Hello to all! We just got back from yet another great trip! Flight down was delayed an hour for de-icing-he made up some time in the air and we landed in SJU with just 7 minutes for our connection. We made it, but were concerned about the luggage. My sisters came out right away in SXM, but I sweated mine out for 15-20 minutes-finally it arrived and we were on our way! My Dad was waiting for us and we were by the pool by 2:45. Spent a few hours there relaxing and catching up w/our many terrific friends we have met over the years. In bed by 10 and slept for 12 hours!![Linked Image]We got up and hung by the pool again all day. Got ready for the SSBB Party.It was in full swing when we got there. Got my name tag from Neil and walked around. Met Bob D. and Bette-great folks! We saw Augie and Sue, as well as Shelby, Robin and Bobbe. It was just so packed that manuvering around to introduce ourselves was difficult. We spent some time w/Karen(proArt) and her husband Jim-they sat in front of me on the plane and we introduced ourselves then. Karens easel was a dead giveaway-I knew in line at Logan that it was her! We stood on the upper deck of SSBB and chatted for awhile-we were all trying to figure out how this season of The Sopranos was gonna play out! They are terrific people-we saw them last at the baggage "fiasco" at Logan tonite-more on that later. Beaches: Went to Mullet twice-great as always. No waves-I'm a baby when it comes to the big ones! Went to Dawn Beach for the first time. Absolutely spectacular!! Very quiet-no one trying to sell you stuff every 5 minutes! And no waves!! Went to Orient. Set up camp in front of Kakao and relaxed. Had a great day! No waves![Linked Image][Linked Image] Went to Pinel w/GSK and her friends Therese and Leslie-had a great time-just the girls! They said the snorkeling was terrific-I hung back-massive birthday hangover[Linked Image]. Loved that shallow water. Had a great lunch at the shack on the right. Spent today on the beach at the Royal Islander after checking our luggage in. Big waves as always! Dining out: Sorry to disappoint you restaurant lovers-we cooked in almost every nite. We did go to Marys Boon w/25 Royal Islanders for Lobster/Chicken Night. The food was wonderful as always-my sister and I had a ball serving everyone at the honor bar.The place looks great after they rebuilt[Linked Image]. They have a photo album showing the damage and the re-building process. Amazing. This place is a favorite w/our family and friends-very unique. My Dad and his girlfriend and our friends dined out frequently-they loved Paris Bistro, Pizza Pasta and the old favorite, Antoines. Nightlife: SSBB as always-need I say more? And please check out "The Sopranos" upstairs at Maho. It doesn't get cooking til 11 or so, but well worth it. Very swanky. Poor Kenny on the synthesiser had to put up w/my drunken self calling out songs to play-he was a good sport! He kept saying that it was "Shelly from Texas's Birthday!!!"-but it was me-Sheila from Rhode Island! The owners sent over a glass of champagne and that was all she wrote. How I got to bed, I'll never know. Wasted. Cruised by Cheris and watched the mess. I saw a guy in a chicken suit-thats all I needed to see. Very sad. As you can see, we relaxed and didn't do much. The beaches are our focus always. It was a swell trip-dampened only by the news of the boat going down. We saw the "ferry" in the Herald. Its exactly like the boat that takes you to Pinel. Those poor people never had a chance. So sad. One last AA fiasco. We got in a half an hour ahead of schedule. Glad because we knew we'd make the 10:30 bus. We did-but had to wait an hour for one of our bags. The first 3 came out right away-there were hundreds of people still waiting when we left. Guess the handlers took a break. Many may still be waiting! Send help!! Got outside just as the bus was pulling up. Now-back to reality-or is reality really in SXM?? I say YES!! Sorry so long-typing while its fresh. Have a great day! Sheila <br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 3/22/01 03:51 PM.</EM></FONT></P>