Nice trip this time. We've gone in January the last 3 or 4 trips and finally realized that we prefer it in the spring. The water is warmer, the weather tends to be better, and it's cheaper.

We stayed at the Grand Case Beach Club, which looks better than ever. Service was superb, everybody was friendly and helpful. When and if we go back, we won't be staying anywhere else again.

We stuck very close to home at GCBC all week. Our only venture to any other beaches was a drive over to Orient, but not for the beach, just for a burger one day at Baywatch, which was pretty good.

We walked into Grand Case for dinner every night.

Pizza and salad at the Brasserie des Illes, which was great, ceratinly as good as any pizza we can get here in Chicago, and the warm goat cheese salad is the best on the island, in our opinion. But they whack you for $1.50 on the exchange, even for cash.

We found a number of places offering 1=1 for cash, California, Spiga, and of course the Lolos. And had a dinner at all three. We also noticed that The Fish Pot offers 1=1 for cash, but we took a pass. The exchange varied all over the place from 1.25 at Le Cottage to the $1.50 at the Brasserie.

We had a dinner right at the Sunset Cafe and it was great, as was La California, where we actually ate twice, once for fish, which was really good, once for pizza and a salad, which was tasty, but not quite up to the Brasserie. We noticed that the new place, Spicey, was just empty every night. Never more than one couple dining when we walked by, and sometimes nobody. Not sure why as it has a pretty good reputation. Spiga was OK, but you can get just as good meat raviolis with veal bolognese, if not better, at any 5 restaurants on Taylor St. in Chicago for half the price.

We went to Sky's the Limit, and had to send back the Marlin fish plate, so salty it wasn't edible, and the ribs were really not very good. This poor guy next to us was waiting for his lobster when we got there, and still waiting when we left, and his wife asked for a chicken breast, got a leg, and finally gave up on getting her chicken breast. The Lolos are funny. After all these trips, we understand the relaxed service atmosphere and all. But it's interesting that when you're strolling by TOTT or STL they notice you every time, it's just once you're seated its hard to get noticed. A lot of people love them, but we're pretty much done.

It's sad to see so many of the old Grand Case restaurants gone. Most of you know about all this, but it's been over two years since we were on the island and seeing, La Marine, Rainbow, L' Alabama, Le Mambo gone was a bit sad.

All in all though, the food was great, particularly at Sunset Cafe, La California and Brasserie des Illes. We also had the usual couple of great lunches at La Croissanterie in Marigot, and as good a burger as I've had anywhere at Mark's Place.

Marigot looks a bit the worse for wear, but we got our two years supply of great t-shirts from Claudine's Secret Spot at the market. And we bought a couple more small Antoine Chapon prints from the little art shop in the corner. He's a really great artist.

We spent one afternoon walking around Phillipsburg just to see what it looks like. On the way back to Grand Case from P'Burg we went towards Dawn Beach and took the road over the hill that brings you down the dirt road behind the new Westin, which looked to us, from the back anyway, like the Ford Assembly Plant on the south side of Chicago.

The island was as green as we've ever seen it. The weather was perfect, if a little hot. Some concern over later this summer from local residents. No crime, no dengue fever.

We were homebody's and had a really nice, quiet week.