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Trip Report 8/18/07- sorry it took so long

Posted By: Rich

Trip Report 8/18/07- sorry it took so long - 10/12/2007 12:14 AM

This will be posted on our site with photos as soon as possible.

Trip # 11 – Saturday, 8/18/07 – Thursday, 8/23/07

Mary & I decided to make this trip our 35th Anniversary gift to each other.
Money has been tight, but we had AA frequent flyer miles and we blew them all on first class tickets. It was our first time flying with the rich people.
American earned a huge thank you letter after this trip. I should mention that our limo driver to the airport was supposed to pick us up in a town car. It was a 12 person stretch instead. Will miracles ever cease?
AA attendants could not have been better. Knowing it was our anniversary, they gave us a bottle of white wine, vodka and champagne to go when we landed in St. Martin.
The new Juliana airport is brand spankin’ new and very easy to get through.
Alain’s staff from Triple A was waiting for us and we were off. We made our usual stop on the hill overlooking Saba and said hi to Jack. He was where we left him the last time we were there…swinging in a hammick.
His daughter will soon take over his business as he plans to retire.
What a life! I dropped Mary off in town for some booze while I watched the luggage. We found making our own drinks at ClubO is more affordable and more tasty! We checked in and the flowers I ordered for Mary were already in the room. We spent the rest of the day on the beach and the evening at Papagayos. I thought the day would never come, but I some fantastic dinners there. They must have changed chefs with the new owners because the food was great! Our room was not as nice as in the past. A lot of ants and poor A/C were just two of the reasons. Location was OK, but we needed sandals every time we walked to the beach. I guess that’s not much of a complaint though. Room service was excellent. Some rules have changed at ClubO. You cannot park at your chalet anymore. You must also tag the chairs you want for the duration of your stay. Papagayos checks can now be billed to your room, but you should tip with every meal you get instead of waiting until your departure day. The Perch is completely separate billing.
The weather, only a few days after hurricane Dean, was fabulous every day. The nightly entertainment at Papagayos was OK, but the best band we heard all week was actually one performing on the boardwalk in Phillipsburg on Tuesday.
On Sunday, we had breakfast, walked the beach, hung out for a while and went to Phillipsburg. The town was closed, so we went back to Bugsys for lunch, stopped at the hilltop shops overlooking Orient and went for ma dou dou at the hut.
Monday was Tiko day and this is always a treat. The lunch and the people we sailed with were great. I did trash Mary’s camera by dropping it during my hiking tour of Tintimere. Bummer!
Wine and cheese night was that evening and another pretty good meal at Papapgayos.
We were turning in quite early each evening and waking up a sunrise every day.
On Tuesday, we hung out at Orient and tried town again. Mary shopped and I lost money gambling. We had lunch at the “Blue Bitch” and listened to a great band on the boardwalk. In the evening, we wanted to go for at least one $100 meal while we were there. We decided to go to Grand Case and eat at Il Nettunos. We have eaten there several times before and thought this would make a good Anniversary dinner choice. Big mistake!!!! Something happened there since the last time we ate there. We will probably not ever return. The chicken we both had, in two different ways, was horrible.
Wednesday, we thought we’d have lunch on the Dutch side and we ended up at Mary’s Boon. Cupecoy area, by the way, is one total construction site.
Stay away for a while. Our lunch was fair at Mary’s Boon. The beach and water is very nice there and it looks like a nice place to stay. I would probably fine myself always traveling off the property though as it is small and not much to do. Lobster bisques was more lobster soup plus I had to make my own drink from behind the bar. Weird!
I don’t think I would return. Too many other places to explore!
The Sunset Beach Bar was a must and we were back to Orient by 4pm.
We stayed there that night and, believe it or not, had another great meal!!!
We danced a little to music “with a Caribbean flair” and went to bed by 11pm.
Last day, Thursday, was just another beautiful day in paradise.
We were off on American by 1:30 only to find the same two flight attendants on board.
A few bloody Mary’s and I was off in dreamland for the flight back. Once again, the flight attendants remembered us and gave us another bottle of wine to go.
All in all, it was a safe, relaxing, but short, vacation.
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