DonLinda |
Sint Maarten June 5 - 22, 2012 |
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As a treat, Linda has typed up her notes that she keeps every year
but seldom enters. These notes give more of the fun part of
the trip and what kind of things we get into. We hope you
enjoy the reading at the ------->
bottom of this page |
Chez Maryse |
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This is our 10th Trip to wonderful St Martin.
Since it is easier to find AA Frequent Flyer (FF) flights
during the week, we arrived on Tuesday, June 5th on uneventful
one day flights from SAT through MIA. We usually
book the flights at midnight on the 330th day out from when we
want to travel in order to get the FF seats. We met Lesley Bruce at the airport for our car (trusty R-3) and were on our way through Simpson Bay to stop at the Market Garden (closes at 9 pm) to pick up necessities for a few days...then on to Oyster Pond to find Chez Maryse Studios. With a quick stop at L'Oasis restaurant to ask the owner to call Maryse for directions, we found our way up the hill and arrived. The Studios are in the owner's home right on the pool and the hospitality was so wonderful. We settled in for a windy night awaiting the morning views of Orient and Galleon Bays. Wednesday, Day one, we took a trip around the island to take in the changes since last year. In general, the terrain is quite dry. Rain is needed. Traffic was not a big problem except in Grand Case where there is some construction. We stopped and shopped at Rima's...then on to
the Ocean Club to check in with Elvis, Cheryl, Noreen and the
Oasis Grill. Ken confirmed that the grill was going to be
open through July and we told him that we expected quite a few
folks on Wednesday, ribs nite. The economy seems to be improving. There is quite a bit of construction going on. There is fresh paint and the island seems cleaner. Gasoline on the Dutch side is cheaper this year. |
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View of Galleon and Orient from pool deck at Chez Maryse Click to Expand to 24 inches...for bigger picture than that ----> Click here
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St Barth's Trip |
Nadia (Peggy was on vacation) performing the first mate tasks under the watchful appreciative eyes of the French immigration officers. |
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TTOL Party and Rib night at OC Grill |
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12th Annual Steak Night at Ocean Club |
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Cupecoy Beach Area |
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Click to Expand to 24 inches...for bigger picture than that ----> Click here |
Click to Expand to 24 inches...
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Marigot Marina, Tropicana, and Fort St Louis |
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As usual, we had our leisurely noon lunch at Tropicana's in the Marina. Our favorite waiters treat us well. The salads are delicious and I enjoy real "French" fries.
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Traffic | Drove mainly through lowlands and Marigot to get the Orient. Traffic in Grand Case was held up occasionally by utility and road construction. Traffic in Simpson Bay area and up the hill at the old T (round-about) was not too bad. We tried to drive during the non-peak traffic times. There was quite a bit of road construction in the Oyster Pond area especially around Mama's Pizza and BZH Creperie. |
Crime | Saw none nor saw anything that worried us. We did not see any traffic stops. |
Improvements | The Mullet Bay Resort eyesore is now much better. All the buildings are gone. There are large rocks keeping people from parking along the road (which is in as bad a shape as always). Several round-outs are now improving the way traffic moves in Sandy Ground by the stadium and Super Marche. |
Money | Took about $1500 in small bills. Use Capital One Venture for food, lodging, and Rimas. Brought back about $200. |
Meals |
We did
not try many eating spots since that seems to be where most
of the money goes. We ate at the OC Grill
several times. We cook most of our own meals so we know what we are eating. The Market Garden was open until 9PM which helped us the first night. |
Internet | Rented the Scarlet modem again for two weeks. The cost was about $65 and it worked great in the OC unit 15D. Took my Linksys router so that I could have Wifi for the phones. The OC pool WiFi is free with the password and is working much better this year. I am going to leave out the modem and router next year and trust the OC pool service. Used Sprint Evo on Wi-fi mode and the Skype app for phone calls. Broke down and bought a cheap gsm samsung phone and a chippie sim for calls. It was easier than trying to rely on Skype all the time. |
Linda's Notes on June 2012 SXM Trip
June 5, 2012 Tuesday Oops, my night light tiny bulb blew the electricity and TV! You’ve got to be kidding! A tiny Christmas bulb? (…we blew the electricity for the whole place—oops!)
2w bulb into
110 adapter into 220 French outlet = SH#$%^#&!
June 6 Wednesday My half of the bed is full of baguette crumbs…oh my!
June 7 Thursday
June 8 Friday
June 9 Saturday
June 10 Sunday
June 11 Monday
June 12 Tuesday
June 13 Wednesday
June 14 Thursday
June 15 Friday
June 16 Saturday
June 18 Monday I thought we accidently threw away a near-full can of Off mosquito repellant (really important!). I went to the trash area to check our bag. (I knew there were only about 3 bags in there, so it’s not as bad as it sounds). “Nope, ‘sho’ nuff” the can was empty and intended to be in the trash. “Oh wait, what’s this over here? A scrapbook glitter set someone left…how cool! Let me take a look…” SLAM “Oh no! the big gate closed and I’m locked behind the trash fence! I’m glad I told Don where I was going! I wonder how long it will take for him to miss me?” [I try to maneuver the lock and latch to no avail.] Seconds later—laughing out loud—I just wave over the fence and call for Wayne, the security guard, to let me out. He was on the phone, but acted like it happens all the time. (Not to me!) Visit with the whole group at happy hour and Jo & Bob’s porch. Home for Linda’s salad. (Don not eating.)
June 19 Tuesday
June 20 Wednesday
June 21 Thursday
June 22 Friday
Summary
What’s New At Ocean Club Security gate (kept closed at night) New security service New mattresses, pillows, linens, towels, pool towels New furniture for porch, dining, nightstands, dresser New upholstery on couch and living room chairs Good to have Grill open in June Good to see #14 occupied and #9 continued with renovation/remodeling Good to hear rumor that Villa 2 will be repaired soon Good to have Elvis, Mildred, Cheryl, Noreen, Sandra here so many years Good to have Dany operating well at Cupecoy Good to have Porto Cupecoy showing growth Good to have the old abandoned condos demolished at the golf course
What I Want to Do Next Time: Tijon perfumerie at Grand Case Ft St Louis L’eau Lounge at Loterie Farm Explore road to Le Santel in Sandy Ground Emilio Wilson Park in St. Peters A long swim somewhere!
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