Our first two week vacation ever, but our second trip to SXM. Seemed to go fast, except a couple of those rainy days were a drag.

Travel – US Airways and Marius at St. Louis. Both more than satisfactory. No delays at customs, but baggage at SXM took forever.

Weather – Until about noon Monday of week two, the weather was fine. A few drops here and there, but mostly at night. Then WOW. Well, you’ve already heard about the rain I assume. Driving a night was a little frightening. Going over the top of some of those big hills and hoping the tires held the pavement – even at 10 MPH.

Accommodations -- First week at the Ocean Club. We really enjoyed it there. Thanks to Rudy’s wife who didn’t want to climb the stairs to the 1 Bedroom unit, we got it for the price of a studio. The management was very friendly and helpful. They were able to get our bad air conditioner fixed in a timely manner and they gave us an alternative in the meantime. Several couples there who already knew each other invited us to dinner and had fun getting to know them. We would definitely consider staying there again.
The second week we were at L’Hoste. Great management here too. I’m glad we splurged and got a third floor room, since on those rainy days we could still sit and watch the ocean. The south side of the parking lot was so deep after the rains that some cars had water on the floor boards! The St. Tropez had several inches of rain in the reception area at least two mornings in a row. Not too much going on around there at night, and when it rained so hard the beach front restaurants shut down.

Restaurants – We went to a lot of recommended places we hadn’t been to in the past. Poulet D’Orleans was great. A few people we told about it went over the next few days. Many Island veterans have never heard of it. I recommend the Creole sauce on the chicken. I hope their business improves when the busy season starts.

LePetit Auberge in Marigot was a two-time stop. Next trip too! Ann said here favorite meal was either there, the Scallop Caesar salad at Baywatch, or Lasagna at Tutta Pasta.
Le Fish Bar was a pleasant last minute choice when it was raining so hard we couldn’t leave the Hotel area.

Some great new friends from the Ocean Club invited us to dinner at The Bridge, but we thought the meal was only average that night.

TTOL Parties – Nov 3 at Bikini Beach Bar. Actually this was two groups who later found each other. We went up early and spent the day on the beach with PeteK, Clem and Paulette, Doug and Julie, and Bob and Mitzi. Thanks for those 2 for 1 drink tickets, Doug!
Nov 6 at Buccaneer Beach Bar – Big group and a generous host in Neil who ended up giving out a lot of 2 for 1 drinks. ( and Tee shirts) I wore my new TTOL hat to qualify, so for the first round I got 2 for 1, but when the bartender asked Ann if she was with me she said NO, so she only got one.

Activities- Beaches whenever possible. Cupecoy at the far end with lots of sand, and at the Ocean Club. Orient (most days), Rouge, and Mullet. My favorites are Cupecoy and Orient (you figure it out) We rented chairs from Pack-Light which worked out well, since we wanted to move around a little. Craig cut me some slack on the price because of the bad weather, which he didn’t have to do. Thanks Craig.
Didn’t make it Pinel this time – bad weather.
Random Wind – Lot’s of fun but rough water. We do better on solid ground.
We drove around the island in St. Martin day, since it was either that or stay inside.
One Half day of shopping in Philipsburg with some purchases from Deepti at DK (Ann started a wish list here too)
I told Clem about 6 times I really wanted to see their new condo, so he and Paulette invited us one evening. It’s really a nice setup and we are happy for them. (That’s my way of saying I’m envious)

Some of the nice people we met that I haven’t mentioned yet that may read this are Ed and Donna from the Ocean Club, OCBill, Bill (my twin t-shirt guy) and Terri from NY, Andrea from next door at home, and all the other people at the parties. Thanks for helping make this a great trip and getting us excited about going back. Our return trip must now take a back seat to our daughters wedding in May.

I was thinking about a job change to St. Martin, but there aren’t currently any openings for Beach Boys at Club O.