Warning- this may be a little long.......<br>Returned late Monday night from our first trip to St. Martin, which we found to be a most interesting island, quite different from others we've travelled to. It was fun to experience both cultures but we preferred the French side in many ways.<br>As we landed and taxied down the runway we were somewhat horrified to see the sign for Mary's Boon Plantation Hotel right smack on the side of the runway, as that was where we were booked for our last two nights. Our fears would prove groundless but I'll get back to that later.<br><br>We rented a car from Kenny's Car Rental which was quick, easy and very inexpensive. I highly recommend Kenny's.<br><br>I should point out that my head was swimming with detailed information that I had gotten from this board, and felt I knew the island pretty well before setting foot on it. This wealth of knowledge would tend to drive Brian crazy as we'd be driving along and I'd say "I know all about this place, it's this or that, let's stop..." He's more the type to wing it on a trip- I'm the "cruise director" in the family. Anyway, despite all the plans I'd made and places I'd wanted to go, we pretty much did wing it. For one reason or another we never made it to either of the TTOL parties at the Peg Leg Pub (even though we went there twice and really enjoyed it)- would've have loved to meet you all, though, especially you, Carl....and we were too tired to venture back to Kali's for the Full Moon Party, although we were there earlier in the day. We really liked Kali's and Friar Beach. Sounds like KIPP "N SLIPP had a great time and I wish we had rallied. That sort of party would be right up our alley.<br><br>We stayed in Oyster Pond for our first two nights at a 5-unit villa high on the hill overlooking the marina called Soleil de Minuit. I cannot rave highly enough about this little find. In low season we paid $100. a night for the charming unit which had a living area, small refrigerator and upstairs loft with kingsize bed. It overlooked their small "infinity" pool, with gorgeous views of the marina and Dawn Beach, and I was delighted because I've always wanted to swim in one- it was heavenly. <br>The hosts, Jeff and Kriss were very friendly and accommodating, and served us a small breakfast each morning on the patio. We were the only guests while we were there which was unfortunate for them but great for us to have the place to ourselves. And, it was steps away from one of our favorite beaches, Dawn Beach.<br><br>Our first night we were exhausted, having left for Logan Airport at 3:30 a.m. on a couple of hours sleep, so we did not venture far. There was a little conveience store around the corner that had a sign on the side saying something about a pizza restaurant. We wandered up the side steps to find several tables by a swimming pool. The menu had the name Croc Tamboul on it and there was no pizza on the menu- perhaps that's in the convenience store, but we had a very good meal of curried chicken. We then had our first of many experiences of the house rum being brought to the table after dinner. This was not a small glass, though, mind you, but the proprieter plopped down two large bottles with a couple of shot glasses and said "enjoy", which we certainly did. We had to do several taste tests, actually because the one infused with basil (yes, basil) was sooo interesting! I can't even recall at this point what the other one was.<br>It wouldn't be long before we were in the Match Supermarche in Marigot stocking up on Ma Dou Dou for the rest of the trip. <br><br>The next morning was spent at Mrs. Busby's on Dawn Beach where I found the snorkelling to be great. On subsequent trips it was unfortunately kind of rough, but still great for swimming. In the afternoon we did a little exploring- had a late lunch at Kali's, then hit a couple of beach bars on the way back to Oyster Pond- Boo Boo Jams and Bikini Beach. Preferred Boo Boo Jams for some reason. Always meant to get back to Orient and spend some time but we never did.<br>This was the night of the Full Moon Party but we were too tired to venture back to Friar's. Went down the street to Mr. Busby's for dinner on the beach where we had a great meal but didn't notice the no-seeums. We woke up with massive bug bites all over our legs. I later bought some of the mosquito milk I'd read about but we never needed it again.<br><br>The next day we enjoyed a very late checkout at Soleil de Minuit and drove over Naked Boy Hill on to Simpson Bay where we had a timeshare exchange for the next week at the Pelican.<br>I must say that while the accommodations we had were passable, comfortable enough, with a well equipped kitchen, and a nice view(Croton Building),the unit was probably the least nicest exchange we've ever had through Interval. It was just old and needed refurbishing. The covering on the living room furniture was kind of plasticky. But we weren't planning on spending our whole vacation inside anyway so it really didn't bother us. I don't think we'd stay there again, though. There were 5 pools, sure, but most of them were pretty small and I didn't think they were super clean. The beach was small but nice- the best part about it was Marcos' Beach Bar- a fun little place to hang out with the best burgers we had on the island.<br><br>We spent the next week exploring different beaches- Cupecoy (no sand at all the day we went, but a beautiful spot), Mullet, which we liked, Baie Rouge (also a big thumbs up), Friars, and of course Dawn. This may sound crazy to some of you but Brian's favorite route into Marigot from the Pelican was not through Cole Bay, the shortest route, but the much longer way through Mullet, Baie Nettle and Sandy Ground. I have to admit it was much more scenic and far less traffic to deal with.<br><br>We loved the Match Supermarche and went there several times. In fact, we just loved Marigot- it was our favorite town. We ate twice at la Bar de la Mer and loved it. One morning we had breakfast at Zee Best- just picked at the basket of pastries that was brought to the table. They have the most mouthwatering croissants there, and I had thought the Village Bakers' were good!<br>Went to the Marigot market on Wednesday and found ourselves there again on Saturday- brought home island clothing, artwork, and lots of spices for Christmas gifts. <br><br>Other restaurants we enjoyed were Lee's Roadside Grill, Peg Leg Pub (where we thoroughly enjoyed grilled tuna and swordfish and detailed conversation with the waiter, Sean about his homeland, Jamaica- an island we have travelled to many, many times and where we have many good friends). Also Layla's, which was one of the best meals of all- Brian's lamb stew and my pork stuffed with minced black olives were absolutely mouthwatering.....<br>Our least favorite meal was at Turtle Pier- just sort of nondescript and we did not care for the "lounge" singer. We are not audience participation fans and cringed when he would wander in the direction of our table.<br>I'm afraid that the closest we came to dining in Grand Case on this trip was to pick up a rotisserie chicken at the Bounty deli, which, with the makings for a salad, a bottle of French wine, baguette and cheese set us back about 12 bucks.<br><br>I almost forgot about our day on Pinel Island. We really enjoyed that beach, just hanging out on the sandbar, being nuzzled by cute, then somewhat pesky white fish, then enjoying a bit of snorkelling, which was fun but did not compare to that first day on Dawn Beach.It was a most relaxing day. Drove by the Ma Dou Dou factory afterwards (not open) and wished it was later in the day in order to try out Le Piccolo.<br><br>Sounds like we were in Phillipsburg the same day as KIPP "N SLIPP, not the best choice with 5 cruise ships in port. Did a little shopping then hung out for a little while listening to reggae at the Big Wave, and off we went. That was our only venture into that town.<br><br>Our last two nights were at Mary's Boon. All week long we drove by through Maho and kept thinking we'd check out the Sunset Beach Bar at the end of the trip when we staying nearby. Upon checking into to Mary's Boon we found no need to venture further. The view of planes taxiing along outside our kitchen window were thrilling enough, as well as their little rooftop bar area where we spent alot of time watching the planes take off and land.<br>So, we had the runway on one side of our beachront unit (beautiful accommodations) and one of the best beaches we'd been on all trip on the other side. Quiet (except when the 747's took off and landed) and the best swimming beach we'd found....<br>We also had the other best meal of the trip there- their Saturday menu of beef tenderloin, some of the best I've ever had. I highly recommend this hotel and restaurant.<br><br>Well, sorry to post such a long trip report. We had fun. I'm sure we'll be back sometime. <br>Our biggest dissapointment was to pick up our photos yesterday to find that only a handful of pictures from each of the 9 rolls were developed. The majority of the negatives were blank. I've never ever had problems with film going through airport x-ray equipment, having been assured many years ago that one only had to be cautious if it was 800 speed film or higher. I don't know if the x-ray equipment is now more sensitive or just from multiple, more stringent exposures since 9/11, but since lots of photos are my favorite souvenirs of any trip it is very disconcerting to have had this happen.<br>Thanks again to everyone who was so helpful in helping us plan our first trip to St. Martin!<br><br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 12/17/01 01:17 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
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