Okay, I'll admit I'm not great at this trip report stuff. I just get too wrapped up during the day, and too tired at night, to report on a daily basis. However I am decent at catch-up. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

We arrived on island this past Momday (Dec. 29) via US Airways from Charlotte, NC. We had driven the 4 hours to Charlotte from our home in TN because Knoxville never has direct flights to anywhere and my son lives in Charlotte. We spent Sunday night at his home and flew out on Monday morning. Flight was on-time and uneventful. Flight attendants were friendlier than I remember -- perhaps the merger with American is doing good things for them. Lesley Bruce met us with our car and our rental phone from Sharon, as usual. It was so good to see him back on the job! Paperwork took mere minutes and we were on our way. We arrived at our privately (VRBO) rented condo in Pelican Key at the same time as Jeannie arrived to put away our pre-ordered groceries. What a great service she offers! We only ordered a few days supplies, mostly for breakfasts, as we will be moving over to a 2-bedroom unit at Royal Palm on Saturday, when our friends from NY arrive to join us for the following week. We got settled in and had dinner that night at Pineapple Pete's, a favorite of ours. Ed had the ribeye steak with a side salad and I had my usual stuffed shrimp with rice. Food was very good, as was the service. We made it an early night as we were both tired from our travel day.

Tuesday we slept in a bit, trying to unwind from the holiday rush we had left behind. We ate breakfast in the condo, then took a ride around the island. We attempted to stop at Mullet Beach, but it was packed and parking was impossible. I think they've gotten some of the Orient crowd. We continued on and came upon Dreams and decided to stop and check it out as we didn't get there on our last visit. We ended up eating lunch there -- in the restaurant area as it was too windy to sit comfortably on the beach and the water was rough. I know there have been some complaints and mixed reviews about Dreams as of late, but we enjoyed it very much. We kept it simple - I had a club sandwich and Ed had the roasted chicken salad. Both were very good and nicely presented. The wait staff were smiling and friendly (we dealt with several of them), service was quick and efficient, and they stopped by several times to make sure all was well. No problems whatsoever during our visit. Bruno was busy behind the bar. We drove over to Orient after lunch, parked behind Aloha, and walked along the beach. Seaweed was present all along that end, 3 feet wide in most areas between the chairs and the water. Smell was slightly present, but not unbearable. It does look very unsightly though and I do hope they get it cleaned up better. Nice to see Aloha was back up and running, it's our favorite beach bar on Orient. Most everything was up and running, so that was good to see also. Crowds were down a bit though at least that day. Not much beach after the seaweed took up its part of it. We continued down to the Club O section and spent the afternoon there. It was MUCH cleaner, water 'mostly' clear from seaweed, and there was a mild breeze. It felt good to be back. There was enough beach so that we could walk around the rocks by Pedro's. It was a good afternoon of reading, resting, and happy hour drinks. Willie says she's been there for 30 years now. She's a rock star! After returning to our condo and showering, we went to the Greenhouse for dinner Tuesday evening (next to Buccaneer). We got there in time for their 2-for-1 happy hour. Great drinks. For eats, I had the crab wrap with potato salad and rice. It was very good, as was the service. We did ask to move to another table as the gentlemen next to us were smoking and neither of us can handle smoke very well. This was before they took our order and the waitress was nice about it. I can't remember what Ed had, but I know he enjoyed it. We then stopped for a few drinks at Buccaneer and called it a night. We're not really late-night partiers, can you tell? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Wednesday we were up early and headed over to the Club O section of Orient again. Got a day pass and settled in. Sun was shining, water was crystal clear, life is good. We had lunch at Cheryl's. I had my favorite eggplant parmigiana hero and Ed had a bacon cheeseburger. A couple of beers, a big hug from Cheryl, and we were back to allowing sand gravity to do its thing. Had an early New Year's Eve dinner at Lee's, listening to the cool sounds of Destiny and watching a bunch of little kids having a blast dancing out on the dance floor. I had the grilled Mahi Mahi and Ed had the ribs. My mahi was delicious; Ed said his ribs were 'okay'. We shared the banana chocolate-chip cake for dessert (yummy), then stopped over at BBB to see what was going on. Our intention was to try to stay and watch the fireworks from La Bamba at midnight, but we decided to head back to the condo and watch the ball drop from Times Square instead. You know what they say about the best-laid plans. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> We found ourselves drifting off before midnight and gave in and settled in bed. I did wake when I heard the beach fireworks and we both watched them from the balcony of our condo. Nice display. This is our 10th trip to St. Martin, but our first New Year's stay. I think I like it. I'm not much of a New Year's Eve person, but I could easily get used to spending it on a tropical beach.

Thursday (New Year's Day) we ate breakfast on the condo balcony and again did the sand gravity thing over at Club O. Not a very exciting report, I suppose, but it is what it is. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" /> We both really needed this vacation and intend to do a lot of sand gravity stuff. It won't make for an overly-exciting trip report, but we'll go home feeling a lot better than when we arrived. We ate lunch at Papagayo's. I had a delicious shrimp wrap and Ed had the steak and feta cheese salad. He thoroughly enjoyed it. Service was pleasant and efficient. They were taking down the holiday decorations while we ate. Another year come and gone. After cleaning off the sand remnants at the condo, we again had dinner at the Greenhouse since it was Prime Rib night. Ed said his was very good. I wasn't all that hungry, so I settled on a shrimp quesadilla, which was okay, but not nearly as good as the shrimp wrap I had earlier at Papagayos's. We finished the night off with some gelato from Carousel and headed back to the condo. The sea air must be doing its job in helping us to relax. We can't seem to stay out past 9 or 10 pm. Haha!

Perhaps we will have more exciting reports once our good friends from NY arrive on Saturday. But for now, we are doing exactly what we had planned on doing -- relaxing, unwinding, and allowing island life to carry us along. It's perfect.

Oh....I can't wait to get there!! How many days now bbeach? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Very nice report! Our kind of vacation--eat and beach!!

Thanks for the beginning to the report. Sounds great so far! Non stop flights are certainly the way to go, if you can do it, especially around the holidays! Staying at your son's house the night before sure makes it nice for you! Glad you woke up in time to see some of the fireworks! That could have been me.. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> Please let us know how you like your accomodation..

Sounds wonderful so far, thank you for sharing! You've done a lot in your first four days.

Trying to wait the extra hour for NYC timezone midnight would have done me in too... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

Robin and Ed,

Never apologize for your trip and trip report and any perceived lack of excitement, please. It's your trip and it's what you enjoy doing and that you see fit to take the time to share it with all of us is great, IMHO.

That said, its' laid-back approach to island enjoyment sounds vaguely reminiscent of MOST of our trips these days and I'm loving it.....There's something about that island air and sand gravity, isn't there? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Sounds like a wonderful time. On a cold Jan. day in the NE, how I'd love to spend it on Club O's beach and having lunch at Papagayo. Looking forward to your next update.

Thanks for sharing your time with us. It sounds like a perfect relaxing vacation!

Thanks for sharing. BTW, love the banana chocolate-chip cake at Lee's.

original poster mentioned being bothered by tobacco smoke while dining, do restaurants in SXM allow patrons to smoke? How about bars? Such indulgences are all but banned here in the U.S.

St. Martin is definitely NOT the US of A with regard to smoking. Perhaps not in all venues, but it's widely done in both restaurants and bars across both sides of the island, often with little or no regard to those patrons nearby and the effect it may be having on them. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

SXM is not the US. Please do not turn this thread into a rant about smoking.

I got distracted - doesn't take much - but sorry about that, Carol. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Your comments are fine, but just don't want this to turn into something else..

Haha, Carol, you're too sharp! I purposely hesitated on describing our current accommodations because I'm selfish and don't want to share this perfect little condo in Pelican Key with others. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

We are staying in a 1-bedroom at Son Risa condos, which we found through VRBO. It's not beachfront, but it does have a partial view of Simpson Bay through some lovely palms, a pool which we have practically to ourselves most of the time, and adorable furnishings. A full kitchen, washer and dyer, and a nice private balcony with table and chairs makes it just right for us. It is a small building of only 10 condos which are individually owned. It is in a residential area not far from La Vista resort, is gated, has private parking, and is well-lit. We have fallen in love with the size and simplicity of it and will miss it when we move over to Royal Palm tomorrow for a 2-bedroom to be shared with our good friends who arrive on island tomorrow. We definitely plan to return here on future trips. Shhh, don't spread the word.

I will update my trip report over the next day or two. We continue to be beach bums.

Yes, Pat, indeed there is! It's a beautiful thing for sure! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />

OK, I know exactly where you are talking about. I've never been inside them, but looked at them online several times. Can you tell, are some of those units lived in full time, or are they pretty much vacation rentals?

We have stayed there several times and really enjoyed that condo.Glad to hear you enjoyed it too. It has become very popular and we were not able to get the time we needed there for our most recent trip so opted to stay elsewhere. The owners are wonderful and it is great accommodation for two people.

Most of Son Risa is owned by people who live there full time. There are a few condos whose owners rent the units for part of the time and vacation there themselves when the unit is not rented.

OK, thanks. That's kind of what I thought.

Yes, this is true, which is part of the reason we enjoyed it so much. It is well taken care of and the few people we ran into were quite friendly. I'm sorry I haven't continued my trip report as of yet. I became sick with bad bronchitis (possible flu?) yesterday and have spent the day in bed fighting this cough and fever. Not surprising I got sick. I was sitting directly behind a young girl on the plane who was coughing and hacking the whole ride down here. It was obvious she was pretty sick.

Our good friends from NY arrived yesterday and we have moved into our 2-bedroom unit at Royal Palm. I am keeping notes and will give my impressions and updated report as soon as I feel human again.

BTW, I ended up going to the St. Maarten Medical Center ER this morning. I was treated very well, prompt attention, and seen by the doctor within 15 minutes. They gave me IV pain meds, an albuterol nebulizer treatment, and prescriptions to get filled. The whole visit cost only $100 USD and the prescriptions cost $11 from the Maho pharmacy. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Sorry to hear you got sick. Been sick on island before and it's no fun. Hope you are feeling better soon...

Thank you, Carol. And you're right, it's no fun at all. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sick.gif" alt="" />

Hi, Robin,

Sorry to hear of your illness and yes, the doctor I was referring to was the same one Elaine suggested, Dr. Dekesh or a similar spelling. He's taken care of all our family's on-island health problems for more years than I want to admit to, back to his earlier days at the Mullet Clinic. Glad you're feeling better and hope the rest of the trip goes well.

Sorry to hear of your illness and really hope the meds do the job. It is really no fun being sick any time and especially on vacation.
We love staying at Son Risa too as it is so peaceful there and very secure.