I’m going to TRY and make this short and sweet. My husband, David, my three sons, Kyle, Connor and Cullen, and I spent 8 days this trip at the Royal Palm Beach Resort. We all had a great time and didn’t want to come home. But, alas, back to reality we are. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />
Beaches: <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Umbrella.gif" alt="" />
Friar’s - a lot rockier than our last visit in April, and LOTS of sand fleas, although it was late afternoon and had just rained.
Orient - a brief visit while having lunch at Baywatch - beautiful and a lot more sand than last April.
Le Galion - perfect for our 3 year old <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Baby.gif" alt="" />. Nice breeze and very clean.
Dawn - Perfect, as always. Great food and 75 cent Caribs at Mr. Busby’s.
Mullet - an absolute ball - our best beach day of all, even though “Daddy” broke the kids’ boogie board while “surfing”. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />
Long Bay - Can’t get there from here. Road was washed out past La Semana. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/titanic.gif" alt="" />
Dining: <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />
La Gondola - Dinner - Now in Cupecoy in front of Atlantis Casino. Absolutely FANTASTIC, again! The best Italian food (IMHO) I’ve ever had. David Foini has done it again. Much larger than his restaurant in Sandy Ground, and a much more convenient location. And the service and atmosphere are top notch! David visited with us at the table several times to make sure we were enjoying our meal. He told us that he had made a trip to Florence, Italy to purchase all of the artwork and statuary for the new restaurant. It truly is gorgeous and VERY comfortable.
Peg Leg Pub - Simpson Bay - Dinner - Ate here two times. Still the BEST filet mignon and, of course, the ever charming, Shawn. Jack and Linda went out of their way to make the TTOL party a HUGE success! A BIG thank you <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" /> to them for the steel pan band <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/band.gif" alt="" />, the yummy appetizers and wine! I think everyone had a great time and those of us who stayed for dinner were not disappointed! We returned for dinner on Thanksgiving (our last night on the island) and Shawn had our drinks waiting for us! Linda and Mia (her “adopted” daughter) sat with us after dinner and we chatted for over an hour. And even though the big flashlight wasn’t working, the kids truly enjoyed themselves. Thank you again, Jack and Linda, for everything!!
Hot Tomatoes - Simpson Bay- Dinner - Delicious pizza and drinks. Very comfortable and enjoyable.
Ric’s Place - Simpson Bay - Dinner - Good food and service.
Le Plongoire (sp?) - Marigot - breakfast - Great food and service. Yummy croissants and baguettes.
Mr. Busby’s - Dawn Beach - lunch - fantastic, again.
Cabana Beach Bar - Royal Palm Beach - Simpson Bay - lunch and dinner - yummy, but pricey. Dinner menu is limited, but the service and food were consistently excellent.
Baywatch - Orient Beach - lunch - FANTASTIC! Cheryl and Andy were their wonderful selves and Ross mixed us up some of the best drinks we had all week. Wanted to get back for another lunch, but ran out of time. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />
Everyting Cool - Philipsburg - lunch - Good burgers and great drinks - and a wonderful location. Got to giggle watching the “cruisers”. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
Buccaneer Beach Bar - Simpson Bay - after dinner cocktails - Neil must have been having a “Harley Davidson” party <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pirate.gif" alt="" /> - it was great! The kids loved looking at all of the bikes, the music was great, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven - warm weather, great drinks, wonderful company, awesome music and Harleys all in one place! What more could a girl want? Tee hee <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Blush.gif" alt="" /> And Neil is just as cute in person as he is in pictures. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />
General:
Craig from Pack Light Vacation Rentals was wonderful. It’s very handy having your own chairs, umbrella and cooler and not having to dole out cash at every beach. He was very prompt and extremely personable. We will be renting from him again. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />
Lots of traffic this trip - more so than in April, but that’s okay - we were on vacation!
Weather was great - a few clouds here and there, and a sprinkle or two (with a couple of night time downpours), but otherwise it was perfect.
Spent a morning shopping with Deepti at DK Gems International - got some beautiful diamond rings and bracelet and even bought the hubby a really nice new watch and gold chain. Thank you <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" /> to Deepti, again, for another wonderful shopping experience and for my gorgeous jewelry! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />
TTOL Party <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/dance.gif" alt="" /> - a great time - we had Jeanne, Bill, Sally and John, Nanette, John, ER, Jo, Pat, Alan, Michelle, Terry, David and Cameron, Shirley, Glenn, Jeff, Deepti, Gloria, Roscoe, Marge and Cindy. I apologize if I’ve forgotten anyone - but it was a great pleasure to meet more TTOLers and revisit with the ones I already had the pleasure of meeting!
In our rush to check out and get everybody on the plane, I realized while we were boarding that my backpack (with all of my cameras and walkman in it) was missing. They let me off the plane and had a security guard escort me back through the airport to see if I could find it. It wasn’t there! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" /> They rushed me back out to the plane and we took off shortly thereafter. I was heartbroken <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> thinking that I had lost all of my cameras and all of the pictures and video from our vacation. When we got home last night, I called the Royal Palm to see if, by chance, I had left it there. Lo and behold, I had left it in our bedroom on the bed. The housekeeper had found it and brought it down to the front desk for safekeeping. My best friend, Jeanne, who is still on the island for another week, went over and picked it up for me this morning and will bring it home next weekend. HUGE KUDOS <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> to the staff at Royal Palm for being such honest, hardworking and caring people! Our stay at our “island home” was wonderful and the staff there is outstanding! So, as soon as my cameras return to the states next weekend, I’ll post some pictures.
Dolphin Casino was sad, to say the least. They only had two tables open. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thumbsdown.gif" alt="" /> We went to Casino Royale and spent a fun evening gambling there instead. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />
Well, not so short, but definitely a sweet week to remember! We can't wait to go back - and my hubby (Mr. "I don't like the heat") wants to do 2 weeks next year! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> I wish I could say it's good to be home, but in so many ways, I would be lieing. Oh well, someday we'll move to paradise.
Maura <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />
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