Ok, landed at 11:10 pm, 11:20 got to immigration, 11:23 stood at baggage claim, 11:29 picked up luggage.... yeah, right.

[color:"red"] People [/color]

The usual suspects: JD (ruralcarrier) uh-dad, Wendell (& the non-girlfriend - the lovely Lois), Gretchen, Leslie, Sheila (& Chris), Sue, Kevin (Mmartinfan), Deepti, Jeff, Augie (on his way out to party hardy at Cheri’s)

Met some new faces: Jill (JillUSPS) & Charlie, Barbara (yeah!), JohnMichael, Cheryl & Ted, Cole & Michaela (ColeinKC), Rayleone, Larry & Gretchen (Larry), Kevin from Texas, Marybeth, and…..I am sure there were others through the Presidente haze….

Finally met the one and only Barbara. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> As awesome as I imagined. And, was pleasantly surprised to run into her again a few nights later at Halsey’s when I met up with my long time SXM friends, only to find out that they also happen to be her long time friends too! photo She was dining over at Lee’s with some “unusual suspects”. So, we joined our groups together and picked up some more randoms (Sheila, Chris, & Sue) as they walked by on the road. I think KevinNYC (aka Nancyboy) really is the Pied Piper - people seem to come out of nowhere to all find each other when he is around.

Met some new friends who I already feel like are old friends “Can you hear me now?“: KevinNYC, JamieB & Danny photo - what can I say? Y’all are a sick, sick group. And, I love ya and had a blast with you! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" /> I don’t know who was stalking who - me, you guys or you guys, me? I had originally written in this report to let me know when my court ordered NYC trip is. However, in the last several hours I have received my subpoena! But, can I bring my cat? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cat.gif" alt="" /> Jamie, I think we think too much alike! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> “Kevin, why didn’t you…?!?!?!?” <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Toilet.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> Danny, let me know when I can expect those earrings. (yeah, yeah, the t-shirts are great. But, dahling… diamonds baby!) We were either all separated at birth or dropped on our heads at the same angle as kids. I really hope you all will be back for Regatta 2006.

Because of all the fun with everyone above I did not spend enough time with my long time SXM buds. Besides, I think some of you may have scared them a bit! LOL But, thankfully, I did get to spend SOME time with them. I had a couple great meals with them and their families and a few fun late nights out.

[color:"green"] Regatta[/color]
For those that have never been it really is a great time to be on island. Seeing all the boats, whether from a spectator boat or from the shore, is really an amazing sight to see. There was little or no wind this year which made for a rather quiet Regatta. However, it was still awesome from a spectator’s point of view.

After dinner on Thursday JD, Jill, Charlie and I headed to Port de Plaisance (or “Port dah Pleasure” for certain people!) for the first night’s Regatta Party. Charlie (surprise surprise) hit the casino while the rest of us enjoyed Iguana Soup who put on their usual entertaining show. The sailors were having quite a bit of fun. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/drinking.gif" alt="" />I still cannot figure out how they can get up early and sail the next day!

Friday night I went to Philipsburg Boardwalk for the Regatta party with my friends, Edsel and Judy. It was VERY crowded. Friday nights here are really nice during non-Regatta times. Many island residents bring their families and enjoy dinner and drinks along the boardwalk. It really is a nice time. This night, however, was WAY too crowded to have that same atmosphere. But, somehow along the line I did run into another long time SXM friend, Ingrid. However, I lost her in the crowd and never found her again. They had several stages set up along the boardwalk with different local acts. Locals, tourists, and sailors all were enjoying the variety of music. It was a bit hard to navigate through the crowd along the boardwalk as many people were stopping to chat, get drinks, or eat. Therefore, in some areas of the walk it got VERY hot. And, since we were with The Mayor (as we called our friend, Edsel) we stopped every five feet or so to chat with someone he knew. We did run into JD and Jill at the center of town (when we came up for air). However, we were just ready to start our walk back through the crowd and on our way home. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/sorry.gif" alt="" />


The Lambada Regatta Spectator Boat on Saturday, booked easily ahead of time with saint-martin-activities.com, was awesome. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> It was amazing to be RIGHT THERE in the mix of the Regatta. photo Sorry to those TTOLers I did not meet right away or even until the Spinnaker party. If I recall correctly when everyone was meeting up I was searching for someone, who shall remain nameless (Monsieur Duct Heineken?) photo , who decided to make a kings entrance just as the boat was pulling away from the dock! This half day sail was just perfect. I think the full day sail would be a bit too long for me. I would highly recommend this to anyone down for Regatta 2006. I know I will be doing it again for sure!

Jimmy Cliff was good. photo However, I don’t think the crowd was as large as last year. The lack of wind that made for a VERY long day of sailing may have contributed to a “slightly” more mellow crowd over last year when the winds were high and the sailors were rowdy. Hmm… or were the winds rowdy and the sailors high? I can’t remember. Gretchen and the girls headed home a bit early this night. However, things did not get going until later. KevinNYC and I, and later Lois, jumped into the crowd and enjoyed Jimmy. After the concert was over we hung around Buccaneer to enjoy some drinks with Danny and Jamie - who were finally done with working the Buccaneer food stand. Memo to Neil>>> next year Jamie needs a satin pillow on top of that wooden bar stool! And, maybe you can get a few of those sailors waiting in line to give her a neck massage too? Just a thought. Sometime after 1 am we (Jamie, Danny, JD, Jill, and I) took KevinNYC home (uh, and thought about taking Jill home too - it was a toss-up!) and then we all went home. Really, Kevin, we did. We DID NOT go over to Halsey’s for their intimate (yeah, right, just 200 or so of their closest friends!) after hours party. That’s our story and we are sticking to it!


The TTOL party at Spinnaker was great - thanks Kevin (Mmartinfan). I hate to even say it, but there were almost too many people there. I don’t think I ever saw ½ of the people that were in the group photo. I think we needed to have some kind of grand entrance announcement for everyone who arrived so that we could all go, “Ohhhhhhhhhhh, that’s so and so. Hi!” And, I think it was a bit hard for anyone who was new and did not know anyone. They almost had to walk in and boldly introduce themselves to groups of people to jump into the mix. Sorry to anyone that felt a little out of place. Next time we’ll have to duct tape you to a beer and a group of people. Speaking of duct tape, Wendell ended the party by “d-peeing” everyone with duct tape. Post party at Lacy C - surprise, surprise photo. Colin, as usual, kept us all happy!

[color:"blue"]Food[/color]
I don’t normally eat out so much. However, this trip I had the pleasure of having some nice meals in good company:

Buccaneer Beach Bar - we were all starving after our Regatta Lambada spectator cruise. The burgers were delicious and the beers COLD!

Halseys - Had a wonderful meal with JD, Jill & Charlie on the official start of my Regatta festivities on Thursday (no sooner, mon!). We ran into 2 other tables of TTOLers there (Wendell and his group and met KevinNYC, JamieB & Danny for the first time) Great meal and wonderful meeting Halsey’s JohnMichael and Jessica (Chef Ryan was busy in the back). Even made it to their lovely intimate (yeah, right) Regatta Sunday night after party after Jimmy Cliff. But, Shhhh, JohnMichael… don’t tell KevinNYC that we made it to the after hours party. Really, Kev, sweetie, we all went home to bed after we took you home! Really.

Pizza Galley - Great place to enjoy some delicious pizza. After the TTOL party Kevin, Jamie, Danny, & I enjoyed a great meal here while all the other TTOLers who were at the Lady C stopped by and entertained us with a potpourri of lively conversations!

Le Gondola - Was a guest of my friends, Edsel and Maayke, at the restaurant’s opening party at the new location last September and was happy to enjoy another wonderful meal with them again. Although, after reading everyone's posts I am thinking I should have had the gorgonzola gnocchi! Next time. Oh, and thanks for the underwear Judy! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Rofl.gif" alt="" />

Sunset Beach Bar - Met up with JD, Jill and Charlie as JD photo waited for his boarding. Yeah, lots of changes here. Some actually good - waitresses! Wow, much better than being ignored at the bar for 20 minutes! Burger was a bit too uncooked for my tastes. BBB burger was much better! But, the beer was cold. Huge TV screens kind of ruin that small beach bar atmosphere. But, hey, that feel has been long gone for awhile now. Not much left of that local joint feel. But, hey, nothing can beat the location. No amount of money can ruin that (please tell me so). Met up with a good friend on another night and had a very had time getting the bartender to take his eyes off the little thong wearing chicks, whose nekkid butts were on the bar, so that we could get a drink.

Poulet d'Orléans - once again a lovely meal in this unique atmosphere. Kevin, Jamie, Danny, and I were the only ones dining here this evening. That was probably a good thing as I think I saw the neighbors looking out their windows to see what all the ruckus was about. I think we entertained Monsieur Romney <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" /> a bit that night. And, he in turn gave us something to remember the evening by. Kevin thinks this place was “da bomb”. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Shocked.gif" alt="" />

[color:"purple"] Random notes[/color]
I had a sweet Simpson Bay parking spot for the entire Regatta week thanks to JD! Thanks much! It was awesome!

I still would like to see a Jill spongejob.

Wendell’s non-girlfriend (aka Lois) was lovely. I did not see Wendell all that much this year - others found him to be pretty omnipresent everywhere they went! And, Hmm… for some reason we don’t have too many Wendell stories this year. Not enough Heineken, Wendell?

It was HOT. With little wind it made for much warmer nights than last year when we actually were a bit cool. Only rained the day before I left (of course!).

Traffic - Ok, I would hate to even venture that it was not that bad. However, it was not as bad as last year. I pretty much avoided Simpson Bay during the day during the Regatta. And, at night it was ok. Since I expected it to be horrible (backed up to the airport check-in at one point last year!) I was pleasantly surprised to find it not THAT bad. The first night I was headed out to Halseys I was worried about being stuck forever. It did take me a ½ hour from the airport. However, the next night I had very little traffic getting in. From what I understand (ColeinKC) traffic was really bad coming from over the hill into Simpson Bay on most Regatta nights.

It was a great trip. It was fun hanging out with the usual suspects. And, even more fun adding more people to our merry band of fools. Did not get all the work done that I had hope to, but that’s ok. Soon come, mon.

my photos

Aaaaaaand …. scene……….CLICK!

I'm done.
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />


peace. [Linked Image]