Here is a picture of my second plane (we had a connecting flight).
We checked into the hotel/resort and had a nice dinner that first day. We had been up since 4:00am to catch our 7 something flight so we didn't stay up late. We were a little disappointed that we could not watch netflix on our laptop over there because netflix will not stream out of the US. Bummer! We were looking forward to watching some more "Lost".
On Sunday we rented a car for the week and drove around the island to explore. There were many, many beautiful beaches to choose from. We choose to see Le Galion beach and Mullet Bay. We spent most of this day on the beaches and in the ocean. As you might have guessed, I am not one to lay out in the sun with my fair skin.
On Monday, we took the "Man of the island" tour which was a tour of the island in a van given by our guide Curtis. We made a stop to go shopping in Margot, the capitol of the french side of the island. There were little vendors in the street where we bought some souvenirs for the kids and us.
On Tuesday we took the Rhino Safari ride out to a little rock where we went snorkeling. I found out that I like snorkeling. Mike wasn't so fond of it. He did like driving the boat out in the ocean though. I was mostly hanging on for dear life. I definitely got points for being his recreational companion right then. Here is a picture that I took of some other people on the trip. It's the little yellow boats not the big boat.
That was all the excitement for the week. The rest of the time we just went to the beach, ate one main meal a day at the local restaurants and hung out reading by the pool or beach. We also walked on the boardwalk in Philipsburg, the capitol of the Dutch side. We could always tell when a cruise ship was in port because the town got really bustling at that time. Otherwise, it was pretty dead. Lots of little shops to see but most of them jewelry which Mike and I weren't interested in although through our resort we did win a sapphire pendant which is pretty cool because that is my birthstone and our anniversary month.
On one of the days we went to Fort Louis. I can't remember which day because they all ran together. It is a very small island so there is not a whole lot to do that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Our last fun thing we were going to do was a Sunset cruise on a small yacht but that was canceled due to engine problems. It's a good thing because it rained all Friday anyway.
Saturday it was time to come back home. We were both ready to come home to our kids and get back in the United States. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed and we had missed our connecting flight back home. It ended up being a special blessing in disguise though because we were able to spend the night in Charlotte, NC in the Renaissance hotel courtesy of the airline with a dinner and breakfast to boot. That was the cherry on top of the trip. It was most certainly much nicer than the hotel we stayed at on the island and we couldn't have ever stayed there on our own due to the fact that it cost $350.00 a night for one person. On Sunday morning we finally made it home and saw our beautiful, wonderful, children. Thanks Memaw and Pop for watching them all week!!!!
