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Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, #68476
09/18/2015 09:04 PM
09/18/2015 09:04 PM
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 459
Decatur Illinois
astropilot Offline OP
Traveler
astropilot  Offline OP
Traveler
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 459
Decatur Illinois
Good evening from Mont Vernon,

The phone in the room at the hotel we stayed at last night in St. Louis, started ringing incessantly at 3:00 am. I mean, my God, it’s 3:00 am and I’m on vacation; What disaster could have possibly happened to prompt a call to me, on vacation, and at 3:00 in the morning?

Then as I come to my senses, I realize that I had set a wake up call for this ungodly hour of the morning. But hey, we’re going to St. Martin today and our plane departs at 6:00 am. So I wake my wife, Diana from her slumber, and we start getting ready to go. After some truly horrible hotel coffee and a shower, we head down to the lobby to catch the shuttle to the airport.

Now who would have thought there would have been 12 other people there at 4:00 am to catch the same shuttle to the airport? The only problem is the shuttle was only designed to hold 12 people, not 14. Needless to say we were all a little bit closer by the time we finally all squeezed in. I’m sure it was not legal, or for that matter safe, but nonetheless we all made it to the airport in one piece.

Once we were checked in at the airport, we got our first little surprise of the day. Both Diana and I were TSA pre-checked. I don’t know how that happened, usually Diana, gets it and I don’t. So we head to the security checkpoint, and low and behold, there is no one in the pre-check line. a quick look at our documents and through the metal detector, and we are done. No taking off of shoes, belt, etc. Just walked right on through. Sometimes the ‘gods’ smile on the travelers.

The flight from St, Louis to Miami, was on time and smooth. I managed to get some pretty spectacular sunrise photos from 39,000 feet as we winged our way southeast. I’m too tired to download and post them now, but I will get them posted soon…

The flight out of Miami was on time and smooth too. We arrived on SXM right on schedule. After clearing customs and retrieving our bags we head out of the of the airport to look for Lesley Bruce (Kenny's Car Rental). Sure enough, as he has always been, there he was with a friendly handshake and greeting. Ten minutes later we are on our way to the Grand Marche to lay in some provisions.

After obtaining the basics for a few days we are on our way to Mont Vernon.

The Island looks kind of bad this year. I know people have said that the drought was bad, but I had no idea just how bad it really was. There is very little green anywhere on the island, and the landscape is parched brown and drab. The Island needs rain in the worst possible way. God forbid there be a fire anywhere…

Anyway, we arrived at Mont Vernon, and made our way to the Studio. We retrieved our key from lock box and opened the door to our studio. The air was on and it was already cooled down for us. In addition there was a plate of snacks, on the counter and cold beer in the fridge to welcome us ‘home’ from Amaury and his brother, Thibault. Such a nice jester.

After several trips up and down the hills at Mont Vernon to unload the car, my sweet wife set about setting up the studio for our stay.

After getting everything squared away, we decided to take a walk on the beach. The seaweed is horrible this year -- the worse I’ve ever seen it. The smell is not all that good either. But what are you going to do? We certainly won’t let that spoil our vacation.

Anyway, as we walk down to the village, we discuss dinner options. We decide that pizza from the little shop in Mont Vernon would be our first island meal. Didn’t happen!! They are on vacation too. So time for plan B. We prepare a simple dinner in the studio instead.

After eating, and relaxing a bit I set about writing about today’s events. All in all it’s been a good day. We arrived safely, the important parts of the plan worked exactly like they should have, and I have my best friend, and the love of my life to share it with, and to build fond memories…

So for now, Good night from Mont Vernon...


Dave & Diana
SXM Sponsors
Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: astropilot] #68477
09/18/2015 09:27 PM
09/18/2015 09:27 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
Traveler
Carol_Hill  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,482
Central Florida!
Glad you made it fine! Looking forward to seeing some of those lovely pictures of yours!!


Carol Hill
Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: Carol_Hill] #68478
09/18/2015 10:57 PM
09/18/2015 10:57 PM
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 53
M
Medtech2 Offline
Traveler
Medtech2  Offline
Traveler
M
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 53
Sounds like a great start!

Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: astropilot] #68479
09/18/2015 10:58 PM
09/18/2015 10:58 PM
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,288
P
PelicanPirate Offline
Traveler
PelicanPirate  Offline
Traveler
P
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,288
Thanks for the report. Interested in any pictures from all up and down Orient including by Mt Vernon and where Boo Boo Jam was.......so we can add that to the new construction and Club O photos. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: astropilot] #68480
09/18/2015 11:06 PM
09/18/2015 11:06 PM
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
pat Offline
Traveler
pat  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
Quote
[b]astropilot said:[b]

After eating, and relaxing a bit I set about writing about today’s events. All in all it’s been a good day. We arrived safely, the important parts of the plan worked exactly like they should have, and I have my best friend, and the love of my life to share it with, and to build fond memories…


Thank you so much for a great beginning. Your last paragraph about says it all - you got there safe and sound and in the end, that's the really important part, so from this point on just go with the flow and enjoy!

And continue to share? Please! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />


Respectfully,

pat



"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
them."
Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: pat] #68481
09/19/2015 07:25 AM
09/19/2015 07:25 AM
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 292
Long Island, N.Y.
arehouse Offline
Traveler
arehouse  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 292
Long Island, N.Y.
Great reports --- thanks for taking the time to share!

Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: astropilot] #68482
09/19/2015 09:13 AM
09/19/2015 09:13 AM
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,132
St Louis, MO
SXMNorm Offline
Traveler
SXMNorm  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,132
St Louis, MO
Thanks for the report. Hope the camera gets a good workout. We are all waiting for pics.


Next SXM visit -November 2023. Also January 2024.
Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: SXMNorm] #68483
09/19/2015 09:55 AM
09/19/2015 09:55 AM
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,348
Rhode Island
RonDon Offline
Traveler
RonDon  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,348
Rhode Island
You are a great guy not only to refer to your wife in kind terms but to be someone who easily adjusts to change (closed restaurant). Some would refer to that as a bad start to vacation, but you realize vacation is an adventure and what would an adventure be without modification.

Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: astropilot] #68484
09/19/2015 10:47 AM
09/19/2015 10:47 AM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 364
P
pandpfromcanada Offline
Traveler
pandpfromcanada  Offline
Traveler
P
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 364
Thank you for posting. Have a wonderful vacation. Looking forward to reading more about it.

Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: astropilot] #68485
09/19/2015 11:56 AM
09/19/2015 11:56 AM
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,864
Portland, OR
jazzgal Offline
Traveler
jazzgal  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,864
Portland, OR
Glad for the safe arrival. Enjoy your time on the island to the fullest, as I know you will!


[Linked Image]
Re: Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day two September 18, [Re: astropilot] #68486
09/19/2015 02:14 PM
09/19/2015 02:14 PM
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 357
SeaStar Offline
Traveler
SeaStar  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 357
Thanks for the report.
There is something special about the first night back in SXM...the sheer exhaustion of finally arriving, the sights, sounds and smells of the island and the anticipation of another wonderful vacation.
ENJOY!


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