Thanks for the help Eric!!
3/10/09 to 3/24/09: Traveled with my good friend, Deb, and we departed New York on AA, flight going down delayed approximately two hours. We were told in the beginning that the plane had an electrical problem and a part was needed. After an hour's wait, the pilot announced they had a new part, but had been brought the wrong one and they didn't’t know how long it would be to get the correct part needed. They let us off the plane and we headed directly to the bar for a double bloody mary and a "happy pill"--I'm a "nervous nelly" flier and not happy already. After almost another hour of waiting in the bar, we heard the announcement that our flight was boarding again, so back we went and took off shortly after. No problems with flights home. We were pulled over by Gendarmes near Orient on the way back to the airport on our departing day--asked for identification, checked and on our way--first for us!

Rented our car from Mohammed at Panoramic, a sponsor here on the board. We were nervous that we wouldn't find anyone waiting for us after our delayed flight, but someone was there with a sign, hopped into a van for a quick ride to his office, filled out paperwork and on our way to pick up our phone rental from Sharon--Queen of SXM, another board sponsor. Great, friendly service from both. Off to Les Balcons to check in and headed down to the Dinghy Dock to meet our friends Barbara and Eddie (who had already been on island for 4 weeks--lucky ducks!) that we had made earlier plans with. Nice little bar and as soon as 5pm arrived, the bartender put the bottle of Vodka and mixers on the bar for us and told us to go for it--make your own for Happy Hour $2 drinks--cool beans!! We certainly took advantage of that and enjoyed our time there. We never unpacked this night as by the time we arrived back to Les Balcons, it was late and we were pretty lit! Probably a good thing, since if we’d seen all the ants in the room, we probably wouldn't have slept this night either! The room was nothing special--much smaller than I expected, old, dark and dreary. Our balcony had sagging boards that you had to be careful of stepping around. Sliding glass door was the only entry to room, just a regular lock on it, nothing to insert behind the door, hurricane shutter that could only be locked from the outside. Never saw any of the other rooms, but all I can say is we were not impressed. First visit to SXM where I/we were not happy with our accommodations. Think we learned you get what you pay for.

Going to jump right to day 3, as my earlier post pretty much covered the first two days of our trip…

We went to Cap Caraibes rental office in Orient Village to see if we could find a place to rent for the remainder of our stay. We told them about our story and that we were looking for a hotel/room with 24 hour security. A very kind gentleman and woman inside directed us to Cap Caraibes Hotel and told us we would be very safe there. We went directly there and we were booked and inside a room within 15minutes. Fredericka was the woman at the front office and very kind, calming and patient with us. She took all of our pre-signed traveler’s checks as a deposit and told us we could pay the balance on our check out. We were given cards for our stay for free chairs at La Playa, Waikiki and another that I forget the name of on Orient Beach, as well as charging privileges for food at all three. Fresh beach towels and maid service daily. Our second story room was perfect: small kitchenette, two burner stove, small frig, microwave, coffee maker--all we needed. The room had a good sized bathroom with a large shower, two double beds, small sofa, safe and plenty of closet and drawer space. Our balcony overlooked a small pool and beyond that was the beach, two chairs, table and one chaise on the balcony. Not much of a beach view because of greenery, but quiet, peaceful and safe. After Fredericka heard our story, she moved us from an initial room she was looking at because she said there was children near there and perhaps we’d be happier with a quieter room. She asked if we drank, I told her yes. She told us to get our things and immediately bring them to our room and get down to the beach, have a cocktail and RELAX…which is exactly what we proceeded to do.

Our first week was very windy with cooler than normal temps in March that we’ve experienced and more rain than usual. There was a couple of days it was impossible to sit on Orient without getting sandblasted. By the second week, things calmed down, the winds stopped blowing and the beach was gorgeous and by the end of the week almost too hot to stay on the beach…note the word almost. We were finally relaxing and letting sand gravity take over.

This trip seems to be quite the blur, so going to try to remember what I can.

Food:

Mark’s Place: got take out here--placed our order, went over to Grand Marche and did our grocery shopping, then picked up our food. They have awesome ribs which came with large amounts of sides and salad for such reasonable prices.

Baywatch: had lots of breakfasts and lunches here--always good food, and had great fun with Andy and Cheryl each visit. Great omelets, bloody marys and mimosas for breakfast. Bunches of lunches with Margarita Buffalo Shrimp, Mussels A La Andy, Jersey Dip, Grouper Sandwich, beer battered scallops (with a running commentary from all in the place--scAllops or scOllops?! …and others I can’t remember. We were there one day for lunch--the busiest time of day for them and people waiting for tables. There was a couple sitting at a table next to us and Cheryl brought them over menus. They told her they were fine--they had eaten before they got there. She walked away and looked at us with shock and we were sitting there with our mouths hanging open: okay, if you’re not eating and there’s a line of people waiting to sit for lunch, why wouldn’t you take your drinks and sit at the bar? Had their own cups too, so probably brought their own drinks!? We all laughed about it later and we joked with the crew there all week that we weren’t hungry, we just came to sit--or that we brought our own cans of tuna/boiled egg/bag of lettuce and could they just throw our lunch together for us? A bunch of us went for lunch another day and had the entire place, Cheryl and Andy included, singing and having a grand ole time--Cheryl was in a fine mood that day, singing, dancing and performing for us all--ask her to tell you her chicken joke!

We also ate dinner here on our second Friday night: awesome Mahi Mahi and a great Rib Eye Steak--nice, quiet, relaxing dinner with good company listening to the waves on the beach--can’t be beat. They said the Friday night dinners are picking up as the word spreads.

Bikini Beach: Couple of breakfasts here--great omelets!! Take out dinner here one night of a Thai stir-fry, shumai and something else? Very good food. Made Bikini the last stop of the day many days, for cocktails and fun! "One for the ditch"!--before heading "home".

Kokomarina: At least a couple of lunches here: Shrimp in garlic sauce with au gratin potatoes and side of veggies; chicken Caesar salad; grouper in a lime, butter garlic sauce; fried calamari with shrimp dish and can’t remember the others…Great place, lovely dining with fabulous food and friendly people and service. A bottle of rum (or two if we didn't like the flavor!) left on the table for enjoying after each lunch. We were told that they were robbed one night the week previous to our arrival-lost their coffee machine and other odds and ends.

Tap 5: love their pizzas! Enjoyed pizza with some side salads a couple of times along with grabbing croissants a couple of mornings.

BBB: Burgers here one night-good, nothing great. Service for getting food is totally confusing with long waits. Drinks with friends other evenings. Met a guy from Montauk, close to home here, who is a chef out at Gosman's Topside restaurant. Enjoyed some fun and laughs with him and our friend Michelle one night. He invited us all to come see him in Montauk and he would treat us all to dinner!

Lees: takeout of bar-b-q chicken, coconut shrimp and side of potato salad--we originally ordered ribs, but they had none--bummer! Had great fun here this night dancing and singing with a band there with our friends Eddie and Barbara.

Friar's Beach Café: Went to Friar's one day that was just too windy to sit on Orient. We had about a ½ hour of sun before the rain came to stay for most of the day. Enjoyed a fabulous lunch of salad with goat cheese wrapped in bacon and a lobster salad club sandwich with lobster, avocado, bacon, lettuce and tomato and some lovely champagne.

Skipjacks: One evening of appetizers and drinks here when we met our friend Michelle. Apps included a delicious crab dip with tortilla chips, shrimp cocktail and a great Bruschetta.

Peg Leg Pub: dinner here one evening with our friends Eddie and Barbara. Deb and I shared a seared tuna appetizer (perfect!) and coconut shrimp and we all had filet mignon--so tender you could slice it with a fork and done to perfection. Missed Sean as it was his night off, but enjoyed a few laughs with the bartender whom we had met last year. Great dinner here, like the new place! Hated the ride home that night--little scary and nerve wracking driving home thru Marigot on those little narrow roads and “kids” on motorcycles and scooters riding right behind us and in front of us. Just bumming to be so jittery this visit…

Tai Chi in Orient Village: Enjoyed some great tuna rolls wrapped in thinly sliced cucumbers with veggies--beautiful presentation! Along with some edamame and a shared Queen Roll and some champagne. Nice dinner. Then walked over to Safari Grill where we had desserts of profiteroles (huge plate!) and a crème brulee that I had been craving. Got a good laugh out of this one--the waitress set down the crème brulee and lit fire to it and walked away--I had never seen this done before and I kept asking Deb if the waitress was coming back or if she saw a fire extinguisher as the flames just kept getting bigger and bigger! The sugar fire finally died down, and we thoroughly enjoyed our desserts with cappuccinos and glasses of Kahlua and giggles.

Pineapple Pete's: Was craving their lobster thermidor and wasn't disappointed! A huge lobster, about 3 pounds and cooked to perfection! Friend Michelle had the surf and turf, lobster thermidor with steak and Deb had a chicken/pasta alfredo dish--all superb! Great, friendly service. Lone guy playing on guitar thru dinner-nice.

Brice Paradise: One breakfast here one morning when we missed Baywatch breakfast, was very good. Lunches included a Brice burger on grilled toast with tomato, cheese and basil grilled onto the bread with burger inside--wonderful! And he has the best French fries. A fantastic Panini here on a couple other days too. Brice’s is where we would settle in to sand gravity each day--though it's just not the same without Natalie there any more! Lots of partying days here enjoying much champagne on the beach.

Le String: Where Natalie is working now--love that girl, best bartender. We had many drinks here most days, couple of shared lunches of shared fried platters of shrimp, chicken, fish and fries. Leo (?) the owner (?) was great . John and Junior run the beach and take very good care of everyone. Deb and I were backup singers and dancers for the lone guy on keyboard singing a couple of days--lots of laughs! This may be our new beach hang out next year!

FUN STUFF:

Friday Fun Sail on the Celine to Tintamarre on Friday, 3/13: Fun is a questionable word for this trip. Not because of Neil or the trip itself, but the weather! Breakfast on board of quiche, pastries, breads and cheeses with coffee and juices. Once we got past the French bridge and out to open waters, all hell broke loose! It was so windy and so rough on the water this day, as soon as I saw the rolling waves coming at us, I started to panic. I'm not a sailor by choice--give me a LARGE motor boat any day!!, but I've never had a problem on a catamaran ever. I think because the boat was so much smaller than what I've been used to going on and the waves so large (I kid you not, these waves had to be 10-15 feet!!), I started feeling sick. We were really getting slammed out there. One of the crew members gave me a Dramamine (which I should have taken earlier, but didn’t realize it would be so rough) and then they packed a bag with ice that I kept on the back of my neck--apparently it helped as I didn't get sick, but it was close! We finally arrived at Tintamarre in one piece, enjoyed some time on island, too rough and cloudy for snorkeling, then back to the boat at 1pm for a fabulous lunch of Seafood Paella, blackened Mahi Mahi, BBQ ribs, potato salad, green salad, cucumber salad and other sides--the food was wonderful!! We sat down to eat, all starving by this point, and as soon as she started to eat, Deb started feeling nauseous and never got to enjoy this feast. Think the trip over combined with the heat in the cabin when getting lunch, just overpowered her, poor thing! None of us (went with friends Eddie, Barbara, and Kathy) drank much at all as we were afraid of getting sick from the high seas--and that’s a record for all of us not to enjoy an open bar!! Out of the 15 people booked for the trip, only 7 of us showed up. Neil and his crew were just great, only wish we had better weather….

SSBG: Met our friend Michelle here on our first Sunday, her first day on island, along with Eddie and Barbara, and listened to Percy play for a while--those guys are great! Place was packed, but not too difficult getting drinks. Left here and headed to BBB where it was quieter so we could chat.

Pedros: a while spent here on a Sunday afternoon listening to the band, drinking and dancing--good fun and laughs.

Once past the creepy stuff at Les Balcons, we had a lovely vacation. We weren't feeling all that comfortable after what happened when it came to driving at night back to Orient, so we didn't do as much partying or fun on the Dutch side this year. Missed seeing a lot of the “March gang”! Plans for next year are to stay on the Dutch side and travel to the French side beaches during the day. But we got in lots of beaching, eating, drinking and relaxing--and ain‘t that what it‘s all about?! Now--ready to enter rehab, and wait for next year;s trip!! Wishing you all safe, happy travels!

Some pics, hope this works:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welco...;cid=EMsharshar