Trip Report - April 13 - April 29, 2001<br><br>Another fine trip to the Rock, indeed. <br><br>All AA flights were on time, no transportation, customs, nor any<br>other travel logistic problems at all.<br><br>What happened you ask? In no particular order:<br><br>Highlights:<br><br> Tiko-Tiko is always a wonderful trip. Phillipe and Emanuelle took<br>care of everyone - it was a perfect day. Got into the mud pretty well - my<br>TTOL hat will never be the same. I will have to decide if any of those<br>photos are suitable for framing. (Bad choice of words... No worries mates.)<br>The ride over was easy - I had a discussion with one of the guys on which<br>side of the boat would be better to sit on in terms of staying drier on the<br>way over. I chose port, he swore by starboard. I won - he got soaked. <br>The meal was excellent - It was about a 50-50 split between fish and steak.<br>Cognac and cheesecake for dessert. Everyone<br>had a great time - the cooler was much lighter when it was returned to the<br>boat.<br><br> Wine & Cheese parties at Club O on Wednesdays were sort of lethal -<br>the first week, while waiting for the party to start, I knocked over a <br>couple of "All over Tans" which of course is after a day full of Caribs.<br>The second week was after Tiko-Tiko. Add wine after either of these - Hmmm...<br><br> Orient Beach at Club O was fine this year. Lots of people, a minimum number<br>of blacksox, and for the most part, decent weather. All but one day - our <br>last day on the beach - the wind was so bad we went over to Cupecoy - I think <br>Jack_S makes reference to this in his write-up. That's one great thing about <br>SXM - if the weather isn't so great on one side of the island, drive over to <br>the other.<br><br> Cupecoy - there was plenty of beach this time! Met up with some folks there -<br>people we've known for years as well as TTOL'ers. Water was very swimmable<br>compared to other years, even though it was still a bit on the rough side.<br><br> Sunset Beach Bar - thanks Neil for your hospitality, and you can thank<br>us for our business! There's been many write-up's on the 4/16 and 4/22<br>TTOL get-togethers, so I won't go into those in much detail here. It was<br>good to match names to faces, and get to meet so many of you in person.<br>On 4/22, invited Solange and Jadira of SXM-pride as well as Alanna from Ms. B's.<br>It was nice seeing those fine ladies. Can't forget the Shooters...<br>Air Fence takeoffs continue to amaze - what is more amazing are the fools<br>who try to stand up on Maho beach to "experience" the jet blast. I have<br>a picture of that - will post it for sure when I put them up a little later<br>on in time.<br><br> Visited Deita at the Guavaberry factory for our annual colada's there. <br>There's something about going to that place - reminds us of the old days <br>when the West Indian Tavern was there.<br><br> Went over to St. Barths on "The Edge" - not a bad ride - we surfed a bit<br>at times, many people had beers which is usually an indication that the<br>seas were tolerable. We were getting ready to go find the place to rent<br>a car, but first we decided to have a "Cheeseburger in Paradise". It was good<br>even though I swear they served McDonalds FF's... This was at Le Selecte.<br>For you parrotheads, supposedly, this is the establishment Jimmy named the<br>song after, but if you read his book - "A Pirate Looks at Fifty",<br>it mentions Le Selecte, but gives a different account - I will not spill <br>the beans here - read the book. I think we spent too much time there - <br>forgot to rent the car - oh well - we had fun... Charlene enjoyed having a <br>new set of stores to leave money at.<br><br> Spent a day at Ms. B's Island Spot on Dawn beach - Alanna was our hostess.<br>I do not know if I should go into this here or not - I have a story to<br>tell from Alanna concerning the relationship between her and the neighboring<br>establishment Mr. Busby's. Their relationship is not good, I'm still<br>amazed that it's still called Mr Busby's since that is Alanna's family name,<br>and whose family used to run that business before being forced out. If<br>enough of you want to hear about this, then I'll write something about it,<br>place it on my web area, with a link. This is to stay in line with TTOL<br>guidelines - it's sort of political...<br><br> Had a few lunches at Talk of the Town - ribs for me, Lobbies for Charlene.<br>We always enjoy ourselves there - leave with full bellies and smiles.<br><br> Had a fine dinner at Piccolo's - if you've never tried this place, it's<br>highly recommended. It will not break the bank, and you are guaranteed a<br>most interesting meal. Charlene always asks how they make one of the items<br>that one of us is served. Hence, another reminder of SXM when at home.<br><br> Turtle Pier was quite good this year - even the service. It's usually a bit<br>slow, but not this time.<br><br> Breakfast out at the pool at LaPlantation is a peaceful experience as<br>long as any visiting little ones are quiet.<br><br> Listening to PJD2 always gives me a good feeling. Years ago, it was the<br>only game in town, and the format hasn't really changed all that much.<br>Sometime, bring a small radio/cassette recorder with you and record a tape<br>from PJD2 - record anything - just make sure it's not during a talk show. Record<br>the National Anthem at noon. Take it home, and when you are homesick for<br>the island, play the tape. It helps a little...<br><br>Middlelights:<br><br> Caribbean Gems strikes again. Free Heinekens? Sure. There's a happy<br>girl living in my house.<br><br> The joys of walking up/down Front St. with a Cuban cigar in one<br>hand, and a Carib in the other, without the constant concern for<br>looking out for cops to bust you for public drinking. As usual, we<br>took with us our marine VHF handheld radios - she gets to go into<br>those tablecloth shops us guys really like, while I looked for the<br>next street vendor with a cooler.<br><br> We were going to go to the Caribbean Queen show at Carnival Village, but<br>a few hours before, the skies opened up, and filled up the island with<br>water. The ground at Carnival Village is a combination of dirt and potholes -<br>add water, and it turns to muck. We decided to pass on that event as<br>we didn't have the proper shoes with is... It rained so hard, I think it may<br>have kept many SXM'ers away as well.<br><br>Lowlights:<br><br> I thought the mosquito's were out in force this year. We went thru<br>an entire can of deep woods Off, and still got chowed upon...<br><br> Casino's - you know the story. I'm glad Dolphin doesn't have an ATM...<br>(I know about the one at Casino Royale...)<br><br> Leaving. C'mon plane - don't start. C'mon idiot lights - come on.<br>Airport run out of fuel? Pilot caught drinking? No such luck. You do<br>all you can do from crying as you watch the island get smaller and<br>further away from your view out the window...<br><br>-------------------<br>In conclusion, we were pretty lazy this trip - spent most of the time<br>on the beach, eating lots of bread and cheese. Didn't go out for many<br>dinners - we were simply too full from lunches. For some reason, I do not<br>eat as much food down there as compared to here at home. Perhaps it's<br>the weather, or I'm not paying attention to how many cans of pringles<br>I eat for breakfast.<br><br>No matter what we did, or did not do, the feeling of being on the island<br>was wonderful. We have tremendous feelings for being there, a sense of<br>belonging, a sense of peace. Another excellent adventure for us...<br><br>We attended the two SSBB parties, but passed on the other gatherings.<br>We are both very active in our yacht club at home, and spend lots of time<br>with other people. We really needed some time alone this trip, so, if<br>some of you are wondering why we didn't show up at every opportunity, this<br>is why - I apologize, but we had to take care of ourselves first...<br><br>Photos:<br> I haven't developed my film yet, but at least I have organized my<br>digital pictures into folders so I can move them onto the web for your<br>viewing pleasure. Again, it was a lazy trip - no real super shots, but<br>I think I covered the island pretty well, and those of you who just enjoy<br>looking at SXM photos will enjoy these. Many were taken from the car<br>while driving around, so there are pictures of things you wouldn't normally<br>take pictures of. I'll post a note when that's ready, but it won't be<br>for at least another week - I've got lots going on right now...<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>[color:blue]Bob!</font color=blue><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 5/11/01 02:33 PM.</EM></FONT></P>