Saint Maarten

WOW what a vacation. There is nothing better then sandy white beaches, crystal clear blue water, and a ton of sun!

Mom came and hung out with Kendri for the week. They had a great time and Kendri was SOOO upset when we dropped mom off at the airport at the end of the week. Guess that means I need to take more vacations!

We had a fantastic time in Saint Maarten! The weather was great and so was the company. Our friends Meg and David have a time share in Colorado that they go to each summer. This year they decided to trade their week in for a week in Saint Maarten and INVITED US!

The week started out with a little trepidation. Meg and David went early due to the fact that they were going to have to leave early for a friends wedding. They left Richmond with no problem but then got stuck in Charlotte due to Tropical Storm Erika. There is only one airport on the island and it was totally closed. Luckily they reopened the airport the next day and they got to leave then.

We arrived on Sat and they were there to pick us up in the rental car. We had heard about a bar that was very close to the airport in which the airplanes come in directly over your head. We decided to head there for lunch and let the boys get their adrenaline rush out of the way. They wanted to stand directly in the path of the airplanes while Meg and I decided to hang back some. John said it was awesome except for getting pelted with sand when the planes took off. We had lunch there and met some people that were staying at the same place that we were and got some great pointers about grocery stores and directions. So after leaving there we went to the grocery store to pick up some necessities (we had a full kitchen at the timeshare) and then headed for Oyster Bay.

Meg and David had stayed at the Westin (which was beautiful) until we could check in so after we dropped off our bags we decided to go and hang out there. John was DESPERATE to watch the Tech game and we decided that the best place to do that was going to be in Meg and David's room. I was envisioning us in some horrible dirty bar trying to convince people who only spoke french to find the Tech game so I was VERY pleased to say the least. Although Meg went to UVA she was good with having the game on mostly due to the fact that her ENTIRE family are Tech grads and her parents had her daughter AT the Tech game (they never made it on camera). We ended up watching until half time and then headed back to the timeshare to finish it in our bed. It had been a long day and John and I had been up since 4 am.

Sunday night we hung out at the Westin beach and swim up bar. Monday we headed to Orient beach. Since it is not "high season" there were much fewer people there then I expected and we were there until they kicked us off the beach. There is a nudist colony also located on the beach (a ways down from where we were hanging out) and we found that the people there should have found some clothes. Interesting none the less! That night we headed to the casino back at the Westin. We had a great time but never made any money (although we took full advantage of the free drinks).

Tuesday we spent the day at the timeshare pool and then headed for a sunset cruise. John agreed to get on the boat as long as he had RUM . . . .and RUM he had!! Upon getting on the boat he asked for a life jacket and they gave him a bottle of rum and told him it would float when emptied . . it was an interesting night!!

Wednesday we found a little secluded beach on Pinel island. It was gorgeous with still waters (so John would get in) and great snorkeling for David, Meg and I. We saw a ton of fish and even a sting ray! We took a ferry over and there were only about 10 couples including us and Meg and David on the ENTIRE island. I told John that this may be my new "happy place". I LOVED it and it is one of those places that I will never forget.

On Thursday David and Meg had to go home =( We hung out at the pool a little in the morning and then headed to the airport. After dropping them off we decided to drive around the island to do some sightseeing. We started out headed for Marigot which was mostly locals selling junk! Other then that there was not much to see. We found that because there were not many tourists on the island most things were closed or only open for limited hours. Pretty quickly we decided to head back and hang out at the pool. That night John and I went out for a romantic dinner on the bay and both were very happy with the food and ambiance.

Friday we decided to head back to Pinel Island. We had another fantastic day. I talked John into SNORKELING and then we decided to go over to the other side of the island where we were the ONLY people there. It was like my very own island! I am in love with this place!

Saturday we started the long journey home. We checked out of Oyster Bay at 10 and then had some time to kill. We decided to go to Philipsburg and walk down the board walk. Since we had been there on the cruise in February I knew of this fabulous place that made smoothies from fresh fruit and we wanted to see if we could find it again. In the end we found the place but they were closed so we had lunch at another open air restaurant and tried conch fritters for the first time instead. We had to be at the airport 2-3 hours early due to the international flight so we headed there around 12:30. We got back to Richmond around midnight. I was ready to see Kendri and be in my own bed.

It was a fantastic vacation and a much needed time for relaxation!