Just a brief report on our Nov. trip – brief because we really didn’t do too much other than rest and relax for 9 days. Now it was suppose to be a 10 day trip – the only bad thing that happened to us was on day 1 - our AA flight out of BDL was cancelled on 11/14 cuz of something wrong with the brakes. We learned the next day that most of the passengers stuck around the airport as the flight was not officially “cancelled”. They were waiting for a part to be DRIVEN up from JFK. When the pilot announced that I saw the handwriting on the wall and just changed our flight to the next day and we booked out of BDL. So we had the pleasure of flying down the next day with a full plane to SJU as the original flight was ultimately cancelled at 2 PM. Fortunately no problems the next day. Flight back on Thanksgiving was half empty so it made for some pretty comfortable flying.
Mickey from Tropical met us at the airport, I know there have been a lot of unhappy campers with Tropical but we had absolutely no problems and plan use Tropical again in March. Cheapest gas was at Cadisco which is between OB and GC.
We stayed in Grand Case and used Sharon Harris for the cell phone – we were the first to use a new service that actually worked in Grand Case – we got better reception calling back to the US than we do with Cingular at home. Sharon was delightful and we will again use her services in March – have already reserved the phone.
As I said earlier we did absolutely nothing on this trip. We stayed at L’Esplanade and every day our routine never varied. On Orient Beach by 10, back to the hotel by 4 or 5, cleaned up and rested, decided if we were going to go out to dinner, then in bed by midnight. We went no where but Grand Case and Orient Beach. Didn’t even make it down to Phillipsburg (sorry Deepti – will catch you in March). I retired 2 weeks before we left (we’ll see how long this lasts, but I saw no reason why Don was the only member of the family who was retired) and the last month at work was sheer hell. I was a wreck and just need to totally decompress.
Lunches were at Baywatch, dinners were at le Cottage, l’Alabama, Sunset Café, Brassieres des Iles, and the lolo’s, all the food was good, with l’Alabama as usual very excellent. The remodel at Baywatch added room for about 12 more people and really streamlined the kitchen. Andy was just tickled with how the food was able to move out of the kitchen. Some one gave him some kind of horn to let Cheryl and Adrian know when the food was ready to move – I thought the 2 of them were going to kill Andy every time he blew the horn. Andy had 2 new dishes from March – a roast beef dip that is a killer and then a number of clam dishes, i.e. clams casino, linguine with clams etc.
Weather was sunny and hot – winds died down the second week and we all melted. Water was warm, waves at OB stronger than I have ever seen (which really isn’t very much to talk about), and the beach at Club O very narrow except for at the Perch and towards Pedros. I really don’t like sitting down that end but two rows of chairs in the other direction was claustrophobic. Interesting that Pedros’s chairs were ½ way between the Club O sign and the Perch – I had never seen them beyond the sign before. The “paved” road off the main road into Club O was a stinking mess – only got worse from 6 months ago. The dirt road had been graded and was in good shape. I already posted about the chairs and parking at Club O so I won’t repeat any of that info.
L’Esplanade was as always a wonderful retreat for us. We were actually in 2 different suites. The one we had reserved (cuz you can’t take the pilot out of Don – he liked to watch the places take off and land at the GC airport from the terrace) was just finishing up the remodeling so we spent a couple of days at the other end of the hotel. We had a 1 bedroom and both suites were outstanding. All the rooms have new furniture – very attractive and comfortable. The remodeled unit was quite lovely, some of the stories Kristin told of what they went thru to get it all done would make your hair stand on end. The floors are Italian marble; the bathroom has a 4x8 foot tumbled stone shower, double sinks and Corian countertop with the integrated sink. The kitchen also had Corian counters and sinks and was completely open to the living room, with a work island. The suite was also structurally modified – they took out some wall and nooks and crannies and made the unit more open and spacious. Everything was new – the lighting, cabinets, fixtures etc. I took some pictures of both suites and if I ever figure out how to post them I will get them up so you can see for yourself. I am sure I have done a very poor job describing how lovely it all is. Kristin, Mark and Patrice along with all the office and housekeeping staffs are very warm and welcoming and will keep us coming back.
This ended up a little longer than I planned. In summary, a wonderful 9 days. Coming home to 6 inches of snow was a real bummer – but just makes us look forward to March even more.
