Hello all.
A bit delayed, but the vacation was a whirlwind of surprises, so was pretty busy. lol
I celebrated my 70th Birthday while on island, and unbeknownst to me, some members of our travel group had arranged "5" good friends of mine to arrive on island for my birthday to surprise me!
We stayed at the Sol Y Mar Villa above the Greenhouse restaurant in Simpson Bay. Hands down, best location on the island. We love it there. IRE vacations are tremendous to deal with. Cold beer, pop, bread, butter, all the basics in the fridge upon arrival. Just awesome. And a thank you note and bottle of champagne for me,,,Nice treat!
Some of the other "surprise" guests had booked at the Royal Palm - all loved their rooms, but some were speaking of the noise of NO Where Special, which we have all heard about. Wow, they are loud.
Several meals were had at the Greenhouse, as it was so handy to us when we didnt feel like venturing out. I have found out they are the only restaurant to my knowledge where I could order just a lobster tail, and I might add, it was delicious. Never a complaint with Greenhouse Food. Their bang, bang shrimp and chicken were delicious - as many of you know.
Seemed Buccaneer Beach Bar has picked up quite a bit. Lots of people most days and nights....cheap chair rentals for beach if you choose that beach, I prefer other beaches. Entertainment nightly which was good also.
Of course we ate at the Palms for one meal. As usual the filet mignon was to die for. In my opinion they should include 2 sides, not one when ordering a meal, but thats just my opinion
We tried Secret Seafood for the first time. Most enjoyed their Salmon meal, I had Snapper and was not impressed. Prices were fair. Probably will pass on next visit.
We visited the Simpson Bay Yacht Club almost everyday, either for breakfast or happy hour which led into the evening. Just cant beat that place for fun, yacht watching, meeting up with people, etc. The happy hour entertainment was VERY good. Tons of fun.
On Monday night we walked down to Huppel the Pub. WOW, is all I can say. What a party. The band was excellent, atmosphere great, but let me tell you our waitress (Moe) made our evening. I sat and watched her and was totally amazed at the awesome service she provides to all the patrons. Just excellent! We closed the place at 2am....fun, fun, fun.
Spent a day at Orient Beach and the waves were huge, my daughter (27) and her friends really enjoyed it. Ate at Playa, food was excellent. I tried the waves, but when I was knocked over and lost the bottom of my suit, that was it for me! LOL
Unfortunately, with so many of our friends coming and going, we didnt get to as many beaches as I wanted to. With the villa we stayed in having its own pool, people were in and out for cocktails and then we would wonder out for food.
Walked down to Pizza Italy one night, as I had read good reports, but the pizza was blah,,very thin crust, soggy and not real good. One other night we ordered delivery from Dominos and it was the best Hawaian Pizza I had ever eaten, not like the Dominos in Canada which I dislike.
We had to visit Juggies for the first time. Good fun. We also tried the CRAVE burgers that all rave about. It was delicious. Although,Tap and Still has a great burger as well. My vote goes to Tap and Still only because they serve "real" Fresh cut fries with their burger and the price is right. My daughter and friends on a budget probably ate at Tap n Still 3 times
The traffic was worse than any other year in the 20 years I have been coming to the island. The weather was not up to par either. First three days it rained, and not just for a wee bit. It would stop and within an hour was raining again. Those would have been good beach days before all the extra visitors came.
The "no-see-ums" were the worst I have ever experienced on SXM. Probably because of all the wet weather, which is perfect breeding ground. My one friend looked like he had a severe case of chicken pox, it was awful.
But, alas, celebrating my 70th with all my good friends and family, I am not complaining, I LOVE SXM, and will be back.
One sour note, and very upsetting for me, was upon return home when I opened my checked bag, it was obvious that it had been rifled through. An expensive bottle of perfume was stolen (which I could not have put in my carry on) and also my pink sapphire/diamond ring. But the worst was my mother's family ring that I gave to her when I was 20 years old. It was not worth a lot of money but to me it was priceless. I know, I know, please do not tell me nothing of value should be put in checked baggage. I had it all hidden in my make up bag, like I always did for 20 years. BUT, I HAVE LEARNED MY LESSON, and it was a tough one. From my post on Facebook, sounds like quite a bit of stuff is stolen from the SXM airport from checked baggage. I have tried to file a report to add to the list, but cannot get through to police in SXM, or Westjet, etc. Oh well, like I said, lesson learned.
Again, we all live and learn. I love the island and could not think of a better place to celebrate my 70th Birthday. Hubby bought me a nice diamond.
I will try to post a couple of pictures, but I suck at this, lol We will be back.
Hopefully the pic of our group attaches??
![[Linked Image]](https://www.traveltalkonline.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/download/Number/18987/filename/image_6483441.JPG)
https://www.traveltalkonline.com/tmp/18987.jpghttps://www.traveltalkonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=filemanager&g=0&post_id=330131&id=81ff117d8b495cff06b0eb771ec81345&f=1&init=1
Hey Carol.....I was able to attach a couple more pics....most are in the villa from different angles,,,,,obviously one is a pic at Juggies......I must be getting better at this....wink wink......
.
