Tuesday February 26 we flew KC to DFW and spent the night in Dallas as we had 0615 flight on Wednesday morning. Flew AA DFW to Miami, switched planes and AA Miami to SXM. Flights were smooth, security was tight but moved right along, and we actually arrived SXM 20 minutes before our 3:05 scheduled time. No problems with immigration or luggage.<br><br>Prince was waiting at the door and a quick trip across the street to pick up car and immediately off to SSBB. Changed into shorts and sandals and had a couple of Caribs as we began to take in the sunshine and visit with people that had been on the island for awhile. Since we had nothing but snacks on the plane(no meal service on trips under 3 hours) we headed towards Grand Case via a side trip to Marks Place. He continues to improve on his location and it you don’t even know it is in the middle of a parking lot anymore. Wonderful order of mussels in garlic with fries($12.50) an order of shrimp acra and a bottle of wine and we were ready to get to our room.<br><br>We stayed at the Morning Star Guest house on the edge of Grand Case. Tony and his wife are really nice people and this was our third time staying there. Only real disappointment was that their pool was out of service. The place needs a bit of TLC but it is inexpensive and it doesn’t seem to take much to make us comfortable down there. After a long travel day we decided to take a nap and hopefully wake up in time and feeling rested enough to go to the Full Moon Party.<br><br>We awoke about 8:30 pm and took a drive out to Friars Bay and to Kali’s bar where the party is held every full moon. $5.00 cover charge gets you in and pays for one drink. We were too early and when we do it again we would wait until about 11:00 pm before venturing out there. There was a Rasta band that spent a long time trying to get set up and when they did start playing they left a lot to be desired. Lot of young locals smoking the ganj but no one bothered us at anytime. We ate an order of whole red snapper and an order of ribs and both were good. Unfortunately Kali converts Euro at equal to the dollar, a bit of a rip off there. At midnight they lit a huge bonfire on the beach and the Rastas brought drums in close and began to sing. We observed for a bit more and decided we had seen enough drunk and stoned people and it was time to head back to the room.<br><br>Thursday, we got up and spent the morning at Baei Rouge which has always been our favorite. Waves were strong and remained that way throughout the week. We headed for Lotterie Farm for a mid afternoon lunch. Julie, formerly from the Konga, is the chef and she does a wonderful job. We had the curry chicken roti, an appetizer of fish kabobs that were wonderful sesame tuna(enough for a meal) accompanied by salad, sweet potato and a wonderful radish salsa. With a bottle of wine and tip it was $40.00. We would highly recommend checking out this place as it is like a real oasis of quiet out there in the country. Such a beautiful setting and Julie is growing her own vegetables right there to use in the restaurant.<br><br>Dinner was at Le Cottage in Grand Case. This restaurant continues to be our favorite with excellent service and wonderful food at reasonable prices. We started with a fricasee of frog and escargot salad with mushrooms. Joanie had the rack of lamb with a vegetable medly and had the red snapper fillet with escarole sauté. Both were excellent as was the desert (which at the moment I can’t remember just that it had chocolate in it as some ended up on my shirt). With wine(and we are pretty cheap in this area as we don’t fully grasp the differences) our cost was under $100.<br><br>We moved on down the street to Protofino for an after dinner drink and ended up playing a game of janga(which became our nightly ritual). The people there are very friendly and we ran into Sunshine and her friend Ivan and had a good visit.<br><br><br>Friday back to Baie Rouge late in the morning. Ran into some people from Ottawa, IL which is close to where I grew up. We did lunch at Lee’s and what a treat that was. We had one mahi mahi and one wahoo lunch and shared them. Each came with either rice or fries, salad and fried plantain. Portions were large and the fish was excellently grilled. Service was great and with a bottle of house white the tab was about $40.00.<br><br>Dinner was at Le Pirate in Grand Case. The place is small and very unique with part of the roof being a sail and old cut out boats to sit in. In our opinion the food left a bit to be desired. We had the goat cheese salad appetizer and it had a lot of oregano on it which took away from the cheese. Joanie had the shrimp provencal which was very salty and again had an over powering oregano flavor. My dorado fish was ok and the fresh green beans were over cooked. There was only one waitress handling the whole restaurant and service was extremely slow. Marcel brought over the pot of “mort” after dinner while we were waiting sat it and 2 shot glasses in front of us. We had more than our share of his liquor concoction before they brought us the bill. Off to Portofinos and a couple of after dinner Caribs and some more Janga before turning in.<br><br>Saturday a stop at the boulangerie by Match in Marigot. Almond croissant, ham and cheese sandwich and a small baguet wer only $3.00. We decided that we had plenty of sun the previous two days and thought we would cool it for a day. Followed Joanie around Marigot booths for the morning. Had a lite lunch of Caribs and tuna carpaccio at Bar De Le Mer. Food was great though the staff was busy and had to wait a long time to get the check. <br><br>Saturday dinner was at Le Ti Coin Creole just as you turn to go to Grand Case Beach Club. Carl, his mother and sister run this small local restaurant. We shared a green salad and the lobster bisque. The bisque was very good with a spice that made it a bit unique and not as rich as some I have tasted. Joanie had the red snapper grilled and served with garlic butter and I had the goat stew. Both were wonderful meals and we enjoyed meeting Carl’s father who is just really proud of his family and his island. Recommend this place highly though as is the case on much of the island; do not be in a hurry. <br><br>Sunday breakfast at Michaels after church. Pretty location but as close to American as I wanted to be on the island. Baie Rouge for the morning and a mid afternoon lunch at Germaines in the Lo Lo’s. A slab of ribs, a quarter chicken, some fish cakes, a Johnny cake and 4 Caribes for $13.00. Can’t beat it.<br>Tried to call O’Plongeoir for reservations but didn’t get an answer. Drove over to Turtle Pier for cocktails with Friends of SXM. Met Jack and there was one other couple there (Mark and Bonnie from the Bloomington, MN area). Had a couple of cocktails and a good visit. Mark, Bonnie and Jack were all headed to Point Blanch for the Ragae concert to wind up the Regatta weekend. <br><br>We drove over to Marigot and to check out O’Plongeoir. It was open and we found it to be a wonderful little place housed in the old Anguilla ferry ticket off ice building and right next to West Indies. Our young French waiter went through the day’s menu board and explained it all in English for us. We started our meal with the stuffed mussel appetizer, mussels stuffed with green and red peppers, a garlic sauce and accompanied by salad greens. Joanie had an entrée of mahi mahi with parma ham and cheese on a bed of fettucini. I had the flank steak stuffed with goat cheese grilled with carmalized carrots, home fried potatoes and goat cheese dip. That week’s menu had an Asian slant. Their menu changes weekly. Menu items are quite varied and original. Our bill was around $50 with a bottle of house blanc. The service and food were both excellent. As the harbor improves in that area, this restaurant will likely become very popular.<br><br>Back to Portofino for two games of Jenga, some Caribes and Zambooka. Last visit for us as they are closed on Monday. Every night I had been wanting to have one of there beautiful thin crust pizzas(wanted to call it dessert, but Joannie wouldn’t allow it) but just never had the chance or the room. Guess it will have to wait till next year.<br><br>Monday a stop at the Super Marche bakery for bread and a sandwich and off to a final day at Baie Rouge. Mid afternoon lunch at Peg Leg Pub. Was ok but realized it was the same place that used to be David’s in Marigot. Tuna melt and fish and chips were ok but won’t rush back. Spent the rest of the afternoon just touring the island out by Dawn Beach and Oyster Pond. Anyone remember how it was when Oyster Pond was just the small isolated beautiful spot out there by itself? Can’t hardly tell the original buildings anymore. We loved it out there in the 80’s when everyone thought it was totally boring(getting old huh).<br><br>Dinner reservations at Bistro Nu. Jean Claude was there as usual and we were really looking forward to the evening. Joanie’s grilled tuna had been marinated, indicating that it was less that fresh. I had the veal stew and how in the world you ever find major hunks of fat on veal is beyond me. Bringing the heaps of fat I had piled on my plate to Jean Claude’s attention me with the response “that is the way we get it.” “Do you want more?” Having eaten there during almost all of our umpteen trips to SXM it was the most disappointing. Food and attitude just left a lot to be desired.<br><br>We drove back to Grand Case and checked out Calmos and LePub for after dinner drinks. LePub pizza looked good and was tempted but decided I would wait and try it for lunch on Tues.<br><br>Tuesday was our departure day. We really wanted a great thin curst pizza but nothing was open for lunch. We Stopped at Bananas and had lunch on the way to the airport. One shrimp salad and one lobster salad and a bottle of wine. All was great and we enjoyed the place.<br><br>We were at the airport by 1:30 for a 3:05 flight to Antigua. A short wait to have bags inspected and no problems what so ever. We flew to Antigua, had a short layover and then on to Dominica. We were met in Antigua by the nun I had worked with when I did some volunteer work there 4 years ago. We spent two great days there and flew AA from DOM to SJU on Thursday afternoon and then AA from SJU to DFW that evening arriving at 9:30 pm. Flights were wonderful. We had a short night in Dallas(aided by some noisy young ladies on the floor above us at our hotel) and we flew Vanguard (Joanie’s airline back to Kansas City on Friday morning. Two hours of driving and picked up the dog and were all home safely by late Friday afternoon. <br><br> It was nice to see old friends and acquaintances on Dominica again but SXM is the greatest island in the world. With a little good fortune we may be able to find a small place to run and live there permanently some day. <br><br>I hope this report is not too lengthy and boring. Your comments and questions will be greatly appreciated and acknowledged. WE LOVE SXM!!!!<br><br><br><br><br><br>
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