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October 2019 Trip report part 1 #206371
10/11/2019 10:49 AM
10/11/2019 10:49 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline OP
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Carol_Hill  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
So, I can’t believe we’ve been here over a week already, so guess I need to get started on this report!

We booked air on AA on frequent flyer miles a year ago, Miami to SXM for 25 K each. After doing a lot of looking around, we decided to go with Maranjo’s recommendation and booked Park & Fly for parking in Miami. I was able to get a special for $8.72 a night for valet inside although I had some problems booking online and had to call. I have to say, I was impressed, as we pulled up and they helped us get our bags out and carried them directly to the waiting bus and we were off within about 5 minutes of when we arrived at their facility. For those fans of Miami Fast Park, it is located at the next traffic light past where Miami Fast Park was. Depending on the experience on return, I think we have found our new place to park.

Our plane was on time and was only about 2/3 full, so we were able to snag 3 seats for the two of us and spread out to eat the lunch that we picked up in Miami, a cobb salad and a sandwich, which were both OK, not great. We landed about 10 minutes early and the only other plane in was I think a West Jet, and immigration was very quick. They DID hand out some immigration forms, which the lady did take and look at. They were not the old forms, with the tear off piece on the bottom. We had a to wait for our checked luggage, but we were soon picked up by our guy from AAA and to their office in Beacon Hill to pick up our car, which is the oddest color car we’ve ever had. It has some bumps and bruises, but that is fine. We were at our home away from home, Beachside Villas, before 4 PM.

We didn’t see anyone at the office. I don’t know if there is a manager now, other than Emmanuel or not. We don’t need any hand holding, so it doesn’t matter to us. We headed out to the Carrefour in Cole Bay. The Cole Bay Carrefour isn’t nearly as well stocked with booze and wine as the P’Burg branch, and they basically have NO specials on wine. As noted on the board earlier, Carrefour doesn’t hand out bags any more and the carts are locked up, but a quarter works, the same as at Super U. We had picked up a coupon in Destination Magazine which was supposed to be for 5% off at Carrefour. They honored it, but the discount only turned out to be about half that? Perhaps the coupon doesn’t apply to alcohol? Anyway, it saved us a little bit.

We decided to stop at Driftwood for carryout pizza if there was a spot and by some miracle, there is one. They play some nice music, Kenny Chesney, etc., and people are dancing. We get a couple of drinks and it’s a nice introduction to the island. I didn’t have my camera, but another guy who is there takes a sunset picture and emails it to me, which is nice of him.

[Linked Image]

The sky is beautiful once back at BSV and take a couple pictures here.


[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

We bring in the rest of our groceries, sit out on porch and have our pizza, which is merely ok, but the view makes up for it. We unpack our stuff and settle in. Every other unit here is flipped, so it’s disconcerting with the bedroom being on the opposite side of where it’s been recently, so it will take a couple of days to get used to it, but it’s all good. It turns out that Dish is having a p*ssing match with Fox and there is no Thursday night football game on, which sucks. Whatever the issue is got resolved by Sunday though, so that’s good. We watched a bit of TV and went out to sit on the porch and talk to the guard, who says that his house is SORT of repaired since Irma. People here are very resilent.

They are doing some renovations to the units here. Our unit is partially renovated. They basically are taking out all the louvered windows and either drywalling them up or putting in casement windows. They also put in a small casement window in the area by the closet, above the shelf where they put the beach towels. Eventually they will be putting solid surface countertops in the kitchens and replacing the kitchen cabinets, but still with white cabinets. #14 is done and they are working on 13 right now. I don’t know if any of the other units are done or not. I don’t know whether I will be able to get pictures of 14, as I walked in to see it one day, but now there is someone in it.

Friday dawned pretty clear, but EXTREMELY hot, as there is no air moving. I have never seen butterflies here at Beachside, out by the ocean. I guess that’s because it is so calm. I took some pictures of the hordes of butterflies on the airport side of the building, but I was too lazy to go get the long lens, so they just look like pictures of the gardens, which are as stunning as ever, post Irma. It’s so hot neither one of us is much in the mood for breakfast, so we each have a quick snack and that’s it.

[Linked Image]

As always, I rent a small cooler and an umbrella from Craig/Bob at Packlight. We then headed out to Super U. We get lots of wine and some other stuff we didn’t get the day before, like bread, and got some plastic champagne glasses, at 2E for 6 of them. I don’t like the jelly jar wine glasses here at Beachside, so we then headed to Ace and got real glasses for $2 a stem. We then headed back to Beachside through Simpson Bay and there is no traffic! Amazing, a trip to Marigot and back through Simpson Bay and we slowed down a bit in Marigot, but otherwise, smooth sailing!! As of this morning when I’m writing this, we’ve been here a week and barely have had any traffic slowdowns! Yay!

We had forgotten to tell Emmanuel that we needed a grill yesterday, so we eventually got one, and had to have them come back with a new flame thrower and then to get the gas turned on, but eventually we enjoyed some burgers on the grill for lunch.
[Linked Image]

There is a dribble of seaweed in the water here, nothing bad, and most days they have not even bothered to rake here. I can never get tired of this view!
[Linked Image]

The wind came up some, so it’s a little cooler, but Saba goes away, and she’s been gone through today. That evening, we had intended to go to Puerto Cupecoy, but stayed in instead and have leftover pizza and snack stuff. Eric headed to bed early and I read my book. Real exciting people, we are.

Will try to get some more posted late today. Heading over toward Orient for lunch soon.


Last edited by Carol_Hill; 10/11/2019 11:24 AM.

Carol Hill
SXM Sponsors
Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206372
10/11/2019 11:57 AM
10/11/2019 11:57 AM
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 11
K
Kbells2 Offline
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Kbells2  Offline
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K
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 11
Beautiful Pictures. So peaceful

Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206373
10/11/2019 12:32 PM
10/11/2019 12:32 PM
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
pat Offline
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pat  Offline
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
Very nice, Carol. Looks like an incredible first week and can't wait for the rest of the story.....

No potatoes this trip?


Respectfully,

pat



"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
them."
Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206375
10/11/2019 01:19 PM
10/11/2019 01:19 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,477
Ohio
ruralcarrier Offline
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ruralcarrier  Offline
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,477
Ohio
Nice pics, thanks for the updates.


J.D.
Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: pat] #206377
10/11/2019 03:16 PM
10/11/2019 03:16 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline OP
Traveler
Carol_Hill  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Pat--We had baked potatoes with steak one night, and as you well know, some Spud Vodka!! toast


Carol Hill
Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206378
10/11/2019 04:59 PM
10/11/2019 04:59 PM
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,348
Rhode Island
RonDon Offline
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RonDon  Offline
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Posts: 4,348
Rhode Island
Carol, I don't usually eat French Fries but the fries we had last year in French side restaurants like Be Cool and O'Plongoir were addictively delicious. I can't wait to return to get a "fix".

Great photos. Which unit are you occupying?

Last year we didn't see a grill. Do you have to ask for one?

Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206380
10/11/2019 05:05 PM
10/11/2019 05:05 PM
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,056
PA
biglar Offline
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biglar  Offline
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Posts: 1,056
PA
Carol, sounds like a great time so far. We have been to Beachside Villas to visit, but never stayed there. Will have to do so some time, since the view is as you say, one of the best on the island. I assume you can hear the waves at night. Your tickets from Miami were 25 thousand each? Not sure what you meant by that. Where will you head to eat lunch at Orient? We are headed back in April and just got back from 10 days with friends in Antigua. Great time and the weather was perfect. Enjoy the rest of your visit!

Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206389
10/11/2019 09:17 PM
10/11/2019 09:17 PM
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 28
Chelsea, MA (near Boston)
DavidC2065 Offline
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DavidC2065  Offline
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Posts: 28
Chelsea, MA (near Boston)
Awesome photos, Carol. Also, that guy took a really nice pic from the Driftwood... Nice to see sand, since it's right beside LaPlage, where I'll be tomorrow, for a week. smile

Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: RonDon] #206398
10/12/2019 07:34 AM
10/12/2019 07:34 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline OP
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Carol_Hill  Offline OP
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Rondon--Yes, we have had some major French fries on the French side! Wonderful!! grin I choose my lunch yesterday because they said it came with fries! blush And yes, you need to ask Emmanuel for a grill. They keep them in maintenance now, since they did away with the atrium. It's written down here somewhere to ask for one.

biglar--I meant 25,000 frequent flyer miles each for the tickets, sorry. We hear the waves at night, somewhat, although if the waves aren't very big, they are somewhat drowned out by the a/c.

David--there is lots of sand at LaPlage and some sand coming back, starting from LaPlaya, going toward Sunset.

I decided I am too far behind on this report, so I will switch gears and do a summary format, hope to start on that today.


Carol Hill
Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206400
10/12/2019 07:55 AM
10/12/2019 07:55 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 825
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Leagle49 Offline
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Leagle49  Offline
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Posts: 825
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
I also LOVE the French Fries on the French side. Does anyone know why they taste so different? What fat do they use in their firers?

Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Leagle49] #206402
10/12/2019 08:34 AM
10/12/2019 08:34 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline OP
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Carol_Hill  Offline OP
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
I don't know. Possibly a guess, duck fat? Rosemary from RonDon is a chef, so she may know.


Carol Hill
Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206405
10/12/2019 08:57 AM
10/12/2019 08:57 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,772
So. Shore MA.
jollymonsrv Offline
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jollymonsrv  Offline
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Posts: 1,772
So. Shore MA.
Thanks for your report

Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206406
10/12/2019 09:08 AM
10/12/2019 09:08 AM
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 144
T
Tammy Offline
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Tammy  Offline
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T
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 144
Yes I also agree the french fries taste better on the French side.

Maybe they do use some sort of fat.
But just to say I've bought frozen fries made in France and even those taste great when done in oil.


Be the person your dog thinks you are 💫
Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: jollymonsrv] #206407
10/12/2019 09:36 AM
10/12/2019 09:36 AM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline OP
Traveler
Carol_Hill  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
jollyman--I have a whole lot more to report, whenever I get around to it. Leaving for Mullet here in a few minutes.


Carol Hill
Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206409
10/12/2019 09:52 AM
10/12/2019 09:52 AM
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,132
St Louis, MO
SXMNorm Offline
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SXMNorm  Offline
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,132
St Louis, MO
Thanks for sharing the start of your trip and especially for the wonderful pics of Simpson Bay.


Next SXM visit -November 2023. Also January 2024.
Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206410
10/12/2019 11:53 AM
10/12/2019 11:53 AM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,408
Yonkers, NY
fabila Offline
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fabila  Offline
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Posts: 7,408
Yonkers, NY
Two more weeks for us. Looking forward to your summaries, Carol.

Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Leagle49] #206414
10/12/2019 02:06 PM
10/12/2019 02:06 PM
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,668
L
LBI2SXM Offline
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LBI2SXM  Offline
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,668
Originally Posted by Leagle49
I also LOVE the French Fries on the French side. Does anyone know why they taste so different? What fat do they use in their firers?


It's duck fat that brings ordinary French fries to a whole new fantastic level!

Re: October 2019 Trip report part 1 [Re: Carol_Hill] #206415
10/12/2019 02:14 PM
10/12/2019 02:14 PM
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 687
Lake Texoma, Texas
C
cruzer Offline
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cruzer  Offline
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Posts: 687
Lake Texoma, Texas
I'm also a big fan of the crispy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside fry, and having asked numerous places which oil they use, it's generally standard vegetable oil, no exotic/expensive variety. Many places use garden variety Wesson oil.


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