This is our trip report from our trip from June 13 to 23, 2014 to St. Maarten. We didn’t do a whole lot this time, as the first half of the trip, we were entertaining a friend of ours who came along, and Eric had a nasty cold which he brought along with him from home, which he didn’t shake until almost time to come home. I was very lazy this trip and didn’t take my camera along with me most of the time, and Fusion was the only place I took pictures of the food. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/sorry.gif" alt="" /> I also apologize to those of you that were on island at the same time we were, as especially with Eric’s cold, we didn’t socialize too much. The report will be divided up in sections so feel free to ignore any sections that don’t interest you.

OK, so let’s get the crappy stuff out of the way first……

JET BLUE HAS IT’S ISSUES LIKE EVERY OTHER AIRLINE—A STAR-CROSSED FRIDAY THE 13TH!!

We’d only flown Jet Blue a couple of times prior to this trip and had had very good experiences, so I guess we were due for some hiccups this time.

The first set of problems revolved around our initial booking. Without going into every detail, we originally booked our flights from Orlando through San Juan to SXM and the same on the return, with a 1.5 hour connection time in SJU on the return. We knew that was a tight connection, but we would not book the other option, which involved a 4 HOUR layover in SJU. We purchased one ticket with cash and a JB credit and the other one with JB miles. In each case we paid more miles or cash for the 1.5 hour layover, than for the 4 hour layover. The 1.5 hour layover flight was supposed to arrive back into Orlando at 9:30 PM, the other flight at midnight. Since we have a 1.5 hour drive from Orlando to our house, the 4 hour layover flight would put us back home at roughly 2 AM. If the 4 hour layover flight had been our only choice, we would have booked AA, nonstop from Miami. AA is a 3 ½ hour drive from home.

Around two months prior to our trip, JB notified us that they had switched us to the 4 hour layover flight. Presumably this was because they had changed the flight times slightly on the other flight, and it was no longer a legal connection time. I called JB about cancelling the reservation altogether, which they would have done. However, since we had booked Eric’s flight partly with JB credit, we couldn’t get any money back, but would have to accept JB credit for the entire amount. We weren’t certain we would use it within a year, so I tried to get them to at LEAST give me a credit in miles and/or money for the extra we paid for the 1.5 hour layover flight, versus the 4 hour layover flight. They claimed they couldn’t go back at this point and tell how much extra we had paid, and we couldn’t prove it, so they wouldn’t do it. I talked to two different supervisors at different times and got nowhere. So we weren’t too happy with JB starting out.

So, fast forward to our actual flights….
We had some serious stuff go sideways the day before our trip, with a power outage at our house, boarding passes wouldn’t print, our alarm clock didn’t work, etc. Then the morning of our flight, we drove to my friend’s house to pick her up, and when we came back out to leave, our car wouldn’t start!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" /> So, she got a friend of hers to drive us to the airport. We were talking and missed the airport exit <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />, but thankfully, that was just a couple of minutes’ delay and we were able to take the next exit without any problems . We were dropped off in plenty of time to check bags and get through security, and time to grab a couple of mimosas at the bar right by the gate. They were expensive, but worth every penny in calming my nerves!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> We grabbed a sandwich to have on the plane, as none of us had any breakfast.

Our flight from Orlando to SJU was fine, on time, no problems. We had only about an hour connection time in SJU, but it was plenty of time. Our same plane from Orlando wound up being the plane we would take from SJU to SXM, but we did have to disembark in SJU. No problem, we walked around a bit to check for food/etc for the way home and boarded the plane, where we waited.. And waited.. We ultimately left SJU 40 minutes late, as we were waiting for planes connecting from Ft. Lauderdale and Newark, which were both delayed.

Ultimately, we arrived in SXM about a half hour late and we were happy to find that there was zero line for immigration, as we were the only plane in! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" /> Our luggage was pretty quick, our shuttle from Travel Rent a Car was waiting, and we were out of the airport within about 30 minutes from when we landed. Thank goodness, we have arrived!! The really BAD part with Jet Blue was at the end of the trip….


TRAVEL RENT A CAR
We rented our car this time from Travel. We had no issues with the car and got an upgraded car, pretty new, with only about 3,000 KM on it. Travel’s office is located right next to AAA, on the road going to Beachside Villas, so that was very convenient for us.

PHONE FROM SHARON, QUEEN OF SXM
As always, we got our phone from Sharon. Cell phone service seemed much clearer than it has been lately and we didn’t get the dreaded ‘all circuits are busy’ message. This was possibly a function of off season.

PACKLIGHT
Beachside doesn’t provide beach umbrellas, although they do have beach chairs. I always rent an umbrella from Craig at Packlight, plus a small, hard top cooler which doubles as a table for the beach. Craig picks up and delivers at BSV, since he lives in Beacon Hill, so that is very convenient for us.


BEACHSIDE VILLAS



What can I say about Beachside Villas that I haven’t said a bunch of times before? These days, unless we go for Regatta (in which case we prefer to be at Royal Palm), we very much prefer BSV over any other place to stay. Beachside feels like home for us, after staying at a multitude of different places over the years, and for a lot of other people who have been staying there for a long time, as it sort of feels like you’re living in your own beachside cottage.



They have thought of everything and provide everything, from standard things one should expect, like daily maid service (except Wednesday, I think it is), beach towels, dishes, glassware, pots and pans, etc. But they also provide tools for the BBQ grill, Tupperware containers to store things in, lighters to light the grill with, bug candles, bug spray, and a ton of other things I’ve forgotten.

You have a full kitchen, your own gas grill, living room, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.





There are either one or two units that have three bedrooms. You have your own private porch by the water, fully shaded, with two chaise loungers, and a table and chairs. There is a one bedroom and a two bedroom rate and if you only use one bedroom, the other one is locked off. The second bathroom has a regular walk in shower, unlike the one in the master, which has a tub, so we normally shower in the second bathroom. We almost never travel with anyone else, but this time a single friend of mine came along. The units are very comfortable either for one or two couples. There is a TV and free wireless internet, which usually works very well. This time, it was a tad slow sometimes, but we were always able to connect.

But the best feature of Beachside is


THE VIEW…

I am very conscious of the view when I book a holiday place to stay and the view at BSV truly cannot be beat. I do a lot of reading at BSV, but we often just sit and stare at the ocean, watching the parade of boats, cruise ships, sailboats, etc. You can’t beat it with a stick.








This time we were in #10, but we have stayed in #1, #2, #6, #10, and #14. They are all exactly the same inside, except for the material on the couches and the artwork, etc. These days our favorite is #14 because it is closest to the pool, but truthfully it really does not really make any difference which unit you get, as they are all great and exactly the same inside.
Since we last stayed there last June, there is a new security gate at BSV, which is operated by a combination. It is an improvement in security and I personally am very happy to relinquish my role as “gate girl”. Those who have stayed at BSV know what I’m talking about! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />


ASCONY BEACH CLUB, fka TAHOMA BEACH and WHITE SANDS BEACH CLUB
Right next to BSV is a property that was known to several of you as Tahoma Beach, and for an extremely short while—only since around March of this year—as Ascony Beach Club. The owner of Ascony was from St. Barts and he operated a restaurant and bar at the location, unfortunately with St. Barts prices. Ascony is no more and the owner has gone back to St. Barts. There is almost no evidence that there ever was a bar or restaurant there, other than what used to be the restaurant or bar in the back left corner of the property. What is odd is that he put a WHOLE lot of money into renovating the rental units which were previously called White Sands, including what looked to be all new windows and doors, new a/c units, new tile, paint, etc., and he has just abandoned the property. The units look to be virtually ready to rent, except I don’t think the plumbing is done inside. Since the units were 95% finished and ready to go, I don’t know why he wouldn’t focus on finishing up and renting the units, which would make a whole lot more money than the restaurant. Perhaps there was some issue with permits, etc., as it seems to me that those units would rent very well, once completed. The beach there is beautiful.



THE WORLD CUP
We’re not soccer fans, but it was fun to be on island for some of the early rounds. On our arrival day, we almost couldn’t get inside the Grand Marche in Cole Bay because of the huge crowd assembled around the large screen TV by the front door, as Holland was playing. Later that evening, as we were sitting at the Boat Bar, we saw two ambulances and about six vehicles with flashing lights come by. We thought there was some big emergency, but it turned out that they were just celebrating Holland’s big win over Spain. A few days later, we heard whistles as Holland celebrated another win, and the games were on almost everywhere we went. Everywhere, people had flags on their cars, supporting their teams. I wish I had thought to take pictures of some of them, but I did catch this boat passing by.



da PLANES!!
Since we were staying at Beachside Villas, we got to see a ton of planes and we enjoyed watching KLM and Air France and all the rest.




We also went to Sunset Bar and Grill twice, once basically for sunset and another time to take pictures. I got a couple of good pictures, like this one of Copa

[img]http://www.info-res.com/ehill/ttol/bsv2014/bsv21.jpg[/img]

but somehow I screwed up the KLM shot. Guess I’ll survive.. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />

SHOPPING
We don’t do much shopping on island these days except for food, and this trip was no exception. We brought several items of food from home but also spent a TON of money at Grand Marche over the 10 days, including the first day, when we spent over $200. We had our credit card declined for the first time EVER on SXM. We have had a Citi card for over 20 years and use it on SXM all the time, and have never called before to say we would be on island. We paid with another card we had brought along. When we called Citibank the next day to complain, they said the charge was declined because it was over $200, and our routine charges are never that much on that card. By the way, if you need to call an 800 number from SXM, change the 800 to 300 and it will work. It’s not a free call, but the call will go through.

We bought almost all our groceries at Grand Marche, either at Cole Bay, at the roundabout, or at the Gourmet Marche in Simpson Bay. We loved the convenience of getting to the GM at Cole Bay via the Causeway, as it was a quick 10 minute trip. However, after a couple of trips there, we reverted to our regular Grand Marche, by Mark’s, as we just found the selection larger there and they have better specials on wine, which was an important consideration. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Other than grocery stopping, we did go to Prime once, as they had some great wine specials in the paper <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> and Eric and my friend bought several cartons of cigarettes. We generally buy a full wheel of gouda cheese to bring home. This trip we got the full wheel for $36 at Cost U Less . My friend found some good bargains on T-shirts at one of the shops right by Royal Palm, and I noticed all the Heineken stuff was marked 25% off. By the way, the ladies who come by with their beach cover-ups, jewelry, etc, on Mullet sure are charging more for their wares, now that Rima has closed. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Mad.gif" alt="" />

RESTAURANTS
When we stay at Beachside Villas, we often do a lot of cooking in, and this trip was no exception. Eric had a horrible cold when he left home and it lingered on through half of the trip, so he didn’t feel like eating much for the first several days, so we often just made something simple at home. That was not a big sacrifice though, as we don’t have a desire to go out every night as we used to. We brought a mini cooler from home with a few items of meat, which we put in our carry-on bag. They were still frozen solid when we arrived.

Breakfast—
We didn’t go out to breakfast at all. Eric is not a big breakfast eater anyway. We did stop at LESUCIERE and got some ham and cheese quiche to go. Otherwise, we had eggs, bacon, ham, toast, etc. at Chez’ Hill.

Lunch—
Again, most of our lunches were at ‘home’, with most meals being burgers or boneless chicken breasts on the grill, or leftovers, or simply some lovely assorted cheeses and crackers and fruit. We did have lunch at ROSIE’S on Mullet. Eric and I shared an absolutely delish plate of BBQ chicken, with salad, fries and some super sweet mango. Lovely!

Monday the 16th was our anniversary, so we decided to spend it at DREAMS . We had a wonderful day, with Dreams’ lovely service of drinks at your chair. As lunchtime arrived, we ambled up to the restaurant to eat our lunch in style. I had the salad Bo-bun, which was OUSTANDING. It features shrimp, beef, mint, peanuts and a lovely sauce. Eric was not feeling too hungry, so he had the St Marcellin cheese salad, which he enjoyed. My friend had the club sandwich, which was huge, and she only finished half of it. In honor of our anniversary, my friend treated us to the whole day, which was really wonderful. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" /> Wow, I would have loved to gone back, but we just didn’t have time. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> The whole experience at Dreams is just such an upscale, lovely experience that going just once during a trip just won’t cut it any more!

Dinner
Several of our evening meals were at ‘home’ at BSV, with meals consisting of steak, ribs, or chicken on the grill, and fettucine alfredo. Sometimes the service isn’t exactly ‘white glove’ at Chez’ Hill, but you do get refills on drinks pretty fast!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> We didn’t get to Grand Case at all this trip.

Our first night on island, we headed to the BOAT BAR and had a couple of pizzas and some wine and beer for my friend. It was dark by the time we arrived, but the view was still wonderful and knowing we were finally HOME made up for a kind of lackluster pizza. We’d had pizza before there and they were good, and these were only ok, but they hit the spot after a long travel day.

One evening we went to the GREENHOUSE in Simpson Bay. We missed Happy Hour, as we were watching for a Royal Caribbean ship to leave, that we never saw leave.. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Mad.gif" alt="" /> Eric and I weren’t real hungry, so he had a Rueben and I had a philly cheese steak, and my friend had a steak. It was all good and hit the spot.

The one place our friend wanted to eat again was PINEAPPLE PETE , for their outstanding lobster thermadore, so we made the big sacrifice and went there. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> We had the good fortune of being waited on by the inimitable Ziggy, who asked me if I lived on island, when I asked for GEBE. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> My friend enjoyed her lobster, Eric had seafood pasta and I had the crab stuffed shrimp, which I had enjoyed before. As always, PP had consistently good food and great service, particularly when you manage to draw Ziggy. They were giving coupons for 10% off at Sushitto, Pierre’s sushi restaurant at Port de Plaisance. However, since none of us are sushi fans, we didn’t use it.


NEW RESTAURANTS

This time we tried three places that were new to us. One, we would not go back to. Another we would give another try, and one we enjoyed very much and would go back to in a second! So, for the one we would NOT go back to:

THE PALMS
I know a lot of people like this place, but I will confess that I have never liked the location (too close to the road), and this visit reaffirmed that feeling. We sat outside, which I’m sure made the smell and noise from the cars worse, but I did not enjoy the setting at all. Eric had the drunken ribs, which actually were quite good, and fall off the bone. However, $25 for ribs?? My friend had the filet, which she thought was good. It was $29, a fairly standard price for a filet. I made a mistake when I ordered my entre, as I ordered the curry beef special (I think it was around $25), and while it was explained to me, it wasn’t what I expected and I did not enjoy it. That was my fault for ordering the wrong thing. I got a piece of carrot cake for dessert and I found it not very sweet and can honestly say that was probably the first time I have NOT enjoyed carrot cake.

There was one large table of about 6 people there, and I think only one other table, in addition to ours. The service was pretty slow, and the waitress obviously is pretty new to the island, as she didn’t know what I meant when I ordered GEBE water. The owner and chef is very personable, he knows his food and explains it well. They add 15% service charge automatically and they do not accept credit cards, and there is very little parking. We just thought for the food, for the setting, for the whole experience, it was just WAY overpriced. We would not return.

Getting better….
FUSION
We had noted Jazzgal and others talking glowingly about Fusion, and after looking at the menu online, we were excited to try it. I liked the décor inside and sometimes I do appreciate eating in a/c while down island when it is warm, as it was that evening. I ordered a raspberry mojito, which I was surprised to find was rather sweet as I often find regular mojitos too sour for my taste. Eric ordered the special appetizer of shrimp in won ton wrappers. He said it was OK, but doughy.

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I ordered the chicken sate, which was OK, but I found the sauce lacking in a peanut taste, somewhat oddly.

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I wished I had ordered the lobster and shrimp bisque special.

For my entre’, I finally hit a home run, with the sweet chile shrimp. Oh MY, now that was GOOD!

[img]http://www.info-res.com/ehill/ttol/bsv2014/bsv13.jpg[/img]

The sauce was just lovely, a little spicy, but not too, accompanied by some lovely veggies, peas and a sweet potato puree that was seriously good. That probably was the second best dish I had on the island, after my salad at Dreams.

Eric ordered the special Mediterranean snapper, which he said was good, but not exactly what he thought it was going to be.



Service was good, with about 3 tables inside and 2 tables outside occupied, around 8:30 PM. We were surprised to receive a coupon at the end of the meal for 50% off a second entre. We didn’t have time to return to use it, although I would definitely return there, if the circumstances were right. Our bill, including tip and 2 glasses of wine (one of which was comped, for some reason) and the one mojito, was $110. I thought that was reasonable, for the quality of food, the service, the presentation and the ambiance.

And, the winner of our new restaurants that we tried….

FIG!!
Thursday night, we headed to Fig, in a light rain, so we were pleased to eat inside in the a/c. The décor is rather plain, but pleasing. Eric ordered the small Caesar salad with chicken for an appetizer. For his entre, he ordered the tuna, at an extremely reasonable $19. It was perfectly cooked rare, as he ordered it, and he enjoyed the various sauces offered with it. I enjoyed three really nicely cooked lamb chops for a very reasonable $22. We split a very enjoyable bottle of Chardonnay and followed the meal with a slice of carrot cake and coffee. The carrot cake was OMG gluttonous and I loved it! Service was very prompt, with only 4 tables occupied, I believe. The owner was there and we introduced ourselves after dinner and let him know how much we had enjoyed the meal. The food is very good, presented well, and very reasonable. We would definitely go back to Fig in a heartbeat. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" />


BEACHES
For me, the best beach on the island is at Beachside Villas! Three steps down to the beach, no rocks, no drop-off, no crowds, no people trying to sell you stuff, your own food and drinks right there, when it's 5 o'clock somewhere!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

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The beach at BSV was about as wide as we had personally ever seen it. The beach has held very well over the past year. By the way, the ‘caution’ tape in the picture, almost against the building, I think at #12, is a turtle nest. I was surprised that they would lay their eggs that close to the building there.

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We spent all our days at BSV, except for one day at Mullet and one at Dreams. Mullet had a HUGE drop off to get in and out of the water, so we didn’t go back. The day we went, it was hot as heck, because there was no wind.

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I didn’t go into the water because I didn’t want to have to climb back out. It was dead flat calm that day with no waves, so I should have gone in. We did very much enjoy the day but around 3 PM, three HUGE cats pulled with a ton of people onboard, so we packed up and went back home to BSV.

At Dreams , I don’t think any of us went into the water. We got some chairs down toward the end, where the beach was relatively flat. We didn’t get to Orient at all this trip, as our friend wasn’t interested in going there and time just got away from us at the end.

WEATHER
Our weather was pretty good throughout our stay, with a pretty constant breeze most days, and just a few passing showers during the day and a few more showers at night. Since we spent most of our time at Beachside, a passing rain shower had little effect on us. I was interested to read some other trip reports of some people who were on island the same time as we were, particularly over toward Orient, etc., who seemed to have some pretty hard showers on days where we just had a few passing clouds or sprinkles. It is amazing, how different the weather can be on the same island! Over all, we found nothing to complain about with regard to the weather, although it was funny, the day our friend left to come home, it rained pretty hard as her plane was taking off

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and we had some showers also, as we were going to the airport to leave ourselves.

CASINOS
We used to go to the casino almost every night on SXM. This time we only made it to Hollywood and to PDP a couple of times. Hollywood was absolutely DEAD. We played blackjack for a while and I was actually doing OK, got into a fairly decent run. However, they kept switching dealers what seemed to be every few minutes, which was very aggravating. I guess they were trying to give the various dealers something to do, but it was annoying. We took the Causeway to PDP, which really makes a huge difference in getting there from BSV, and were there in probably about 10 minutes. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> PDP was a little busier than Hollywood, but not a lot. PDP was giving two $5 match play coupons when you bought in with $100, so that was nice. We played blackjack for a while but again they switched dealers way too often. We wound up down for the trip about $75.

THE CAUSEWAY
This was the first trip that we had been on island since the Causeway opened, as we made the mistake of going to Jamaica instead of SXM last fall. Anyway, the lights are awesome and the trip to the French side a snap! The roundabout with the flags is a very pretty addition to the area. We used it several times, and it did make the trip to the Grand Marche at Cole Bay a breeze.

[img]http://www.info-res.com/ehill/ttol/bsv2014/bsv04.jpg[/img]




TRAFFIC
What traffic?? One of the reasons why we love going to SXM so much in the off season is that there is generally not any traffic. This trip was no exception. The Causeway is helpful in missing the congestion of Simpson Bay, if you’re headed to the French side, but we had no traffic issues at all.

THE LONG JOURNEY HOME ……..
Since we were staying at Beachside Villas, we saw the Jet Blue planes coming and going to SJU, and they were fairly uniformly late, at least during the 10 day period we were on island. The plane from SJU was always the plane which turned around to return to SJU. I’m not sure if this was normal or not, but the flight from SJU was at least 20 minutes late arriving at least 5 days while we were on island, and usually the returning flight was late also, usually around 20 minutes, and on one occasion, it was an hour and 20 minutes late leaving SXM.

For our flight home, we went over to the airport and checked our bags at about 1:00 PM for our 4:00 flight. There was a small line at that time, including two groups of folks who were just checking in and checking bags for the JFK flight, which was due to leave at 2:15. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Crazy.gif" alt="" /> Cutting it pretty darn close there, folks! We went back to BSV, had a last lunch and a shower, and came back around 2:45. Our plane was late from SJU, of course, arriving about 20 minutes late, although we were only about 5 minutes late leaving SXM.

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We arrived in SJU on time, the walk to immigration was a relatively short walk and we had a pretty short wait in immigration. Our bags were very prompt coming out, and we zipped through the customs line and baggage recheck. Altogether, we were through baggage recheck within 30 minutes of when our plane landed. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> Since you have to go back through security at SJU anyway, and we had four hours layover, thanks to JB, we decided to walk outside the airport and across the street, to a place called Buffalo Wings, for dinner. It’s a kind of sports bar and they had soccer on, of course. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> It wasn’t bad, it was cheaper than airport food, although not particularly quick, but we weren’t in a hurry. Our flight was due to leave at 9 PM (we thought), so we headed back across the street to go through security around 7:30. The security line was very quick, and we were at the gate by around 7:40, when they made the announcement that our flight would be delayed until 10:30 P.M.. How lovely… Apparently the outbound flight from Orlando was delayed and that was our plane for the return.

Because of the snafu with our car on the way down, we had planned on having a friend pick us up at the airport. However, since we were now not due to land in Orlando until 1:30 AM, that was too much to expect of anyone. So we went on the net in the SJU airport and rented a car to get home. Our flight left at 10:30 PM and arrived at 1:30 AM. The baggage seemed to take forever, considering what time we landed, and it was 2:15 before we were finally in the rental car, headed home, where we finally arrived at 4 AM. What irritated me the most, almost, was that they never said WHY the Orlando plane was late coming in, and they never said, even once, that they were sorry for the delay. The next day, we each got a $25 credit in our Jet Blue account. Weeee! The flight home was a really downer ending to the trip, especially since I never wanted to be on that late flight to begin with. I won’t say anything like “I’ll never book Jet Blue again”, or anything like that, but this sure took some of the luster off of Jet Blue for us.

Guess that’s it for this trip. Overall, I read 6 books, Eric finally got over his cold, and we spent a lot of time at our favorite place on earth, Beachside Villas. I go to come back…