It's going to be a long one...
Saturday 9/30, I got up at 9 to continue packing and get ready and clean up the condo. We rolled out at 9:45 and stopped at the little Boulangerie in GC and got two pain au chocolate and two Tarte aux Pommes then headed to FB to say goodbye to the boys. We sat in the car and ate our healthy breakfast then went over and said hello. We sat down and ordered some water and a pina for K and talked with the boys and got kisses from G, Ben and Roger and we told Roger about our bonne idée. We got pics with them and K smoked with some crazy Rasta with a natty dread beard. We sat with G while he ate some lunch but he wasn’t hungry and said his head was in the clouds and I think he was really sad to see us go and kept looking at K longingly, though I got a big kiss on the cheek. We paid Roger, gathered our things and began our good byes. First was Roger with kisses, then Guillaume with kisses and lastly Kali with a kiss on the hand. G took a shot in our honor and we took our last look then set off. We had to go through Marigot and it was crazy but finally made it to the rental car place where we got squared away, took the shuttle to the airport and let the process of finagling our ticket begin. The first girl couldn’t help us so K asked for a manager and she couldn’t do much more for us than put priority tags on our bags so they’ll hopefully come out first. We walked around a little before going through security then sat and looked through all our videos and pictures from the trip. When we boarded the plane it wasn’t full at all so we both moved up, me to an exit row all to myself and K to the one in front of mine. We talked to the flight attendant who laid out our entire course of action once we deplaned and was the only person who said “You guys can do this, if there are no lines at Immigration and Customs, and you don’t dally, it’s possible for you to do this” which got us both very excited, even though it was only 50 minutes to make an international connection. When the plane landed Kassie pushed her way all the way to the front of the plane and I was two people behind her, when the door opened the flight attendants were like “Go go!” so we were off running to Immigration. Had to wait in line there for about 5 minutes, but got through with no problems, then down to the baggage pickup where the priority tags didn’t do jack shit to get our bags out quickly, finally they did come and we were off through Customs with no line and zipped right through. This is where it got tricky because our bags were only checked to Atlanta so we couldn’t just put them on the conveyor belt and go to the gate to try and get on the flight, we had to find someone with a computer to put us on that flight and check our baggage to Seattle, the first woman told me to go to the Elite desk but the guy tried to tell me I had to wait in the line of 15 people with only 30 minutes to make the flight, but I told him “That lady over there told me to come to you” so he helped me, little did I know that woman didn’t even work for Delta, but he didn’t know that. He told me he couldn’t put us on that flight because he needs 45 minutes for the baggage to be transported, which exasperated me, so K comes over and says “No, that is not an option!” and I pointed out that another woman on the Seattle flight was just now putting her bag on the conveyor belt so why couldn’t we? which made him think for a second and then he began typing furiously and hand filling out baggage tags. I thanked him about 4 times then we were off and running again, through security we had to wait behind about 8 people but got through fine, then ran down the escalators to the train. Unfortunately we were in Concourse E and needed to get to A so we had many stops to go and only 15 minutes to do it. At D the doors wouldn’t close because people kept getting in the way and K yelled “Get out of the way!” and everyone turned around and looked at her but she didn’t care, and when we finally got close to A this girl moved aside without being asked to let us go by, I assume because she had heard K’s outburst. We ran up the escalator and luckily our gate was only 2 down and we made it. They were doing final boarding call and we just laughed and huffed and puffed from being out of breath, boarded the plane and actually sat behind the same girl we had sat next to on the original Atlanta flight. K and I watched The Breakup then Happy Endings on our little dvd player. We landed about 35 minutes early, though our baggage never made the flight so K had to finagle with the Delta people then Frank picked us up, dropped me off at my car, I drove home, opened some mail and checked myspace and crawled into bed around 12:30. It was a fantastic end to a fantastic trip.
Friday 9/29, I woke around 9:30 and went down and got a baguette for breakfast and got ready and G called right as K was getting out of bed and we made plans to pick him up at 11:30 to go swimming. One of my favorite things to do is get up earlier than K, put on a cd in the little boom box, sit out on our lanai and look at the bay or write in this. It’s just such a great way to start the day. We both got ready but were running a little late though we made some good time going the French side and ended up being only about 5 minutes late. We went to Mullet Bay, on the Dutch side, parked and walked across the golf course to the beautiful beach. There were some dogs running wild and I thought they belonged to this guy but he said no, then it kind of bit G on the arm, so we were trying to keep it away. I decided to hit the water and right as I got to the edge of the water the dog jumped up on my back and was trying to bite me but I was pushing it off and K and G came to my rescue and chased it off. We all got in the water at that point and were swimming and laughing. We would spend some time in the water then get out and lay on the sand and tan then repeat. We were there for maybe an hour and a half then decided to go back to the car and go get some lunch. G said he knew a good place to go. We went to Baie Rouge and ate at Chez Raymond right there on the beach. We all got fruity drinks and even had some extra free ones brought later, I think either G’s connection to Raymond or our waiter liking us sisters is responsible. For lunch I got the beef kabob and determined that in the Caribbean they really know how to prepare meat. It was so incredibly flavorful and juicy. I’ve never had anything like it. So, it was delicious, to say the least. K ordered bananas flambé but there was so much rum she made G eat it, so he put them in his frozen. Then some guy came over that G knows and K, G and this guy went off for an hour or something and smoked, and I had to fait du pee pee so bad that when they got back I insisted we take a swim. While sitting waiting for them I sat and looked at the ocean and enjoyed just being with my thoughts, it was beautiful and I was so sad it was our last day. We all took a swim and it was so beautiful. It was about 5:30 and the sun was setting and reflecting off the water and it was the perfect temperature out and the water as well. I was so sublimely happy, luckily I captured it on video. Then these two guys came up and were talking to K and me and asking all kinds of questions like who G was (I said our bodyguard) and if we have bfs at home, the one really liked me and I told K it was because I have a bigger butt. I wasn’t interested in talking anymore so I went back in the water to be with G and he said he didn’t know these guys and when K motioned with her hand like a phone I said that maybe she wanted to give the guys his phone number and he goes “She’s crazy, never way” like never, no way. It was really funny but we realized that she was signaling because his phone was ringing, so he got out and K got back in and told me the guys told her they know G but he was disrespecting them by not saying hi and he was jealous of them. She also said the one told her he loves his ladies long time and wants to come to the US to visit. Yikes. We decide to go then these two older guys dog G on the way out by asking if we were his sisters because they’d never seen him with girls before. We got in the car and G tells us the guys on the beach said they wanted to hang out with us and he was like “They’re right there, go for it” like they were talking a big game or something. We brought G back to his hotel and told him to call us in an hour and a half and set off and actually saw the two guys from the beach in their white van and tried to avoid eye contact and drive fast. We drove the French side back and I continued to feel so happy, thankful and appreciative of the beauty on SXM and tried to acknowledge and absorb every second I had left. As we descended into Oyster Pond we passed the hot cops I had seen earlier in their “Hot Cop Van,” like 5 of them seriously. So we see these two standing on the road and we’re driving by really slowly, with the windows down of course, and one of them says “Bon Soir” and we’re both like, at the same time, “BON SOIR!” they were so hot, but we didn’t stop, then 20 feet later, after the cop commotion, these 2 locals are walking down the hill so as we pass I say “Bon Soir” and they throw their hands up so K stops and we chat for a second then take back off and finally make it to our room. We showered and got ready and headed back out to meet G at 8:30 to get dinner. We drove back to Grand Case to get pizza and since they’d both smoked and G ate one of K’s “space cakes” apparently he was going to be out of it in a half hour or so. We went to this fancy pizza place and the waitress was a total bitch and when G asked if they didn’t have Perrier instead of what she brought us she looked right at K and said “Non!” we all laughed at that. I got a really good pizza with tomatoes and garlic and lots of other veggies but couldn’t eat it all, shame! We took off for Le Noche to get dessert and the place was hopping. We ordered two chocolate cakes and G was so out of it but he ate all of his and then zoned out. The peppy waitress brought three shots of rum but none of us wanted them and were looking for a receptacle of some kind to dispose of them but then G pounded them and I called him my hero. He was getting a little too touchy feely with K so I sent her to pay the bill. We took off and drove G back to his hotel and dropped him off because he had to work the next day and was totally loaded. We told him we’d see him tomorrow and took off back home via the Dutch side. K and I got in a tiff about what time to get up and we went to bed not talking to each other.
Thursday 9/28, I got up at 10:15, had breakfast, sat outside and read, etc. I woke K up a little after 11 because if we were going to meet Clifton at FB at 12 we had to get going. We got on the road and stopped in Grand Case at the little Creperie / Boulangerie we had seen the night before for a morning snack. K ordered a crepe that was a little gooey and I got a really good pain au chocolate that was the most buttery one I’ve ever had, basically it had butter dripping out of it, but it was delicious. We paid and drove to FB and K talked to G while I hit the water and found out Clifton never showed with his Jamaican weed so it didn’t matter that we were 45 minutes late. We swam and laid on the beach and K built a snow man but the enormous waves kept ruining it and shooting sand into our crotches. Some guy whistled at K and she got mad thinking it was the same creepy guy from yesterday who was lurking by the car, but I think it was the guys working on the swimming pool. She was all “Shut the fuck up”. The beach boy for the day was the usual bartender, Roger, and Ben was working the bar so we asked for virgin pinas and he told us to sit in the chairs so we did that and took pictures for a long time just drinking and enjoying the peacefulness of it, I paid our bill ($5 a piece for those drinks!) and said goodbye to G (Roger called me baby) and hit the road because I was bleeding all over and needed to get back. We stopped in GC again to pick up a baguette and it was so soft, yum. Got home and showered / cleaned up then ate the entire baguette with brie, butter and jam. K and I were marmot for a little bit then G called at 5:20 to say he was off work and our exchange was funny, I go “Hi!” in high pitched voice and he did it back “Hi Karrah!” so he knew it was me from my greeting. He didn’t know what was happening with his fadda and the lobstahs so he said don’t leave the hotel and he would call us back. K and I sat on the balcony and talked about where we wanted to go next year and explored the many possibilities and are going to see how things look with my raise. At 7 G still hadn’t called so K called him and told him we were leaving then to meet us at Buccaneer (K thought Buccaneer was a cowboy and G was like “No, comme pirate!”) so we hit the road and went to the ATM in Marigot then over to Nettle Bay to pick him up. First we went on a drug run and I was very nervous and just wanted to get the hell out but both K and G were telling me to calm down and G even told the fricken drug dealer that I was scared of the part of town we were in. Cripes. We got the Jamaican shit and went to his Dad’s to pick up the lobsters and see the operation he had going on. They were all in these Jacuzzi looking baths with a ton of lobsters crawling around and trying to escape. G caught the biggest one and we got some pictures but it started flailing about and lost some legs so he put it back. G was then running about collecting things for our beach BBQ while we played with the kitten, Vanille (“Je t’aime Vanille!”) and met his dad and gf who was afraid we were going to take her cat. Soon we were on our way to the gas station for some fuel for our fire which was just put in an empty water bottle, not the most legit of containers for gasoline, but I guess that’s island style. We went back to his place to use the beach there but decided on one a little farther down that had more light so we put stuff down and foraged for wood, but this isn’t the forest and there isn’t just scraps and logs of wood lying around so we start to head back to his dad’s for wood and also his dad calls just then to say we’d forgotten the lobster there. Finally we got back to the beach and G started putting the fire together and puts the gas on when it’s already lit so this enormous fire ball erupts and lights him on fire and he throws the bottle over to this area with brush so then the beach is on fire and shit’s burning everywhere so I start throwing sand on everything in a fury and K’s holding her coconut of weed just sitting and watching then two guys come over and thought G was an idiot and helped us put the rest of it out. After that I was a little frazzled and kind of just wanted to go home or out to eat. He cooked the lobsters (la langouste) and around 11 they were done and while he’d been doing that K and I had been coming up with phrases in English that we wanted G to translate such as: “Get your balls out of my face” and “What does that have to do with you having a girl friend?” or “How big is your yacht?” or “Tell that bitch to shut her mouth” and lastly “My sister thinks she’s a police officer” (that one’s Kassie’s). Some cats were milling about the lobsters and G told them he would piss in their faces if they tried anything then told them he would give them a big slap on their asses (luckily I got that one on video). We ate the lobster and rice and I ate a whole bunch even though I wasn’t crazy about it, but come on, I had to. We finished and cleaned up and went back to the car because K wanted ice cream and G thought Haagen Dazs might still be open, but it wasn’t so we went back to his dad’s to drop off all the stuff then dropped him at home and took the Dutch side home. It was late.
Wednesday 9/27, I woke up at 8:45 and ate breakfast then woke K up cause we wanted to get an early start on the Marigot Wednesday market. We drove down on the French side since that’s what we prefer despite taking a little longer and parked by the pier and walked through the stalls. We each bought this display box with local St. Martin seeds from a woman who makes them with her husband and she actually showed us all the seeds in a book, including the Flamboyant seed, so G was right, it is a plant. She also showed us the one called “Old Woman’s Tongue” because it’s a very noisy tree, which we thought was really funny. Next I fronted K money for an embroidery trimmed Peter Tosh tank top from a Rasta. We hit the Creperie next and got some food but because it was so fucking hot I said, “Fuck the fruit market, let’s go swimming” so we headed to Friar’s Bay. We snuck down into the water and just played and floated for about an hour before K went up to inquire whether or not they accepted credit cards because she wanted the chicken again, they said yes so she waved me in from the water, I came in and said hi to all the boys and Kali and we ordered the fun virgin pinas. At one point Kali snuck up on me and poked my side which made me jump and him laugh. We ate all our lunch and just sat talking, but when G tried to run K’s card it wouldn’t go through so I had to go to the car to get my purse and this guy was still sitting there, he’d already talked to both K and I on different occasions and creeped us both out, and asked me to bring him back a beer if it was ok, but I told him I didn’t know if it was. It was weird and I just wanted to get away from him so I hurried back down. While I was gone G put a lobster on K’s stomach and then it was my turn with him sneaking up and putting it on my back and then telling me to touch it, but I didn’t want to and told him to get it away from me. He told us his dad was “The big lobstah boss on de island.” G wanted to take a swim but we were going to leave so he asked us if we were very busy and had a lot to do, which is what would require us to leave so quickly, so we said ok, we’ll stay and swim even though we’d just eaten. We went out first and started calling his name in super high pitched voices “Guuillauuuuuume!” and he called back in the same voice “Just a miiiiinute, I’m cooooming” cause he was serving some women on the beach. He came out and we swam and talked for awhile and he gave us some suggestions for our fancy AP dinner and thought he was coming too but K told him it was just for us and we would meet up with him after and go out dancing. He tried it again so K told him he wasn’t going to dinner and he was all “Ok, that’s cool, no that’s cool” all pretend mad and getting out of the water so we laughed and called after him and all these people in the water were laughing as well, it was funny. We swam a little longer and I found a pretty greet heart rock for Chrystol. We were both searching rocks for a long time, but when I was in the surf this huge wave came up and pelted my feet and ankle with rocks and it was so painful my toe has a big cut on it and my ankle is all bruised up, boo! We said our final good bye to G with him saying he’s call us when he was done with work and took off for home. We showered and ended up both falling asleep and I had this weird dream both Mom’s were throwing me a surprise mock-wedding and I was mortified and didn’t want Eric to know or be invited because it was so fucking weird…they had a registry for me and everything. I finally got K up and moving around 6:30 then G called and we made plans to meet up at 10:30, left our place for Grand Case (pronounced Gran-Cause) at 7:30, found a really cool restaurant called Le Noche with a South Pacific vibe and a great waitress. Our dinner was amazing, for starters they bring you some veggies and warm delicious bread, then for the appetizer we ordered this red pepper and goat cheese salad but they deep fried the pepper in the cheese and it was so fucking good, the best goat cheese dish we’ve had on the island. For my entrée I got the beef filet with caramel sauce and veggie medley. K got the Asian inspired shrimp and chicken with veggies (her chicken was really good) then for dessert we got this molten chocolate and vanilla cake with ice cream and this white pepper sauce, which we ate in its entirety. We got our bill at 10 and paid then left for Marigot to pick up G, but just as we were dropping into Marigot I see this thing standing on the side of the road and my first thought was “Look at the high ass on that deer!” then realized it was a cow, RIGHT ON THE SIDE OF THE FUCKING ROAD INTO MARIGOT! As we pass it it moos so loud it scared the shit out of me and K and I laughed for about 10 minutes because the damn thing must have practically had its head in the window for it to have been as loud as it was. It was so random. The plan was to pick G up at the Buccaneer, across from the le Flamboyant. He was a little late arriving and went and parked his scooter then we headed off to the airport to hit the clubs. He gave us the low down on all the sights and finally we arrived, parked and went into Bamboo Bernies (BAM-boo). We went to the bar first and he bought us a water and we scoped out the situation. It’s an outdoor bar with swimming pool and lights strung up everywhere, totally cool. We found a corner to dance in right by the ocean. K and G danced and it was so cute, his hand was on her butt, all I could do was smile. Then this guy from Boston comes up and starts talking to me and he’s nice but I’m so not interested but he offers to buy us all drinks, including G, so that was nice (“Welcome to my island” bleh, shut it shorty). We all talk and dance for awhile then Boston leaves and says he’ll be back and Clifton, G’s friend and some guys show up and they all want to smoke so we go out to the pier and I saw a shark thrashing about a little way out, they all smoked and were surprised when I asked “Quelle heure?” and insisted I speak French from then on, but I refused. We went back in and Boston spotted us straight off and was like “Where have you guys been?” yuck, go away. Then he tried to dance with me all sultry style but I told him I didn’t want to but he persisted, then K stepped in and told him off (he had tried to grab her earlier and was looking down her dress, so she was already pissed off) so he finally left with hurt feelings, oh well. K and I really started dancing and the boys just stayed off to the side and watched. This older guy comes over and says something to me but I can’t understand but he won’t come repeat, then comes over again later and I still can’t understand because he blurts it out and flees so I yell “Quoi? I can’t understand you!” and finally he comes back over and asks us in English where we’re from and K says Seattle and he says we don’t look like Americans and he thought we were from Holland so that’s why he kept speaking to us in Dutch, which we both took as an enormous compliment. He then leaves but continues to smile at me for the rest of the night from across the dance floor. It started raining and it felt so good because it was so hot and we were all sweating like crazy. The three of us were just dancing to mid-90s tunes and that Basement Jaxx song about shaking that ass and having a good time but decided to go sit down for a few minutes so we got a little French lesson and decided to go. We found Clifton and friends (one with diamond braces, the other with eyeliner) and said goodbye. Everyone was looking at G like he was the man when we were leaving and the bouncer even gave him a special handshake as we exited. We dropped G back at his place, each got our 2 kisses, he told us sweet dreams and we were on our way home via the Dutch side because it was late and it would be quicker.
Tuesday 9/26, We got kind of a late start with me getting up first and having breakfast and updating this then woke K up and we got going. We were going to hit the rental car place to let them know our A/C stopped working and also that the radio didn’t work, luckily they exchanged it out with no hassle and we were on our way to Marigot. We hit the mall first (West Indies) and it was pretty small and all the women looked at us like we were either lepers or like we were going to steal something, but K showed some of them in the cosmetic shop a thing or two by buying the new Marc Jacobs perfume and some pricey after sun cream. Next we looked for a place to have lunch and passed by all these guys that get taxis for you and they were all like “You sisters?” seriously, all of them, then one says “Twins? Twins?” we say no and he says “I need one of you for my wife” and since K’s the hippie she can have him because he’s got dreads. We finally found a place with a cute bartender and a nice waitress where I got the pesto and balsamic goat cheese tomato salad and it was so good especially on such a hot day. It was fucking roasting. I also got a few pictures of those vans. Finally. We finished there and walked back to the car, headed out of Marigot (a way we hadn’t been yet) and down to Friar’s Bay to swim, cool off and say hi to Guillaume. We slipped into the water unnoticed and swam for a long time and also went to the bathroom. K stated that she was peeing for like the 5th time and I said “Only #2 for me” then started laughing so hard because I didn’t mean it how it sounded and the thought of pooping in that beautiful water was hilarious. We laughed for a long time over that one. Finally we got G’s attention and he said he would be back to chat but we were kind of making plans for the evening. Back on our side I was playing in the water by myself and at one point got my feet swept out from underneath me and fell then got tossed around in the waves and on the rocks like a fucking rag doll, luckily K saw and laughed her ass off and thankfully no one else did, I don’t think, especially G. It was mortifying and painful but I wish I could have had it on video because that shit would have been hilarious to watch. I keep replaying it in my head and cracking up. I’ve got battle wound on my back to remember it by at least, because I’m pretty sure it’s going to leave a scar. We were up on the sand just relaxing and sunning ourselves when G snuck up behind us and scared the shit out of me but quickly returned to work. Pretty soon we were out of the water for good. We went and talked to G who said he would come back and give us his phone number so we gathered our things and Ben came over and gave me 2 kisses on the cheeks and G came back and we exchanged phone #s and he’s staying at the Flamboyant Hotel (which he told us was a plant but we didn’t believe him) and we said we’d talk to him later and headed back and got a baguette at Mom and Pops for an afternoon snack. Ate most of that then I read and K fell asleep on the couch. I woke her and we decided to walk and check out the restaurants but Beau Beau’s was closed and Daniel’s (Mr. Busby’s) was too expensive for what we wanted, despite his trying to cajole us into eating there, so we drove over to the marina but that was expensive as well, so we decided to just drive until we found a good opportunity, which came in the form of Le Taitu, which was a French / Creole place. We each got a salad and shared the Creole chicken, both were tasty. While we were waiting for our entrée the power went out and all over, not just the restaurant, and it was really romantic with just the candles, then it came back on after about 10 minutes then it went out again for about 10 minutes after that for 5 minutes. For dessert we had this chocolate / vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and whip cream that was amazing. We paid and came home to find the message light blinking on the phone and two messages from G and we had just missed him but couldn’t figure out how to call him so K went down to the front desk and while she was gone he called again and I talked to him until K got there but before we could make concrete plans to go out his phone disconnected and we figured out that since he’s got a French # it’s considered an international call from the Dutch side. So we watched Igby Goes Down instead and went to bed around midnight.
Monday 9/25, We set the alarm for 8:30 so we could get up and ready, find breakfast and meet David by 9:30 at Friar’s Bay. We got pain au chocolate at Mom and Pops where the guy told us we could call ahead to reserve pastries any morning and gave us a business card, we both found this idea to be hilarious, and then set out on our way. When we got there both Guillaume and Benjamin said David had forgotten he had to work that morning at some organic farmer’s dock or something and had asked the boys to tell us he was sorry he was missing our “rendezvous”. We chatted with them for a minute and got directions to Happy Beach and reassured them we would be back for lunch and set off down the beach. We started to walk up to the rocky coast because K insisted David told her that was the way but I was sure Ben had said you have to take a trail by the red sign, so we start to go to the rocks and this woman in the water yells at us asking where we’re going and that to get to Happy Beach you must take the trail, so we start following this semi-trail through some dense woods and super tall grass whipping us in the face and arms just waiting for an ax murderer to pop out but none did. Duh. Finally we come across this little beach and take a trail down and jump into the turquoise water. We both shed our tops and just played in the totally secluded and private beach. We joked Kali had a cam there and was filming us. We floated on our backs listening to the underwater crackling sounds and eventually found ourselves back closer to shore talking about sex and number of partners. It started to rain a little but only lightly and for a few minutes so we stayed in the water and rode it out. We got lots of pictures then decided to walk back and get lunch and hang on the beach with the cute boys. As we’re walking the trail back we run into David who is exasperated and all sweaty and had gone back and forth from Happy Beach three times looking for us, but couldn’t find us because we weren’t at HB, apparently it was farther down from where we were, whoops. So we chatted about Kali and his wife on the way back down and finally made it, put our stuff down and jumped back in the water with David. G came out and talked with us too and said he could see us from the beach and called us “les deux filles blanche” then said he would bring us drinks after I caressed his arm suggestively and said “Pleeeease?” he was like, ok, for you but not David. He’s so cute with his French / Rastafarian accent, adorable! K and I both want to make out with him. He went back in and we stayed in the water for awhile then decided to lay in the sun, so we took up some of Kali’s beach chairs and didn’t have to pay and K and I took turns on the one in the sun, then Ben brought out 2 delicious non-alcoholic drinks for us which we later learned G had bought us. I rubbed K down but not very well and she got a blotchy burn. D and I went back in the water and G came out to ask me which sides I wanted with my chicken and said it would be ready at 1:00. Then K came back out and D (who used to play “American football” in Canada) taught us some exercises for the water and after laughing hysterically for awhile it started to rain and G runs out to the edge of the surf and says “Rain, come in!” then turned around and walked off which made all of us laugh so hard, and we proceeded to repeat throughout the day. We headed up to the beach to get ready for our lunch. We moved our stuff to a table, got some pictures of the boys and waited for our super fantastic meal to arrive. We were not disappointed and our meal was as good as before, except better because this time we each had our own. K and I each cleaned our plates and we just sat and kept talking with the boys and G is going to give us a strip tease in a banana hammock on Friday, his day off. We paid our bill after G gave us some little cookie pieces and we kind of made plans to hang out on Thursday night and Friday with them again but basically just told them we’d be back later in the week to Kali’s and we’d get in touch then. We drove back and saw 2 horses just grazing right next to the road, no fence, nothing, so we took some pics and continued on home. We showered and got ready to go to Philipsburg to do some shopping and set off. It took us awhile to find parking but we were soon cruising the shops and there are soooo many jewelry shops it’s overwhelming, but I was on a mission to find new sunglasses and eventually settled on some $100 gold rimmed Ray Ban aviators. We walked back to the car and drove to Le Grand Marche to do some light grocery shopping for the essentials: baguette, brie, butter, jam, strawberries, cereal and milk then drove the 20 minute trip home. We killed the baguette then I read Whale Rider and we eventually decided to watch Alfie and went to bed when it was over. Probably about 11:30.
Sunday 9/24, I woke up around 7:30 but went back to bed (was also awakened in the middle of the night by someone blasting rap from their car in addition to the crazy heat) then woke up again at 9:30 and tried to get K up but was not successful so I got ready and went down to the Shipwreck Shop, bought a beach towel, some postcards and stamps. Came back and got her up and going with news that the wind was blowing and that meant the surfers would be out. That got her going. We did postcards then hit “Mom and Pops” for some breakfast fare. Drove up to Orient Beach after hearing it had the best beach (it was after 11:00 at this point) and is also where our waiter from the previous night lives, so after getting turned around a few times we found it. We unloaded the car and headed down, passed like 5 cute guys working the water sports cabana and walked down the beach to find a good spot for tanning. We went in the beautiful water for a little bit then laid out and scoped out guys. K went topless of course and some Portuguese guy asked a jewelry vendor to ask her if he could take a picture of her…she said no. He was fat and nasty. Around 12:15 we decided to leave to go to Kali’s at Friar Bay (a suggestion of waiter’s for good live music on Sundays for lunch). 2 of the guys in the water sports cabana walked by as we were packing up and I said hi, they said hi back, but nothing manifested, we left, though extremely sandy. On our way we passed 3 guys hitchhiking so K pulls over and a guy around our age, a younger guy and a little surfer looking kid pile in and tell us how to get to Friar Bay and we dropped them on the side of the road and headed down this little road which eventually turned dirt and led us right to Kali’s Beach Bar on the beach. We got dressed, headed in (took some pictures too), and got seated in this beautiful setting. All the wait staff were cute guys minus Kali, the Rastafarian owner, and we were greeted very warmly. Wink wink. Our waiter was David (pronounced Da-Veed, yes, he’s French) and he was really nice, helpful and would chat with us for long intervals. Kali would sit and chat as well and sat at one point for about 20 minutes and then through our desert (Bananas foster or “flambé”). For lunch we shared a roasted red pepper stuffed overwhelmingly with goat cheese and for the main we had the most delicious chicken kabobs, they were so juicy and flavorful…we vowed right then to come back. David tried to give us some rum after lunch though I thwarted him from pouring mine. There was another super cute waiter who was full of pep always saying hi, singing, running around with no shoes on, just a happy go lucky guy…or maybe he just had ADD. It started raining and Kali moved our table undercover, finally we got our bill, paid and started out. Kali stopped us first to make sure we would be coming back, then David, who invited to take us to a secluded swimming beach at 9:30 the next morning and we invited the cute friend too (he kissed K’s hand) but he said he was working, “But not on Fridays!” Oooh. It was pouring by this point so we ran to the car and started back home, though we were held up momentarily by a 2’ iguana in the middle of the road. We made it back despite huge puddles of standing water on the road in many places and our car throwing a fit several times. I showered and laid around then we finished our movie (not that good – Elizabethtown). Around 7:15 we left to go back to Orient Bay for dinner but stopped by the pool first to see what all the noise was about, drove there and went to this Safari Café and shared the asparagus risotto and hot chocolate cake. K’s napkin blew right toward this guy who had been making eyes at us for a while from the bar. We paid and as we were driving away him and his friends were waving us back but we drove away. Stopped by Mom and Pops for some snacks, ie donuts, then up to our place to watch Match Point.
Saturday 9/23, We landed at 6:00 am in Atlanta and found our concourse but decided to explore other concourses to find breakfast food, found a place but the food was terrible so we were both unsatisfied and went back to our gate. K fell asleep on the floor and I was freezing so I went and got a hot chocolate. Finally it was time to board and luckily our plane wasn’t full so we got the row to ourselves and both fell asleep again before we even took off. The first flight was 4.5 hours and this one was 3h 45m and I slept for probably half of it, seriously the best ever. As we were coming in for our landing we both got really excited because it looked beautiful. When I stepped off the plane the heat hit me like a brick, especially since I was wearing a long sleeved thermal, jeans, socks and shoes. We went through customs, which entailed handing over our passports and getting a stamp, and my first order of business was to get my tank top on. I waited in the bathroom line forever and by the time I got out our bags had come so we went out and boarded the shuttle to the rental car place. I put K in charge of bags again and I went in to get in line which totally worked because I was second in line out of about 7 or 8 people. The guy pulled our car up and K was like “Are you kidding?” so we piled into our little “roller skate” and started on our way to the condo. The car has no power but we made it despite some very tricky directions. St. Maarten / St. Martin is a very poor place, poverty I mean, though I haven’t really felt threatened at all and I want to check out crime stats because I don’t think it’s very high. So we find Oyster Bay Beach Resort, got checked in and the cutest little guy (well he was actually very tall, but, you know) helped us to our condo and even carried both of our big bags up to the third level where the breeze was delightful. We each tipped him and he said to call if we needed anything. The place is open, clean and nice, not luxurious, but it’s nice and has a fabulous view of the marina and surrounding estates. We both showered and decided to get ready and head to Marigot, which is on the French side and across the island. K drove and we found it fairly easily. Luckily there are signs everywhere telling us where to go. We drove through but continued on until we realized we were very far from where we wanted to be (Nettle Bay) so we turned around, parked by a Boulangerie, each got a pain au chocolate and started exploring. Found some cute restaurants and the first one had some very nice waiters so we said we’d come back after looking around the marina. Some French guy told K she spoke French well then we went back. They sat us and we started talking. The one gave us some tips and a map for places to go and eat. We got a Margarita pizza and 4 fromage pasta. Both were delicious and they tried to get us to drink a shot of their homemade rum (“It’s tradition!” we later found out at EVERY place we went!). They also gave us each a virgin welcome cocktail which I think was some fancy fruit drink. We got some pictures then headed back to the car and home. We put a movie on but couldn’t make it more than about 10 minutes watching so turned in around 9:00.
Friday 9/22, Work was kind of a fiasco but I still got to leave work early so it was ok, went home and packed more / got nervous / just hung out / etc. Finally left for Mercer Island at 7:00 and sat in traffic trying to get to Grandma and Grandma’s to park and sat talking to Grandpa until 8 when Kassie and Frank (Frassie) picked me up. Got to the airport with no problems, got checked in and found the bagel place still open so we each got some good food and went to our gate. We hit the newsstand place to get candy, snacks and magazines then waited by our gate again. Called Dad then Kay-See and heard about her potential new living situation. We boarded, I took a Benadryl to help with sleep and we both pretty much fell asleep right away though these two screaming kids kept waking everyone up but I probably got about 2.5 hours of sleep anyway, which is more than I think I’ve ever gotten.
Friday 9/29, I woke around 9:30 and went down and got a baguette for breakfast and got ready and G called right as K was getting out of bed and we made plans to pick him up at 11:30 to go swimming. One of my favorite things to do is get up earlier than K, put on a cd in the little boom box, sit out on our lanai and look at the bay or write in this. It’s just such a great way to start the day. We both got ready but were running a little late though we made some good time going the French side and ended up being only about 5 minutes late. We went to Mullet Bay, on the Dutch side, parked and walked across the golf course to the beautiful beach. There were some dogs running wild and I thought they belonged to this guy but he said no, then it kind of bit G on the arm, so we were trying to keep it away. I decided to hit the water and right as I got to the edge of the water the dog jumped up on my back and was trying to bite me but I was pushing it off and K and G came to my rescue and chased it off. We all got in the water at that point and were swimming and laughing. We would spend some time in the water then get out and lay on the sand and tan then repeat. We were there for maybe an hour and a half then decided to go back to the car and go get some lunch. G said he knew a good place to go. We went to Baie Rouge and ate at Chez Raymond right there on the beach. We all got fruity drinks and even had some extra free ones brought later, I think either G’s connection to Raymond or our waiter liking us sisters is responsible. For lunch I got the beef kabob and determined that in the Caribbean they really know how to prepare meat. It was so incredibly flavorful and juicy. I’ve never had anything like it. So, it was delicious, to say the least. K ordered bananas flambé but there was so much rum she made G eat it, so he put them in his frozen. Then some guy came over that G knows and K, G and this guy went off for an hour or something and smoked, and I had to fait du pee pee so bad that when they got back I insisted we take a swim. While sitting waiting for them I sat and looked at the ocean and enjoyed just being with my thoughts, it was beautiful and I was so sad it was our last day. We all took a swim and it was so beautiful. It was about 5:30 and the sun was setting and reflecting off the water and it was the perfect temperature out and the water as well. I was so sublimely happy, luckily I captured it on video. Then these two guys came up and were talking to K and me and asking all kinds of questions like who G was (I said our bodyguard) and if we have bfs at home, the one really liked me and I told K it was because I have a bigger butt. I wasn’t interested in talking anymore so I went back in the water to be with G and he said he didn’t know these guys and when K motioned with her hand like a phone I said that maybe she wanted to give the guys his phone number and he goes “She’s crazy, never way” like never, no way. It was really funny but we realized that she was signaling because his phone was ringing, so he got out and K got back in and told me the guys told her they know G but he was disrespecting them by not saying hi and he was jealous of them. She also said the one told her he loves his ladies long time and wants to come to the US to visit. Yikes. We decide to go then these two older guys dog G on the way out by asking if we were his sisters because they’d never seen him with girls before. We got in the car and G tells us the guys on the beach said they wanted to hang out with us and he was like “They’re right there, go for it” like they were talking a big game or something. We brought G back to his hotel and told him to call us in an hour and a half and set off and actually saw the two guys from the beach in their white van and tried to avoid eye contact and drive fast. We drove the French side back and I continued to feel so happy, thankful and appreciative of the beauty on SXM and tried to acknowledge and absorb every second I had left. As we descended into Oyster Pond we passed the hot cops I had seen earlier in their “Hot Cop Van,” like 5 of them seriously. So we see these two standing on the road and we’re driving by really slowly, with the windows down of course, and one of them says “Bon Soir” and we’re both like, at the same time, “BON SOIR!” they were so hot, but we didn’t stop, then 20 feet later, after the cop commotion, these 2 locals are walking down the hill so as we pass I say “Bon Soir” and they throw their hands up so K stops and we chat for a second then take back off and finally make it to our room. We showered and got ready and headed back out to meet G at 8:30 to get dinner. We drove back to Grand Case to get pizza and since they’d both smoked and G ate one of K’s “space cakes” apparently he was going to be out of it in a half hour or so. We went to this fancy pizza place and the waitress was a total bitch and when G asked if they didn’t have Perrier instead of what she brought us she looked right at K and said “Non!” we all laughed at that. I got a really good pizza with tomatoes and garlic and lots of other veggies but couldn’t eat it all, shame! We took off for Le Noche to get dessert and the place was hopping. We ordered two chocolate cakes and G was so out of it but he ate all of his and then zoned out. The peppy waitress brought three shots of rum but none of us wanted them and were looking for a receptacle of some kind to dispose of them but then G pounded them and I called him my hero. He was getting a little too touchy feely with K so I sent her to pay the bill. We took off and drove G back to his hotel and dropped him off because he had to work the next day and was totally loaded. We told him we’d see him tomorrow and took off back home via the Dutch side. K and I got in a tiff about what time to get up and we went to bed not talking to each other.
Thursday 9/28, I got up at 10:15, had breakfast, sat outside and read, etc. I woke K up a little after 11 because if we were going to meet Clifton at FB at 12 we had to get going. We got on the road and stopped in Grand Case at the little Creperie / Boulangerie we had seen the night before for a morning snack. K ordered a crepe that was a little gooey and I got a really good pain au chocolate that was the most buttery one I’ve ever had, basically it had butter dripping out of it, but it was delicious. We paid and drove to FB and K talked to G while I hit the water and found out Clifton never showed with his Jamaican weed so it didn’t matter that we were 45 minutes late. We swam and laid on the beach and K built a snow man but the enormous waves kept ruining it and shooting sand into our crotches. Some guy whistled at K and she got mad thinking it was the same creepy guy from yesterday who was lurking by the car, but I think it was the guys working on the swimming pool. She was all “Shut the fuck up”. The beach boy for the day was the usual bartender, Roger, and Ben was working the bar so we asked for virgin pinas and he told us to sit in the chairs so we did that and took pictures for a long time just drinking and enjoying the peacefulness of it, I paid our bill ($5 a piece for those drinks!) and said goodbye to G (Roger called me baby) and hit the road because I was bleeding all over and needed to get back. We stopped in GC again to pick up a baguette and it was so soft, yum. Got home and showered / cleaned up then ate the entire baguette with brie, butter and jam. K and I were marmot for a little bit then G called at 5:20 to say he was off work and our exchange was funny, I go “Hi!” in high pitched voice and he did it back “Hi Karrah!” so he knew it was me from my greeting. He didn’t know what was happening with his fadda and the lobstahs so he said don’t leave the hotel and he would call us back. K and I sat on the balcony and talked about where we wanted to go next year and explored the many possibilities and are going to see how things look with my raise. At 7 G still hadn’t called so K called him and told him we were leaving then to meet us at Buccaneer (K thought Buccaneer was a cowboy and G was like “No, comme pirate!”) so we hit the road and went to the ATM in Marigot then over to Nettle Bay to pick him up. First we went on a drug run and I was very nervous and just wanted to get the hell out but both K and G were telling me to calm down and G even told the fricken drug dealer that I was scared of the part of town we were in. Cripes. We got the Jamaican shit and went to his Dad’s to pick up the lobsters and see the operation he had going on. They were all in these Jacuzzi looking baths with a ton of lobsters crawling around and trying to escape. G caught the biggest one and we got some pictures but it started flailing about and lost some legs so he put it back. G was then running about collecting things for our beach BBQ while we played with the kitten, Vanille (“Je t’aime Vanille!”) and met his dad and gf who was afraid we were going to take her cat. Soon we were on our way to the gas station for some fuel for our fire which was just put in an empty water bottle, not the most legit of containers for gasoline, but I guess that’s island style. We went back to his place to use the beach there but decided on one a little farther down that had more light so we put stuff down and foraged for wood, but this isn’t the forest and there isn’t just scraps and logs of wood lying around so we start to head back to his dad’s for wood and also his dad calls just then to say we’d forgotten the lobster there. Finally we got back to the beach and G started putting the fire together and puts the gas on when it’s already lit so this enormous fire ball erupts and lights him on fire and he throws the bottle over to this area with brush so then the beach is on fire and shit’s burning everywhere so I start throwing sand on everything in a fury and K’s holding her coconut of weed just sitting and watching then two guys come over and thought G was an idiot and helped us put the rest of it out. After that I was a little frazzled and kind of just wanted to go home or out to eat. He cooked the lobsters (la langouste) and around 11 they were done and while he’d been doing that K and I had been coming up with phrases in English that we wanted G to translate such as: “Get your balls out of my face” and “What does that have to do with you having a girl friend?” or “How big is your yacht?” or “Tell that bitch to shut her mouth” and lastly “My sister thinks she’s a police officer” (that one’s Kassie’s). Some cats were milling about the lobsters and G told them he would piss in their faces if they tried anything then told them he would give them a big slap on their asses (luckily I got that one on video). We ate the lobster and rice and I ate a whole bunch even though I wasn’t crazy about it, but come on, I had to. We finished and cleaned up and went back to the car because K wanted ice cream and G thought Haagen Dazs might still be open, but it wasn’t so we went back to his dad’s to drop off all the stuff then dropped him at home and took the Dutch side home. It was late.
Wednesday 9/27, I woke up at 8:45 and ate breakfast then woke K up cause we wanted to get an early start on the Marigot Wednesday market. We drove down on the French side since that’s what we prefer despite taking a little longer and parked by the pier and walked through the stalls. We each bought this display box with local St. Martin seeds from a woman who makes them with her husband and she actually showed us all the seeds in a book, including the Flamboyant seed, so G was right, it is a plant. She also showed us the one called “Old Woman’s Tongue” because it’s a very noisy tree, which we thought was really funny. Next I fronted K money for an embroidery trimmed Peter Tosh tank top from a Rasta. We hit the Creperie next and got some food but because it was so fucking hot I said, “Fuck the fruit market, let’s go swimming” so we headed to Friar’s Bay. We snuck down into the water and just played and floated for about an hour before K went up to inquire whether or not they accepted credit cards because she wanted the chicken again, they said yes so she waved me in from the water, I came in and said hi to all the boys and Kali and we ordered the fun virgin pinas. At one point Kali snuck up on me and poked my side which made me jump and him laugh. We ate all our lunch and just sat talking, but when G tried to run K’s card it wouldn’t go through so I had to go to the car to get my purse and this guy was still sitting there, he’d already talked to both K and I on different occasions and creeped us both out, and asked me to bring him back a beer if it was ok, but I told him I didn’t know if it was. It was weird and I just wanted to get away from him so I hurried back down. While I was gone G put a lobster on K’s stomach and then it was my turn with him sneaking up and putting it on my back and then telling me to touch it, but I didn’t want to and told him to get it away from me. He told us his dad was “The big lobstah boss on de island.” G wanted to take a swim but we were going to leave so he asked us if we were very busy and had a lot to do, which is what would require us to leave so quickly, so we said ok, we’ll stay and swim even though we’d just eaten. We went out first and started calling his name in super high pitched voices “Guuillauuuuuume!” and he called back in the same voice “Just a miiiiinute, I’m cooooming” cause he was serving some women on the beach. He came out and we swam and talked for awhile and he gave us some suggestions for our fancy AP dinner and thought he was coming too but K told him it was just for us and we would meet up with him after and go out dancing. He tried it again so K told him he wasn’t going to dinner and he was all “Ok, that’s cool, no that’s cool” all pretend mad and getting out of the water so we laughed and called after him and all these people in the water were laughing as well, it was funny. We swam a little longer and I found a pretty greet heart rock for Chrystol. We were both searching rocks for a long time, but when I was in the surf this huge wave came up and pelted my feet and ankle with rocks and it was so painful my toe has a big cut on it and my ankle is all bruised up, boo! We said our final good bye to G with him saying he’s call us when he was done with work and took off for home. We showered and ended up both falling asleep and I had this weird dream both Mom’s were throwing me a surprise mock-wedding and I was mortified and didn’t want Eric to know or be invited because it was so fucking weird…they had a registry for me and everything. I finally got K up and moving around 6:30 then G called and we made plans to meet up at 10:30, left our place for Grand Case (pronounced Gran-Cause) at 7:30, found a really cool restaurant called Le Noche with a South Pacific vibe and a great waitress. Our dinner was amazing, for starters they bring you some veggies and warm delicious bread, then for the appetizer we ordered this red pepper and goat cheese salad but they deep fried the pepper in the cheese and it was so fucking good, the best goat cheese dish we’ve had on the island. For my entrée I got the beef filet with caramel sauce and veggie medley. K got the Asian inspired shrimp and chicken with veggies (her chicken was really good) then for dessert we got this molten chocolate and vanilla cake with ice cream and this white pepper sauce, which we ate in its entirety. We got our bill at 10 and paid then left for Marigot to pick up G, but just as we were dropping into Marigot I see this thing standing on the side of the road and my first thought was “Look at the high ass on that deer!” then realized it was a cow, RIGHT ON THE SIDE OF THE FUCKING ROAD INTO MARIGOT! As we pass it it moos so loud it scared the shit out of me and K and I laughed for about 10 minutes because the damn thing must have practically had its head in the window for it to have been as loud as it was. It was so random. The plan was to pick G up at the Buccaneer, across from the le Flamboyant. He was a little late arriving and went and parked his scooter then we headed off to the airport to hit the clubs. He gave us the low down on all the sights and finally we arrived, parked and went into Bamboo Bernies (BAM-boo). We went to the bar first and he bought us a water and we scoped out the situation. It’s an outdoor bar with swimming pool and lights strung up everywhere, totally cool. We found a corner to dance in right by the ocean. K and G danced and it was so cute, his hand was on her butt, all I could do was smile. Then this guy from Boston comes up and starts talking to me and he’s nice but I’m so not interested but he offers to buy us all drinks, including G, so that was nice (“Welcome to my island” bleh, shut it shorty). We all talk and dance for awhile then Boston leaves and says he’ll be back and Clifton, G’s friend and some guys show up and they all want to smoke so we go out to the pier and I saw a shark thrashing about a little way out, they all smoked and were surprised when I asked “Quelle heure?” and insisted I speak French from then on, but I refused. We went back in and Boston spotted us straight off and was like “Where have you guys been?” yuck, go away. Then he tried to dance with me all sultry style but I told him I didn’t want to but he persisted, then K stepped in and told him off (he had tried to grab her earlier and was looking down her dress, so she was already pissed off) so he finally left with hurt feelings, oh well. K and I really started dancing and the boys just stayed off to the side and watched. This older guy comes over and says something to me but I can’t understand but he won’t come repeat, then comes over again later and I still can’t understand because he blurts it out and flees so I yell “Quoi? I can’t understand you!” and finally he comes back over and asks us in English where we’re from and K says Seattle and he says we don’t look like Americans and he thought we were from Holland so that’s why he kept speaking to us in Dutch, which we both took as an enormous compliment. He then leaves but continues to smile at me for the rest of the night from across the dance floor. It started raining and it felt so good because it was so hot and we were all sweating like crazy. The three of us were just dancing to mid-90s tunes and that Basement Jaxx song about shaking that ass and having a good time but decided to go sit down for a few minutes so we got a little French lesson and decided to go. We found Clifton and friends (one with diamond braces, the other with eyeliner) and said goodbye. Everyone was looking at G like he was the man when we were leaving and the bouncer even gave him a special handshake as we exited. We dropped G back at his place, each got our 2 kisses, he told us sweet dreams and we were on our way home via the Dutch side because it was late and it would be quicker.
Tuesday 9/26, We got kind of a late start with me getting up first and having breakfast and updating this then woke K up and we got going. We were going to hit the rental car place to let them know our A/C stopped working and also that the radio didn’t work, luckily they exchanged it out with no hassle and we were on our way to Marigot. We hit the mall first (West Indies) and it was pretty small and all the women looked at us like we were either lepers or like we were going to steal something, but K showed some of them in the cosmetic shop a thing or two by buying the new Marc Jacobs perfume and some pricey after sun cream. Next we looked for a place to have lunch and passed by all these guys that get taxis for you and they were all like “You sisters?” seriously, all of them, then one says “Twins? Twins?” we say no and he says “I need one of you for my wife” and since K’s the hippie she can have him because he’s got dreads. We finally found a place with a cute bartender and a nice waitress where I got the pesto and balsamic goat cheese tomato salad and it was so good especially on such a hot day. It was fucking roasting. I also got a few pictures of those vans. Finally. We finished there and walked back to the car, headed out of Marigot (a way we hadn’t been yet) and down to Friar’s Bay to swim, cool off and say hi to Guillaume. We slipped into the water unnoticed and swam for a long time and also went to the bathroom. K stated that she was peeing for like the 5th time and I said “Only #2 for me” then started laughing so hard because I didn’t mean it how it sounded and the thought of pooping in that beautiful water was hilarious. We laughed for a long time over that one. Finally we got G’s attention and he said he would be back to chat but we were kind of making plans for the evening. Back on our side I was playing in the water by myself and at one point got my feet swept out from underneath me and fell then got tossed around in the waves and on the rocks like a fucking rag doll, luckily K saw and laughed her ass off and thankfully no one else did, I don’t think, especially G. It was mortifying and painful but I wish I could have had it on video because that shit would have been hilarious to watch. I keep replaying it in my head and cracking up. I’ve got battle wound on my back to remember it by at least, because I’m pretty sure it’s going to leave a scar. We were up on the sand just relaxing and sunning ourselves when G snuck up behind us and scared the shit out of me but quickly returned to work. Pretty soon we were out of the water for good. We went and talked to G who said he would come back and give us his phone number so we gathered our things and Ben came over and gave me 2 kisses on the cheeks and G came back and we exchanged phone #s and he’s staying at the Flamboyant Hotel (which he told us was a plant but we didn’t believe him) and we said we’d talk to him later and headed back and got a baguette at Mom and Pops for an afternoon snack. Ate most of that then I read and K fell asleep on the couch. I woke her and we decided to walk and check out the restaurants but Beau Beau’s was closed and Daniel’s (Mr. Busby’s) was too expensive for what we wanted, despite his trying to cajole us into eating there, so we drove over to the marina but that was expensive as well, so we decided to just drive until we found a good opportunity, which came in the form of Le Taitu, which was a French / Creole place. We each got a salad and shared the Creole chicken, both were tasty. While we were waiting for our entrée the power went out and all over, not just the restaurant, and it was really romantic with just the candles, then it came back on after about 10 minutes then it went out again for about 10 minutes after that for 5 minutes. For dessert we had this chocolate / vanilla ice cream with hot fudge and whip cream that was amazing. We paid and came home to find the message light blinking on the phone and two messages from G and we had just missed him but couldn’t figure out how to call him so K went down to the front desk and while she was gone he called again and I talked to him until K got there but before we could make concrete plans to go out his phone disconnected and we figured out that since he’s got a French # it’s considered an international call from the Dutch side. So we watched Igby Goes Down instead and went to bed around midnight.
Monday 9/25, We set the alarm for 8:30 so we could get up and ready, find breakfast and meet David by 9:30 at Friar’s Bay. We got pain au chocolate at Mom and Pops where the guy told us we could call ahead to reserve pastries any morning and gave us a business card, we both found this idea to be hilarious, and then set out on our way. When we got there both Guillaume and Benjamin said David had forgotten he had to work that morning at some organic farmer’s dock or something and had asked the boys to tell us he was sorry he was missing our “rendezvous”. We chatted with them for a minute and got directions to Happy Beach and reassured them we would be back for lunch and set off down the beach. We started to walk up to the rocky coast because K insisted David told her that was the way but I was sure Ben had said you have to take a trail by the red sign, so we start to go to the rocks and this woman in the water yells at us asking where we’re going and that to get to Happy Beach you must take the trail, so we start following this semi-trail through some dense woods and super tall grass whipping us in the face and arms just waiting for an ax murderer to pop out but none did. Duh. Finally we come across this little beach and take a trail down and jump into the turquoise water. We both shed our tops and just played in the totally secluded and private beach. We joked Kali had a cam there and was filming us. We floated on our backs listening to the underwater crackling sounds and eventually found ourselves back closer to shore talking about sex and number of partners. It started to rain a little but only lightly and for a few minutes so we stayed in the water and rode it out. We got lots of pictures then decided to walk back and get lunch and hang on the beach with the cute boys. As we’re walking the trail back we run into David who is exasperated and all sweaty and had gone back and forth from Happy Beach three times looking for us, but couldn’t find us because we weren’t at HB, apparently it was farther down from where we were, whoops. So we chatted about Kali and his wife on the way back down and finally made it, put our stuff down and jumped back in the water with David. G came out and talked with us too and said he could see us from the beach and called us “les deux filles blanche” then said he would bring us drinks after I caressed his arm suggestively and said “Pleeeease?” he was like, ok, for you but not David. He’s so cute with his French / Rastafarian accent, adorable! K and I both want to make out with him. He went back in and we stayed in the water for awhile then decided to lay in the sun, so we took up some of Kali’s beach chairs and didn’t have to pay and K and I took turns on the one in the sun, then Ben brought out 2 delicious non-alcoholic drinks for us which we later learned G had bought us. I rubbed K down but not very well and she got a blotchy burn. D and I went back in the water and G came out to ask me which sides I wanted with my chicken and said it would be ready at 1:00. Then K came back out and D (who used to play “American football” in Canada) taught us some exercises for the water and after laughing hysterically for awhile it started to rain and G runs out to the edge of the surf and says “Rain, come in!” then turned around and walked off which made all of us laugh so hard, and we proceeded to repeat throughout the day. We headed up to the beach to get ready for our lunch. We moved our stuff to a table, got some pictures of the boys and waited for our super fantastic meal to arrive. We were not disappointed and our meal was as good as before, except better because this time we each had our own. K and I each cleaned our plates and we just sat and kept talking with the boys and G is going to give us a strip tease in a banana hammock on Friday, his day off. We paid our bill after G gave us some little cookie pieces and we kind of made plans to hang out on Thursday night and Friday with them again but basically just told them we’d be back later in the week to Kali’s and we’d get in touch then. We drove back and saw 2 horses just grazing right next to the road, no fence, nothing, so we took some pics and continued on home. We showered and got ready to go to Philipsburg to do some shopping and set off. It took us awhile to find parking but we were soon cruising the shops and there are soooo many jewelry shops it’s overwhelming, but I was on a mission to find new sunglasses and eventually settled on some $100 gold rimmed Ray Ban aviators. We walked back to the car and drove to Le Grand Marche to do some light grocery shopping for the essentials: baguette, brie, butter, jam, strawberries, cereal and milk then drove the 20 minute trip home. We killed the baguette then I read Whale Rider and we eventually decided to watch Alfie and went to bed when it was over. Probably about 11:30.
Sunday 9/24, I woke up around 7:30 but went back to bed (was also awakened in the middle of the night by someone blasting rap from their car in addition to the crazy heat) then woke up again at 9:30 and tried to get K up but was not successful so I got ready and went down to the Shipwreck Shop, bought a beach towel, some postcards and stamps. Came back and got her up and going with news that the wind was blowing and that meant the surfers would be out. That got her going. We did postcards then hit “Mom and Pops” for some breakfast fare. Drove up to Orient Beach after hearing it had the best beach (it was after 11:00 at this point) and is also where our waiter from the previous night lives, so after getting turned around a few times we found it. We unloaded the car and headed down, passed like 5 cute guys working the water sports cabana and walked down the beach to find a good spot for tanning. We went in the beautiful water for a little bit then laid out and scoped out guys. K went topless of course and some Portuguese guy asked a jewelry vendor to ask her if he could take a picture of her…she said no. He was fat and nasty. Around 12:15 we decided to leave to go to Kali’s at Friar Bay (a suggestion of waiter’s for good live music on Sundays for lunch). 2 of the guys in the water sports cabana walked by as we were packing up and I said hi, they said hi back, but nothing manifested, we left, though extremely sandy. On our way we passed 3 guys hitchhiking so K pulls over and a guy around our age, a younger guy and a little surfer looking kid pile in and tell us how to get to Friar Bay and we dropped them on the side of the road and headed down this little road which eventually turned dirt and led us right to Kali’s Beach Bar on the beach. We got dressed, headed in (took some pictures too), and got seated in this beautiful setting. All the wait staff were cute guys minus Kali, the Rastafarian owner, and we were greeted very warmly. Wink wink. Our waiter was David (pronounced Da-Veed, yes, he’s French) and he was really nice, helpful and would chat with us for long intervals. Kali would sit and chat as well and sat at one point for about 20 minutes and then through our desert (Bananas foster or “flambé”). For lunch we shared a roasted red pepper stuffed overwhelmingly with goat cheese and for the main we had the most delicious chicken kabobs, they were so juicy and flavorful…we vowed right then to come back. David tried to give us some rum after lunch though I thwarted him from pouring mine. There was another super cute waiter who was full of pep always saying hi, singing, running around with no shoes on, just a happy go lucky guy…or maybe he just had ADD. It started raining and Kali moved our table undercover, finally we got our bill, paid and started out. Kali stopped us first to make sure we would be coming back, then David, who invited to take us to a secluded swimming beach at 9:30 the next morning and we invited the cute friend too (he kissed K’s hand) but he said he was working, “But not on Fridays!” Oooh. It was pouring by this point so we ran to the car and started back home, though we were held up momentarily by a 2’ iguana in the middle of the road. We made it back despite huge puddles of standing water on the road in many places and our car throwing a fit several times. I showered and laid around then we finished our movie (not that good – Elizabethtown). Around 7:15 we left to go back to Orient Bay for dinner but stopped by the pool first to see what all the noise was about, drove there and went to this Safari Café and shared the asparagus risotto and hot chocolate cake. K’s napkin blew right toward this guy who had been making eyes at us for a while from the bar. We paid and as we were driving away him and his friends were waving us back but we drove away. Stopped by Mom and Pops for some snacks, ie donuts, then up to our place to watch Match Point.
Saturday 9/23, We landed at 6:00 am in Atlanta and found our concourse but decided to explore other concourses to find breakfast food, found a place but the food was terrible so we were both unsatisfied and went back to our gate. K fell asleep on the floor and I was freezing so I went and got a hot chocolate. Finally it was time to board and luckily our plane wasn’t full so we got the row to ourselves and both fell asleep again before we even took off. The first flight was 4.5 hours and this one was 3h 45m and I slept for probably half of it, seriously the best ever. As we were coming in for our landing we both got really excited because it looked beautiful. When I stepped off the plane the heat hit me like a brick, especially since I was wearing a long sleeved thermal, jeans, socks and shoes. We went through customs, which entailed handing over our passports and getting a stamp, and my first order of business was to get my tank top on. I waited in the bathroom line forever and by the time I got out our bags had come so we went out and boarded the shuttle to the rental car place. I put K in charge of bags again and I went in to get in line which totally worked because I was second in line out of about 7 or 8 people. The guy pulled our car up and K was like “Are you kidding?” so we piled into our little “roller skate” and started on our way to the condo. The car has no power but we made it despite some very tricky directions. St. Maarten / St. Martin is a very poor place, poverty I mean, though I haven’t really felt threatened at all and I want to check out crime stats because I don’t think it’s very high. So we find Oyster Bay Beach Resort, got checked in and the cutest little guy (well he was actually very tall, but, you know) helped us to our condo and even carried both of our big bags up to the third level where the breeze was delightful. We each tipped him and he said to call if we needed anything. The place is open, clean and nice, not luxurious, but it’s nice and has a fabulous view of the marina and surrounding estates. We both showered and decided to get ready and head to Marigot, which is on the French side and across the island. K drove and we found it fairly easily. Luckily there are signs everywhere telling us where to go. We drove through but continued on until we realized we were very far from where we wanted to be (Nettle Bay) so we turned around, parked by a Boulangerie, each got a pain au chocolate and started exploring. Found some cute restaurants and the first one had some very nice waiters so we said we’d come back after looking around the marina. Some French guy told K she spoke French well then we went back. They sat us and we started talking. The one gave us some tips and a map for places to go and eat. We got a Margarita pizza and 4 fromage pasta. Both were delicious and they tried to get us to drink a shot of their homemade rum (“It’s tradition!” we later found out at EVERY place we went!). They also gave us each a virgin welcome cocktail which I think was some fancy fruit drink. We got some pictures then headed back to the car and home. We put a movie on but couldn’t make it more than about 10 minutes watching so turned in around 9:00.
Friday 9/22, Work was kind of a fiasco but I still got to leave work early so it was ok, went home and packed more / got nervous / just hung out / etc. Finally left for Mercer Island at 7:00 and sat in traffic trying to get to Grandma and Grandma’s to park and sat talking to Grandpa until 8 when Kassie and Frank (Frassie) picked me up. Got to the airport with no problems, got checked in and found the bagel place still open so we each got some good food and went to our gate. We hit the newsstand place to get candy, snacks and magazines then waited by our gate again. Called Dad then Kay-See and heard about her potential new living situation. We boarded, I took a Benadryl to help with sleep and we both pretty much fell asleep right away though these two screaming kids kept waking everyone up but I probably got about 2.5 hours of sleep anyway, which is more than I think I’ve ever gotten.
posted by Karrah at 11:25 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home