Fun in the Sun Part 4

Day 27

We awoke to another beautiful day of sunshine. This was our "Annie Day" and we left around 8:30 A.M. to pick Annie up from her condo at La Terasse. Our first stop was breakfast at the St. Maarten Yacht Club where we enjoyed coffee, and Sid's Bloody Marys and Bloody Caesars followed by a delicious breakfast. While there, Patty dropped in to say hello and we said our good-byes to Ann and Steve who were also having breakfast there and departing today.

Following breakfast, we went back to Annie's condo and while David relaxed on the balcony watching the planes arrive and taking pictures, Annie and I had a mini wine fest! It wasn't noon yet, but it obviously was 5 o'clock somewhere!

After a few glasses of wine, we decided it was time to go into Marigot to Sarafina's for some succulent desserts and more coffee. The pastries were very filling and became our lunch!

Now with full tummies again, we thought it a perfect time to do some grocery shopping at Super U in Marigot. Annie had not been there yet and she was anxious to check it out. She enjoyed shopping there and found the "dancing carts" an interesting feature! The meat , wine and liquor are good prices, but if you don't know your products you may end up paying more for some things there than on the Dutch side. Peanut butter for instance is very expensive there. We finished our shopping and then decided to continue on our tour of the island.

We ended up in Philipsburg about 4:30 P.M. and the Greenhouse was calling us for Happy Hour. Annie and I each had a bushwaker and then ordered wine. David stuck to gin and tonic. Girls are always adventurous! After a few drinks, we thought it was time for some appetizers. I had the chicken nachos and David and Annie had the chicken wings. Well guess what? Happy Hour became dinner! We had so much fun today chatting and sharing stories. Laughter is always the best medicine!

We finally continued on our island tour and returned back to Maho about 7:30 P.M. We got Annie settled in for the night and we got back to our condo soon afterwards. A few drinks and snacks later in the evening was all we needed. It was truly a perfect day!








Day 28

We awoke to cloudy skies this morning and there had been showers overnight. We had no immediate plans for the day so we had breakfast in the condo and just spent some time afterwards reading and relaxing.

Soon the sun came out and we sat out on the balcony soaking up the rays and watching the passing boats. Then it was pool time and lunch time!

We enjoyed some turkey sandwiches for lunch served with chips, dip, fruit and cheese and carib to drink.
The afternoon was hot but there was a nice breeze, so we enjoyed some sunbathing on the balcony overlooking the pool. It was so nice to spend time together surrounded by nature's beauty!

It was soon time to shower and get ready for a cocktail party with friends here in Pelican Key. The party was at a beautiful villa right on the ocean and it was so much fun. Brad and Lora have made this an annual event and we always appreciate their invitation each year. A big thank you for your wonderful hospitality and amazing food! We arrived home at 10 o'clock and decided to listen to music and had some skype time with family.

Another lovely day has come to an end.










Such a perfect day today! We relaxed on the balcony with coffee for a while and later cooked brunch.... ham steak, eggs, cheese, toast and juice. After brunch we got ready to check out some beaches so we headed to Mullet first. The parking there was terrible with cars coming right out to the Golf Course, so we motored on. Next stop was Friars Bay. We had not been there for a couple of years and OMG the road was the worst I have ever seen it. Not too bad at the beginning, but the closer you got to the beach, the worse it got. We got down to the beach and the beach had greatly eroded there and was not attractive at all. We were really disappointed by what we saw, so we motored on. We next arrived at Orient and we knew we would settle in there for the rest of the day. We had our own chairs and umbrella today so we set up at "kite surf city" on a vacant part of the beach.

This was the perfect spot for today! We had great entertainment watching all the kite surfers taking off from the beach and soaring high in the sky. There were 10 surfers there today enjoying the good wind and waves . It was really fun to watch them all afternoon. They packed up around 5:00 P.M. and so did we, and we motored on.

Next stop was Grand Case. Since we were still in our beachwear, we decided to just have dinner at the Lolos. We got a place to park right beside Talk of the Town so decided to eat there. I had the ribs and chicken plate with three sides (potato salad,cole slaw and rice and beans) and David had the ribs. We both ordered two johnny cakes as they are always so good there. The meals were good and very plentiful and the drinks were cold and refreshing. No complaints from us. We have always enjoyed this local experience and it is always a tradition for us to eat there once every trip.

Now with full tummies, we motored on. We continued through Marigot and the lowlands and our next stop was the Bar Code Bar and restaurant in Cupecoy. We had been asked to drop in there tonight for the Canadian Grey Cup game between the Ottawa RedBlacks (our home team) and the Edmonton Eskimos, so we thought we would check it out. We are sure glad we did! What a great spot for a grey cup party! We met several other Canadians there, some teachers at the Canadian International School here and some other TTOL Canadian members. The owners were very accommodating and the drinks and service were great. We will definitely go back there for lunch or dinner before we leave.

The game was fun to watch and Ottawa was in the lead until the last few minutes when the Eskimos got a touchdown. A close game all the way and a really lovely evening.

We arrived home, still in our beachwear close to midnight! Only in St. Maarten! We showered and had a nightcap before drifting into dreamland.




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Day 30

That sounds like a long vacation and it is when you are writing about it. Sometimes it is hard to remember everything we do as the days seem to all roll together after a while. We are still having fun and eating, drinking and playing in the sunshine.

After breakfast today we decided to trek into Philipsburg to do a little shopping in preparation for our departure later this week. There were three ships in port, so lots of activity on the boardwalk. We actually like the busy days as it is fun to watch all the people enjoying the island.
We visited some jewellery stores and linen shops and purchased some Christmas gifts for family and then had lunch at the Barefoot Terrace overlooking the beach and dock. We both enjoyed the mango chicken served with fries and cole slaw and a couple of Carib. Very tasty!

We left Philipsburg around 2:00 P.M. and drove to Maho to get Annie before the traffic got bad on Airport Road. We all spent some time at our condo enjoying some wine before going to Pajo's meet and greet party at the Greenhouse.

There was a good attendance at the party and the restaurant was packed since it was Roast Beef night there. The roast beef looked delicious, but we had made other arrangements to go out for dinner, so we had to pass on that.

After the party we went to Fusion for dinner with Annie. We like it there, but the service was slower tonight and we had a very loud table behind us. They obviously had been drinking too much and had no respect for other diners. Eventually they were asked to quiet down, but that was just before they were leaving anyway. When things returned to normal, we got our meal and all was well with the world. I had tempura giant shrimp for an appetizer, parmesean crusted grouper for the main course and creme brule for dessert. David had the filet mignon and Annie chose the red snapper in curry sauce. She thought her fish was overcooked, but we both really enjoyed our meals. We had a bottle of wine and a bottle of sparkling water to enhance the meal. It was another lovely evening with a great friend!

We took Annie home around 10:00 P.M. and went to the Dunes Casino to tease the machines. Both machines paid off tonight so we returned home with heavier wallets!

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Day 31

I can't believe it is December already!
We awoke to grey skies today so we thought it might not be a good beach day. Well that is O.K. as we probably need to do a few things in preparation for our island departure later this week.

I cooked brunch...meat, eggs, onions, hashbrowns and toast and of course several cups of coffee.
After brunch the sky cleared and the sun returned so time for sunbathing by the pool. I put in a load of laundry while the sun penetrated the skin . Multi tasking at it's best with a nice cold drink in hand!

After finishing the laundry, it was time to pack a few things and get things a bit organized. More time in the sunshine and then we got ready to go out to Marty's Dream Pool Bar for Happy Hour. There was a good turn out there tonight and nice to see several friends again. We said our good-byes to Matt and Joyce and enjoyed drinks and conversation until 6:30 P.M. when Marty was closing the bar.

Since we were right in the parking lot, we took a few steps and entered Dunes Casino. We spent 3 hours playing the slots and we both came away winners! A great way to end the day.

We decided to have dinner at home tonight as we had meat. potatoes, vegetables etc... which needed to be eaten before our departure. We sat down to dinner at 10:00 P.M. and it was delicious! We are in the French mode now and eating later and later each night.

We relaxed after dinner, finished off some wine, and listened to some island music before drifting off to sleep.

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Day 32

Well we have finally come to our last full day on the island. We had breakfast in the condo and then got ready to spend our last day at Captain Frenchy in Grand Case. Michael had invited us to join a group of friends there today to celebrate Tanja's birthday. Michael had reserved a section of beach chairs and before long several friends joined us on the beach for a lovely day. After sunning and enjoying the water, Bill, Elaine and Annie joined us for lunch. David and I both enjoyed the exotic fruit salad, Annie had the shrimp and scallops in curry sauce and Bill and Elaine shared a seafood salad. All meals were delicious and attractively presented. Beer, cocktails and tropical drinks were enjoyed by all. After lunch Michael served a lovely birthday cake which was really the bomb! It tasted just like rich trifle and was so delicious that it disappeared very quickly.
We returned to our beach chairs for the remainder of the afternoon and stayed until almost sunset.
We returned home and got ready to go out for our last dinner. We were dining with Jeannie tonight and had arranged to pick her up at 7:00 P.M. Our restaurant of choice tonight was Skipjack's as I really wanted more seafood. We were seated at a nice waterside table and I checked the menu for coconut shrimp. None on the menu tonight so my next choice was the seafood platter which consisted of tempura beer battered shrimp, grilled scallops. stuffed crab back and mahi mahi served with steak fries and salad. Jeannie ordered the same and David had a seafood dish as well. Everything was delicious and we had no room for dessert. Wine and coffee was enjoyed and of course great conversation. After dinner,we bought some interesting pieces of jewellery from the lady who always has a table there in the evenings.
We returned home and finished packing for our trip home tomorrow. We had a nightcap and got ready for our last island sleep this year.

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Day 33

Well, where did the time go? Almost 5 weeks have past and lots of good times with friends, lots of beach days , great food and drinks and perfect weather!

This morning we were greeted with sunny blue skies and the same lovely ocean view. We will miss seeing the ships pass by each day, the swaying palm trees and the beautiful butterflies circling the pretty foliage. Such a delightful way to start the day!

We had a light breakfast and enjoyed coffee on the balcony. We attended to a few last minute details and then packed the car and got ready to leave. Always a sad few minutes, but we were soon on our way to enjoy our departure lunch with Bill and Elaine. This has been our tradition for several years and it is such a nice way to end our vacation. Annie has joined us for the last few years and she did this year as well. We usually have our last lunch at Buccaneer and our last BBC, but this year we decided that Bar Code was our lunch choice. We fell in love with this cute little spot in Cupecoy and the fact that you can dine with your car only a short distance from your chair is an attractive feature on departure day.

We enjoyed grilled chicken breast, chili dogs, beef burgers and General Tao chicken and everything was very good. Some tasty tropical drinks and beer topped off the meals.We relaxed and enjoyed part of the afternoon there before returning our rental car and going to the airport.

Our flight left at 4:55 P.M. and we arrived in Toronto 30 minutes early. We had a 2 hour layover in Toronto and were home just after midnight. Our son met us at the airport and transported us and our luggage right to the door.We really appreciated this service. The temperature was relatively mild upon our arrival and still lots of green grass and no sign of snow here yet. Nice to still walk around in flip flops at least for a few more days!

We always enjoy our vacations, but after being away, there is just something about sleeping in our own bed that is very comforting.We were soon fast asleep with visions of sand, sea and sunshine dancing in our heads.

We would like to thank everyone for all the special times we shared. The company of good friends always enhances our vacation and contributes to more "fun in the sun"!

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Very nice! Looked like an awesome time.

Very, very nice. TY for taking the time to do such a thorough trip report. Until next year........ <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Very nice words and photos - thanks for sharing with us.

Thanks for taking us along on your trip. Really appreciate the time and effort you put into your reports and pictures.

Always enjoy your reports and the pics are fabulous!!!!

As JD said, thanks for taking the time to post your report and the pictures! I know what a job it is to do! Thanks for taking us along, until next time!

Such wonderful reports! Thanks for taking us along and sharing your trip.

Thanks for all the pics and activities. It IS amazing how fast time flies in SXM, considering "Island Time".

Great reports. Always interesting and informative. Always amazed at how many activities you pack into every day!

Your reports bring such joy to so many of us! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> Thank you for sharing!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" />

Elizabeth,
Enjoyed your reports and photos. Thanks for the amount of work you put into these enjoy your holiday season with friends and family. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us. We appreciate the time & effort it takes to do a trip report especially with pictures. It is amazing all the activities you pack into each day. We have a problem with sand gravity so our vacations are rather boring. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to both of you.

Thanks for all your reports-enjoy the pics - especially the food ones.

Thanks so much for your well written reports and great photos. I really enjoy sharing along with your adventures.

Thanks Elizabeth for "taking us along on your trip!" Happy Holidays to you and Dave.

Thanks to everyone for all the kind words. We all like to read trip reports, so I always feel compelled to write one. When we were only staying two weeks, it didn't seem such a chore, but now with extended vacation time, it does take up more time. Glad many have enjoyed reading the different parts and hopefully some of the info will serve to make your SXM experience more enjoyable.

Thanks for all the lovely reports, Elizabeth; glad you made it home safely. I'm pleased you discovered Bar Code. I was introduced to it last year (thank you, DonLinda), and enjoyed it. Interesting food and nice people, and I also like that you can see your car. Thanks for taking us along for your nice, long trip!

Thank-you for all your great reports. I don't know how I missed this one, but it was nice finding it on this gloomy day!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Where exactly is Bar Code?

Bar Code is in Cupecoy close to the medical school. It has become one of my favorite little spots and the people who own it are so nice.

Thanks Elizabeth. I think we rode by it in November.
We use to stay at The Summit many years ago and someone had mentioned a place close by. That must be it.

Have a great holiday!!!

Thanks for taking us along on your trip. We love reading your trip reports.