Flight: US Airways 6:40 a.m. flight from Providence, RI to Charlotte to SXM. Both flights on time and smooth.

Arrived in St. Maarten at 2:30 p.m., breezed through Customs and were met by a representative from Unity Car Rental.
It was nice seeing Michael again and we received our white Toyota Corolla rental car for the week. Good service!

Bob from Pack Light met us at Unity. We rented two beach chairs, an umbrella, a cell phone and a $10 phone card.
Total cost was $60. Bob is always prompt and it's great doing business with him.

Shopped at the Cost u Less in Cole Bay for beer, wine and water supplies. We also stopped at Bounty for some pate & cheese.

Hotel: We stayed at L'Hoste. Jeff and Bonnie, who we met on TTOL, made the hotel reservations using the "two rooms for the price of one" special. This was our first stay at this hotel - our room was nice and the location on Orient Beach was fantastic. We loved walking to Orient Village at night after returning from dinner.

In general, here's how our days were spent:
Mornings were spent at the beach at Club O, in our own chairs to the left of the Perch. Club O was never too crowded and we chatted with some really nice people (as always!). We were usually off the beach by noon (very hot and Marc gets bored). We'd then drive off for lunch, looking for a place that serves Local food. Afternoons were spent back at the hotel pool or hotel beach. Early evenings (7 pm or so) we'd venture out for dinner.

Notable Restaurants and Bars:
Kissing Fish Bar @ Summit Resort: A visit to Chloe & Thierry is a "must-do" on our vacation. We really enjoy their hospitality.

Tabba Khaddy - GREAT new restaurant find here! Located in the Oyster Pond Area - just over the hill from Captain Olivers. Beautifully decorated and romantic atmosphere. Marc ordered Chicken Marsala ($25 price fix menu - included Caesar Salad and dessert). Jo-Ann ordered the Filet Mignon on a Gooseliver Cream sauce from the regular menu - Both meals were fantastic. The owners, Bill and Philippe are wonderful hosts. We'll be back to visit in October! 1 Euro = 1 USD Dinner with a bottle of French Rose was $80 (incl. tip).

Berries -a new find for us (recommended by the bartender @ BBB). Located across the street from Unity Car Rental. We visited this restaurant for the last meal of our vacation. Very good local food. We were able to park right in front of the restaurant and "watch" the car (luggage in the trunk). Marc had the ribs and he said they were the best ribs he's had in SXM. Jo-Ann had the oxtail stew and it was also very good. Finished lunch and drove across the street to return the car rental - very convenient for those renting from Unity.

The Gutside Restaurant - on the road to Friar's Bay. We stopped by for lunch on Sunday, which was French Mother's Day. The restaurant was busy, but the food and service were still very good. Marc had chicken and Jo-Ann ordered Red Snapper. Prices were very reasonable and the owner was very gracious.

Chez Martine - Grand Case (waterfront) - was offering 1:1 Euro/$ and 10% off the entire bill - excellent value. Meals were both good - Lamb and Pork Tenderloin.

Orient Village - we had a pizza and penne dinner one night at the restaurant located in the village (not Tap Five). We really enjoyed watching the French children playing in the area and the bocce games were entertaining also.

Sunset Restaurant - Grand Case: (Located next to The Pirate) We ate lunch here one day - Michael was a wonderful host and chef. Jo-Ann enjoyed conch stew served with mahi-mahi and Marc ordered the pork. Both very good.

Talk of the Town – OK ribs, great location - a lunch tradition for us.

The Perch @ Club Orient: Willie is such a friendly bartender. We enjoyed several drinks at this bar and the location can’t be beat.

Enjoyed breakfast one morning at Baywatch. Food and service are always great. Excellent Bloody Mary's.

Miscellaneous Notes:
This was our eighth visit to the island and our most relaxing trip to date (we didn't do much). We arrived home truly rested.

We visited Deepti @ DK Gems, our first visit to her with ZERO cruise ships in. It was a fun and pleasant visit. Jo-Ann loves her new jewelry!

To Jeff and Bonnie, our new TTOL/SXM friends: Thanks so much for handling the hotel reservations. It was truly a pleasure meeting the both of you. Thanks also TTOL. This message board allows us to meet new friends and provides so much valuable information.

The weather was HAZY, HOT, HUMID, but we won't complain. There were only a couple of short rain showers (quite refreshing). But, the mosquitoes were out in full force (used lots of bug spray)!

We met Elvis, the owner of The Wharf, while dining at The Gutside Restaurant. Unfortunately we ran out of time and did not eat dinner at The Wharf. Hopefully we'll stop by during our October visit.

The trip home, again via Charlotte, was uneventful. Thank you US Airways.

We truly enjoyed another week of paradise in SXM!