We have been following TTOL now for about four years and have enjoyed and benefited from the many trip reports and anecdotes over that time.

Although we spent our honeymoon in SXM in 1991,with the advent of kids and responsibility, we did not revisit until 2003. Now we are more

hooked on it than ever and spend all our second honeymoons there. And by following TTOL we get our daily fix of what is happening on the

island, and now, get to share our experiences with the TTOL world.
The days leading up to our trip were "no bargain" as we encountered the April 18 super noreaster in Massachusetts and the four days of cold

dark days that followed. Our kids were on their school vacation the week before we left and due to the lousy weather, the dreams of playing

baseball, hitting golf balls and walking the dog in the sunshine were all vanquished. The last few days before leaving were in fact the hardest.
Finally, the big day arrived. As we were on a 6:20 AM departure we had arranged to be picked up at 4:00 AM. This made waking up at 3:30

AM necessary. We were at Logan Airport at 5:00 and boarding the plane by six.
The flight to San Juan was perfect, all systems were "go." We arrived early by twenty minutes, and being in row sixteen were soon off the plane

headed to the Airport bar to have bloody marys. I had my second sip from the aforementioned cocktail when my wife encouraged me to check

the board. Reluctantly, I acquiesced. I soon learned our connecting flight to St Maarten was cancelled because the plane that was to take us

there was grounded in Hartford. The customer service line was at least twenty deep and did not move after ten minutes. We talked to many

people from other flights whose travel plans were similarly disrupted. The story circulating was that the last week in April is heavily traveled and

American was still feeling the after effects of the flight cancellations earlier in the week. Luckily, we met a gentleman in the line who was a

member of the Admirals Club and who generously offered to make us his "guest" at the private Admirals Club help desk. Getting to the help

desk attendant earlier was truly helpful, but this man's assistance in choosing the best alternative travel arrangements was the bigger

contribution. The attendant gave us options of traveling to Anguilla and taking a boat to St Maarten or traveling on Liat with no guarantees our

luggage would accompany us or lastly, going on standby for the 2:50 flight and failing that, to take a room in San Juan and be on the early flight

out. His advice was to do just that.
Within twenty minutes of leaving the Admirals Club help desk after learning we wouldnt be getting on the 2:50 flight to SXM we were in our

bathing suits at the Marriott Courtyard in San Juan, enjoying the warm tropical air by the pool. The hotel is just around the corner from the airport

and on the beach. It is new, has two nice pools and a casino. A mariachi band was playing after dinner and the casino was open all night.

Cutting our losses early and checking into the hotel mid-afternoon was a good move. Although we clearly would have preferred to continue

traveling to get that part behind us, we were still able to make the most of the day.
Kudos go to Sandy Molloy, who I emailed at 5:00 AM Monday to inform of our travel woes and who arranged with Sharon Harris and Mohammed

from Panoramic to meet us at our new arrival time, that morning at 9:30. Both met us on time and frankly couldn't have made the changed

arrangements any easier. There is no doubt in our minds they will always get our repeat business.
When we left San Juan, there had been an overnight of heavy rain, with two more days of it predicted to fall. Localized flooding was cited as a

warning in the San Juan paper. We ascended through the heavy rain and clouds after taking off, wondering whether the weather would drift

eastward to our island and hamper our vacation. But it never did.
The idea we had in mind for our vacation this year was to stay on Orient Beach most of the time and let the time pass, not trying to run to

differerent spots and explore. We have sort of come to the realization that away from the coast the island is just a third world country and we are

there to go to the beach, read, drink, swim and let go. I honestly think we succeeded in doing just that and because of that it was a superb

vacation. We came back home feeling refreshed and ready to kick [censored].
We stayed at the Esmeralda. The room was large and had a high ceiling. The hotel is fairly quiet at night although at nine each night during our

stay we could hear the fireworks from the Dutch side. The Esmeralda is well maintained with plenty of flowers and other botanical displays, of

which I can not name but were very pretty nonetheless. There was no discernable difference on Orient in the amount of nude walkers in the

morning and the nude section at Cocos was spacious and full. There was no restriction on the nude use of the pools or at the beach as far as we

could tell. It was business as usual on OB.
The first afternoon we spent at the beach in front of the Club O, after eating lunch at Tex Mex having chicken enchiladas - french style. Very good

and enjoyed the tequila with Sprite shooter after. Stayed on the beach until 6:30, finally going into Orient Village for dinner at 8:45 at the Mexican

restaurant. Service was extremely slow and we were especially aware of it being as hungry as we were. The Club O beach was extremely busy,

with virtually no empty chairs. There was a fisherman luring walkers into picking up a dollar bill which would be yanked away at the last second.

Also there was a delegation from "REBBA" present with a sign on the Pedro's side of the beach, never a dull moment.
We ate breakfaast at the Astrolabe one time and had mimosas at 9 euros each, figure 12 bucks, ouch. That was the last time there. The eggs

and toast were otherwise passable, though.
Dinner at la Chappelles, the french sports bar steakhouse, somehow a contradiction in terms. While the Red Sox,-Yankees game was not on,

we were in fact able to watch the NBA playoffs (like anyone cares). But like most places on island, smoking is permitted inside and it did seem

to linger oppressively, so that our clothes smelled like it after we left. Although we didn't know what some of the dinner entrees would be from

reading their titles, we went out on a limb and ordered them anyway. Had a Lobster Corderho (or something) which was sort of lobster meat in

an avacado cube, and it was great. Well, while the Red Sox and Yankees were on TV on our last few nights there, La Chappelle did not carry

those games either. They have some sports channels but not all apparently. Surpisingly, it was on the TV at the Esmeralda, albeit in Spanish.

But, heck, any port in a storm would do. Also on a previous night we watched a little of Ben Hur in French.
The weather was the best we've experienced in any of our trips with most days in the mid eighties with abundant sunshine and nice breezes. The

only time it dawned overcast and windy we took a drive through Terres Basses to check out the changes at Cupecoy. Because the parking area

near the wall is no longer accessible we entered from the middle beach section. As we approached the grey, concrete construction innards

rising above what was once a beautiful beach all we could think was "God, that looks awful." It looked like a little cinder block Magic Kingdom

jutting out over the Berlin Wall.
After a swim in the middle beach section, which is as beautiful as ever, we went to the Sunset Beach Bar for lunch and to watch the first few

afternoon planes land. The plasma TV's are surely a hit with some people but it somehow puts punctuation on the change in the vibe to the place

since the first time we went there in 2003. Then, it was busier, less run down, and with a whiff of smoke in the air, felt more Caribbean. Now with

the TVs and webcams it felt less laid back but it still has a lot going for it.
Continuing on our journey to visit the changing face of St Maarten we stopped in at the Westin for a drink at the beach bar. We spent our honey

moon at the old Dawn Beach Hotel, so it was very interesting to see the new place. Our impressions were that although from the outside the

hotel does in fact look like San Quentin, as others have said, on the inside it did look fairly new, clean and inviting. With the casino, shops and

multiple restaurants it surely was more like Puerto Rico than St Maarten but we are okay with it. It was interesting to see most guests laze about

on their chairs, barely moving at all, as though in a state of trancelike compliance to vacation expectations no doubt crafted by Seventh Avenue

marketing geniuses determining how people ought to feel in the tropics. The bartender ladies and beach waitresses were all American, which

again is fine, but not genuine St Maarten. That evening, in the quiet pool at the Es, we were grateful to be free of it.
Our best find of this trip was the Sunset Cafe. It is minutes from Orient and like the name implies provides superb views of the sunset. The

happy hour with two for one drinks, goes from 5:30 to 6:30. Diners are seated at 6:30. and you are greeted warmly and given ample description

of all the dishes available that night. We had dover sole, deboned at the table and sea bass in a mustard sauce, both were incredible. We split

a creme brulee topped with apricot. The rum apertifs were passion fruit and banana, both were very cool.
We had a few drinks at the Blue Martini after dinner in Grand Case. There was a crooner who featured himself as "the black Tom Jones," who

was great fun to listen to. There was a couple in their twenties sitting near us, probably on their honeymoon, looking into each other's eyes very

seriously, with such fresh faces, it was kind of touching to see. We met many very nice people on our vacation.
On our second to last day we took the Voyager out of Marigot to St Barth's, which enabled us to check that particular island off our to do list. It is

definitely a beautiful quiet upscale island. After having seen Grand Saline Beach and Le Select, it felt like we had "done it." Nothing wrong with

the place, it was just that it didn't particularly feel interesting like St Martin where there is such a variety of everything. Upon returning to Marigot

we had a pizza at Bistrot de la Mer, which is easily identified by their neon signs when approaching from the ocean. I would definitely go there

again because it had great atmosphere and good food. Once again, although it called itself a sports bar, the Red Sox - Yankees game was not

available although a German soccer game was, but hey, it's a big world, there is certainly enough room for the soccer fans.
One observation I made this trip was the transformation seen in people over their vacation. Our last day was a Monday, which meant we spent

our last two days there when many people on our hotel grounds and beach were spending their first two days. Seriously, by our seventh and

eighth days we were in a far different place psychologically from where we were when we arrived. The consecutive days of walking the beach,

sleeping soundly, inhaling the sea air, napping at our chairs after lunch, eating and drinking well and meeting a lot of good people has a definite

effect. It is as though you come to not care too much about little things and see everything in a better light. On our last morning it seemed like the

new arrivals had a tight, concerned look about them, while we felt no worries at all.
Our goal is to never have to wait more than six months to the next trip and so are looking forward to our schedules to make the next plans soon.

The looking forward to the fun keeps you going.