We left Columbus headed for Chicago, then on to Miami and finally to St. Martin on Thanksgiving morning at 9AM. This was a change from our usual 6AM departure and the extra couple of hours of sleep were welcome.
Our cab arrived on time and the driver carried all of our luggage to the car from our front porch. We arrived at Port Columbus and the lines were nonexistent. We had our boarding passes in record time and were able to get exit row seats for all three legs of our flights that day. I did get the full grope test by the TSA as well as the body scan.
We killed a few hours in the Admirals Club in Chicago and then on to Miami. In Miami, we had our one small glitch in our travels for that day. For whatever reason, the ramp agent took issue with the size of our carry-on bag. We’ve used this bag on at least 20 flights on 4 or 5 airlines and it’s never been an issue until today. The bag fits snuggly in the overhead bin, but it won’t fit in American’s little carry on tester that is set up by each gate. We checked the bag at no additional cost. The agent chose to ignore the couple that each carried backpacks the size of coffins and each back pack took up an entire bin.
We arrived in St. Martin a little before 9PM. Immigration was quick and our luggage was off the plane quickly. We caught a cab and headed for Phillipsburg and the Holland House Hotel.
Holland House was a pleasant surprise for us. We had never stayed here or really heard anything about the hotel. We booked the room more for the great rate (about $120 a night for a street view room) than anything else. We arrived to a newly renovated room. A little on the small side, but still very nice. The bathroom was new as well with a walk-in shower (big enough for two!) and high quality finishes. Several of the rooms on our floor were in the process of being renovated as well.
We ate a late snack at the bar and headed for bed.
Friday November 26th.
We were up early and ready for the beach. Caught a cab in front of the Courthouse and headed to Orient. Made agreement with cab to pick us up later in the afternoon. We found a couple of chairs at Club O and headed to Andy and Cheryl’s for breakfast. Was great seeing both of them again. After a big breakfast, back to the beach and sun. The wind was really strong today and none of the umbrellas we able to be put up. Lots of extra sunscreen today. Happy hour at The Perch Bar and some of Willie’s great lime daiquiris and we were set for the rest of the day on the beach. Our cab arrived at our agreed time and we were headed back to Holland House to meet the rest of party arriving later that afternoon and evening.
For whatever reason, the cruise ship people walking through Orient today really annoyed me. Lots of pointing and laughing. Club O security was busy today. We saw security with two or three people that were taking pictures.
Our other two traveling companions arrived on time and with no travel horror stories. We grabbed a meal at the Blue Bitch in Phillipsburg. The Windward Island Bank was having some kind of promotion outside the bar. The bankers were really cutting loose and having a great time dancing, drinking and smoking cigars. It looked like they managed to sign up a few customers as well.
We were back to Holland House for a nightcap or two and we saw the Star Clipper sailing off in the distance. My only negative comment for The Holland House is that the service at the bar and restaurant is slow, even for the Caribbean. We were in full vacation mode by now, so it really wasn’t a big deal.
Saturday November 27th
After a quick tour of our friend’s room (bedroom area updated, but not bathroom), we checked out and had the hotel hold our luggage. We couldn’t begin boarding the Star Clipper until later that afternoon. We spent that time just kicking around Phillipsburg doing some window shopping, picking up a few last minute supplies (cigars, vodka and rum) and having a few cocktails here and there.
We headed off The Greenhouse for a snack and a few drinks. I was also able to catch up on the latest football scores. Good to know that Ohio State was putting yet another beat down on Michigan. Confident that Ohio State had yet another victory, we headed off gather our luggage and then a short cab ride to the cruise ship dock and our home for the next week, the Star Clipper.
Check in at the dock was painless and we were soon onboard with a drink in our hands and enjoying snacks.
11/27-12/4 Aboard Star Clipper
During our week, we visited Nevis, Dominica, Illes des Saintes, Guadeloupe, Antigua and St. Barts. Overall, a great cruise. Our group had sailed together on a number of Windjammer Cruises and we were all very happy with Star Clipper and plan on doing another trip in the near future.
Saturday 12/4
Sadly, our time on Star Clipper is over and now off to the next phase of our adventure… Orient Beach!
Got a cab to L’Hoste. Check in was quick, but rooms not ready. Changed in the lobby bathroom, headed to La Playa for our free drink. Ordered my favorite, vodka and Ting. Or as I call it, a Ving. There is a marked difference in the taste of canned Ting and bottled Ting. Canned Ting has a somewhat metallic taste. Anyhow, after debating Ting like we were discussing a fine wine, we headed down to the beach at Club O.
Club O end of the beach was crowded today. Ideal beach conditions as well. We paid for our chairs and settled in for a long beach day. Took turns buying drinks at the Perch bar. Saw a fellow Ohio State fan and both myself and my wife were able to catch up on the latest news in college football.
Back down the beach to Andy and Cheryl’s for lunch. We ordered our favorites: mussels a la Andy, margarita shrimp and wings and lots of bread to sop up all the liquid goodness. In a word: Awesome!
Back to the beach, more drinks, happy hour and we headed back to L’Hoste about 4:30 to get settled in our rooms. A great day at the beach!
Rooms at L’Hoste are big and include a mini fridge, microwave, cooktop and basic pots, pans, plates and utensils. Rooms are nice, but could use a “freshening up”.
The room has a flat screen TV and ESPN! I was having serious football withdrawal and used the hour or so before dinner to get caught up on the latest in college and pro football on Sports Center. I also saw Ohio was getting snow, wind, cold rain. Glad I was at the beach.
We ate dinner at Cote Plages that night. We had the grilled prime rib for two (very good), and our friends had the lamb shank (very good) and the grouper (just OK). The restaurant had a floor show of three dancing girls and one guy who danced around, changed costumes and then danced around some more. We ranked the floor show as just OK. Polished off 3 bottles of wine and headed back to the hotel. We said our goodbyes to one of our friends as she needed to leave at 6AM to head off to the airport.
Sunday 12/5
Breakfast is included with your room at L’Hoste. The free breakfast includes toasted French Bread with butter and jelly, a croissant, juice and coffee. Eggs, breakfast meats and pancakes are available for an additional charge.
Another beach day today. We had already lost one of our friends and were losing another at noon. Decided to stay at La Playa today. Caught some quality beach time and then said goodbye to our second traveling companion. Had lunch at Safari Grill. I had pizza and my wife had pasta. Both were very good.
Spent our last afternoon on the beach in front of La Playa drinking beer and catching every bit of sun we could. Cleaned up and headed over to Orient Village again for dinner.
We ate at Paris, Texas, a Tex-Mex joint. My sights were set pretty low for a Tex-Mex joint in the Caribbean on the French side of the island. I was pleasantly surprised as the food was very good. I had a beef enchilada and my wife had the soft seafood tacos. Both very good and a good change of pace. Had several of their “Kick [censored]” margaritas and they lived up to their name. The margarita comes with a little plastic hot pepper charm for good luck. Seeing as we were traveling the next day, I decided to double our good luck and have another drink.
Head back to the room and one of the beach clubs is in full party mode. We are in the room closest to the club and the loud music goes on until about 1 AM. Slightly annoying.
Monday 12/6
Our last day. Up early and head to the beach. I’m on the beach for about 2 minutes and I’m being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Apply Off, but it’s too late. I have 50 or 60 bites that will annoy me for the next 5 days. We spend every possible second on the beach then head back to the room to clean up and wait for the cab.
The cab arrives on time and it’s off to the airport. We arrive to an almost empty airport and check in at American for the 1:30 flight to JFK. Check in is painless and the travel gods smile on us and we are awarded the exit row seats. Breeze through security and await our boarding.
Grab a quick snack at the pretzel place and we are soon on the 757 and off to JFK. Flight was uneventful as was Customs and Immigrations. We are through in no time and then head over to go through the TSA security checkpoint. The TSA screeners at JFK are an impatient lot. After much yelling by our friendly TSA to “Hurry up, you guys are taking too long,” we head to calm surroundings of the Admirals Club. Many of the drinks in the club are free. We use this to our advantage and enjoy 5 or 6 vodka tonics while waiting for our final flight. With two hours to kill, We are guzzling our vodka tonics and firing up our Blackberrys to check our e mails. Great, I have 890 emails.
Our flight home is delayed 30 minutes. We walk towards the plane and a man dressed like Yasser Arafat is trying to board the plane. I overhear the conversation. He’s in the wrong terminal and the wrong airline. We board and have another uneventful flight back home to frosty Columbus. It’s a balmy 20 degrees when we arrive. The cold reality hits me… vacation is over and it’s another 10 months before we are back in St. Martin again.
To sum it up, a great trip! Can’t wait until we are back in “our” villa in Guana Bay in 10 short months.
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