We bounced a lot of ideas around about where to travel for our 50th wedding anniversary in May. Some exotic locations came up but as it turned out we decided on SXM, our main happy place since our first trip in May 1988. Our trip was supposed to span 4 weeks from May 12 to June 9 but we cut it short after we got a call from Laraine’s brother on June 2nd with the devastating news that his wife died unexpectedly that day. On June 4th we were on a flight home to attend her services which were later that same week.
To get home in just a few days, first we tried to change the return leg of our round trip United tickets IAD / SXM / IAD, but the cost would have been about $3000 extra. This was a bit crazy since the two round trip United tickets were originally only about $1300. Instead of trying to mess with bereavement adjustments on short notice, we settled in on buying two one way tickets on Delta, SXM / ATL / BWI for about $1200. At home a few weeks later, we contacted United. After providing a death certificate and link to the obituary, United agreed to refund half of the cost of the return tickets and gave us future flight credit for the rest. Not sure how they came up with that equation but….. Fair enough.
We were originally going to be away for 4 weeks and since IAD is a 90 minute drive from our home on the MD eastern shore, we were a bit up in the air about how to handle airport transportation. Taxi or Uber, IAD parking, and park and fly were all pretty pricey options. Then we remembered an idea we saw a while ago on TTOL. This involved renting a car at BWI the day before our trip, keep the car at home overnight, then dropping the car at IAD early the next morning when we grab our flight to SXM. This worked quite well except that driving halfway around the DC beltway in pouring rain at 4:30 am was a bit stressful. We planned on doing this in reverse on the return but our unexpected early return (to BWI) made it unnecessary. The original plan would have only cost about $120 total for two one-way car rentals from Hertz.
Our 23 days in SXM was wonderful. We had looked into Beachside Villas since we enjoyed that last September, but it was a bit out of our price range for an extended stay this time of year. We ended up staying at a VRBO studio apartment in the Simpson Bay Yacht Club. The studio was in the west section with the entrance next to the closed NOLA. Gebe was power shedding most days so we had to get any electrical dependent activities, (like making coffee) done early. All in all, the room was quite comfortable and of course a great location.
The unit was right next to the lap pool which we used most every morning. The room had a full kitchen and partial view of the lagoon. We also had a nice balcony which we used most evenings. During one of the weeks, another couple in the building would swim laps in the pool without swimsuits. We did see one of the guards talking to them one day. Not sure if the guard gave them a warning or just came by to spectate. Obviously, unusual activity for the Dutch side but kind of funny and not an issue for us.
We rented a car from Hertz SXM which went mostly well. Hertz SXM took into account the fact that we lost almost a week of rental and cut the cost back. However, I did have a little interaction with a boulder one Sunday while trying to find a parking space in the busy Orient Beach parking lot near Le String. I took the car back to Hertz and filed an accident report. Luckily I had checked the terms on my credit cards before I rented and had paid for the car with my United Explorer Visa which covers the collision. (Some cards have dropped that coverage) So Hertz billed my Visa for the damages $990 and emailed me all of the documents needed for the collision reimbursement. (Final bill showing that visa was used, accident report, pictures of the damage, damage cost estimate, etc) I submitted all of this to the Explorer Visa claims department and they have already issued a deposit to my checking account for the $990.
Our first night on the island May 12, was nice and low key, pizza and some live music at Buccaneer's Beach Bar. More to come....
Thank you for your report. Sorry for your loss and that you had to cut your trip short a bit. We too do a one way rental car to/from the airport. It’s definitely cheaper than parking and we don’t have to inconvenience any of our friends or family for a ride as we are about 2 hours from SEA. Looking forward to part 2!
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