TRIP REPORT – January 31-February 18, 2014

Another outstanding trip. Still seeing wonderful old friends, making great new ones, still enjoying every minute there, and still getting sad at the airport when leaving, although having the next trip almost entirely confirmed helps.

AIR: American through Miami down and back. On time or early on return to Miami which was great and gave us a little more breathing room through C & I. Flying Tuesday also helped make C & I, less of a pain. Tickets for this trip were purchased in early May 2013 for this trip at $600./pp/rt. Tickets for our upcoming trip in November 2014 were just purchased in January for $493./pp/rt.
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CAR: Horizon Car Rental This is our fourth time using Angela @ www.horizoncarrentals.com .
Rented a Toyota Corolla to help traveling companion, Tom @ 6'9, get his feet inside. Got a good deal by paying cash. Made a charge ticket just in case I needed the collision insurance. Had a little trouble with front passenger window not always wanting to go back up, but no big deal, we just left it up.

PHONE: www.QUEENOFSXM.com Sharon is located in Royal Palm complex. Easy to pickup, drop off. No problem.

ROOM: Oyster Bay Beach Resort www.obbr.com We own the two weeks we spent there in a two bedroom unit overlooking Dawn Beach. Notice the guy in black t-shirt. [i216.photobucket.com] That's Seth, owner of Dinghy Dock, and his dog. Every morning they visit Dawn Beach. Seth throws the coconut into the water [i216.photobucket.com] , the dog retrieves it [i216.photobucket.com] and brings it back, leaving it ten feet or so away from Seth. [i216.photobucket.com] And so it continues for 45 minutes, up and down the beach.
OBBR continues to be extremely guest friendly. Quantity and quality of on site entertainment seems to have improved with the likes of Cover 2 Cover performing on Tuesday night at Beau Beau's. And MeikMeik entertaining on Sunday night at Beau Beau's.
Only construction going on is on the new Marina. Seems to be getting close to being finished, but then I said that in November when I was there. [i216.photobucket.com]
We also spent three days at Turquoise Shell Inn [tshellinn.com] ., which we like to do to get to off flying days like Tuesday.

BREAKFASTS:
Many of our breakfasts were on our deck overlooking Dawn Beach and usually featured croissants from the Pier Grocery which is located just outside the OBBR gate.

We also ate at Mr Busby's because we had a 15% off coupon from Jeff Berger's site. That at least, covered the service charge. The view there is very relaxing. [i216.photobucket.com] . I had two eggs with bacon and
hash browns with a johnny cake instead of toast and coffee for $8.95.

Infinity – Onsite restaurant of OBBR. Free breakfast with our representative.

Dirty Des - New to Captain Oliver complex. Located right next door to Dinghy Dock. 2 eggs, with toast, coffee. $8.00. Free Wifi, no service charge. Opens at 7am. Here's their breakfast menu.
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St Maarten Yacht Club – Located next to the drawbridge, it's a great place to watch “the boats' enter and leave Simpson Bay Lagoon. We had breakfast there one morning with Jeannie before getting a tour of the Simpson Bay Yacht Club grounds. Had French Toast [i216.photobucket.com] for $9.00. No service charge.

The Bagel House – New location is directly across street from old place. Much larger. Met Bill and Elaine for breakfast. French Toast, of course, with whipped cream. $6.00

Sarafini's – [i216.photobucket.com] In Marigot, before shopping the Market. Really is hard to limit yourself to one or two items. [i216.photobucket.com] I had a Ham and Cheese Croissant, warmed, Betty had a Raisen Crossiant, 2 sodas and conversion from E's to $'s made the bill $13.80.

LUNCH:

Beau Beau's(4) – Since our morning ritual the first week was a couple of hours on Dawn Beach, lunch at Beau Beau's was almost a given. We enjoyed -
Chicken Caesar Wrap $13.95 [i216.photobucket.com]
Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich w/ fries and 2 teas, and service charge $14.40. [i216.photobucket.com]
Other meals we enjoyed were The BLT w/fries, 2 drinks, , sc. $14.90
Chicken Caesar Salad w/2 teas. sc. $20.65

Mark's Place – Still a very popular place, especially with “take-outs”, we stopped by after the visit to the SXM Art in the Park event. I had the Club sandwich for $10.50 [i216.photobucket.com] Betty had the Rib Snack plate for $10.50 [i216.photobucket.com] Tom had the full Rib Plate for $14.00 [i216.photobucket.com] And Judy had the Chicken Gouda,Bacon Burger for $9.50. [i216.photobucket.com]

La Madine France – Across the street from the entrance to Captain Olivers complex, they serve breakfast and lunch. Prices in Euros at about the daily rate. I enjoyed the KFC Salad @ 14E. Comes with Crispy chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, and corn. [i216.photobucket.com] Here's their lunch menu. [i216.photobucket.com]

Orange Fever - On Orient Beach, this place is becoming a tradition for the first Sunday in SXM with friends, Bruce & Susan, Dave & Britt, Wayne & Louise. Also ran into Glen(159) and Lynn walking along the beach. Here's Dave smoking his cigar. [i216.photobucket.com] They have their own bathroom, an important draw and a great view. [i216.photobucket.com] Betty and I shared a Ham and Pineapple pizza. [i216.photobucket.com] Judy had the Mussels in garlic/cream sauce and used a straw to suck all the juice out the bottom of the pot. [i216.photobucket.com] Louise had the Goat Cheese Salad. [i216.photobucket.com] Dave had their Pan Fried Grouper. [i216.photobucket.com]

SMYC – Next to the drawbridge, one of our favorite spots. Had the Chicken Caesar Salad which is usually is one of our favorites, however the dressing had a little too much mayonnaise in it this time. $13.50. There is no service charge at SMYC.

Ms V's(2) – formerly Ms B's on Dawn beach. [i216.photobucket.com] Here's Joan's full menu. [i216.photobucket.com] She doesn't grill ribs everyday, usually just Fridays [i216.photobucket.com] . She's closed on Mondays. She now has her own trailer which she pulls into a space on Salt Pond Road somewhere between the old Rima's and the only stop light on SXM. She hasn't permanently inked a deal there yet. Right now it's bascially carry out. You can call ahead to order @580 1850 or 721 522 8833.

Burger Madness – On the Boardwalk next to Caribbean Blend. Here's page from their menu. [i216.photobucket.com]
Their burgers seem to be hand made and not pressed. Lots of toppings and combinations. This is their Classic. [i216.photobucket.com] $12.00 comes with fries or sweet potato fries. This is their four cheese burger, American, Gouda, Bleu, and Goat cheeses. [i216.photobucket.com]

Karakter's(2) – The last three days of our trip we stayed at Turquoise Shell Inn which is at the drawbridge end of Simpson Bay Beach. At the other end is Karakter's Beach Bar, although it's way above most beach bars. Service is attentive, but not pushy or annoying. A great place to come enjoy a drink [i216.photobucket.com] the sun, and the Bay. [i216.photobucket.com] [i216.photobucket.com] Bacon Wrapped Plantain and Dates - $8. [i216.photobucket.com] and a Chicken Caesar Salad$12.00 [i216.photobucket.com] Both were great. These are their nachos [i216.photobucket.com] and their Caesar wrap. [i216.photobucket.com] Here's their food menu. [i216.photobucket.com] [i216.photobucket.com]
Special entertainment schedule - [i216.photobucket.com]
Chairs and Umbrellas are free as long as you're eating and drinking there. They have a great system of keeping track of your tab until you're ready to go. No service charge. Get there before 10am especially on Sundays.

Dinghy Dock – A cheeseburger with fries, 2 teas is $17.00 No service charge .

Happy Island - As part of our Chinese Swim club celebration at friends Paul and Carol's pool [i216.photobucket.com] ,we always stop at Happy Island to bring Chinese food for lunch. This year we departed from our usual Sweet/Sour Chicken and ordered Cashew Chicken. $11.00 w/no service charge. Happy Island is located on Union Rd a couple stores away from the Burger King. We always get plenty of food and way more rice than we care to eat.

Caribbean Blend - A favorite whenever we walk “the Boardwalk”. First for Susette's Mango Coladas $6.00 and secondly for a nice meal from Chef Romaine or his brother Patrick. This trip we had a grilled chicken breast sandwich w/fries for $9.00 .

Thanks for the report Norm
sounds like a great trip.

[barcann.livejournal.com]