Travel Dates:
Saturday, April 26 – Monday, May 5. Our 2nd visit to St. Maarten.

Travel:
We used US Air FF miles for our flight. Our flight was 4 hours late leaving Charlotte but were given lunch vouchers for lunch at the airport. Met our first TTOLers in person – Sandy and Bill – as Sandy sat beside me on the plane. It was fun to talk about the island as we traveled. Our return flight was routine.

Car Rental:
Mohammed @ Panoramic (Ace Car Rental). We were picked up at the airport and transported to his office nearby. The paperwork was completed in just a few minutes.

Traffic:
Not as bad as it was in November 2006.

Weather:
Perfect!

Phone Rental:
Rented from Sharon. It was very convenient now that she has a store front at the Royal Palm.

Accommodations:
Pelican Resort for the first 7 nights. We exchanged thru Interval and were assigned room A5 a&b but received room C19 a&b. We were lucky as our rooms and view were very good. We were extremely pleased with our experience at the Pelican Resort and will definitely exchange there again.
Mary’s Boon for the last 2 nights. Stayed in a less expensive room so it was ok, but got to view some of the other rooms for future info. Loved some of the other rooms! We noticed some improvements by the new owner. We do love the Caribbean feel of this resort and plan to return.

Entertainment:
Sunset cruise through the Pelican- There was a bachelor party on the catamaran with us and it was quite a fun time! Best $10 spent on the trip!
Carnival Grand Parade- Wow! The music and costumes were fantastic!
Red Piano- Frankie G from Tennessee entertained us and it was one of the highlights of our trip!
Hollywood Casino – We are not big spenders here but I think we came out a little ahead!
Sunset Beach Bar- Don’t miss plane watching here if you are a newbie to the island! Fun!

Breakfast:
Veranda at the Pelican – Ate breakfast here once and a light dinner here the other time. The view is relaxing.
Bakery at the Pelican – Good breakfast and pastries!
Zee Best – Ate breakfast here twice! The eggs benedict are yummy!
Mary’s Boon – Ate breakfast here twice and it was good but received small portions.

Lunch:
Buccaneer Beach Bar – the best Burger I have ever had! Ate here 3 times and could not branch out and try something else.
Talk of the Town – Good ribs and chicken – fantastic food for the money. Oh yeah – the coconut ice cream was so creamy!
Greenhouse Restaurant- Stopped here for a sandwich after a little shopping. Wished it was happy hour!
Pelican Beach Bar – The atmosphere was good but the food was just okay.
Sunset Beach Bar – Wings were good!

Dinner:
Pineapple Petes – Both Danny and I had seafood dishes and they were very good!
Los Gauchos – Food was good but not outstanding. Had live music that made it too loud to talk while we ate.
Skip Jacks – This was so FANTASTIC that we ate there twice! The restaurant is nice but not fancy. Good views from almost every table. Danny had a bone-in rib eye steak once and a seafood platter the other time. I had crab stuffed shrimp the first time and a grouper special the next. The food was the best that I had on the island – and maybe anywhere!
Bajatzu – This was our more “formal” meal. Food was very good but still not our favorite meal.

Summary:
I usually like to travel different places on each vacation. But I am afraid that I am hooked on SXM like a lot of the rest of you! What more could you want on an island?!!