Shopping
Our shopping experiences were limited this trip, but significant. I can't say enough accolades about Deepti at DK Gems; she is professional, courteous, funny, and makes you feel like a member of the family. On top of that, Deepti has an outstanding jeweler's "eye", that allows her to really understand how a piece will look on a specific customer and whether or not that customer will wear it.
After 30 years of resistance, and upon Deepti's recommendation, Cindy chose a beautiful upgrade to her existing wedding band. The diamonds were added to the ring and all work was done in just a few hours-- the service couldn't have been better. With Deepti's design experience , we also chose some nice earrings that will be custom made and shipped to us soon.

Traffic from Simpson Bay to Philipsburg wasn't bad, but parking was horrendous. Since we got towed from what we thought was a legal parking spot last year, we were very careful where we parked this year. After 90 minutes of driving around looking for a place, we finally found a spot at the far end of Salt Pond. It was a long hike into downtown, but at least we didn't have to fork out $65 bucks to the tow truck company to get our car out of jail.

Traffic
St. Martin is a great island, and can handle lots of tourists. It has the capacity to house all the guests, lots of restaurants, a great airport, incredible beaches and great people. But SXM really has to do something about the traffic! How about mixing in a four lane road once in a while? Honestly, one day it took us 35 minutes to drive from the airport terminal to the end of the runway, and the bridge opening/closing didn't even come into play. The construction around Marigot and Grand Case is pretty bad, too, and it seems that they are just repaving existing roads rather than widening them.

Car Rental
Lesley Bruce from Kenny's is great. He is fast, courteous, professional, and inexpensive. He has our business forever.

Lodging
We stayed at Pelican, and found it to be just "OK." I'm pretty sure we won't return since there are so many other great places to try on the island. Our first room was B241, a studio on top of the hill that was very dark, musty smelling, and cave-like. After calling Interval International, we upgraded to unit A8, a one bedroom that was an improvement but still had outdated furniture and a general feeling of being well worn. I didn't like the policy at Pelican of maid service only once per week-- you can pay for daily service if you want but I wish you didn't have to. (We ran out of shampoo and soap, and couldn't get more unless we were willing to pay for the maid service.) No rugs on the floor, no pens or notepads in the room, an old style key-lock safe, no vcr/dvd player, no outdoor hot tub. I'm probably being picky, but we had all these things at Oyster Bay Beach Club the previous year, so we missed them and found Pelican to be a step down in accommodations.

Beaches
Orient was great but a bit windy--I guess it always is at this time of year.

Cupecoy had the usual shifting amounts of sand, but was perfect because the cliffs shielded us from the wind on the other side of the island.

Happy Bay is absolutely worth the hike over from Friars. No services, but a great beach and great solitude. We saw only three other couples.

Mullet still has the softest sand and nicest surf on the island.

St. Barths, Grand Saline Beach, is another one with great sand but no services. The east end is C/O, with kids and families predominantly on the west end. Topless is everywhere.

Activities
We loved the Butterfly Farm and took tons of pictures. The narrative was very informative.

Twice, we tried to do the Tiko Tiko but were disappointed each time. The first time was a cancellation because of rough seas due to the tropical depression that hit Puerto Rico. The second time, the trip was cancelled because two couples backed out at the last minute and we fell below the minimun # of passengers. I guess that Phillipe no longer takes a deposit when booking, so it is a little easier for someone to back out if something else comes up. Oh well, there is always next year.

In part one, we mentioned the great trip to St. Barths. We really like the island; it's clean, easy to get around, nice people, drop dead gorgeous beaches, and great shopping but everything is a bit on the expensive side. It is challenging to get to however, especially if you go by boat. We took a 60 foot catamaran from Pelican ($65 per person, plus $15 pp entry tax). The ride would be fine if seas were calm, but can be very rough if there is a storm coming.

All together, we had an incredible anniversary trip and can't wait to return to this island that seems to have a magical pull on us. I have been home for almost a week now, but still can't fully concentrate because I'm still living in the past on SXM. I picture myself on a beach with a cold drink, but instead find myself looking out at sub-freezing tempatures as I warm myself with a hot toddy.
We'll be back soon, so that sand gravity can be king, again.