Our first trip to SXM was awesome. I thought we would give a recap since a lot of what we did was based on TTOL info. The flight in was good. We had a direct flight in from Newark. We got our bags fairly quick and met our rental car person (tropical) outside the baggage claim area. We had our vehicle in about 10 minutes. There were some minor issues with the vehicle but nothing to really write about. Overall the vehicle and tropical were good. After signing the paperwork at their office we were off to Oyster Bay Beach Resort. The island war very easy to navigate and we made it to the resort in about a half-hour. We had read about the construction next to OBBR but it was not too bad upon entering, nothing more than an eye sore. Check-in was quick and we made our way to our room which was an efficiency, but very spacious and comfortable. We were pretty tired so we stayed at OBBR and got something to eat at one of the bars, it was happy hour so the drinks were 2 for 1, and then we figured we would sleep for a few hours and go out later. When we got up we realized that mostly everything shuts down by 10pm so we stayed at OBBR drinking beers by the pool, overlooking the Caribbean. . On Sunday we did a little tour of the island, we drove up to Orient Beach and had lunch at the Kon Tiki. I had a burger which was very good; my wife had this grilled salmon salad which was incredible. Certainly more then what I would have expected from a beach bar. After we left Orient we drove through Grand Case to eye up all the great restaurants we have been reading about. We drove the rest of the island stopping here and there to enjoy the view. We had dinner at Mr. Busbys Beach Bar. We were still full from lunch so we split an appetizer of Calamari and a seafood dish for the main course, both were very good. We especially enjoyed the atmosphere and how you are practically dining on the beach. We spent Monday morning by the pool and then headed to Rics in the afternoon to try and catch a baseball game. We ended up having a late lunch at Rics. We both had a tex mex dish which was very good. We ate outside with a nice view of the harbor with all the yahts (it must be nice). We left there for the Wharf for our first TTOL party. It was a great party with great people who had an abundance of information. I spend months researching info on SXM and I ended up with about a two inch stack of paper. After about an hour at the party we had more info then what I managed to get in all those months. Thanks to everyone there, all your info was right on the nose. We did not eat at the Wharf but they do make this drink called the BBC which you have to try if you are in the area. We left there and went over to Cheri’s (TTOL info) to catch the show. Very good time, we can see why Cheri’s is so popular. The next day we tried to get up to watch the sunrise but we missed it by 20 minutes, but we went down to the beach next to OBBR (dawn beach) to go for a swim. We had the whole beach to ourselves and the water was great. We went into Philipsburg for the afternoon to do some browsing. What a pain to find parking. I can’t imagine what it is like in the busy season. Tuesday evening we went up to Grand Case for dinner. We did not make a reservation (despite all the warnings) so we figured we would wing it. Luckily, we parked just after we passed Spiga(traffic was horrible). We tried Spiga first but they were full so we strolled down the street eyeing up all the menus. We finally settled on L’ Escapade. We were greeted warmly and seated immediately. Our server was very polite and informative about the dishes. We shared an appetizer of frog legs and escargot which was excellent. My wife had a seafood dish and I had the special which was a filet mignon. Both entrees were superb. We both had dessert, my wife having her favorite Crème Brule and I went with Banana Flambé. I would definitely recommend L’ Escapade. It was very good service and it had a great view. The next three days were spent on the beach at Club O. The first day we did lunch at Baywatch (Thanks Joe) and had the muscles. Again, this was another TTOL tip and a definite bullseye. Thursday we did lunch at Papagayo’s. Good lunch, we both had sandwiches. Friday for lunch consisted of the 2 for 1 drinks at the Perch (nutritious and delicious). Wednesday evening we had dinner at Turtle Pier. It was nice. They had a Caribbean style band and it was thirty dollars for the dinner which was your appetizer your lobster entrée and a dessert. It was good service but the dinner was just OK. Late Thursday afternoon we were at our second TTOL party at Gutside (what a great out of the way place). Afterwards, we went to dinner at Le Gondola at the Atlantis Casino. This is an excellent restaurant with excellent service. My wife had the special which was Risotto with a mushroom sauce, truffles, and grilled sea scallops (WOW). I had the salmon which was also WOW. I don’t think you can go wrong with anything on the menu. But if the special is appealing I would go for that. Friday (our last night) we made reservations for Spiga and of course after being turned away because of the crowd on Tuesday we went up on Friday and only had one other couple in the restaurant at 7pm? We were seated and ordered the crab bisque for an appetizer. The Bisque was incredible, and then the lights went out! This was our first experience with a power outage for the week. Our waiter immediately brought over extra lamps to our table, and for the next fifteen minutes we enjoyed a quiet candlelit room enjoying each others company and a nice bottle of wine. Fortunately or unfortunately the lights eventually came back on. My wife had prawns; I had the pasta with braised lamb. Both were very good and were toped off by a delicious dessert. My wife had the passion fruit and I had something that had banana in the title (forgive me). Not wanting the night to end we strolled down to the Blu Martini for drinks. The Blue Martini has a little court yard area for dining and a bar. It is very comfortable and inviting place. There was a pair of musicians singing songs (French of Course) while we sipped our drinks and enjoyed our last evening on the island. The next day we finished packing and went down to the sunset beach bar for lunch and took some picture of the planes coming in (also got to see a couple of people being blow down the beach from the jet blast of a plane getting ready to take off). After we left sunset we drove to the airport and met the guy from tropical and turned in our car and reluctantly headed home. We definitely would like to come back next year if possible. I would really like to search out the out of the way restaurants and the “hole in the wall places” that you always here about on your last day. One week is definitely not enough time. I would like to do 8 to10 days if we come down again. I would like to thank everyone who provided info before our trip and those of you, who we met while in SXM, who filled in all the gaps while we were there. We hope we will see you soon and may you stay safe in your travels. Thanks

Billnmo