OK, so it’s been about 3 weeks since we got back from our 4th trip to the island, but first in about 9 years (and 2 more kids!) Did this trip just the two of us, and man are we already hurtin to go back.

Flight
Continental out of Newark. Cost extra FF miles to get a seat, but got 1st class going down and well worth it. A nice bumpy ride going down (someone told me there was a lady praying in the back during a particularly rough stretch). Going back the plane flew much too fast…was hoping they ran out of soda or something and had to turn back…unfortunately, no soup for us.

Rental Car
Lesley at Kenny’s. No problem out, no problem in, no problem with car. ‘nuff said.

Cel Phone
Sharon Harris…excellent…a no brainer.

Accommodations
We did an internal exchange with our timeshare at The Towers, which we really like because we really don’t need anything other than a nice, clean, safe place to sleep and change clothes, and The Towers fits the bill. Will of course be nice when Mullet Bay gets back in order, but that’s for others to work out.

Beaches
We felt the sand gravity big time, and spent it at Maho (next to SSBB), Cupecoy and Orient in front of Club O. Not 3 better places on planet earth to spend time as far as we’re concerned. Watching planes go by is just poetry in motion for me, and the burgers were pretty good too at SSBB. Maybe drinks are a lot of money, maybe not, but when on vacation, there’s a lot to be said for location, location, location, even at a price.

Did Cupecoy a couple of days, where there were a couple of nooks that had good sand, the water wasn’t too rough, and it’s just damn relaxing. Unfortunately, the only annoying thing we experienced the entire trip was one of the local boys having a little personal fun with himself one day. Just kind of crossed the line, made us immediately uncomfortable, so we just picked up, moved over to the other sandy nook, and enjoyed the rest of the day. Must be some way Danny can keep those guys outta there, but whatever.

Spent one full day on the beach at Club O. Easy parking, paid the $20, got the chairs, umbrella, the happy hour drink at Pedro’s, snorkeled, the whole nine yards…It’s a beautiful thing, as they say.

Then, did the Tiko Tiko cruise for the first time later in the week, which was just a super experience all around. The bow tie service for lunch was just too cool…meal was great…the company was great…another satisfied customer.

Dining
Had great experiences at La Gondola, Pizza Pasta, Cheri’s, the brick oven place at Atlantis (can’t remember the name) and, of course, the multiple trips to Haagen Dazs, plus we never visit without a trip to Marigot to Brasserie de la Gare. Nothing like dinner in that harbor on a warm Caribbean night. However, we were very disappointed in dinner at Turtle Pier, which we really enjoyed in previous visits. Food not great, atmosphere really dull, no birds in the cages…real bummer, and Bananas we didn’t love, though in fairness, we had a bit too much sun the day we went there.

Casinos
Visited Royale and Dolphin, but hightailed it out of both quickly in order to be able to have money to eat the next day. Our better move was to spend some time every night at Atlantis Casino, and our reward was to come out ahead at the end of a week. We’re not huge gamblers, but we enjoy playing, so we don’t lose too much, rarely win too much, but we enjoy the time playing. At Atlantis, we kind of thought it a no brainer to sign up for their card, for which they give you each $20 match bets every day. We played the poker machines, but never down less than the $20 they matched, and played blackjack with match bets as well. Ended up in the black for the week (which helped finance the Tiko trip, since we didn’t have the casino loss we always factor into the trip budget!) and the Atlantis was really a friendly, comfortable place to spend a little time.

Summary
We did not realize how much we missed our time on the island, and were really bummed to have to leave. Been to the airport a couple of times since on business and it’s really an empty feeling knowing I’m flying to Some City, USA (with all due respect to those of you who live in Some City) instead of St. Maarten, especially since I fly out of Newark or Philly and there’s usually a flight leaving for St. Maarten around the same time I’m going to Some City. Know what I mean?

Very glad and appreciative of everyone who posts and got us re-Oriented (sorry) to our favorite place. Have already started the planning for next year! 9 years between trips is a thing of the past.