Robin and I left November 13 after work, drove to Raleigh, NC, and spent the night in a hotel near the airport. The next morning we took the shuttle and arrived at RDU for the AA RDU to MIA flight at 8:00. We arrived in MIA about 10:15 and had about a 3-hour layover in MIA . We finally arrived in Provo (late, of course) about 3:30. Robin was attending a legal seminar, and Grace Bay Resort was booked, so the seminar was held in Ocean Club Resort. That first night, Tuesday, Nov. 14, we had a reception at the grill by the ocean and ate finger foods and a cheeseburger. The food was very good.<br><br>Wednesday, Nov. 15<br>We hopped out of bed early and took a longggg walk down Grace Bay. The beach is gorgeous. After our walk, Robin attended his meeting, and I continued exercising in the fitness center. Their fitness center is certainly nothing to brag about, but it was adequate for the time we were there. Actually, it was not air conditioned, so that morning was the only morning I really used it. I spent the afternoon in the sun reading, quite overcome with sand gravity, or actually, beach gravity. That night we went to the Coyaba Restaurant, and it was excellent. <br><br>Thursday, Nov. 16<br>We spent the day around the resort again but did manage to get a Jeep Wrangler. We went to the Tropical Auto Rental place at the resort, and they had no cars, so they called Provo Car Rental and Budget before they found us a car. At that point, we were willing to take almost anything!! It wasn't cheap , but it gave us the freedom to start exploring around the island. We went to Coco Bistro for dinner that night, and that meal was excellent. The lobster bisque was to die for! My calamari salad was wonderful, and Robin's steamed lobster was delicious. The owner of the restaurant is from France and came to Provo about 20 years ago. We dined under a literal canopy of coconut trees and visited with the owner for a while at the end of the meal. The French accent did make me a little homesick for St. Martin, but that's another forum! <br><br>Friday, Nov. 17<br>Uh-oh, we can feel the time getting short now, so we really started exploring in earnest. We looked at some of the shops but really didn't do any shopping, because there are other places we go that have much better shopping. Robin went snorkelling with another couple, but I was again overcome by beach gravity. We ate at Hemingway's by the Sea at the Sands resort that night, and again, the food was delicious. I remember the grouper being especially good.<br><br>Sat., Nov. 18<br>Now the time is getting short! We went snorkelling at Smith Reef near Turtle Cove and at Coral Gardens and really enjoyed it. We even saw a baby sea turtle at Coral Gardens. The parrot fish were unbelievable. That is some of the best snorkelling I've experienced. That afternoon we rented a 16-foot flat-bottomed Carolina Skiff and headed out to see some of the other islands. We went up to Pine Cay and to Little Water Cay (I think that's where the iguanas are. I just call it Iguana Island for that reason.) While going by Pine Cay, a small plane landing there flew right over our heads. We had had the Barefoot Cafe prepare a lunch for us, and we found an empty beach (not hard to do) and relaxed, ate lunch, and watched a few boats go by. That night we ate at the Caicos Cafe. The food was excellent, but our server really had an attitude. That attitude was not typical of the people on the island. Most were very friendly and more than willing to help. The seafood gumbo at the Caicos Cafe was absolutely wonderful. Three couples ordered four desserts that night and passed them around the table. They were all sinfully good!! [img]/images/icons/devil.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/grin.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/grin.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] <br><br>Sunday, Nov. 19<br>Going home day. [img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img] After Robin's morning seminar, we headed towards the airport and checked our bags. We then went to Sharkbite for lunch. The conch chowder was very good. We then toured Chalk Sound and saw some beautiful homes. I have a feeling the real estate prices there will skyrocket in the next 10 years. We returned to the airport in time for our 4:00 flight to MIA and then flew out of MIA to RDU at 7:30. In eastern North Carolina, the weather in November is usually very mild. I've even sunned on the beach during the Thanksgiving holidays. When we landed in Raleigh, it was 30 degrees with two inches of snow, and it's only grown progressively colder. We left a beautiful island with 80-degree weather for this!! [img]/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/yikes.gif[/img] <br><br>Summary: This was our first trip to Provo, and it is an island we'd like to revisit. It was clean, and the people were very friendly and helpful. We did have one server who had an attitude, but there seems to "always be one" anywhere you are. It surely didn't affect our overall impression of the island. Although many of the foods I mentioned in the report are soups, all of our food was delicious. I guess the soups made an impression on me, because I don't usually eat warm soups, especially when I'm in the Caribbean. All the meals we had were wonderful. Many times Robin and I would get an appetizer and an entree and split both, so I cannot remember everything we ate, but it was all good!! [img]/images/icons/grin.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/grin.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Although Robin and I didn't play golf, we did ask someone who did about the course, and he said it was one of the best courses he's seen, and he's played on golf courses around the world. The Allegro also has a small casino for those of you who like to gamble.<br><br>Only 102 days minus a few hours or so before SXM, but, hey, who's counting? [img]/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img][img]/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]<br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Robin_Bobbe on 11/22/00 04:11 PM.</EM></FONT></P>