This was our 10th trip to SXM and the first time we have traveled to the island twice in one year. This vacation was a real kick back, do nothing kind of trip – just what Don and I needed after a fairly stressful year. This was the first time we have gone in Nov. – usually we are there in March for a couple of weeks.

Travel: Frequent flyer tickets on AA – good flights, good connections, and flights only about half full. Love traveling during the week. Took only carry on so no problems with luggage.

Rental Car: Rented for the umpteenth time from Mickey at Tropicana. He doesn’t even bother with our name on a sign at the airport. Gave us the keys to a car and told us to stop in at his office (across from the Atrium) and do the paperwork. Where else would you find that? We had some kind of Nissan, air worked and we could get up the hills without turning it off so I was a happy camper. We only rent the well-used cars – too much pressure on me if the car is in pristine shape. Great service – I highly recommend Mickey.

Hotel L’Esplanade: Not too much to add to what others have already raved about on this board. Wonderful location, superb, personalized service and lovely accommodations. We had a deluxe loft – next time I would get the 1 bedroom simply because Don’s internal clock is set differently from mine. With a loft you have to be careful about lights and noise. I am happy to report Mark told us they are changing the futons that are used as the sofa. I thought they were horribly uncomfortable to sit in, as they were so low to the ground plus ours kept on losing the slats underneath. New sofas arrived while we were there. One other caution is with the air conditioning – no matter where you sat in the room, you had cold air blowing down on you when it was on – and we usually don’t use the air but it was so humid cuz of all the rain so we were forced to. Forgot to mention the lovely pool – which we never used but many did. Mark also said they were getting high speed Internet (which is free for the guests) in the lobby but that did not happen while we were there. We would (and will) go back to l”Esplanade in a heart beat. Others must agree, as there was never an empty room while we were there.

Weather: Really was worried the first 2 days on SXM – torrential downpours lasting for more than just a few minutes were the norm. It then cleared up to a mixture of clouds and sun for the rest of the trip. Temp in the 80’s and quite humid. It snowed in MA while we were gone – we always love it when that happens.

Orient Beach: Only beach we went to – a mere 7-minute drive from the hotel. Now the only thing I can compare to is our experiences in March so here goes – OB is narrow – no chairs in front of Papgayos – 3 rows of chars deep but so crammed in you had to really maneuver to follow the sun – not quite chair to chair but close. We always sit down by the Perch and it was wider there than by the volleyball net. No problem getting chairs. Perch still has 2 for 1 drinks from 12:30 - 1:30. Attracts quite a crowd. Beers are $3 and fou fou drinks are $7. I thought the water was warm, others were complaining it was cold but I swim in NE so I may not be the best judge. Waves were larger than I have ever seen. Lots of seaweed. First week you could walk thru the rocks in front of Pedros but by the second week the water was crashing up on them. Beach was coming back by the time we left.

Road to OB: This rates its own section – I have never seen it in such deplorable shape. I swear it is worse than the lunar surface. I thought for sure I would take out the muffler or oil pan (or anything else on the bottom of a car) driving up and down in the craters. And then add water in the craters from the nightly rains and it became so much more interesting.

Shopping: Forced to go to Phillipsburg our first day, as the weather was crappy. Front St will be wonderful when it is all done – the pier looks great. Did some major damage at DK Gems with Deepti and Jeff. Get this; we were walking down the middle of the street with no plans to go in to see Deepti till we had done the full run down the street and Deepti, waiting on a customer, sees us in the street and starts waving and calling our name. I couldn’t believe she was that observant. Needless to say we switched gears and went in and started shopping. I ended up with a gorgeous pair of diamond studs and a pink mother of pearl slider. Terrific price, great service, and good company. Met some other TTOLers who were picking up their purchases. No other shopping as major damage was done in one swoop.

Restaurants: Let me start by raving about La Marine on the water side in Grand Case. Camille and his girlfriend Melanie were excellent hosts and the food was superb. Don had shrimp and I had salmon lasagna and the appetizer of Shrimp Soup with Asian spices was a killer! The ambience was terrific, the wine list robust, and I just cannot say enough about this place – you really need to give it a try. Entrees are $16-26. Valet Parking and 1:1 if you pay in dollars (which we didn’t even realize when we went in) and it cannot be beat. Also had a lovely dinner at Spiga – I thought my snapper was uninspired (my fault, I should have asked re: the spices) and Don had a dynamite tenderloin with porcini risotto. He shared! Also hit Il Nettuno for the first and last time – food was OK but service was ghastly. Enough said. California was our first night and we had never been before, nicely done meal and attentive service. Also had parking across the street and 1:1 if paying in dollars. Had ribs at Talk of the Town one night, pizza from Brassieres des Ilses another night, creole from La Ti au Coin – all good. Only lunches were at Baywatch. Cheryl and Andy are so welcoming and the food is great and you meet such delightful folks there, why would you not keep going back?

Misc. Stuff: I was surprised I didn’t get any bug bites – usually I attract mosquitos like crazy – and I never used any spray. Tons of big trucks filled with heavy construction stuff on the roads – really slows down the flow of traffic especially on the hills. Traffic thru Simpson Bay horrific – I dread next march with the Regatta since we own at the Flamingo. Roads in decent shape. Parking along the Salt Pond limited due to construction – hard to find a place to park in Phillipsburg. Tearing up Front Street has really impacted traffic flow – it crawled along the Salt Pond, which is now a major route into town.

Had no clue I had so much to say when all we did was go from hotel to beach to hotel to dinner to hotel. Really – except for that one shopping day we never did anything else. I read, slept and sat in the sun. I am very tan and gained 3 pounds in 10 days. Did I say how very happy and relaxed I was when I got home? Wonderful trip – can hardly wait for Feb. 26 to come (our next trip)!