Our flight was scheduled to leave PIT-CLT-SXM on the 14th at 7am. Because we had seen some info here on parknfly packages, we looked into it and decided to give it a try. We only live about 45 minutes from the airport, but this way we didn’t have to get up in the middle of the night, worry about the weather or accidents along the way. It worked out great and we plan on doing it again for summer trip. We were on the first shuttle to the airport at 5:15am and away we went. Flights were uneventful and by 4:00 we were on the island.

We had decided to rent a cell phone again from Craig at Packlight and try a new company for car rental – St Louis. Craig wasn’t at the airport, but made arrangements to pick up the phone at Prince’s, across the street from the airport. Marius was waiting for us, but informed us that our car wouldn’t be ready until the next day – had a jeep for us instead. Now there were 3 of us, with carry-ons and personal items, and after having stopped at the Food Express for a few groceries, we were pretty jammed in that jeep, but it was fine. Decided to take a drive past the villa we’re renting for part of our August trip, and then made our way to Orient. Timing is everything, and of course, we were just in time for the drawbridge opening at Marigot. Lots of traffic heading the entire way to Orient, but finally got to our mini-suite at Club Orient and happily discovered that our Etna Rhum Raisin had survived the trip!

Right after the Super Bowl, we decided that we wanted to fly the Black and Gold while on the island. Bought a Steeler beach towel and a couple of flags to fit in our carry ons - put one in the yard, and one on my beach chair. Met some great people from home that we wouldn’t have met had we not had the flags! Also took some ribbing from a good many New England fans (it’s amazing how many of them there are on the island!). It also made it easy for some of the TTOL people we had planned on meeting to find us. We had a lot of fun with it.

There were only 2 disappointing things that happened during this trip, the first being more worrisome than the second. Our 13 yr old daughter was staying with friends and we bought her a calling card to use with her cell phone, so we all had the peace of mind, that she could contact us directly, anytime she wanted, for any reason, but especially in an emergency. A couple of days into the trip, I decided to call her, and discovered that the day after we arrived, she had been hurt in a basketball game and had tried to call us, but was unable to get through. Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously hurt (just looking for a little comfort from mom!) but after repeated attempts and using up all the minutes on her card, we told her that she’d only be able to call the resort for an emergency and leave a message that they would get to us and we’d have to call her back. We thought that the problem was probably with her phone and the calling card. A little unsettling for all of us, but what can you do…you make the best of it. A couple of days later, we discovered that our cell phone would not work to check missed calls or retrieve messages and that our friend’s wife had tried to call from a regular phone in the US and couldn’t get through either. Finally, we got in touch with Craig and he even had his parents try to call the phone from the US and they couldn’t get through either. It was supposedly a new phone and it did work great for making calls on the island. Without our even having to ask, he offered to try to make it right, and gave us half of our money back. Things happen, and in spite of it, we’ll most likely rent from him again.

The 2nd disappointment came on Wednesday. We had made arrangements to trade the Jeep for our Corolla and do the paperwork and still leave enough time to get to the TTOL Party at Beau Beau’s. Of course, Marius got delayed (I thought rush hour traffic here at home was bad!) and by the time we got it taken care of, it was too late to get to the party. We had really been looking forward to meeting some of the people there, but again, things happen and hopefully we’ll meet next year!

This was our third trip to St Martin and the first time staying at Club Orient, though we have in the past, frequented the beach there quite a bit. We love Orient Beach, and walking the length of beach at sunrise. Some mornings it was a little later than that (a couple of rain delays), but we did see the sun come up on the horizon a couple of days. Happy hour at the Perch is another reason! Willie makes a great Guavaberry Colada and I had more than my share of them this week!

The weather was great. I was a little concerned that it would be a little chilly for me, even during the day, because I love the hot humid August weather and warm water. The water took a little getting used to before I could plunge in, and the sun was still hot with the temps in the low to mid 80’s. There were a couple of times of extended cloudiness and wind, that I did have to wrap up in my towel, for a bit, until the sun came back out. I discovered that I even brought too many warm clothes, expecting the evenings would be cooler than they actually were. Now I know, for next year! First day we woke up to rain and it was pretty windy, more clouds than sun, but got better each day. It rained a couple of other times, usually early in the morning or at night, once for about an hour early in the afternoon, but overall, it was wonderful!

Our days were all pretty much the same. Up early for a walk, on the beach as soon as possible for as long as possible. Breakfast and lunch were usually something quick back in our room. John would usually go get a baguette and a pastry or two in the morning as he exchanged our beach towels.

There were only a couple of things that were on our very short, must do list.
[color:"red"]Baywatch[/color] was one of them. We missed them back in August, as they were closed for remodeling. Stopped in for lunch one day and breakfast on another. It was nice to finally meet Cheryl and Andy. For lunch I had a Scallop Caesar Salad, and the guys had the Fisherman’s Platter and Fried Scallops. French Toast for me for breakfast and for the guys, it was Chili Cheese Omelets. The food was great, but our friend thought that the music was even better! (Thank you Bruce!)

Getting to [color:"red"]Harmony Nights[/color] was also on that must do list, for this trip. Our only Tuesday night there, was our arrival night, so once we got settled in, we made our way to Grand Case. Our food preferences fall more toward the lolo’s type of places, so that is where we had planned on having dinner. We all had garlic shrimp dinners, with a couple of extra sides of ribs, and a few Heinekens at Sky’s the Limit. (We ate here on one other night of this trip, as well) We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, and the music in the street nearby. After dinner, we made our way down the street to check out all the vendors and find some dessert along the way. Homemade coconut candy, crepes and churros left us totally stuffed, <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Oink.gif" alt="" /> and we managed to find the perfect souvenirs for our daughter and her friend. We saw these purses hanging and didn’t think very much of them, simple little purses…but as we looked, it was actually made out of one long zipper. The girl took one of them, which looked liked a 4 foot long zipper and started zipping it up and voila! It became a little 7x9” purse. I’d never seen anything like them, they had little French tags and I knew if I didn’t get them I’d probably regret it. $12 each…souvenir shopping done! (Our daughter loves it!)

We had hoped to do the Tiko-Tiko cruise, but it didn’t work out for us. Too many people on list already for the early part of our trip and never enough for the rest of our stay. Something to look forward to in the future.

[color:"red"]Bikini Beach TTOL Party[/color] – About 25 of us had a great evening, and I really enjoyed meeting some of the people with whom I had been exchanging PM’s and emails before the trip. Elisa Cohen had provided appetizers for us and it was great getting to know a little bit about each other, and to share one another’s experiences. Some are newbies, some long timers, some stay for a week, some stay for 6 and some of the little stinkers are still on the island! I have come to really appreciate this forum and the people who post here.

[color:"red"]MaDouDou[/color] - not for the rum, but for coconut oil for me. (Didn't have any room for the rum...too many bottles of guavaberry to take home!) After I shower, I like using this oil, better than any other bath product I’ve tried. The bottle that I had from a previous trip was nearly empty, so getting this was a priority. I was hoping to be able to get it elsewhere than the shack, but after checking Grande Marche and Bounty, John ended up making a quick trip to the shack for the last 2 bottles they had. Now, maybe I’ll keep my tan a bit longer!

Dinners:
[color:"blue"]Dinghy Dock Bar[/color] – At Captain Oliver’s Marina. After we had missed the TTOL party, we drove to Yvette’s but they are closed on Wednesday. We didn’t feel like venturing out too far, so decided to go to Dinghy Dock. Having only been to the island a couple of times, I really don’t want to get into a rut of going to the same places, but we really enjoy coming here for the good food and laid back environment (and to check out some of those boats!) Matt, the bartender, remembered us and even though it was just after happy hour, handed the bottle of rum to hubby to mix his own drink with his coke. We had the tuna steak, seafood pasta, and fish & chips. Dinner for 3 with a round of drinks - $44. We’ve been here once on each of our trips – always is good!

[color:"blue"]Yvette’s[/color] – Back in August we had hoped to go here, but never made it. We were really glad we got the chance this time. A friend of ours, who is a local on the island, joined us here for this meal. For our appetizers we had the Combination Platter (Yvette‘s conch, crabmeat salad, shrimp), Johnny cakes, and chicken wings and our dinners were Rib Stew, Chicken Stew (had white meat, which pleasantly surprised me – usually the chicken dishes everywhere are legs and thighs), Curry Shrimp and Garlic Shrimp, all with salads and rice with peas. For dessert, the homemade coconut tart looked wonderful, but we were so full, we had to pass. Next time for sure! A lot of people had told us the restaurant was much better when Yvette was alive, so it must have been really good! Dinner for 4 - $62

[color:"blue"]Pizzaria D’Orleans[/color] – In the French Quarter, soon after the turn to Oyster Pond. After having had a big lunch at Baywatch, we decided to go nearby for a quick pizza. I stayed back at the resort while the guys went and got the 2 pizzas. Vegetarian – tomato, mozzarella, green pepper, artichoke, mushroom, olives. Queen – tomato, mozzarella, ham, mushrooms. Very good, thin crust - $15.50

[color:"blue"]Papaguyo’s[/color] – The sand gravity was getting worse by the day, so we decided to stay at the resort and eat here. It was Prime Rib Night, and that’s what John had. Our friend had a Tomato and Mozzarella Salad and Pasta Carbonara. I had the Chicken Mango. We had to sit outside on the porch and it was rather cool and windy, but the food and service were very good.

For the last full day on the island, sand gravity had taken its toll. We decided to use the hibachi grill that our neighbors at Club O gave us when they left and grill out for our final meal. John ran to the store early in the day and our final gourmet meal consisted of hot dogs and grilled sausage on baguettes with our Etna Rhum Raisin for dessert! It was great!

Our flight home wasn’t until 5:00, so our goal was to squeeze as much beach time in as possible. Got a walk in, had breakfast and was on my chair by 8:30. As the cruise people starting arriving, I noticed a little boy, about 3 yrs old, playing in the water, his mom chasing him along the way. They reminded me so much of the family we had spent much of our time with on the beach in August. Then I really looked at them, and it was the family we had spent time with in August! They were here for one day on a cruise, and we were there spending our last few moments of our trip. We had emailed them at Christmas, but didn’t realize that our trips would overlap. We may see them again in August. It sure is a small world sometimes.

Showered, finished packing did some last minute shopping and headed to the airport for check in. Departure tax was included in our tickets (tickets were purchased back in October through United on a USAir flight). Was driving along Simpson Bay, saw an open parking space in front of [color:"blue"]JamRockJerk Restaurant[/color] and decided to have lunch here. Jamaican food - variety of saltfish, curry and jerk dishes. John asked for a little sample of a couple of things, and we had the jerk chicken and ribs. Lots of food, again with the rice and salad. $30 for 3 of us.

Dropped off the cell phone and the car, and waited until it was time to go.<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> Had a slight problem with our friend’s ticket, but worst case scenario was that he wouldn’t be able to leave…but they finally got it straightened out and we all boarded and were on our way home. Arrived home around 1 am, and the poor guys had to go to work the next day. Good thing for us is that our friend will be going back in April and we only have 166 days until we return for 2 weeks in August!

We have decided that we will now refer to this trip as the First of our Annual Winter Vacations!!!