Once again we had a great vacation! We brought another couple with us on this trip. They had never traveled outside of the US so it was really exciting to see things through their eyes, although to be honest I still am awestruck that I am lucky enough to get to visit the Caribbean each year! We started off our day with the alarm going off at 2am. Our US Air flight arrived early at 1:00 and we made it through immigration and got our bags very quickly. Lesley Bruce was waiting for us with our cell phone from Sharon. Very quick and easy!

We went directly to Beachside Villas, where we immediately felt like we were home! Our villa wasn't quite ready but thanks to my pre-planning we had some nice cold beers waiting for us, which we were able to enjoy at the pool while we waited for our room. I can't thank Jeannie (Shop and Drop) for the wonderful service!! Our car was so full of luggage between the four of us that there would not have been any room for even a six pack of beer! It was so nice knowing that all of our immediate needs had been taken care of by Jeannie. (Originally my husband had suggested we drop off our luggage and then go back out to the store for supplies. Uh, NO!! I just wanted to enjoy the beach!!) We definitely plan on using Jeannie again next year and thanks to all who gave her such rave reviews that we just HAD to try her service!!)

After we had settled in a bit and gone for a swim, Sharon (warm breezes) and Al came by for drinks. Terry and Rit quickly followed them. We ended up going to Pineapple Pete's for dinner. The food and service were wonderful! I was very excited that I finally got to try the Lobster Thermidor that everyone has raved about. It was so delicious! This will be another must do for next year!

The next day was spent in Philipsburg. I HAD to visit DK to take care of some jewelry shopping. Our friends were very impressed with the friendly service and also with the serving of beers while you shop! I was both surprised and happy to see Deepti behind the counter! It was so good to see her again! I was able to trade in a couple of pieces for a new bracelet and my friend ended up buying his wife the engagement ring she never had. Win win all the way around! Afterwards it was back to Driftwood to watch planes and have some lunch. Hubby and I had the best tuna pizza ever!! For dinner, the guys picked up some nice shrimp from SkipJack’s, which we cooked up in our villa. They were delicious! Afterwards, we went to Cheri's where you just have to take first timers! The performers had some different costumes this time around. Of course our friend Tim was selected as one of the male models. The shocked smile on his face as he realized what was happening was priceless!

On Thursday, we decided that we wanted ribs and chicken from one of the lolo’s. So off we went! We made a quick stop at Baie Rouge as this was on Laura’s bucket list. In Grand Case we grabbed some drinks and then did a little shopping. There didn’t seem to be a lot of places open but we did find a little place that had the most delicious chocolate rum, which of course we HAD to sample before buying! We ended up getting our ribs and chicken at Sky’s the Limit along with a few sides. We took them back to the villa where we had a nice poolside lunch. I finally got to have a swim in the pool! At 4:00 we headed over to The Palms for THE party. It was great to see some old friends as well as meet new ones. I was able to thank Jeannie personally for her service, Sharon for her great cell phone, and Deepti had brought my jewelry with her! We had a great time at the party and wished we could have stayed for the lasagna everyone was raving about but we needed to get back to our friends. At the villa we cooked some hamburgers and hot dogs and had more drinks! Simple food with good friends on the beach! Life is good!

On Friday morning we got up early and went to SkipJack’s to board the Celine for the Friday Fun Sail! It was a beautiful day, the water was fairly calm and I had taken my Bonine! On Tintamarre we had fun snorkeling and beaching. Once again I was able to enjoy snorkeling with the sea turtles, one of my favorite things! Neil’s lunch as always was absolutely amazing! Tamara was first mate and she did a great job making sure we had everything we needed. At Creole Rock we passed on the swim but we DID go into Happy Bay for the mud bath. Very interesting, as some naked guy on the beach joined in the fun. Yep, very interesting! Again the look on Tim’s face was priceless! Back at SkipJack’s we stayed to have drinks with Neil and Tamara. Afterwards, we walked over to the Taste Factory and bought some amazing pastries and sandwiches for dinner. My sandwich was really good and everyone else enjoyed their food as well. Then, perhaps because of all the drinks, we did a couple of “firsts”. The guys in the group (and also Laura, ok, me too) wanted to go check out Bada Bing. I guess I was the only one who enjoyed watching the girls dance (I have a thing about pole dancing!). Let’s just say that the place was nothing like in the states and everyone was disappointed. Next we tried going to Bliss. The doors were open but it was dark inside so we decided to over to the Casino. We had never been to an island casino but after recently visiting Vegas that was also a disappointment.

Saturday morning was our day to pack up and head over to Anguilla. We returned our phone to Sharon and the rental car to the airport, and then took a taxi to Marigot to catch the public ferry. Things went very smoothly. In Anguilla we picked up our rental car. Ronnie Bryan had emailed me with the license plate number and said the keys and driver’s licenses would be in the glove box. He said he would come to see us in a few days to do the paperwork. That whole process still amazes us!! I love the easygoing lifestyle! After getting all the luggage into the car we were off to Shoal Bay East, our home for the next 5 nights. We love St. Maarten and Anguilla equally and for 2 very different reasons. After the excitement of St. Maarten it was really nice to settle in for some real R & R on Anguilla. We were so busy running on St. Maarten that I didn’t get nearly enough beach time so as soon as we got to Anguilla sand gravity took hold big time! I only got in the car twice, once to go to dinner at Tasty’s, which had come highly recommended and was wonderful and the second time when we left to go to the ferry. It felt GREAT to be able to just stay on the beach!! Laura and Tim ventured out and did the grocery shopping for us.

One morning hubby and I decided that we needed some exercise so we walked to Serenity for breakfast. We had coffee and shared a coconut Danish. Very nice! Another morning we walked down the beach to the old Mac and Hank’s. Sadly the place had burned to the ground the day after we had eaten there last April. In Nov. the restaurant had not been rebuilt so we were very surprised to see on this visit that it was like new and ready to go! It is now just called Hank’s and there is no sign but it is easy to spot. Food, service and drinks are very good here! On another day we spent an afternoon here having rum punches and just chatting with Hank and some new friends. Great day!

Most of our mornings we cooked our own breakfast and they were comparable to the view, simply amazing! I had brought some things from home and in addition to some island ingredients, we enjoyed, in no particular order, corned beef hash, coconut banana pancakes with Mass. Maple syrup, rum French toast, bacon and eggs, etc.

Lunches were usually on the beach. We enjoyed food from Elodia’s, Uncle Ernie’s, Manoah (old Ku) and our new favorite Tropical Sunset! Our lunch at Manoah was on a Sunday so we enjoyed a very delicious lunch while watching Boss- a well known island band. Afterwards, we visited Gwen’s for the Scratch Band. Gwen’s is a good time however, drinks are very over priced and I had trouble getting service there. Last year our meal was over priced so we have all decided that we will only go there for drinks and the band. Personally, I could have listened to Boss all day!!

For dinners, we enjoyed the items that I had brought in addition to some grocery store purchases- hamburgers, chicken burgers, chili dogs, pasta and sausages and some delicious summer squash that Laura had found in one of the stores.

Our days were spent relaxing in the sun, swimming in the calm crystal clear blue water and doing some snorkeling. We did lots of drinking, eating, reading, and resting. My perfect vacation!!

We had talked to Junior Fleming (of Junior’s Glass Bottom boat) in Nov. and he had mentioned a need for the school children of the island. I had already sent down 2 books of gently used books in Nov. but was surprised to learn that the schools are in need of very basic items….pencils, paper, etc. On this trip I had packed up some purchases from Walmart and brought them down for Junior to distribute to the schools he helps. The kids were so excited for the colorful pencils and the teachers went crazy for the paper! He told me that my $15 donation was equivalent to about $160 on the island!! We were shocked. Hubby suggested that this be a new project for me. I obtained a wish list from a gentleman that we met at Hank’s so I will be working with a couple teachers in my community to hopefully fulfill the wishes. We are hoping to visit one of the schools next year! Wish me luck!!

Weather on both islands was perfect! If it rained, it was mainly at night or early morning. We saw some beautiful rainbows from our balcony on Anguilla.

On our last day, we packed up, returned the rental car to the ferry port, and caught the ferry- timing for everything was perfect! We checked our luggage in at the airport, did our boarding passes and went to Driftwood for some last drinks and some lunch. We went over to visit Marty and Denise at The Dream Pool Bar and had some great drinks while they checked our flight status for us. Of course US Air was off on everything including the fact that the website said that our plane had arrived 10 min. earlier (we never saw it come in). Shortly after, we look up and here comes our plane, in for a landing! We had heard that because of fuel issues our flight would be delayed. Marty kindly offered to drive us to the airport! What service! Hubby gives me a hard time sometimes for all my time on the internet but the connections I have made have paid off more than once!!

At the airport we found out that our plane was not delayed but that instead of going to Charlotte we would be going to San Juan for fuel. NOW, the text from US Air that our SXM to SJU flight had a gate change made sense!! BUT we knew we were in trouble because there was no way we would make our connection in Charlotte if we went to San Juan and sure enough we missed the connection. After we went through all the stations and got our luggage we were told that the flight hadn’t waited for us (missed it by 15min) and that we would have to rebook. GREAT!
There was no one telling us which line to get in and so of course we ended up in the wrong line! We were told that the last flight to Hartford was FULL and that ALL the flights the next day were FULL as well! GREAT! So, we had to fly standby and hope for the best. As we sat there, we even discussed renting a car to drive home (800 miles!). We ended up making the flight but our friends didn’t (amazingly their luggage did!) and they ended up having to stay overnight in a hotel, which was dirty and disgusting. They were booked the next day for a flight to La Guardia then Boston! Really?!?! Boston was on lockdown! So, they got off in NY and had to find a different way home. They finally got home late in the afternoon. There were so many issues this time with US Air beginning with our trip down. We have never had any issues before. Being a credit card customer and dividend miles member I felt I should write a letter. They did give us $100 vouchers but will probably be useless for us as our flights are usually free. But I guess it is the thought that counts. We were so happy to get home! No trashed house this time around but we worried about how Tim and Laura were going to make it home so that sort of put a damper on any happy feelings.


We had a great time on both islands, and felt safe at all times. We are already looking ahead to next year when I WILL experience more sand gravity and just enjoy the warm sunshine and the blue water. Our friends know the island a little bit now so they will probably venture off on some days. THIS tour guide is going to retire and just enjoy being in the place that I dream about!!