Monday -Arrived about 1-hour late, 2PM. Traffic along Simpson Bay Road from the Airport to Cole Bay Hill was terrible. New roundabout under construction at Cole Bay Hill was the culprit. Car rental through our new landlord was from Lucky car rental. A new Hyundai i60 (I think), and red this time, with French plates. We head over to our apartment for the week in Oyster Pond. We had a lovely room in Blue Beach Residences in the 2nd floor. It has a great patio overlooking the entrance to the Marina at Captain Oliver’s and the bay beyond. We quickly drop the bags and make our way to Grand Case for dinner at Talk of the Town, our old standby.
Blue Beach Residence is about 100 yds. east of Captain Oliver’s. We really liked it, very clean and surprisingly well suited. Full size fridge, small stove, pantry, KS bed, and a loft above that would suit a couple children. The exterior needs improvement but we see them working on it. The interior are very nice. At $58/night we are quite thrilled, but we also have a car to get just about anywhere we need. I'd recommend staying here to anyone who asks. It is inside a gated lot too. We were pleasantly surprised, however there are limitations that you should know about (beach, shops, etc. are not in walking distance).
Tuesday -This is Bonnie’s birthday. We spend much of the early part of the day running around and I concede that we can stop early and get to the beach. For dinner we go to Big Fish. We both had Mahi Mahi, though two different preparations. Both were very good and the service was outstanding. Had two meetings today then we head to DK Gems. Deepti is working on a custom bracelet design for Bonnie.
Wednesday -We spent almost the entire day running around different parts of the island in various meetings. It was very fruitful but exhausting as well. We decided to head to Peg Leg Pub for dinner so we could see Craig Roberts of Packlight Vacation Rentals in his 2nd job. Craig sings evenings at various locations throughout the island as “Cover to Cover”. It was a good show with lots of memorable tunes. Ran into Bill and Elaine there showing their son about the island. All shops on Front Street closed for one hour today to bring attention to the recent killing of an Indian shop owner. Enough about that…
Thursday -Dinner was at Le Piment in Orient Village. I had the Cannibale Pizza and Bonnie had the Goat Cheese Salad. This is one of our requisite meals on every stay. All shops on Front Street, and to some extent in Marigot and Maho as well, closed for entire day today to continue emphasis on the recent killing. More meetings but we did get an AM and PM walk along the strands at Orient. Our favorite ‘tender at KO Bar is in the states on vacation.
Friday -Again shops on Front Street closed for entire day. Adventure of the Seas was in port today so the impact was felt. This was our first full beach day.
We spent nearly the entire day on Orient just enjoying an absolutely beautiful day. Mid-afternoon I spent a couple of hours with Ruby Bute, the matriarch of the island. What a beautiful and unique woman. She has a new home and studio now on her father's land on the way to Friar's Bay. Then back to the beach. In the evening we drove over to Simpson Bay, with no traffic mind you, and had a fantastic meal at Halsey's. I'm ashamed to admit that this was our first time dining there in eight trips. It was top shelf! While we thoroughly enjoyed the entrees, what blew us away was the Spinach and Artichoke dip. Unbelievable. We met Ryan and Jessica and had a lovely conversation. I had the Kansas City Strip Steak which was exceptional It was a great day! SXM Beaches + SXM People + SXM Dining = 1 Great Day!
Saturday -I met alone with Norbert Marrale of DineSXM today. Left Bonnie at Front Street where she did some shopping and met up with Deepti. After I completed with Norbert I met up with Bonnie at DK Gems. Had dinner at Captain Oliver’s buffet which I had booked online through DineSXM.com. A very nice service that I highly recommend. Had a great visit with Phillipe. He is doing a wonderful job at his new venture. There was a good crowd on this night and the food was very good.
Sunday -Another beach day today. Ate dinner at Talk of the Town again. I love it when there’s not much to report. Great Day, Great Beach!
Monday -A very busy day was scheduled today but we did get some beach time in in the AM. Had dinner at La Fregate in Oyster Pond upon recommendation from Beatrix, the owner of Belgian Chocolate shop on Front Street. This beautiful restaurant is directly behind Dona Bryhiel’s studio. I don’t know if I recall seeing much about it posted here but it was absolutely wonderful. Salsa lessons are offered every Monday night. Bonnie would have loved to have joined in but as we stood I tripped over my two left feet.
Tuesday morning we are off with a 9AM departure. Another great trip, but we left much undone. It appears we may have to return…
JeffV
