week 10 next year. Very gracious, charming and adorable. We love him too! Deepti and Jeff--you'll never meet two more lovely people. We saw them at the parties and really enjoyed our time with them. They raffled off a gorgeous Blue Topaz and Diamond necklace at the 3/11 party. I won it! The chain was tangled so we stopped by their store to have it fixed. Jeff gave me a whole new chain [img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img] We futzed around with the length and the end result was beautiful! Please make it a point to meet them at a TTOL Party or stop by the store. We adore them and can't wait to see them again [img]/images/icons2/kiss.gif[/img] Just delightful! I'll definitely keep in touch with Dicky was well. Had alot of laughs with him and I was so glad he agreed that Benny Hill was not funny LOL Thanks so much for spending time with us. We really enjoyed it!<br><br>And last but not least...The rest of The Gang of 4...Gretchen, Leslie and my sister Susan. I have nevah had so much fun with them as I did this year. Our stomachs ached from laughing. Whether we were quoting from our favorite comedies or just getting drunk and making complete asses out of ourselves [img]/images/icons2/laugh.gif[/img] the fun never stopped. I cherish their friendship and we need to get them up to Rhode Island this fall for a mid-point party [img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img] Great girls!<br><br>I'll post pics when I get back in my routine here at home. I'm so happy I stumbled upon this board a few years ago. It's given me a ton of great advice and has allowed me to meet some of the best people in the world. I love you all! [img]/images/icons2/kiss.gif[/img]