From what I could tell with many of locals on Tuesday, they were quiet, subdued and some even admitted to a little too much fun from the celebration of St. Maarten Day. I have never heard the girls at Rosie's as quiet as they were today and they all attributed it to their previous days celebration.
A very light breakfast in and then off to Mullet Bay for the day with a 5 minute detour for a stop at Carrefour at Porto Cupecoy to deal with a situation I posted about in a separate thread. We arrive Mullet Bay just after 9:00 and got front row loungers that while pretty close together were not as tight as I have previously seen. The chair vendors were also very subdued on Tuesday and not really approaching people like I have seen in the past. Seems they had the St. Maarten day after effects also. Anticipation was for a big crowd as 2 long rows of loungers were already set up but the big crowds never came, even with 2 ships in port. By 1:00 they were taking excess chairs off the beach.
While Mullet was like a bath tub on Saturday, Tuesday was not the case. While it was mostly calm with a moderate slope to enter and exit the water, every 10 minutes or so there would be 8'+ waves with many unsuspecting people getting rolled. After 3-4 big waves it was back to calm. This was repeated the entire time we were there. We were told by one of the crew off the Golden Eagle that Monday at Mullet Bay was constant big wave action. After a light snack at Rosie's it was back to the Horny Toad for some rest and then the 5:30 social gathering.
Dinner plans at Mark's Place and to meet 4 of our very close and long time island friends. Many of you know the story of Junior Bruney being our taxi driver from 28 years ago on our first visit. Since my wife has not been on the island for the past 8 years, she had not seen him or others in his family so this was a good opportunity. Three siblings of the Bruney family and another taxi driver friend joined us. Lots of good conversation and reminiscing, along with the food made for a good evening. While prices have gone up, it was still a very reasonable $119 for 6 of us and that included multiple drinks. Entrées were from burgers to ribs to seafood and all enjoyed the time. Tough to beat Mark's Place for value, consistency, and variety of good food.
Watching the sun come up and a cruise ship coming in as I type this. We are on the downhill slide of our trip and will likely spend the day here at Horny Toad today, but plans could change.
Both Saba and Statia are visible this morning also.
We have not encountered any crowds or even much traffic. We did get to see some of the St. Maarten Day parades in town, which as you know from being here for Carnival, that is always interesting. We saw a children's parade on Friday and then what looked like drum corps and a police parade going down Front St. on Monday.
Glad your day went well and even more so, your evening. Looks like you were all enjoying yourselves. There’s nothing quite like good times with old friends although good times with new friends does run a close second!
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
Another thing I wanted to mention...for knowing how busy Mullet Bay was on Sunday and Monday, I was very surprised at how clean the beach and parking area was. With the exception of a few pieces of trash and some straws and bottle caps around Rosie's it was very clean overall. I am thinking some of the awareness with regard to straws and litter it may be having an impact. Rosie's was still using plastic straws as are many other places with the only place I have been give a paper straw was SMYC.
Now, if something could be done about the parking area and large ruts, rocks and drop off from the entry road, it was make it a lot easier on the cars.
Glad you have been able to get together with Junior and his family. And you are really getting the hang of this picture thing! Now, all you have to do is teach Pat!
Yes, as we walked to the beach. Not bad considering the holiday. I was rather surprised as I have seen it much worse.
We have been fortunate enough to be a part of local gatherings back in that area with Junior and his mom and sister when they were both still alive. Dominoes, bbq and drinks were always a good time.
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Now, all you have to do is teach Pat! 