Best vacation yet! Had no problems at any of the airports and were glad to see the extra security. <br>The island is beautiful and allot cleaner than last year. We spent most of our time on Orient Beach expect went to Dawn Beach to Ms. B's for THE BEST RIBS ON THE ISLAND. We got to meet her on our second visit and she is a very nice and gracious lady. Rumor has it that she may start bottling her BBQ sauce. If so add another 10 lbs to our already outrageously heavy carry-on from St. Martin! <br>We attended the 12/7 TTOL party that Carl arranged at the PLP. Got to match some faces with names and enjoyed sharing our table with Erma and Randy. Thanks Carl, it was great to meet you. And also thank you Neil, it was a pleasure to meet you. (Sorry Susie didn't leave you her shirt but Shane is still willing to mail you his Bare Buns Fun Run shirt) Your place is great. We enjoyed the food(best nachos we've ever had),drink and fantastic service. Sean, was a great waiter and a very nice man. Good luck! <br>We went on the Tiko Tiko cruise with another couple we met on the beach. This was a blast! They really cater to you and the food and drink were great. If you go ask Veronique (the hostess) what Tiko Tiko means! <br>Other places we ate: Had very good food at Turtle Pier. The conch soup was awesome! Talk of the Town had good ribs. Under the Tree had very good ribs and the price is right($5.00 for enough ribs to Gorge yourself) Petit Cul de Sac Pizza (Piet?) was excellent and we had great service. (Note: They had a scary mosquito truck that drove by that is very loud and sprays nasty bug killer in the air with a high pitch whine that must drive all the dogs crazy - Shane was sure howling!!!) Papagayo's had good food and much better service than last year and as always the view is one of a kind! Bananas had very good burgers and good, if not a little to oily, onion rings. Cute place. The Croissantery (sp?) in the Marigot Marina was extremely wonderful. Great crepes, french toast, croissants, fresh squeezed orange juice and the best latte' I had on the island (we're from Seattle, we know a good latte'). It's right next to St. Germaine. <br>We also noticed the Coast Guard as we stayed at Sapphire and saw it every day. The room was excellent, Jacuzzi on the balcony, marble in the kitchen and bathroom. Very spacious. The staff however needs a little customer service training.[Linked Image]If you need more info e-mail us for details.<br>The Marigot Market is lots of fun and we made quite a few neat purchases. Including magic spice, huge avocados and papayas. They've really made the market nice.<br>The locals are all nice. We had no problems. One day we picked up a local (Alex from the Jet Ski Rental Kiosk)asking for a ride at Orient Beach. What a nice guy, thanked us several times. Also told us about the motorcycle wheelie show in the French Quarter we saw on Sunday. They go up and down the main road ridding wheelies. We asked him if the police ever do anything about it, he said no. The big bikes that join in ARE the cops. Apparently not allot of rules.[Linked Image][Linked Image] Shane may need to ship his motorcycle down next year to join in the fun!!<br>We rented our car through SXM Cars again (Hertz). Very good service, car was really clean inside and out and it had an alarm. A first for us on a rental car! <br>The sand at Orient is coming back quickly and the water is beautiful and warm. <br>On the way home we stayed in the Marriott at the airport in Philly for our 9:30 pm to 5:30 am layover. $79 for a great room and we had very good french onion soup and a cheesesteak from the reasonably priced , prompt room service <br>All in all we had a dream vacation and can't wait to go back though it's also great to be home in the cold, windy, rainy Northwest. [Linked Image][Linked Image]<br>Cheers, Shane & Susie<br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 12/13/01 03:30 PM.</EM></FONT></P>