Just got back last night and we only have 348 more days till we touch down on SXM once again – unless we can sneak a trip in later this year! This is a long trip report and I make no apologies – we have a fantabulous time on the island this year and want to share it with you all…… Organized by topics and not days - here goes.<br><br>Travel – Free flight on Delta into SJU, overnighted at the Marriott Courtyard about 7 minute ride from the airport. A vast improvement over the airport hotel – which is now closed for good. The first American Eagle flight over to SXM with the usual minor delays in SJU. No problems with travel either way.<br><br>Timeshare – We own a 2-bedroom lockout at the Flamingo Beach Resort. Our building finally was built in the past year and we loved staying there. From our unit we can see the cruise ships sailing in and out of port. Not to mention one of the buoys for the Regatta was right in front of us so we had a front row seat (with the help of binoculars) Had a private rooftop terrace with great views, hot tub, grill, lounge chairs etc. Resort was in really good shape – best in years, they were upgrading the older units, sales force obnoxious as usual, and owner’s meeting more informative than usual. <br><br>Rental Car – Marius from St Louis was waiting for us at the airport. We had to go back to his office at the Ocean Club – he didn’t have a car for us till later but we convinced him we were happy with the car he picked us up in at the airport. It was an older car – the kind we like – new ones make me nervous – blue, not white and ran like a champ. Great outcome and great service. Had a lock around the gearshift and not the “club”.<br><br>Groceries – We shopped at Cost U Less for beer and booze, Grand Marche at the roundabout, Rams and US Import/Export. If Cost U Less has what you want they are the lowest price in town. I had read the Grand Marche was dirty and not well stocked – not true for our visit. Very, very clean and well stocked with items I had not seen on the island in previous years. Rams was unchanged and we love US Import/ Export for their cheeses. <br><br>Weather – More rain than we usually experience in March – every day the second week we had rain showers during the early afternoon that sent us scurrying for cover under the umbrellas or to The Perch or Papagayo’s. More of a nuisance than anything else. Only 1 day was a complete washout once the rains started.<br><br>Orient Beach – Only beach we go to and we found a dramatic change from previous years – although we ran into Sugarrae at Baywatch and she said it was even worse in December. Beach much narrower and so chairs were more crowded together. I don’t think there were more people on the beach, just less white sand. No chairs in front of Papagayo’s, then a single row till you got to the volleyball net and then it widened out to 3 rows. But the third row was up by the fence. The first week of March here was sand in front of Baywatch for chairs, by the second week it had all been washed away and water was up to the front of the stores and restaurants just down from Baywatch. Road in to Orient Beach was worse than ever; they had built it up last year and this year it was deeply rutted and potholed.<br><br>Driving and Traffic – I have no problems driving on SXM so have few comments to make except I think drivers are very polite and let you out routinely. Traffic was heavy in the Simpson Bay area pretty consistently, especially on Welfare Road. Bridge work is completed. Volume of traffic overall was down considerably, probably an indication of the lower tourism volume. Roadwork is underway on the Dutch side – they are resurfacing the entire road from the Food Fair on Illridge Rd up to the “T” in the road where you either go towards Orleans or Oyster Bay. They are putting in brick sidewalks also that look pretty nice. We had a couple of death defying incidents when going up the William Tell Hill with these massive trucks trying to drive down the curves.<br><br>TTOL Party – About 40 folks turned out at Hot Tomatoes - many thanks to Dicky for his coconut drinks. It was fun revisiting with old friends and meeting new ones. Augie and Sue, Sheila, Gretchen, Beverly, Leslie, Buzz and Mary Lou, Mike and Sandy, Bob and Bette, Wendell, Dan to name a few. A bunch stayed at Hot Tomatoes for dinner, but Don and I went to Peg Legs with Buzz and Mary Lou for an outstanding dinner – all 4 of us were treated royally by Sean and enjoyed the filet done to perfection. Sean told me they move about 400 filets a week so obviously a very popular dinner!<br><br>Restaurants – I’ll do a separate post cuz I don’t have all my info organized. Just a note that if you want to run into TTOL folks you don’t know, Baywatch is the place to be. Not to mention the ease of striking up a conversation with anyone there. Cheryl and Andy really do a great job. We brought Utah and Idaho license plates down for Andy. The Idaho one is a Purple Heart plate and Andy had 2 other Purple Heart plates so he rearranged all the plates so they were around the doorframe which touched Don to no end.<br><br>Misc “Stuff” – Cellular One is the way to go for a cellular service, $10 service fee than you can buy cards all over the Dutch side with crystal clear reception. Need to stop at one of their 2 offices to get it set up. Etna ice cream rivals Blue Bunny in my opinion for the creamiest ice cream around. Dolphin Casino is the place to gamble. We again won this year – walking out with several hundred more than we started with, playing blackjack only. Vinissismo in Marigot still has an outstanding selection of wines and Grand Marche was pretty good also. We were there when there were 7 ships in port and really didn’t notice a difference on the island. In the Daily Herald the next day, the merchants were complaining they really didn’t see an increase above normal in their business. There are several days a week when only 1 or 2 ships are in port and they wanted a more even distribution of ships in port. Theo tried to explain he really had no control over cruise ship schedules. We experienced no rudeness on the French side and while we stay on the Dutch side, we spend beaucoup time on the French side. Exchange rate not so great due to the war concerns – 1 Euro = $.91US and the merchants exchanged pretty consistently. New roundabout to P’burg was very convenient from the Simpson Bay area. We drove around the entire island on one of our “off beach” days. Drove into every beach on both sides to see what they were like this year, tested out multiple beach bars, and went to places we haven’t been to in a while. Didn’t do any serious shopping this year – just wasn’t in the mood to dicker for jewelry. Perfume and leather goods (belts, shoes, purses) our major buys on the French side. <br><br>Didn’t want to come home but had to – need to make more money so we can come back either later this year (we are thinking of November but haven’t looked into any particulars so if anyone has an opinion I would love to hear it) and definitely next year.<br>