Trip Report 4/7 - 4/25 Bob & Charlene

Air: AA No problems anywhere as long as I do not mention screaming babies,
morons who kick your seat from behind all flight long, and people who
yack all night long loudly on a red-eye...
Actually, one problem - AA now charges $25 for the $20 departure tax.
I asked they guy why, he said "because that's what we do" I said
"Please enjoy pocketing the extra $10"... (The receipt they give you
has two line items - "country tax FH $40" and "country tax FG $10" (combined
for the two of us) I showed this & asked the lady at the departure
booth what the $10 was for, and she didn't know - she said ask AA...

Immigration: In building and out with luggage: 6 minutes. The
immigration Lady was very nice. Arrived at noon, got car, got beer and
other essential supplies (rum, cokes, cheese),
checked into Club O, on the beach by perhaps 2, no later.

Car Rental: AAA No problems

Hotels: No problems - stayed at Club O, Pelican, & Royal Islander
Favorite Hotel: Club O

Basically, went to the beach in front of Club O every day except
maybe 3 or 4 days... Spent all those days near the Perch with the
rest of the TTOL group that happened to be there at various times
during the 18 days. Got to get in line a little early at the
Perch just before the 12:30 happy hour.
4 PM Rum Jumbies on the beach with the above mentioned group (I don't
do names because I will leave someone out which isn't acceptable) I'd
like to thank those who provided the bottles - we ran out of days before
we could get to the store and reciprocate. At least we provided the
cups/ice...


Things on list to do:

Tiko-Tiko - a great day - price is now up to $95USD/head. As usual, it
was the best day of our trip.
Pinel - didn't go - sand gravity at Club O got the best of us.
St. Barts - didn't go - sand gravity at Club O got the best of us.
Lotterie Farm - didn't go - sand gravity at Club O got the best of us.
Look up Bulldog - didn't go - sand gravity at Club O got the best of us.

Fun things:

Simply having lunch at Pedro's when they have music.

Happy Hour (12:30 - 13:30) at the Perch @ Club O. Great way to
start your journey from breakfast to drunkiness... I guess I already
mentioned this - must have really liked it!

New place to watch planes: Go up to the pool deck at the new
Royal Islander "La Terrasse", and climb up to the observation
deck behind the pool closest to the runway. This is an excellent
vantage point.

Early morning walks the entire length of Orient.

Guavaberry Coladas at the Guavaberry place in P'burg. OK, Guaveberry
Coladas anywhere on the island.

Most difficult things:

Leaving.

Getting Charlene out of bed at a decent hour in the morning.

Most painful things besides hangovers:

Leaving.

Caribbean Gems. Someone I know has a smile on her face...


Other Observations:

Weather was basically perfect - not much rain.

Had our only real Gourmet dinner at Le Tastevin - had the best
table in the house, and they have an air-conditioned head! That
was awesome. Many restaurants in that area were offering
1:1 dollar to euro, not these guys - 1.15:1, so that wasn't so great,
but so what...

Traffic was worse than ever, but it didn't effect us much as this
was noted by observing on several occasions miles and miles of
cars backed up going in the opposite direction.

Orient Beach was huge (sand content) in comparison to a year ago.

Cupecoy in terms of usable beach sand at the west end
was pathetic. Still a beautiful spot.

Mullet Bay beach had much more sand this year - a favorite for locals
and for those who honeymooned in that once beautiful resort... Spent
our last night there watching the sunset with a bottle of vino. Brought
back honeymoon memories from many sunsets ago.

New Boardwalk - I didn't see any boards, just cement. I suppose it's
OK - good for making more room for cruise ship folks to walk around and
enjoy the beach easier. The St. Rose Arcade, the two new bars - one on
Front St, the other on the beach, and Taloula Mango's - again, good
attractions for the cruisers.

The new grocery store at the Royal Islander is great, and it is
open on holidays since it is part of a resort.

Casino Royale was rather generous to me this year. So was Colisium in P'Burg.

If you enjoy doing things that dogs do, you might stop by
Buccaneer Beach Bar and drink out of Neil's toilet...
--------
An awesome trip, sad to be back, working on next year, or perhaps
sooner.

Now, if they'd only fix the damned laser 101 internet feed, I could get
through this transition back into reality a lot easier!