We arrived on Saturday and were suprised to find the LONGEST line we have ever seen in all the years we have been coming here at immigration. The new airport is incredible and really is a change from the old one. I think the bus drivers got the jobs of driving the tarmac. I wonder if Ralph Cramden could have driven one. While waiting in line at the airport in Charlotte, we met NCGuy from TTOL and he was nice enough to let me know he actually appreciated the humor of some of my posts. It is nice to see that some people actually understand sarcasm.
Checked into our villa "Seaside Retreat" on Beacon Hill and were blown away by the incredible setting and wonderful view. After 9 times on the island using our timeshare, we agree that staying in a private villa is definately a step up and we will be spending our time on Saint Maarten in villas from now on.
We headed to the market in Maho for some of the necessities (Beer and Liquor) along with a package of cheese. The market had all that we needed but we will probably end up heading to Cost U Less on Monday.
Our first evening for dinner we headed to Toppers after the posting that Scotty had put up on here we wanted to try it out. The food was absolutely wonderful and the six of us traded forkfulls so we could try as much as possible. The Brisquet was killer and my meatloaf was top shelf. I will say that the mac and cheese is made with a different cheese and it had a bite to it. The owner was very cordial and the wait staff was wonderful and catered to our needs with humor and kindness. Towards the end of dinner, we were lucky enough to see Scuba Deb and her entourage walking in and shared some conversation with them. We are looking forward to the Monday evening TTOL party.
Sunday it was early rise and off to the beach. We chose Orient and Club O to show our first time friends to the island the most populous beach on the island. Once again we bumped into Scuba Deb and shared some conversation while wading in the nasty blue colored water (lol). Happy hour at the Perch was as we remembered and the line moved quickly. Then we headed to Baywatch were Cheryl served us the most wonderful mussels. The meal was delicious and filling and helped to absorb much of the alcohol that had us in a daze. We headed back and decided that Jimbos would be the place for dinner. The six of us split the 81 ounce Margarita Pitcher and it was enough for a total of 14 drinks. Defginately the way to go for a large group. The meals were excellent but the waitress seemed depressed and was not much into conversation even though the restaurant was slow. We headed to SSBB were a Reggae band was playing. Not much of a Reggae fan but these guys were acoustically sound and very talented. For a few songs, Luciano joined the band. He was greeted by lots of fans when he left the stage to sit in the crowd. Lots o Bling on the man but he seemed very open to his fans.
Sitting here poolside now overlooking Simpson Bay. Can it get any better? We will be heading to the TTOL party this evening at Kissing Fish. Hope to see many people there.