Week 1 November 23 – 29
Our journey actually began on Friday, with the drive from our home in Eastern North Carolina to Charlotte, to take advantage of the non-stop flight from there. We stopped in Burlington to have lunch with a friend, and arrived in Charlotte around 4. After settling into the Hampton Inn at the airport, we drove to Portofino’s Italian Restaurant where we shared their delicious Osso Buco and a bottle of Chianti. Back to the room for an early bedtime to be ready for our 6 AM wakeup. We were up and downstairs in time to catch the 7 AM shuttle, checked our bags, and headed for security. I was lucky enough to have TSA Precheck printed on my boarding pass, so I breezed through security while David had to remove his shoes and jacket, and endure the body scanner.
After security we found our gate, and decided that breakfast was in order. The Rum Bar was the right place, with Caribbean steel drum wafting from the speakers to get us in that island mood. Breakfast was ok; it’s an airport restaurant after all; but the Bloody Mary hit the spot. Back to the gate only to find out there was a gate change. Upon arriving at the new gate we did the passport check, and found our flight had been delayed for mechanical inspection. Hmm. After boarding we were told it would be a while for the inspection paperwork to be completed, and we were nearly an hour late pushing back. We were concerned when a family of small children sat behind us, but their parents and grandparents wasted no time in explaining about not kicking, or even touching, the seat in front of them, and the flight was pleasant and uneventful. I didn’t look at the time when we landed, but I’m thinking we were around an hour late.
The lines at immigration were fairly long, but when we got to baggage claim our bags were out in no time. You’re going to wait one place or the other. Alain’s representative was waiting for us, and their car whisked us off to the office to get our car. Alain was out of compacts, so we got a mid-size, almost new car. Off to LaVista Beach without having to stop at Sharon’s for our phone, as Jeannie is delivering it with our groceries. Check-in at LaVista is always quick and painless, and we were in our room shortly, opening that first icy cold Carib….thanks to Jeannie at Shop n Drop!
We quickly unpacked, and it was time to head down the hill to meet the gang at BBB. We immediately saw Todd, and huge hugs were shared. Then MJ, Annie, Bill & Elaine, Gail and Joe with Bene. Hugs all around; it’s so great to see my friends again after a year! Later in the evening Adrianna, Dave, and of course Tequila stopped by for a few minutes, and even later Elizabeth and David came by as well. We were tired after our day of travel, so it was an early evening.
Sunday we met Todd and MJ at Dreams. Later Annie, along with Ann and Steve, and Linda arrived and more hugs were shared. After some nice beach lounging, a rain shower erupted, and we all headed into the restaurant for a leisurely lunch accompanied by a few bottles of wine. David and I each had the whole red snapper, which was absolutely delicious, and followed by the No Name Dessert. OMG, that is wonderful! Bill and Elaine stopped by for a few minutes to chat, but they had already eaten lunch.
After another couple of hours of lounging on the beach, and it was time to head back to the room. Since we were both still full from lunch, we just picked up some cheese and salami at Market Garden for dinner, which we ended up not eating. A glass or two of wine on the balcony, and it was lights out for us old folks.
Monday dawned to lightening and distant thunder, and the sun rising underneath the clouds was magnificent. Unfortunately, the camera just can’t capture the beauty. After a brief rain shower, a gorgeous double rainbow appeared, with a yacht underneath. Talk about a pot of gold! It’s a Karakter day, and will be a short beach day as we’ll be heading to Jeannie’s wine tasting at Panlaan at 4. At first the rain looked to be short-lived, but as the morning wore on, it appeared that it wouldn’t be a great beach day. We met Todd and MJ at Karakter, and dodged raindrops from the parking lot to get underneath the awning and found a table. Bloody Marys followed, and although the rain stopped, it was still very cloudy and windy, so we just stayed at our table. Ann and Steve arrived shortly, and we all sat and chatted for a while until it was time for Steve to leave for his massage. Later Karen and Rada arrived, and we all had lunch. David and I shared the Taste for Two, which is my favorite item on Karakter’s menu. Before long it was time to leave so that we could get gussied up for Jeannie’s wine tasting.
The wine tasting was exactly what you would expect of an event organized by Jeannie. The theme was Old World wines versus New World, and we sampled several varieties of white, rose, and red from Europe and California. Jas is an expert, and explained the differences in how the grapes are grown and the wines produced to give the very distinct flavors of the Old World and New World wines. The tasting was held at Panlaan, and Jon provided delicious appetizers to accompany the wines. The company was good, and a great time was had by all. David and I were full after our wines and appies, so just headed home, while some of the others went out to eat.
We had decided that Tuesday would be a day at home, as there are six ships in port and we definitely didn’t want to head to Orient. Also, Dan had invited everyone to Passengran for happy hour, so we needed to be cleaned up for that. We need to talk to Dan about scheduling get togethers on days when there are multiple ships in, as it took us well over an hour to get from Pelican Key into Philipsburg . Still, it was nice to see everyone, and to meet a couple of folks we had not met before. After cocktails we headed back over the hill and met at the Palms for dinner. The traffic was just as bad going back, and the entire way I was thinking about how much I wanted Greg’s Spicy Lasagna. I had heard it was fabulous, but had never had it, so this was to be a great treat. Unfortunately, we arrived to find out that they had a refrigerator breakdown that day, and no lasagna was to be had. In spite of the limited menu, we enjoyed a selection of appetizers and delicious entrees. Greg’s mother makes the most delicious tabbouli salad ever, and the hummus was equally tasty. For my entrée, I chose the veggie curry, which was excellent, and David had the Jerk Chicken Wrap. I asked for my curry hot, and it definitely had a nice kick.
Since there were only three ships in on Wednesday, we decided that it was a good day to head for Orient. The weather was pretty iffy in the morning, with lots of dark clouds and the occasional rain shower, but we packed up anyway and headed across the island. Upon arrival, we could see that rain was imminent, but we claimed our chairs and enjoyed a few minutes of sun before the clouds erupted. Heading into GP’s KO Bar was the way to avoid the wind and rain, and of course, his Bloody Marys are the best. The shower only lasted a few minutes, and the sun was back out in force. We walked down the beach towards Club O, and found Sugarae’s husband John on the beach in front of the Perch. We had a nice chat with him..so sad that Sugarae is no longer with us. Back at our chairs, another shower came up, but we sat this one out, wrapped in our towels. After that the day was beautiful, and we enjoyed our beach walks and people watching as we always do. We ran into Margie and John on one walk, and had a nice chat with them; it’s so much fun to see the same folks year after year.
We had reserved our favorite table at Kakao for lunch, so we headed on in. Their special was a scallop and shrimp gratinee, and that sounded perfect to both of us. Accompanied by a bottle of their excellent Sancerre, it was the perfect beach lunch. After our complimentary rum shots, we walked the beach again, and soon it was time to head home. I still think Kakao is my favorite spot on the island; Orient offers so much in the way of walking and people watching that I just enjoy it immensely. I know some think it’s too crowded and commercialized, but I like the conveniences that development brings.
As usual, lunch at Kakao is our main meal of the day, so we’re enjoying the sunset on our balcony, and getting ready to have some cheese, crackers, fruit, and wine for supper. It gets no better.
Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, and we awoke to some pretty heavy rain squalls. Just as one was over, we would have about fifteen minutes of sun, and another would blow in. Of course, the result was some pretty spectacular rainbow action, so how bad can it be? Ever since our trips to the island have included Thanksgiving, we have been trying to find a new tradition for the day, and I believe we finally got it right today. Our plans were to spend the day at Dreams with our lovely friends, Todd and MJ. We all arrived at the same moment, and headed down to the beach, where our four chairs were waiting. It was pretty easy to see that another squall was imminent, but we settled in anyway, and enjoyed about fifteen minutes of chair time before the wind blew up and we ran into the bar. Bloody Marys seemed to be the right thing to have while waiting out the rain, so that’s what we did. The wind and rain were extremely strong, and I was concerned for our umbrellas, but they stayed put. Bruno has really well-designed curtains to block the wind and rain, and even with the swirling action of this storm, we stayed mostly dry. After about half an hour (who really knows how much time has passed when you’re on the island enjoying drinks with good friends?), the rain cleared and we headed back down to our chairs. Bruno’s beach man had hung our cushions up and they were miraculously dry, mostly, so we settled in to enjoy a little more sun. Fortunately that had been the last shower of the day, and although the wind was pretty strong and the sun was more intermittent than steady, it was still a great beach day.
Around 1:30 we headed in to our reserved table where our Thanksgiving feast began. Oh, but I forgot about the Sea Breeze cocktails that MJ and I had enjoyed on the beach, made with grapefruit juice freshly squeezed by none other than Bruno himself! Yummy and so refreshing.
OK, so lunch….we each ordered a bottle of wine: Benners red and Langstons white. These were the same wines we had enjoyed on Sunday, so no surprises there. Bruno’s staff is excellent and so attentive, and it didn’t take them long to figure out we intended to spend the rest of the afternoon at our table. For my lunch I ordered the half rosisserie chicken with fingerling potatoes and roasted veggies. David’s Dragon Roll, was huge and beautifully presented (I never remember to take photos of the food until after it’s nearly gone). Todd ordered the French hamburger, which was cooked perfectly medium-rare and served with true French fries, and MJ had a trio of conch. Everyone pronounced their meals perfect. After the wine was gone, we were served banana-vanilla rhum, which at Dreams is made with white rhum as opposed to dark, and is not as sweet as Ma Doudou. Somewhere in there we had espresso, and then I decided the No Name Dessert needed to be shared. MJ opted for a glass of Rose Brut instead of dessert, and that sounded good to me, so I had that too, as well as dessert. Hey, it’s Thanksgiving, and what a wonderful day it was!
I guess it was around 5 when we finally packed up and headed for our respective homes, where we got caught in bridge openings, and it took us an hour to get home. There was no way anything else was fitting in my stomach, so we just chilled out until bedtime and the day was done.
Friday dawned sunny and bright, and while our original plan had been to finally do some grocery shopping, there was no way I was giving up such a nice day. After coffee and cappuccino, we headed over to Cupecoy to meet Todd and MJ. We had not been there before, and while we do prefer beaches with facilities, we certainly did enjoy our day there. The pools were large and deep, and we spent most of the day lounging in the clear water. Dany’s ribs are definitely delicious, and the service certainly can’t be beat. Around two, a shower hit, and looked like it was going to hang around for a while, so we packed up and headed home.
David and I decided on Thai for dinner, and went to Panlaan. It was pretty windy on the lagoon, so we sat at an inside table, where we still had a nice breeze and a view of the water. We shared the cashew chicken, which was sweet and had lots of crunchy veggies, and a broad rice noodle dish with Thai bird chiles, red and green peppers, carrots, and shrimp. We asked for it to be prepared hot, but not Thai spicy, and the heat was just right.
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