Flights:
US Air from PVD to CLT to SXM - all on time, no lost luggage. US Air from SXM to PHL to PVD - all on time, no lost luggage, but PHL is THE most pathetic airport I've ever had the misfortune of travelling through. It NEVER fails - missed connections, delayed flights, no gate available upon arrival, nobody to bring the jetway to the plane, takes an hour for the luggage to get to the carousel, etc. This trip we encountered the "no gate available" and the "luggage takes an hour to get to the carousel". Thank goodness we had two hours between flights - we just made it to the gate in time to board the flight to PVD.
Hotels:
We stayed on Anguilla the first two nights at Rendezvous Bay Hotel and Villas. We had a beachfront studio with kitchen - it was huge and comfortably fit the five of us. Plus, you stepped off the covered porch and into the sand, then another 25 steps and you were in the water. Great little place to stay - very quaint with lots of charm. The room was very clean and had wonderful views.
We spent the rest of the trip at our timeshare at Royal Palm. It was wonderful, as usual. They will be refurbishing all of the units sometime soon - they have pictures of all of the new details in the lobby. They were installing new phones with dataports in the units while we were there.
Beaches:
On Anguilla, we spent the morning at Shoal Bay East and the afternoon at Rendezvous Bay. It was cloudy the entire day, but the boys still got slighty sunburned.
On SXM, we spent one day each at Dawn, Mullet, and Orient. We really let sand gravity have its way with us this trip, as we usually also go to Friars and Le Gallion each trip.
Food:
We had breakfast in our room most mornings, with the exception of one breakfast at Rendezvous Bay Hotel which was very good, but very expensive.
We enjoyed lunches at Elodia's Beach Cafe on Shoal Bay East, Mr. Busby's on Dawn Beach, Baywatch on Orient, and Deleo's on Mullet. Everything was just yummy. (Have you ever noticed how much better food tastes when eaten on a lounge chair on a beautiful beach? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />)
We had wonderful dinners, as well. The hubby and I dined at Blanchard's Restaurant on Anguilla. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The food was incredible, the service was unbelievable, and the ambiance was outstanding. What a wonderful place. And, we were lucky enough to meet the owners, Bob and Melinda Blanchard, who are some of the nicest, down to earth people we've had the pleasure of meeting.
We also had great dinners at Peg Leg Pub (wonderful, as always), Jimbo's (a first time visit, and it was fantastic - great food, very reasonably priced, and the swimming pool kept the kids happy while we were waiting for dinner), Turtle Pier (food was great, but the service was VERY slow), and La Gondola (my absolute favorite restaurant was wonderful, as per the usual).
TTOL Party:
We had a great time at the TTOL Party at Peg Leg Pub. Met lots of wonderful new friends, and got to visit with old friends. Jack and Linda (owners) had a steel pan band for us, which was great, and some light munchies for the cocktail "hour". We had a brief (thank goodness!) shower at the beginning, but then the rain held off for the rest of the night. The service was excellent and the dinner was delicious (love that filet mignon!). Thank you, Jack and Linda, for another successful party, and thank you to everyone who was able to attend - we really enjoyed ourselves.
Tidbits:
The weather was great with the exception of the first day which was cloudy. There were rain showers a couple of nights. The mosquitos were living large and we all have the evidence to prove it. The traffic in Simpson Bay was horrible. The lady that made the cake for "The Wedding" on Anguilla was on our flight down from CLT and she was very nice. The island was very green and lush from all of the rain and the humidity was almost non-existent with a wonderful breeze - we fell asleep listening to the waves every night - no a/c required. If you plan on visiting Philipsburg, take a taxi or bus - we drove in on Tuesday morning (only two ships in port) and drove around for almost an hour looking for a parking spot - both lots (paid and free) were full. We ended up driving back to Royal Palm and taking a taxi into town. Much easier! We paid a visit to Deepti and Jeff at DK Gems, which was fun, as always. My mother got to play "dress up" with a 36 carat diamond necklace that was out of this world - oh, to be rich. Mom did end up getting a new ring with diamonds and pink saphires, which is really stunning. I didn't purchase anything this trip, unfortunately (too close to Christmas, and the kids are getting to that "expensive" point in their lives, i.e. Playstation 2, Gamebox, computer, etc. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Hairy.gif" alt="" />). Met lots of great people this trip, including, but not limited to, Jeff and Ilene Berger, SandyG and Tim (are you sure you weren't following me? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />) and all of the wonderful folks at the party. I'll post pictures soon - I'm still on island time, mon.
Maura <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />
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