The purpose of this trip was to close on our condo that we’ve been waiting 3 ½ years for. Therefore, we didn’t have a lot of time to play, but we did our best!
We drove to EWR the night before and stayed at the Best Western park and fly. For $130 we had a clean comfy room for the night, free parking for 10 days and a 24 hour shuttle to the airport. Their restaurant was closed, so we were shuttled next door to another hotel that had a very nice bar and restaurant. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal there.
Our flights down and back on Continental direct from EWR were on time and comfortable. This was the first time we have checked bags in a long time, and fully used our ability to check two bags apiece along with our three carryons. I brought along my laptop for the first time. One bag was 3 lbs overweight (despite Bill taking it to a UPS store and weighing it the day before), but they passed us thru with a stern warning!
Arrived in our paradise and Myra from AAA was waiting for us and another family with a Jeep type vehicle. It was quite obvious all our stuff, Myra and another family with luggage was not going to fit! Myra quickly called the office 5 minutes away and asked someone to deliver another car to pick up the next family. We were told to take the Jeep and meet her at the office after we picked up our phone from Sharon. That little chore was accomplished quickly but when we returned, there was no sign of the beat up Ignis we requested. Seems someone was late returning our car and Myra offered us the Jeep at the same price. Bill hated a larger car so we drove the Jeep to our new home and within an hour, Alain himself delivered our Ignis and we swapped with him. Don’t think we ever got the paperwork straightened out! The Ignis served us well and we filled up the tank once during our 10 day stay. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />
We checked in to temporary housing and headed to Kissing Fish and Buccaneer Beach Bar to reunite with some dear friends. Had a lovely afternoon and evening at our two favorite island haunts. Can’t remember dinner, but assume it was a burger at BBB.
The next three days were consumed with the business of closing on a condo in St Maarten the day before business came to a halt for a week to celebrate Carnival, Labor Day, Ascension Day, and the Queens Birthday. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/hammer.gif" alt="" /> We missed several meals, but managed a few hours on the beach at our home in Cupecoy. Spent a little time with some of our new neighbors, some we have known (Hi Vicki!) and some are new friends.
We finally got to Orient on Saturday. While standing there scratching our heads at the crowds of people and lack of chairs, I hear my name called and here comes Wayne (PamWay) with outstretched arms <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" />. The best welcome I have ever had! And there’s Pam, and Ben and Katie (Ben), and Ron and Carla (Jaybird). We dragged some chairs and spent a great afternoon (with several others to come) with this group of friends. We really lucked out, because Wayne – Governor of the beach <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" /> - had already been here for several days and proceeded to introduce me to every TTOLer I had or had not met yet. There’s Contessa, there’s Peconic, and here comes Elizabeth and David (IslandGem). It just went on and on and was such a treat. I’m not going to list everyone, cause there were just so many TTOLers on the beach – it was pretty awesome to look down and see not one but THREE TTOL flags waving in the wind.
I think we repeated the day above three or four other days. It was wonderful. Thank you all. We look forward to seeing you all again.
We never got the the gym, contrary to all our plans. Since we had to climb 6 flights of stairs to get to our new home (the elevator wasn't quite finished <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" />) we didn't feel compelled.
Things I remember about the fun part:
Meals besides breakfast in our kitchen or lunch from our cooler– many repeats
Kissing Fish Bar X ?????: I lost count. Happy Hour, breakfast, dinner, parties. Speaking of dinner, we invited some friends for dinner on Friday evening. I hadn’t really shopped yet, so we decided a couple of pizzas from Kissing Fish just down the road would do the trick. Just before our guests arrive, Bill heads over to find out they do not deliver (DUH! This isn’t Pizza Hut here!). Bill walked in the door with two pizzas, hot from the oven, on the dish they were baked on covered in foil. Two spatulas, a dish of grated cheese and a large dish towel so he didn’t burn his hands! This act of kindness made the pizzas taste even better! And it gave me an excuse to stop for breakfast in the am while returning the goods! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />
Buccaneer Beach Bar X ?????: Lost count again. Lots of happy hours and a few burgers with Curtis and the crew. Sadly we missed Wanda as she had returned home due to the death of her Mom.
Gutside X 2: It’s not just the fresh local cooking, it’s an event. Richard and Lourdes are wonderful hosts. Lots of laughs with great people.
Hilmas Windsor Castle X 3 or 4: Saltfish and Johnny Cakes, saltfish patties, chicken pies, meat pies you name it – I ate it!
Dinner at the home of a friend with a chance to play with Bill’s Goddaughter. Priceless.
You know – I think that’s it for food. It wasn’t a high priority this trip. We missed many favorites.
Other stuff:
TTOL Party at Baywatch was a ton of fun. Got to meet a bunch of newbie’s and middlebie's and oldbie's. We drank, we danced, we donated then we drank some more. We arrived dripping wet (you’ve all heard about the downpour) but found a warm, dry corner and proceeded to enjoy ourselves. Thank you Michael, Lisa and Contessa for the hard work that went into this. And thank you so much for supporting I Can. Ray - you are welcome for the ride home. Ever get your car running?
TTOL Party at Kissing Fish – so sorry we could not stay very long. It was the evening to play with a baby! But it was great to see more of the Dutch side folks along with many who drove over from France. I sampled a few of the pizzas to be sure they were up to par from the other night. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> Thanks Bob and Dot and Sandy and Bill. So great to see you all again. And Bill – thanks so much for the CD. If I ever finish this, I’ll go plug it in!
Stalking Gianfranco and Max. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/band.gif" alt="" /> Visited Lady C and Red Piano to see our friends play and listen to the great voice. One night at Lady C we saw the pub crawl pull in next door at Skipjacks. I ran over and invited Capt Neil over for a drink. We enjoyed this and the next Wednesday evening with our oldest friend on the island.
The pictures are still in the camera waiting for Bill to come home from a trip to Woods Hole later this evening. One of the best things about being on the island is spending all of our time together. We arrived home Thursday evening, I got up and left for work yesterday am and haven’t seen him since. This just isn’t right. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" />
I’ll post them later. Until next time…..
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