Hubby and I are back in Jersey and are reviewing our photos and sighing alot. I don't think I can write one of the thorough reports, including menus and prices, that I've read, so I'm going to hit the highlights and then post messages on particular topics as they occur to me.<br>The car to the airport arrived at 4:30 a.m., because we wanted to be at Newark International, Terminal C, by 5:00 a.m. for our 7:35 a.m. Continental flight to SXM. Got checked in and through security in about 15 minutes. The A&W counter was open and we had Chock Full O' Nuts coffee. Should have waited until 5:30 when Familia Caffe opened, with Lavazza coffee. <br>Continental must have the narrowest seats, with the least amount of leg room possible for a 737. I am 5'10" 240 pounds, and sat in the center seat on the trip to SXM. Could not shift in my seat or cross my legs. Because of the approximately 3 hours of sleep I got the night before, I was grouchy to begin with and the flight didn't help. Breakfast was cold cereal, a banana and a banana muffin. But, at least it was a direct flight and our luggage made it on the same plane that we did (not always my experience with Continental).<br>Stepped off the plane into gorgeous, warm, beautiful PJIA. We thought the bus to the terminal, with the walk around to Immigration, fun. [Linked Image]<br>    We booked ground transportation and Cap Caraibes through Liberty Travel/GoGo. The van's air conditioning wasn't working, but the breeze through the windows was lovely. The driver pointed out the sites as we went through Maho, Mullet Bay, past Marigot and Grand Case, etc. As we descended the mountain into Orient Beach, our smiles got bigger and bigger.[Linked Image][Linked Image] <br>Cap Caraibes, while expensive, was in the perfect location for a first trip to Baie Orientale. We paid the extra bucks for the second floor, ocean view room. The room looked exactly like the photos on the Orient Beach web site. I walked straight out onto the balcony and could hear the roar of the surf[Linked Image][Linked Image][Linked Image]. Bikini Beach had a great band playing and I was in heaven.<br>Groggy from lack of sleep, we changed into our bathing suits and headed to Waikiki for lunch.[Linked Image][Linked Image] Took a stroll down the beach and got excited everytime I saw someplace that I'd read about on TTOL.[Linked Image][Linked Image] Then we came back to the room and crashed[img]/images/icons2/wink.gif[/img]. For dinner, were walked down to Tontiki, to listen to the live music, but as we approached the bar, we realized we were too tired to dance and party and needed some peace to unwind.[img]/images/icons2/grin.gif[/img]<br>Walked back to Bikini Beach and had a lovely dinner, with beaucoup Caribs.<br>Cap Caraibe has a deal with most of the big beach restaurant/bars wherein you present a business-size card and "charge" your tab to your hotel. More unclear reasons, the La Playa and La Madra restaurants no longer participate. But it was very convenient to stick the card in our cooler bag pocket, rather than cash.<br>Cap Caraibes provides large beach towels with distinctive blue and white stripes, that you can "trade in" fresh ones everyday. Showing the card to the beach boys at Waikiki enabled you to use the well cushioned lounge chairs and umbrellas.<br>The water of Orient Bay is so beautiful, clear, blue, and warm.[img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img]. We did not experience high winds while there and were always comfortable.<br>The grocery store behind L'Hoste met almost all of our food needs, given that we did not do any heavy-duty cooking. They were open late every night and on Sunday. Nice wine, plenty of water, milk, croissants, dirt cheap Rum, juice, nuts, ground coffee, etc.<br>Cap Caraibes has an arrangement with a company Le P'dejeneur de Baie Orientale, which delivered breakfast to our room. They had all kinds of choices (breads, fruit platters, eggs, yogurt), which could be ordered the night before or the morning between 07h00 and 11h00. We did that Monday morning, and ate out on the balcony. <br>Marius from Saint Louis Car Rental arrived right on time Monday morning with our Kia Rio. A great little car which was perfect for zipping around. What a lovely gentleman.<br>If one didn't want to leave Orient Bay, there certainly were plenty of great options for meals. We had breakfast at Baywatch and Papagayo, lunch and dinner at Coco Beach, Bikini Beach, Kakao, Waikiki, L'Astrolabe, and La Madras (excuse the spelling). Didn't miss once. We also ate at The Fish Pot in Grand Case and brought home ribs and chicken from Talk of the Town for our last dinner on the balcony. Talk of the Town was the best deal on the island.<br>We never managed to get into Marigot, because each time we tried, the traffic was so bad, we'd get fed up. Driving in rush hour like tgraffic was not Hubby's idea of vacation. So, we'll go the next time.<br>We were not impressed with Phillipsburg and actually didn't stop to shop. We're not gamblers, so didn't visit the casinos. Spent most of our time on the French side.<br>I loved lying on the beach, surrounded by people from all over the world. Listening to a group of 10 Italians on one side, and a French family on our other side, was fun. Saw lots of kids, probably under the age of 10, playing in the sand and on a huge float in the water that seemed to have a big trampoline in the middle and a slide. Little girls getting their hair braided with beads. Little boys building sand castles and playing with their plastic warriors. Kids playing in the playground behind Waikiki. All the restaurants had pizza or hamburgers and kids menu, so food didn't appear to be a problem.<br>[img]/images/icons2/oink.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/oink.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/oink.gif[/img]<br>We left the sliding glass door to the balcony open at night (I love falling asleep to the sound of the surf) and have bug bites all over us, Skin So Soft not withstanding.<br>There are restaurant cats and dogs everywhere. We met Oreo and Le Chat at L'Astrolabe, Puss at Baywatch, and several unnamed animals. Saw brown pelicans, great frigates, sand plovers, and egrets, but no seagulls. Lizards loved Waikiki's boardwalk through their jungle.<br>If you ever get a chance, you have to treat yourself to a skinny dip in the full moon light in the warm waters of Orient Bay!!![img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img][img]/images/icons2/thumbsup.gif[/img]