Spent our usual 4 weeks at The Towers. We move to a new unit every Saturday. All 4 units were in good shape.

We spent most of our time on the Dutch side this year, due to traffic, the Euro and the fact that every year there are more good places to dine on this side.

New to us were la Guinguette at Port de Plaisance and Halsey's. We tried each twice and liked them very much. Prices were reasonable. My only complaint at La Guinguette is that when the servers bring the food and drinks, they shout out "Who had the mussels", etc., rather than having any kind of system to place food in front of the person who ordered it. We had a fairly large group each time, and this process was unsatisfactory. As a former waitress, I know it is also easily rectified. Both of these new places have a nice nearly outdoors atmosphere, and we hope to visit them again next year when we return. La Guinguette is right by the docks where the extravagantly huge yachts are moored. Amazing to see how the truly rich live.

We ate many rib dinners in casual places this year, and also enjoyed the taco salad at Ric's several times for lunch.

Temptations tempted us twice and we enjoyed it both times. I feel it is on a par with the best Grand Case restaurants, and is just around the corner from the Towers.

The weather was different from any of our past trips. We had a number of cloudy days, where it never rained. I am more used to sunny days where it rains a few times a day. It was mostly sunny, though, and we enjoyed the newly refurbished pool at the Towers, as well as Mullet Beach, where we can tuck our chairs back under the trees for a little relief from the heat.

The surf at Mullet was awsome most days. Too scarey for me to go in but surfers were enjoying it. The downside to that is that the beach erosion was severe. By the time we left two days ago, the far end of the beach which is usually sparsely populated was completely washed away. In order to get in a little ocean bobbing we went to Pinel and Le Galion, both calm as a lake.

We ventured out to Poulet D'Orleans two nights ago. It took about 50 minutes to get there. Tony and the food were great, as usual, but we were disappointed to learn that his charming sons Christian and Joshua no longer work there. We missed their jokes!

The little supermarket beneath La Terasse in Maho provided almost everything we could want, and the prices are reasonable. You can even park in the underground lot and have your ticket validated with your purchases for an hour of free parking.

The construction of the new airport terminal is going on at an astounding pace. Visible progress was made daily. It looks like a huge undertaking. It should help alleviate some of the congestion that is now a daily event.

I am a big gambler and lost about $4 at the nickel poker machines.

Harmony Night in Grand Case was a lot of fun. It was wonderful to stroll the street without fearing traffic. One night they had a steel band consisting mostly of teenagers that was excellent, and another night there was a Cuban jazz trio that I could have listened to for hours. The lolos had tables and chairs spilling out into the street and were doing a great business. It is a fun and festive night. There is parking that is well lit and watched by a guard just up the street a little way. It is a huge lot.

The improvements to Front Street in P'burgh are very nice. There are decorative trash cans all along the way, and people are willingly using them. Even when the street is "closed" there seems to be quite a bit of traffic. The barricade is moved for some types of vehicles. I presume there was some method to who got past, but it was not immediately obvious.

We played quite a bit of golf at the only course on the island at Mullet Bay. It continues to deteriorate, and the lack of rain for the time we were there caused noticable browning of the greens. The fairways have all kinds of grass growing, some in clumps, and bare patches. The white tees on 13 look like a sand hazard. No grass at all. There is grass growing around the edges of the sand traps and sand in the fairway around the traps. Nine of the maintenance people have recently been let go. Prices have been reduced, and there were more golfers on the course than I have seen in many years. The one really great aspect of this course is that in Jan. and Feb. there is NO SNOW on it!!! If I were going to be there for a short time, or if I could play at my home course this time of year, I would not bother to play there. But we are starved for a few rounds by this time of year. The course is short. I put a few favorite clubs in my husband's bag and pack a Sunday bag to use while there, thus eliminating a piece of luggage. I took a few pictures of the course to show the conditions. Send me a p.m. if you would like to see them.

Only 336 days till our next trip. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />