Flight: US Airways from Providence, RI to Charlotte to SXM. Both flights were delayed, and we arrived on the island at 3:20 pm, only 20 minutes late.

It was our first view at the new airport. It's very nice, but I did miss walking down the steps onto the tarmac. We breezed through Customs, and were met out in the parking lot by Arleen from St. Louis Car Rental, where we received a somewhat beat-up blue rental car for the week. We also rented our beach lounge chairs, umbrella and cell phone from Marius. They were all in the car - one stop shopping. We were on our way in a matter of minutes.
Since it was Sunday and most of the larger grocery stores close at 3:00, we stopped at the small market on Welfare Road for beer, water and breakfast supplies. Prices were reasonable, and the food was fresh.

Hotel: Les Balcons de Oyster Pond. We stayed in upper level unit #2, which had a nice water view. It was our second stay here and we really like this place. Managers, David and Carine, are lovely, friendly and helpful people. Our bungalow had a nice kitchenette and full sized refrigerator. A/C worked pretty well also. We noticed that a couple of improvements have been made to the property since last summer. There are two nice umbrella's on the sunny pool deck and there is now free WIFI available to all guests. Despite other guests staying at Les Balcons, we had the pool all to ourselves every day! It felt like we were staying in a private villa.

By 5:00 p.m. that first evening, we walked down to the Dinghy Dock, near Captain Olivers, to meet up with friends, Ann and Roger, who had flown in on Friday. As always, Stephan, the bartender, took good care of us. We had dinner there and ordered the yummy ribs and a good seafood pasta dish. A visit to the Dinghy Dock is always a great way to start our vacation.

This was our 14th trip to the island, so we don’t do many touristy things (or maybe we're just boring). In general, here's how our days were spent:
Mornings were spent at the beach at Club O, in front of the Perch. We were usually off the beach by noon (too hot
and Marc gets bored). We'd then drive off for lunch, looking for a place that serves Local food. Afternoons were spent back at the hotel pool. Early evenings (5 pm or so) we'd venture out for Happy Hour and then out for dinner.

Notable Restaurants and Bars:

Dinner at The Stone, located in Simpson Bay. This is a GREAT restaurant and our best new find of the trip. Ann and Marc each had the filet mignon and I had the yellow fin tuna.
All incredibly delicious. They do have dining tables outside, but it was raining that evening, so we opted to stay inside. The a/c was working fine and the chairs are comfortable.

Lunch at Loterie Farm. It has been several years since we've dined at this restaurant, but it's one of my all-time favorites. The atmosphere and food are outstanding! Ann and I each ordered a salad, one beef and one chicken. Both salads were huge and incredibly delicious. The guys had fish and chips - very good, but they really had to watch out for the fish bones. It was a little pricey for lunch ($50 with tip), but well worth the money.

Lunch at Lago One - Grand Case. Thanks, Peconic, for the recommendation of the "little green place on the right". Excellent local food. We had the fried fish and the chicken. All were served with rice, fungi, and salad. The desserts were great also. Friendly owners and employees, too. Prices are very reasonable, and this has to be one of the cleanest restaurants on the island (bathrooms included).

On Saturday evening, we drove down to Philipsburg. It was so nice to see many local residents strolling along Front Street, all dressed in their finest. We assumed they were all going to or from church. Dined at Antoine's - made reservations for 7:00. Free Valet Parking. We were seated at a lovely table with a beautiful view of the bay.
Dinner and service was excellent. I especially liked the lobster thermidor. We each ordered a cold soup and split a Caesar salad. Unfortunately, we were too stuffed for dessert. I would like to thank Pat for her recommendation of this restaurant. It was a lovely evening!

Fathoms in Simpson Bay. Visited there twice for Happy Hour. Jason, the bartender, was a very pleasant young man and kept the cold ones coming. We ate a couple of appetizers that were pretty good - the satay chicken and the New Zealand mussels. We were even able to watch the Red Sox / Yankees game there one night. Red Sox lost.

Kissing Fish Bar @ Summit Resort: A visit to Chloe & Thierry is always a "must-do" on our vacation. We really enjoy their hospitality. We met Jan and Bob from TTOL there too. Unfortunately, for us, Kissing Fish wasn't serving any food the night we were there. Bummer - I was really looking forward to Thierry's pizza. Tried to visit the bar again on Friday and Sunday, but maybe we were there too late - they were closed both times.

Miscellaneous Notes:
We visited DK Gems to say hello, and were disappointed that Deepti wasn't in the store at the time. Hopefully we'll catch up to you in August.

Stephan, the bartender at Dinghy Dock, will be leaving the island and moving to Denmark in early August. We will truly miss him.

The weather was a mixed bag. Half of the week was cloudy, with quite a few scattered showers. Not enough to ruin the vacation, though! The island certainly needs the rain.
We went through quite a bit of bug spray during the week.

Our friends stayed at Port de Plaisance, in a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo. Property was well maintained and has a lot going for it. Beautiful marina, lovely pool, a casino and several restaurants. The new Grand Marche supermarket right next door is nice too.

Traffic in Simpson Bay around 5 to 6 PM each evening was horrendous. I can't even imagine what traffic must be like "in season" - it's crazy!

The trip home, again via US Airways through Charlotte, was uneventful.

In conclusion: It was just another glorious week in SXM!

We're looking forward to our next trip in early August.