Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day Three September 19, 2015

Good evening from Mont Vernon,

Well, our first full day on the island has came to an end, and Diana and I are ensconced in our studio for the night, relaxing and enjoying each others company.

I’m normally a morning person. I get up at 4:00 am five days a week for work. On weekends I might sleep in until 5:00 am. This morning was no exception. I was up and about around 4:30 am or so. I know, I know -- but it’s who I am and how I work. Now on the other hand Diana is just the opposite, she likes to sleep in whenever she can and again today was no exception.

So what to do at 4:30 am? Why, of course, make some coffee, and enjoy the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore of Orient Bay. I don’t know what it is about the sounds of the ocean, but I’m always drawn to it. Perhaps, it makes some kind of cosmic connection with my primal being; remembering when we first crawled out of the deep and forever left our aquatic world behind, but not forgotten.

But I digress…

So by now the coffee is made, and I pour myself a cup and head out to balcony to enjoy the quiet of the morning, and the sounds of the water as I contemplate the day ahead, and remember fond memories of times past.

This morning I was blessed to the brilliant planet Venus shining over Orient Bay and heralding the coming of the Sun. I went in and got my camera and prepared for the sunrise. Soon enough the sun rose, and I captured an image of the breaking of day and Venus in the dawn.

Shortly after sunrise it rained for about 15 minutes in Orient Bay. But it soon passed and the clouds parted and gave way to sunshine.

By this time Diana was awake and working on her first cup of coffee. We sat together on the balcony, watching the beach slowly coming alive.

I don’t know it happened, but somewhere along the 36 years of our marriage I inherited the job of cooking breakfast on weekends, and when in SXM. Today’s entree was pretty simple, egg and cheese, on toasted everything bagels, and coffee.

Soon it was off to the beach… Today, like most of the days we will spend on the island will be whiled away on the beach at Club Orient. So off we went.

We soon have our chairs and umbrella, and are enjoying the day. We met some old acquaintances from way back to our first visit to the island via cruise ship in 2009., and met some new folks, who will undoubtedly be friends by the end of our stay.

I’m always amazed at how open and friendly the folks you meet on Orient Beach are, especially on the Club Orient portion of the beach. It truly is the great equalizer of people. There is no trappings of wealth, or position in life, just people, drawn to the ocean.

It always amazes me, how tired a day of doing nothing more strenuous, than opening a beer can make you, but it does.

All too soon the activities on the beach wind down, and it’s time to go ‘home’. So we pack up our stuff and return to our studio. There, we shower and prepare for dinner, Tonight it was a LOLO in grand Case. I forget the name of the place, but the food was good, and of course sharing it and the view with my lovely wife, made the day complete.

So now we are back home, tired and stuffed, as I write this. But so very grateful, that we are both in relatively good health, and have the means to escape from the day to day drudgery, and responsibilities of family and life -- at least for a short time.

So for now, good night from Mont Vernon...


I'm having trouble loading photos to my photo server, so until I get that sorted out I can't post photos. Sorry about that.