I'm not great at keeping records for trip reports but I'll fill you in on what I can remember <G>.

Last February my wife and I were walking Orient Beach and decided that we'd love to share this with her (and now mine) youngest son, daughter-in-law and grandkids. A few months later after checking out whether it was within our budgets and how we could do it, we proposed to the kids that if they could come up with the costs to get from Phoenix to New York, we'd take them all to our favorite vacation spot. Well the answer was just a bit unexpected. Jade's first exclamation was "We get to come to New York!?!?!?!?" She had never been further east than the Phoenix area. Of course they took us up on the offer. I had decided to make the trip in May so as to find more affordable off season lodging rather than high season in February.

The next step for me was to contact Sandy Molloy who came up with the perfect place for us to stay right on the beach, more about that later. She also handled all of our airline reservations, phone rentals with Sharon Harris, and car rentals with Mohamed of Panoramic. So by last July we were all set for a vacation the following May.

The kids went through the whole process of getting their passports and the airfare to Newark over the next few months, so all was left was the anticipation. This had to be the longest wait that any of us had been through.

Well April 23rd finally showed up and we picked the kids up at Newark and we spent a week playing tour guide in NYC. Included were trips to The Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and a Broadway Show for the adult kids (House seats for WICKED). And as a tease, an afternoon trip to Coney Island including the original Nathan's, the boardwalk, kiddy rides, The Cyclone, and of course the beach.

Thursday (May 1) morning we rounded up the whole gang and drove off to Newark Airport and hopped on Continental's 861 to Juliana. The flight was perfect and arrived just a bit early. Of course two of our bags were last off the plane. We did finally get out of Baggage Claim and found Iverson from Panoramic who immediately whisked us over to Mohamed's new office where two Toyota Elantras (along with two phones from Sharon Harris) were waiting and within minutes we were on our way up through Cole Bay with a stop at Grande Marche where we bought groceries for the week. And yes, we made it with plenty of time to beat the 2PM May Day closing.

Next stop was the Caribbean Princess Villas where we had a 3 Bedroom Suite. Grandma and Grandpa took the Third Floor Loft which was huge. Mom and Dad were in a smaller room with a King Size Bed and a private bathroom. And the grandkids had their own bedroom with two twin beds and also a private bathroom. There was a very large Kitchen and Living room area and a large balcony with both chaise lounges and a dining room table with seats for 6. TV and Wi-fi were also present along with beach towels and beach privileges at Waikiki and several other beaches.

By 3pm we were at Waikiki Beach, the 6 year old was in the water on her own (Under the watchful eye of the adults) and the two year old was cautiously trying out the water. After a brief unhappy altercation with the waves he backed away. Meanwhile I elected to take the long walk down to Baywatch where I was wonderfully greeted by Cheryl who handed me a beer and a kiss on the cheek.

Dinner that night was at Talk of Town. Caribes, Sodas, Ribs, and Chicken were the bill of fare. And then back to the Villa for some balcony time and a good night's sleep.

The next morning on the beach and little Damien was still scared of the water, but Grandpa carried him in and assured him that everything would be okay. Eventually he pointed down to the water and I let him down in water that was around knee high. From that point on, he was incredible. He'd run in and attack the waves and then run out when they got to high for him, and then right back in again. He found happiness at the beach, what more can a Grandpa ask for? Lunch that afternoon was of course a walk down to Baywatch where again we were greeted by Cheryl, and Andy, who I hadn't seen the day before. Introductions were made and I told Jade (Daughter in law) that we were sharing Mussels a la Andy and Shrimp Margarita (My wife and her son don't do seafood). Well, lets just say that Jade was in heaven during lunch.

Dinner that night was at Tap 5 Pizza. I was disappointed to see that the restaurant part of their establishment disappeared. However, I keep forgetting how mediocre their pizza really is, and when you add in the conversion rate, what a lousy deal it is for the money you are paying.

Saturday morning brought on a trip to the Marigot Market, including souvenir hunting. That was followed by a trip over to Phillipsburg, with lunch at the Kangaroo Court where the meat eaters had burgers and ribs, and Jade and I had grilled Mahi Mahi sandwiches which were to die for. Service was a bit off that day, but the food was very very good. I spoke to the manager who explained that several of his wait staff called in sick and he took a bit off the bill. All in all, I'd give it a thumbs up in spite of the bad service. On the way home from Phillipsburg, we stopped at Grande Marche in Cole Bay, and purchased makings for a home cooked dinner. Pasta with a tomato cream sauce, topped with a choice of Beer Steamed Mussels, or Grilled Chicken Breasts.

Sunday was back at the Beach, with lunch at Bikini. Unfortunately for 5 with the euro exchange, burgers, salads and beers were close to $150. Not really worth it. If it were just Donna and I, and we were doing some of the finer dishes there, I'd say go for it. But it really wasn't the right meal for the group I had.

For dinner that night, I took a run back up to Talk of the Town and brought back ribs and chicken, a bunch of sides and fixings, and a piece of Grilled Snapper for Jade and I to split. Total for that dinner was $48.

Monday started out as a gray day, and as the 6 year old and her daddy were both complaining of being over beached (sunburn), we decided to take a day off. Grandpa took Jade and Lily to the butterfly farm. A wonderful time was had by the three of us.

Dinner that night was at Pineapple Pete’s. Grandpa and Jade had the Lobster Thermidor. I’ve had Thermidors before but I have to say this was as good as they get. And for Jade, this was a first, so again she was in seafood heaven. The meat eating adults had Steaks and were very happy; the kids shared an order of chicken fingers I think. This is NOT a high end restaurant but the food was incredibly wonderful, and the service was even better. The kids were presented with toys to keep them busy, the wait staff paid extra special attention to them and we all felt very well taken care of. And the prices were very very reasonable. I know we’ll go back there even without the youngsters.

Tuesday and Wednesday were both Beach Days at Waikiki again. And when I called lunch, Damien started running down the beach in the direction of Baywatch. Lily asked “Grampa, are we going to that place we went a few days ago with the nice lady?” I answered “If you want to.” Her answer of course was “YES!” So for both days, lunch was at Baywatch. Meals included more mussels, shrimp, and grouper sandwiches, ribs, and burgers. And of course Caribes. All topped off by smiles from Cheryl, Andy and the whole rest of the crew.

Wednesday evening’s dinner was at The Boathouse. It was a very decent family type of place, but honestly, a notch or two below Pineapple Pete’s. I had a New York Strip Steak with Béarnaise that was decent. Kevin had the same with a Pepper Sauce. Donna had Coconut shrimp. And Jade had the Seafood Platter. If we go back with the kids, we’d go there again, just because it was decent food within a decent budget, but unlike Pete’s, it’s not a place we’d go again on our own.

Thursday morning, we packed and lounged around and eventually drove down to return the cars to Panoramic. Somewhere during the week, one of the two cars picked up some blue paint stripes about a foot and half long on the right rear fender. There were no dents at all in the fender. As Mohamed wasn’t in the office, Iverson had no choice but to ask me to fill out an Accident Form, and also he requested me to charge $150 to pay for damages. I can understand the position Iverson was in, having to do his job. If the charge goes through, I will complete the application to get payment from my MasterCard CDW. If Mohamed decides not to put the charge through, I’ll just forget about the paperwork. In either case, I’ll continue to use and recommend Panoramic and Mohamed, as their service is just wonderful.

The flight home was very routine and we were back in Jersey City by 7pm. The kids were back on their way to Phoenix Saturday morning. 14 months in planning, and the two and half weeks passed by so quickly.

And finally, Thanks to Sandy Molloy, the staff at Cap Caribes/Caribbean Princess, Sharon, Mohamed, and all of you here on TTOL for all the information we share with each other. Another successful happy vacation in St. Martin is complete.