Friday If vacations are made up of peaceful days, then Friday qualified. We had croissants and yogurt for breakfast, purchased at the local convenience store near Oyster Bay. This little store was chronically short on change in the cash register, and when the clerk ran out of nickels, she gave me my change in Chiclets gum! She smiled and said, "sorry, I'm out of nickels. Here, have some gum!" I laughed all the way back to the room.

We drove to Orient, parked in the secure Club O lot, and paid $14 at the guard shack for two chair tags. Normally, the cost is $20 but because of the wind the resort was not putting out any umbrellas. We relaxed, chatted with new and old friends, enjoyed 2 for 1 happy hour at Perch, and napped in the sun. Oh, and we had another great lunch at Baywatch, washed down with the best BBC's on the beach.

Dinner was across Oyster Pond from OBBR at Le Planteur, a French restaurant doing a good job of dispelling the myth of tiny French portions. These portions were huge, and delicious, as we thoroughly enjoyed entrees of roast duck and garlic filet of pork. We would have ordered shrimp, again, but Cindy was told there was a recent and unexpected shrimp shortage on the island. Imagine that! Dessert was a grand marnier crepe, served flambe.

Saturday It is hard to leave this place. Oyster Bay made it as easy as possible, though, and provides a changing room and a place to store luggage so you can catch a few rays following the 10:00 checkout. After our last look at the resort, we went through the Saturday afternoon traffic to Buccaneer Beach Bar. Lunch is inexpensive, and comes with a great view of Kimsha Beach. The new airport is beautiful, and check-in is easy. We flew away knowing that SXM is an island that is thrilling and relaxing; sometimes, you get both feelings simultaneously, which is what makes this island so unique.

We're now back in frigid Oregon, and although the clock has not started yet, we are working on it. Our thanks go out to all the contributors on this board whose experiences and commentary helped make our first week-long vacation in St. Martin so special. We previously had just visited the island on day stops off a cruise ship, and although we were thrilled with our recent seven days of bliss, we recognized that one week is not nearly enough. We hope to see you again, there, soon.