St Martin: March 5, 2008

This morning we left for St. Martin / St. Maarten. Our condo at the Simpson Bay Beach Condominiums was available during the Heineken Regatta so I just had to go. Sailors from all around the world come to St. Martin come for this regatta. It’s not just a race but 3 days of parties and music. The finale of the party happens right down the beach from our condo and this year Shaggy was performing. I decided to take a couple of girlfriends. One that had never been to the island, one that went with me when we were 13 and one that has been several times.

We decided to try out the new JetBlue service to St. Maarten via JFK. This was a nice flight although it was a little bumpy due to bad weather in Boston. JetBlue is a much more comfortable airline and well priced. The seats are leather, have more legroom and the base of the seat slides when you recline the back. They also have xm radio and satellite TV. Unfortunately the TV only works while you are over the US. Since we were in international waters most of the way we had to rely on the movies and radio. Luckily the movie was Juno! I had been waiting to see this so it worked out well. The other movie was Alvin & the Chipmunks. I would probably rather stare at a blank screen than watch that – and I usually like Jason Lee.

We arrived in St. Maarten around 3 and picked up the car, another friend arriving on USAIR and then made our way to the condo. I have been going to St Martin and this condo for over 20 years. It always feels a bit like going home. Some of my favorite vacation memories have been at this condo. It’s a great place to sit and watch the sunset while enjoying some wine and gouda cheese or Etna’s Rum Raisin ice cream.

Since we had not had a chance to go grocery shopping we decided to get a quick bite to eat at Shrimpy’s. This is a bar just behind the gourmet grocery store on Simpson Bay. It is very casual and seemed to mostly be sailors taking advantage of the free WiFi. We all shared a shrimp and mussel appetizer. It was very good and after we went for dessert at Hagan Daas near Cheri’s in Maho Bay. Cheri’s has been there as long as I can remember. It’s a popular spot for birthday’s and families. They always have some sort of entertainment (music and comedy) similar to what you would find on a cruise ship or resort. Not my thing but people love it. It was a long day so we went back early.