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Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 #291573
11/23/2022 06:36 PM
11/23/2022 06:36 PM
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 43
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MXS Offline OP
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MXS  Offline OP
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Joined: Sep 2019
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People love SXM for a variety of reasons. We love it because it allows us to get away from our usual hubbub and relax on a beach. Thus we do not frequent Phillipsburg, Marigot, or Grand Case. We love the Oyster Pond area and OBBR because it is a bit remote but still has everything we need.

I believe this was our tenth visit, but the first since Covid. We almost postponed again because I have acquired some mobility issues that will require knee replacement surgery early next year, but we decided we had waited long enough. My long-suffering wife’s desire to get back to Orient Beach was greater than the burden of the extra work I would be causing her. I could walk with a cane, but it was slow going.

We were scheduled for an early flight out of CLT on 10/29. Once most of us were boarded, the plane filled with jet fuel fumes. We were forced to deplane and were sent to a gate on the other side of the airport. Once there, we were sent to another gate. We were finally wheels up about 1.25 hours late. The flight was completely full.

The SXM airport is still a mess. I was able to navigate the stairs going down from the plane without much problem, just slowly. Climbing up into the bus was more difficult. But once we arrived at the building everything changed. A wonderful young man saw my situation and pushed a wheelchair toward me. I protested that I was fine, but my wife took control of the situation, thanked the young man, and pushed me down into the wheelchair. I wish I could remember his name as he was a blessing to us both. He took us to the front of the customs line (sorry to everyone we cut in front of), and we took care of business in less than a minute. Then it was off to gather luggage. He patiently waited for ours to appear and then took it, and me, out to meet Leslie. Of course we gave him a generous tip.

As always, Leslie is a joy to work with. This time we got to meet his wife. Boy, did he marry well! Leslie loaded our luggage while I did the paperwork and we were off. The car was an older Corolla and had some rattles and dings, but that is what we wanted. I would not want to be responsible for driving a new car in St. Martin. It had all the power we needed to climb the hills and the A/C worked great.

We like to take the French side route to OBBR, even though I doubt I will ever come to understand the one-way traffic patterns around Marigot. After a leisurely ride across the French side and a stop to investigate Orient beach, we arrived at our resort. Then it was off to Carrefour to stock up on groceries for the week. The resort never looked better. Many impressive upgrades. If they upgraded the Wi-Fi it would be perfect. For the first time, they gave us a unit overlooking the ocean, and the next morning we understood why they named it Dawn Beach!

[Linked Image] [Linked Image]

Every day in St. Martin is the same for us when we visit. I get up early and make a run to Bread and Butter for baguettes, we fix lunch for the beach (most days), and we are off to the beach for the day. There we read our Kindles, talk without being interrupted by phones or texts, and enjoy the freedom that a place like Orient Beach allows. It is all very boring, but we love it.

We got a bad surprise the first time we ventured into the water. HUGE, sharp rocks everywhere! I don’t remember it ever being like this. I will be watching reports about this before our next trip. Because of my issues, I just was not able to get in the water the rest of the week. However, because it is Thanksgiving season, I need to pause and express our thankfulness for Cedrick and his crew. They do a great job of keeping our little piece of paradise in good shape. I always wonder about folk here who complain about spending $25 for chairs and an umbrella. I hope he is getting rich for doing all he does.

On the second day there, we decided to encamp to the left rather than down the beach to the right, as is our habit. We figured this would keep us closer to the car, the restrooms, and the beach bar. We were one of the first couples there, but the beach quickly filled up around us with folk who do not share our idea of a relaxing time on the beach. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, and the day was filled with socializing and flitting from one place to the next. At first, the conversations around us were somewhat entertaining, but as the day wore on we longed for a quieter space around us. The rest of the week we made our way down the beach farther to the right and found our happy place. Everyone around us was friendly and helpful but seemed to share our beach time philosophy.

Our first day there, my wife discovered that she had forgotten to pack her meds that keep her trigeminal neuralgia at bay. It would be a bad week for her without those meds, so I stopped at the Pharmacy in Orleans to see what hoops I would have to jump through to get a prescription from the states. I was helped by a wonderful young lady who was able to communicate well in English. I feared I would have to call our Dr in the states and somehow have the Rx sent to the pharmacy. She simply picked up the phone, had a brief conversation with someone, and told me since it was not a narcotic, she would have the Rx there that afternoon. I did not ask how much as we were willing to pay whatever it took. When I arrived to pick it up, I thought she said sixty. Not bad, I thought. I envisioned it being much more expensive. I pulled out three twenties and she laughed. She repeated “six” and held up six fingers. Six euros!

I don’t know why we are so tired after just lounging on the beach all day, but once we are back to the room, we just don’t feel like going out to eat. So, supper often was a pizza: Oasis, Mama Pizza, or OBBR’s Veranda. All were very good. I liked Oasis best. My wife preferred Mama Pizza. We walked down to Big Fish one night. My wife had the sea bass, which was very good. I had a disappointing steak.

Car drop-off was great. We had left a bag in the back seat (which, for the purpose of this report, I am blaming my wife), and Leslie came racing into the terminal with it to find us. Again we had a helpful young man take responsibility for us and wheeled me to the gate and then waited to wrestle me up the ramps onto the plane.

The airport experience at CLT was not the same. It seems that CLT is in a perennial state of construction and chaos. I commandeered a wheelchair and used it as a walker, loaded our luggage on it, and caught the bus to the parking lot.

Well, I warned you this would be boring. If you are one of the three people who stuck with it to this point, thank you. We are looking forward to next year, when I hope to enjoy better mobility.

SXM Sponsors
Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291574
11/23/2022 07:25 PM
11/23/2022 07:25 PM
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 248
Shelby2 Offline
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Shelby2  Offline
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Posts: 248
What a lovely report!! Your positive attitude shines through...as do those sunrise pics!! Beautiful!! Thx for sharing !!👍👍😎

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291575
11/23/2022 07:33 PM
11/23/2022 07:33 PM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 17,476
Ohio
ruralcarrier Offline
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ruralcarrier  Offline
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Posts: 17,476
Ohio
Sounds like a good trip, glad you made it back.


J.D.
Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291576
11/23/2022 07:56 PM
11/23/2022 07:56 PM
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
pat Offline
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pat  Offline
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,635
Brookfield, CT.
Beautiful photos and a lovely trip report. It sounds vaguely familiar to me and I’m so glad you enjoyed yourselves. TY for sharing it.


Respectfully,

pat



"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat
them."
Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291577
11/23/2022 07:59 PM
11/23/2022 07:59 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,466
Central Florida!
Carol_Hill Offline
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Carol_Hill  Offline
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Posts: 82,466
Central Florida!
Thanks so much for the report and the lovely sunrise pictures!! I can say, from personal experience, that the folks in SXM look out for those of us with mobility issues, even if we don't request wheelchair assistance, and they do a fantastic job! And if you request wheelchair assistance, they do an absolutely perfect job!

And there was nothing boring, tedious or bland about your report!!!


Carol Hill
Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291579
11/23/2022 10:00 PM
11/23/2022 10:00 PM
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,408
Yonkers, NY
fabila Offline
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fabila  Offline
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Posts: 7,408
Yonkers, NY
I read through. Thank you for sharing.

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291582
11/23/2022 11:14 PM
11/23/2022 11:14 PM
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 333
S
StMartinFan Offline
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StMartinFan  Offline
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Posts: 333
Thanks for sharing your report. I'm with you on appreciating a quiet day at the beach reading a good book. Your experiences with the drug store were interesting…good to know in case we ever forget a med.

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291585
11/24/2022 12:37 AM
11/24/2022 12:37 AM
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 705
South Coast of MA
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SXMBND Offline
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SXMBND  Offline
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Posts: 705
South Coast of MA
Great pics!!!!! Pro-Tip............ Don't order a steak at a restaurant called "Big Fish". grin
Glad you had a great trip.

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291589
11/24/2022 06:10 AM
11/24/2022 06:10 AM
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 152
Ocean Isle Beach, NC
road3682 Online content
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road3682  Online Content
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Posts: 152
Ocean Isle Beach, NC
Thanks for sharing - we like to stay in the Oyster Pond area also and Orient during the day.....relaxing.


[Linked Image]

Buddy & Nancy
Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291590
11/24/2022 06:33 AM
11/24/2022 06:33 AM
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,989
Westchester /NYC
Colour1 Offline
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Colour1  Offline
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Posts: 1,989
Westchester /NYC
Question? How was the beach at Dawn beach! It use to be one of our favorite beaches!! Joan was special ! great ribs and loved her rum punch!!


Sand Gravity, got to love it!
Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: StMartinFan] #291601
11/24/2022 09:42 AM
11/24/2022 09:42 AM
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 43
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MXS Offline OP
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MXS  Offline OP
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Originally Posted by StMartinFan
Your experiences with the drug store were interesting…good to know in case we ever forget a med.


I have a picture of each of our med bottles on my phone. I just showed her that and she was satisfied.

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291604
11/24/2022 11:25 AM
11/24/2022 11:25 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 825
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Leagle49 Online content
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Leagle49  Online Content
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Posts: 825
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Absolutely stunning pictures of the sunrise. Thank you!

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291612
11/24/2022 04:12 PM
11/24/2022 04:12 PM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 298
Upstate, NY
Mikel Offline
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Mikel  Offline
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Posts: 298
Upstate, NY
Just happens to be my kind of vacation. Thanks for the report.

As for the meds, I had an issue one year and just went to the Front Street Pharmacy and explained it. They provided every replacement that they happened to have in stock. Rules are different elsewhere.

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: Mikel] #291614
11/24/2022 04:56 PM
11/24/2022 04:56 PM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 18,564
Auburn, WA
SXMScubaman Offline
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SXMScubaman  Offline
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Posts: 18,564
Auburn, WA
Same with me at the Maho Pharmacy. No problem getting meds I needed filled.

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291619
11/24/2022 11:04 PM
11/24/2022 11:04 PM
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 450
Teresasxm Offline
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Teresasxm  Offline
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Posts: 450
Thanks a fabulous trip report!

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291620
11/25/2022 12:02 AM
11/25/2022 12:02 AM
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 705
South Coast of MA
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SXMBND Offline
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SXMBND  Offline
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 705
South Coast of MA
Originally Posted by MXS
Originally Posted by StMartinFan
Your experiences with the drug store were interesting…good to know in case we ever forget a med.


I have a picture of each of our med bottles on my phone. I just showed her that and she was satisfied.

Great idea.

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291626
11/25/2022 09:07 AM
11/25/2022 09:07 AM
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 103
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Susieville Offline
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Susieville  Offline
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Posts: 103
Thanks for your report. I also suffer from trigeminal neuralgia and if I forgot my meds, I would be screwed. Glad to hear it worked out for you. Please tell your wife that I had the gamma knife procedure and it took away the pain 60-70 percent. She can message me if she needs more info.

Last edited by Susieville; 11/25/2022 09:08 AM.
Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291833
11/30/2022 09:57 AM
11/30/2022 09:57 AM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 347
Long island
VGerfo Offline
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VGerfo  Offline
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Posts: 347
Long island
Not boring at all!!! Informative and evidence of your great spirit!!!

Re: Boring, Tedious, Bland Trip Report 10/29 - 11/05 [Re: MXS] #291846
11/30/2022 02:13 PM
11/30/2022 02:13 PM
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,929
Connecticut
The_Lurker Offline
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The_Lurker  Offline
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Connecticut
This is another case of thinking I posted and didn't .
I love to people watch, but also enjoy a quiet place with my book.


I know about Trigeminal Neuralgia and am so happy they were able to give her the meds she needed!
If you don't mind, what is the name of the meds, she is on?

I recently was diagnosed with it on the other side of my face, too.
I have been fortunate that it is much better.


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