Our journey began when the alarm sounded on September 18th at 3 a.m. Isn’t it funny how awakening at this ungodly hour somehow seems acceptable when the payoff is a week in St. Martin!

Flight:
US Air from Providence – through Charlotte on the way there and through Philly on the return. No chapter 7, no lost luggage, flights on time . . .what more could we ask for? I know, something other than that sorry sandwich snack. Oh well, some home-baked muffins and Pop-Tarts in our carryon always seem to hold us over. I do hate to fly, but it’s a means to an end. On the return flight, however, I had this really friendly woman across the isle. We talked and talked, and before I knew it we were in the air and I didn’t have to go through the excruciating anxiety of takeoff. (Thanks Contessa!!!!)

Car rental:
Unity! Thanks again Michael. You guys are the best! We were met at the airport, whisked off to their lot, and were on our way in minutes.

Food shopping:
We’ve become accustomed to Food Fair on the way to Dawn Beach, so Steve stayed in the car and guarded the luggage while I was tortured with the chore of food shopping. I have made a list on the computer of what we generally buy and bring a copy along on each trip. It eases the pain and makes the trip to the store less of a hassle.

Where we stayed:
Ocean Beach Paradise – a villa on Dawn Beach between Ms. B’s and Scavengers (right at the rocks that divide the beach). This was our second stay at this villa, owned by Dr. Hans Sieger. Check it out at oceanbeachparadise.com. It’s a bit older that some other villas, but for a beach-front private villa we feel the price is good. He sometimes runs specials in the fall.

Restaurants:

We never had a bad meal ANYWHERE!!!! Here’s where we went.

Mark’s Place-awesome food at a great price, and always served with a smile.

Ric’s Place twice-met the new owner, Tamara. She was really nice and seems to be working really hard to keep things running smoothly. Great wet burritos and taco salad!

Hot Tomatoes- Whether ordering chicken, ribs, shrimp, etc., we have never had a bad meal here.

Peg Leg-Sampled on the pub crawl and just had to return. The food was excellent and will definitely be on our list for next time.

Mr. Busby’s-Since we were staying right down the road I thought we’d give them a try. Food was to die for! Great service too!

We always seemed to shock our waitresses by cleaning our plates!!! They never have to wonder whether we have enjoyed our meal. Lying on the beach lifting those drinks works up quite an appetite you know!


Beaches:
Dawn: We strolled in the sand, gazed at the beauty that is Dawn Beach from our pool deck, and even took in a day of snorkeling. We walked down to the far end past scavengers and floated in the current over the coral reef past the rocks and down to Ms. B’s. We love to snorkel there!

Orient: Bay Watch was the best! This was our first time there. We introduced ourselves to Cheryl who started our tab and made us feel like old friends. We had appetizers and WAY too much alcohol (or is that possible?). Adrien was awesome and always seemed to arrive just as the last sip of our cold drink was taken. What a friendly place. I think we’ll call it home from now on.

Guana Bay: We were the only ones on the beach. It was like paradise, until I got dragged through the sand by a very large wave! The guy at the beach bar warned us that the surf was exceptionally rough due to “Lisa” and to be very careful. Steve enjoyed the surf. Even clad with goggles and ear plugs I just couldn’t seem to get past the breaks of the waves and had to surrender to a nap in the warm sun (and a couple daquiri’s of course).


Excursions:
TTOL Celine Pub Crawl-What great fun meeting all the TTOLers – Carol & Eric, Christina & Kevin, Dave, Todd & MJ, Sue. Neil had our full attention as he had us in stitches with his many stories. His son Johan was a very polite and helpful host who has gone to school to be a chef. They both made our night that much more pleasant. The two of them are wonderful hosts. Thanks to Contessa & Lee Lee for meeting up with us after the crawl for drinks. It was awesome getting to meet you all and having some fun together!

Random Wind Day Sail-The surf was a little rough that day so we only got to make two stops (Creole Rock and Friar’s Bay). Friar’s was too cloudy and we could see no fish, so we just lazed on our noodles and sipped rum punch. Creole Rock had schools of bright blue fish and many others I hadn’t seen before. We saw the Rhino Riders come by and think we saw Dave & Sue, but we were on the boat for lunch at the time and didn’t get to say hello. If either Dave or Sue read this report, please let me know if you enjoyed your excursion. I’d like to do the Rhino’s in the spring. Lunch was excellent, but I could have used more snacks. If I were to go again I’d definitely bring some extra snacks along. It was a nice day of sailing and enjoying the company of friends.

Shopping:
Philipsburg for jewelry and booze to bring home. Visited our favorite jeweler, Dean, at Joe’s Jewelry. He takes us around to all three Joe’s Jewelry stores and collects anything we might want, then we can sit and decide on our purchases with a cool drink.

Stopped by Taloula Mangos for a drink while we checked out the boardwalk. It’s a really nice place. There were interesting pictures of what the finished boardwalk will look like hanging on the wall.

Favorite Nighttime Hangout:
We always seemed to end up at Buccaneer Beach Bar relaxing at a table by the ocean, enjoying the company of friends (old and new), just chilling out in the moonlight.

We also had after dinner drinks at Sunset Beach Bar (of course), Turtle Pier, the Flamingo, and our friend’s condo (club 803).


When will we return? Hopefully late April/early May of 2005


This trip was made extra special due to the company of friends (Christina & Kevin and Bryan & Kimmi – and lets not forget little Lauryn & Jacob). We all got together for a day at our villa to relax, swim, and cook on the grill. The little ones had a ball! I think I had just as much fun watching them (and floating around in the ducky float).

This was our 6th trip to St. Martin, and each time we revisit we find new places and things we enjoy. TTOL has definitely added tremendously to the quality of each visit, and meeting you all is the ultimate bonus!


I'll post pictures as soon as I have a chance to figure it out. It seems the site is full and there's a link to another site. Maybe tomorrow.


Okay - I got it!!!!! Here's the link to the pics

http://groups.msn.com/sxmphotos2/sherrieampsteve904.msnw?albumlist=2