Trip Report<br>6/14-6/21<br><br>Summary <br>Great trip, wonderful island, friendly people, great resort (Divi Little Bay), wonderful food and good beaches.<br><br>We arrived on the 2pm US Airways flight via Charlotte. It was partly cloudy when we landed and before we finished taxing, it started to rain. However before we deplaned it had stopped (go figure). It took a couple of minutes to find Leslie Bruce of Kenny’s Car Rentals in the parking lot (he was with another client when we first walked out of the terminal) but once we found him, it took 5 minutes and we were on our way, as advertised. Car was great and served our needs well all week.<br><br>Saturday<br>Checked in at Divi without a hitch. Per my e-mail request they gave us a ground floor studio in Bldg. “A”. My wife was absolutely flabbergasted to find the gorgeous bouquet of tropical flowers in our room. Thanks to TTOL (and the people of Divi) for the help pulling that off. The flowers lasted all week and totally delighted my wife every time she looked at them. What a deal for $40. A similar arrangement at home would have gone for over $100 easily (I know, I buy her flowers all of the time).<br><br>We spent a little time getting used to our new home for the week and then headed to the Sunset Cafe bar (twenty-five steps from our door, I counted). Met some great people there including the best bartender we met all week Leroy. <br><br>Headed into P-burg for dinner unsure of where we would go. Drove down Front Street. Didn’t see anything that turned our heads. Turned right at the end of town and there was The Greenhouse. Eureka! Ordered 2-for-1 (happy hour 4:30-7 everyday) Red Stripes that came in a big ice bucket and BBQ sandwiches. Began to notice that there were quite a few men partying together all with short hair and then it dawned on me that they were U.S. Coast Guardsmen from the cutter Legare that was in for a port visit. Walked over to a table of about ten guys and said “You guys must be Coasties.” They all looked at me funny and one guy said “What is it written on our backs or something?” I said “No, I just saw a bunch of guys with short hair and knew there was a cutter in port and put two & two together”. Then I introduced myself as a former Coastie and we all hit it off like old friends. Later I asked the waiter how he liked having all of the Coasties in there and he said that they were the friendliest, best behaved sailors he had ever dealt with. It gave me a serious lump in my throat from the pride I felt at hearing that.<br><br>Had planned on trying to make the full moon party at Kali’s but as we left it started pouring rain and smartly decided to not try and find Friar’s Bay on our first night of our first trip to the island in the dark and in the rain. Later found out that it wasn’t much of a party because of the weather. Oh well.<br><br>Sunday<br>Had breakfast at the Toucan Rest @ Divi. Good American style breakfast but the coffee was way to strong for my taste. <br><br>Met the guy from Pack Light in our resort parking lot and picked up the chairs, umbrella and snorkel gear that I had reserved via internet. (This was a great deal. We really liked having our own beach gear wherever we went.)<br><br>Got in the car and did our reconnoitering trip. Headed west out of Divi (boy what a tough exit that is). Headed west. Admired the locals in the their Sunday best, especially the cute little girls in their frilly dresses. Headed into Marigot and parked downtown. It being Sunday, not much was open, but Arowak (sp?) was, and so we stopped and had some ice-cold Caribs. Headed north, but bypassed Grand Case and attempted to go to Anse Marcel but decided to forego it for the moment and turned back towards Orient. It took a couple of abortive turns before finding the ‘strip’ but made it finally. Hit the beach and didn’t find anything that caught our eye or was open until we hit Pedro’s. Pedro’s had a little duet playing so we took a seat and settled into full island relaxation mode. Later ordered a cheeseburger for me and a grilled chicken sandwich for her and dug on the music some more.<br><br>Had to laugh in amazement as the bass player ducked out the side door behind him for a cell phone call. He put the phone to his ear and continued playing while standing outside on the sand. He never missed a beat. Talk about multi-tasking.<br><br>Later that night we headed to Simpson Bay area for dinner and we’re disappointed to find Peg Leg Pub closed. Went further down the street and since we we’re already in ‘steak’ mode decided to give Rancho a try. I ordered the ‘Strip’ steak, unsure of what cut of meat that was, but hoping it was NY Strip like. It wasn’t and was disappointingly tough. Learned later that all of their beef is Argentinian and much different than beef we are normally accustomed to. Wife’s steak and shrimp was good and the beef tenderer than mine. Rancho is still someplace I would go again though. Relatively good service, beautiful building and a great setting right on the lagoon. As we finished dinner we watched in amazement as the moon rose over the hill to the east. It happened so fast and was so big it was a like a movie special effect.<br><br>After dinner we stopped in at Hot Tomatoes to inquire about the Pub Crawl (because I had forgotten where it was going to start) and got referred to Jimbo's. Went to Jimbo’s and met Jimbo himself. Uncle Harry there also and found out his dock was the starting place. While sitting at the wonderful bar there, we met a sweet girl whom we later found out was ‘Daisy Dukes’, Bulldog’s co-host. Too cool! And what a sweetheart.<br> <br>Monday<br>Breakfast was purchased at the little Bayview Cafe @ the Divi shops. Wonderful pastries, from Carl & Sons Bakery and good coffee. Spent the morning on the Divi beach and had lunch at the Sunset Cafe @ Divi. Headed off to the Ram’s Food World up on Cole Bay Hill. Back to the beach for a while and then off to Uncle Harry’s. Was a little wary of the funky parking lot and steel ramp up to the floating dock restaurant, but once we met Harry, all fears were gone. Just before the Celine arrived, I went to use the restroom and when I returned mere moments later my wife was talking to some strangers that soon became ‘old friends’. Shirley introduced herself to me and then her ten or so family members that were to accompany us on the Pub Crawl. What a hoot this group turned out to be. Soon we were on the lagoon and after a quick turn around the inter harbor island we docked at Turtle Pier. Great apps (ribs, conch fritters, wings, etc.) Off to Jimbo’s. Got to Jimbo’s and almost before the first drink, the ring leader, Shirley, was jumping into the water behind the bar. Before we left there were about ten sitting, standing (someone I think even went swimming). I was laughing too hard to note all the gory details.<br><br>I highly recommend the Celine Pub Crawl (or Sunset cruise). Neil and Carissa will take great care of you, give you a nice tour of the harbor and with just a little luck you’ll meet some new friends. Plus if you like sailboats, you’ll love the boat that Neil built with his own hands and sailed from South Africa. If you go, tell them Mitch & Donna say ‘Hi’.<br><br>Tuesday<br>Spent the day at Orient. Surf was up big time, but we still enjoyed people and sports watching. We watched in amazement at the kite surfer streaking across the bay in the 20+ mph winds. Lunch was at Baywatch where my wife delighted in having her picture taken next to the NJ Turnpike sign from her home state. Met and talked with Cheryl for a bit and she gave us some recommendations for dinner that night. Wife had a wonderful fresh eggplant parm sandwich. Due to pub-crawl after-effects I had an un-adventurous cheeseburger and a coke which fixed me up just fine. Also chatted with our waiter (Adrian?) from Monserrat. What a nice guy.<br><br>The sad news is that the beach there was bad. The waves weren’t making it any easier as they visibly eroded more beach between Kokomo’s and Pedro’s in just the few hours we were there.<br><br>Choosing one of Cheryl’s recommendations, we ate at Le Cottage that night in celebration of 25th wedding anniversary. We were the first people seated that night and by choice sat right next to the street. <br><br>We shared the appetizer, fresh tuna, very-lightly sautéed in olive oil and garnished with a tangy assortment of thinly slivered greens (we were never sure of exactly what it all was), with drizzles of different sauces around the plate. It was surprisingly fabulous.<br><br>For entree’s, I had the surf and turf. Not you’re conventional slab o’ beef and a lobster tail. Nooo, way. The beef was strips of fillet mixed with chunks of plump lobster in a brown sauce that complimented the combination to perfection. There some perfectly cooked veggies and a baked potato also.<br><br>My wife had a grilled shrimp dish that had a least 8, maybe 10 good sized shrimp. The shrimp were on a bed of mashed sweet potato and spinach. She loved it as well. <br><br>At my request, Bruno selected a glass of red for me and a glass of white for her. I did not write down what he selected but each type perfectly complimented each entree.<br><br>Desert was the creme brulee sampler (excellent), coffee and some of Bruno’s wonderful home banana rum (so smooth).<br><br>Notice a trend...perfect. For us, the meal was perfect, not one complaint. And what a value. Granted the area we currently live in is not a gourmet haven, but a meal like this would easily go for over $200+ where we live. A great value at $127 plus a generous tip to our wonderful server (Lisa I think). <br><br>Wednesday<br>Marigot market. Shop til you drop. We got there early. Found some wonderful deals, although we had to look to find just what we wanted. Also took some wonderful pictures of the harbor and the market. After getting all the presents we walked into town a couple of streets and found a great pastry shop. We were looking for Zee Best, but we were unsure if that’s what we found. After eating we headed west of town and took a drive through Sandy Ground and the lowlands. Coming down the last big hill before the Ocean Club we stopped for pictures and received the ONLY sighting of Saba all week which was just a dark silhouette in the haze. <br><br>That night we met the Celine again for the Sunset cruise. Again we had a great time. We loved the great harbor stories from Neil and my wife almost jumped over board when she heard Robert Redford had a house on Mt. Rouge. <br><br>Anyone heard the story of the de-masted sail boat turned row boat that is abandoned in the harbor?<br><br>After the cruise, we joined Neil and his temporary, part-time mate Gary for dinner in Marigot at La Petite Auberge in the Marina Port Royale. This was another great meal. The ambience wasn’t quite as elegant as Le Cottage but the food, wine and setting was of similar quality and at about half the price. What a deal.<br><br>Thursday was spent at Dawn Beach which quickly became our favorite. Thursday dinner was the BBQ Buffett at Divi. What a great deal also. $20pp all you can eat, plus any drinks you may order over and above the free ones.<br><br>Friday we spent shopping in Phillipsburg. Met Deepti for the first time and quickly became friends. (I’m still thinking about that Movado she showed me). She recounted some of her US trip tales to us and then recommended the Kangaroo Court for some vittles. Per our usual, we got some pastries and our first Ting (good stuff). We really enjoyed the lush, quiet, courtyard. <br><br>Bought some booze and t-shirts at the shop next door then headed back to the Divi beach for the remainder of our last day.<br><br>Ate dinner that night at Peg Leg Pub. Shawn (sp?) took great care of us despite the fact that he was serving at least ten or twelve other tables simultaneously. I came a couple of oz.’s short of finishing the 28 oz. t-bone (what a pig) and wife had the lobster which neither of us could finish. Again a great meal and a great value @ $80. Plus we really enjoyed the A/C.<br><br>On the way home from dinner I persuaded the wife to make a ‘short’ detour to Mary’s Boon. “We’ll meet Dicky and Frank, one quick drink and then we’ll go.” Yeah right. I saw Dicky ‘talking’ on the internet as we entered. I introduced myself a little later and quickly understood why he has been such a popular figure on the island. Then he blew is away with his big news. (I wasn’t sure how to feel about learning this even before he announced it on TTOL.) I do feel confident that it will not be the last time we see him. Reading, PA won’t know what hit them.<br><br>Saturday<br>Last day. Boo Hoo. Got to airport a little before 10am. Had to wait half an hour to get to the counter at US Air. We weren’t checking any luggage but of course had to wait for all those that were. (Including a guy with about ten large bags, I heard him muttering something about 6 kids.)<br><br>Finally got to the counter and find out that the Charlotte flight would be late arriving and thus departing. Our Charlotte to Detroit connection was already short so she recommended switching us to the Philly flight. After the power goes out three times she finally re-tickets us. Paid the departure tax and headed to Hot Tomatoes for brunch. But not before picking up some baguette sandwiches at the bakery across the street. Boy did they come in handy much later that night.<br><br>Hot Tomatoes’ owner Brad was busy prepping for the big fundraiser that night. Drove around to kill some time. I don’t know why people describe Hot Tomatoes as a pizza place. It has a wonderful menu with all sorts of neat things. Plus it’s a great location with a nice big parking lot.<br><br>After dropping the Pack Light equipment off, we headed to airport. Pulled in right behind a white Toyota with R-5 license plate. This had to be Leslie Bruce’s brother-in-law. It was. Dropped car with him and headed up to Cafe Julianna to kill remaining time. Nice place to kill time, watch planes and chill in the A/C.<br><br>Flight was a little late leaving. Got into Philly 20 minutes late got through Immigration fairly quickly and buzzed through customs because we only had carry-on luggage. Then proceeded to run from Terminal “A” to Terminal “F” for our connection. Got there with a little time to spare (thanks to the shuttle bus and despite the fact that my wife insisted on stopping to buy the new Harry Potter book for me. Score!) Unfortunately our ticketing was screwed up and they only had one seat for us. At final boarding call 10 people still had showed up (undoubtedly stuck in customs after waiting for their bags) so he quickly gave us two seats up front and moments later we were headed to Detroit. The baguette sandwiches that my dear sweet wife had insisted on buying tasted wonderful, but we did have a few people staring at us as we ate our late dinner and they ate pretzels.<br><br>Only disappointment for the whole week was the weather. It was never really bad. Only rained briefly a couples of times, but it was hazy and partly to completely cloudy all week. Only saw Saba and St. Barts once each. That did not effect our plans too much.<br><br>The best part was spending seven uninterrupted days at my sweetheart’s side. It was the most wonderfully happy and intimate time (and I don’t mean just sex) that the two of us have ever had. An accomplishment we are both proud of after 25 years of marriage.<br><br>Thanks to all of you for helping make this trip such a success. Photos will be posted soon. <br><br>(Mitch & Donna from Michigan)<br>
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