Our balcony A view from our balcony - Dawn Beach Another view from our balcony On the flight from Miami, three old ladies (one with white hair, two with dyed red hair, all wearing polyester pant suits) sat in the row behind us, chattering loudly. Some overheards, with commentary by me: Three Old Gastronomes Okay, for this one, remember that we're on our way to the island which has been called the gastronomic pinnacle of the Caribbean: Is there a Hard Rock Cafe on the island? I don't know. I don't think so. Is there a Burger King? I love Burger King. That's my favorite place to eat. KFC and McDonalds are my other favorites. My Favorite Buffet SXM is home to some of the finest French baking outside of France -- and maybe not only outside. Think croissants: I packed lots of Pop Tarts. We can have Pop Tarts for breakfast every morning. Oh I love Pop Tarts! We'll set up a Pop Tart buffet. What Kind of Girl Are You? I don't know what to make of this one: I'm just a Martha Stewart Daily Living kind of girl. Dutch and French are the official languages of SXM, but English is widely spoken. Do you speak English? Overheard while filling out St. Maarten immigration cards: To stewardess: What do we fill in here? Stewardess: What does it say? "Point of embarkation." Stewardess: Where you got on the plane -- Miami. Oh. Why didn't they say that? Stewardess: "Embark" means "to get on." Oh. I thought it meant to get off. It's Eleven O'Clock -- Do You Know Who You Are? I went to my high school reunion, and I met Percy Winston, and he wasn't anywhere near as outgoing as he used to be, though he was never outgoing at all, so I said to him, "Are you sure you're Percy Winston?" You're One Step Away From Being a Certified Pilot Upon encountering some violent turbulence, about forty-five minutes out of SXM: What's happening? Are we landing? Yes. This always happens when we land. And Judi Gets the Last Word Judi, to me, with a big smile: I'm glad you got us these seats! We landed and picked up our cute little rental jeep. This was a different experience: The rental company was off-airport. Usually they ferry you to their site to do the paperwork and pick up the car. But in this case the car was waiting for us at the airport. We loaded up our luggage, the rental dude gave us the keys and told us to drive to the rental office to do the paperwork. It was an honor system. If I had wanted, I could have skipped the rental office and just kept the car. Though I suppose they would have found me eventually. This is, after all, an island. Upon arriving at the resort, the guy who showed us to our suite tried to sell me some pot. Our suite is very nice. Judi is especially captivated by the paintings hanging on the walls. These are real paintings on canvas, not prints, and inspired by the spirit of the Caribbean. Judi wants me to steal them and take them home. She says we can buy substitutes in the market, and the resort will never notice <g>. To see the paintings for yourself, click on the thumbnails below. We went on a late-afternoon liquor run to Philipsburg, where Judi also accidentally bought a beautiful black onyx ring in a unique setting. What other place so you know of where they sell jewelry in the liquor stores? Upon returning to the resort, we had drinks in the bar. I had a gin sour, and, man, that was the best gin sour I ever had. While we were in the bar, it began pouring down rain outside. The bar's entertainment, in the outside courtyard, was desperately looking for a tarp to cover his thousands of dollars of keyboards, synthesizers, amps, and speakers. I nominated myself to be elected Hero (it's a better job than governor of California) and ran through the rain to get the car and fetch Judi. I got drenched. Lunch For lunch, we ate at Mr. Busby's on Dawn Beach. It's a short walk from our place. Eating at Busby's is an "again," since we ate here on our first S/S Norway cruise a few years ago. We both had the special (the special at Busby's is usually a great idea). Today it was grilled Mahi with a tarragon sauce. It came with a sort of vegetable chutney except it was drowned in melted butter -- I don't know how else to describe it. We used it to top the fish. It was so great. These sides are for some strange reason standard on St. Maarten: Fries or rice, "salad" (usually no more than a slice of tomato and lettuce with dressing), and potato salad. Potato salad? In the Caribbean? What's up with that? When we were done, we started talking to a Karen and Keith from Ohio. They asked for recommendations. We told them about the tarragon Mahi. He ordered a sandwich. Idiot. She ordered the Mahi. Good girl!

This is actually a picture taken looking into the mirror where I shave each morning. Look at the view I have behind me as I shave! What could top that?