Prelude to a WDW Dream...Sept. 08 *NEW 9/9 Post 350*

[CJsMom]

Wow - that is amazing!! My boys would go crazy if they could eat the "monkey brains dessert"! This sounds like a fabulous day. Both kids and adults will have a great time! Those Disney planners ROCK!

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Very cool stuff for your party Jay. I am lovin the Indy theme vs pirates. Monkey skulls sound really cool. Can you tell I have all testosterone in my house too!!! LOL. sounds like a fantastic day is shaping up.

 

[momoftriplets]

OMG, Jay!!! Once again, YOU ROCK!!! Your boys, big & small, are going to FLIP. I know my DS(11) would LOVE to eat monkey brains! (My girls probably would, too.)

Can't wait to hear the final details.

~B~

 

[2ScottishPrincesses]

Jay this is going to be an amazing event , I'm so excited about it and it's not even happening to me

 

[brookelizabeth]

The monkey brain dessert sounds AWESOME!

I am also wanting a mini-TR of your vacation with your DH.

And many hugs and prayers for your family, I am glad to hear the Grandmas are doing better.

 

[jaycns]

Your last day sounds fun! You are going to love 50's Prime Time Cafe! I remember eating there for my 16th birthday; the waitress made me stand up in front of everyone and then made them all sing me Happy Birthday! Can't wait to hear more of your plans....

HA HA HA...I love it there for just that reason, I relish in watching others get embarrassed. I bet you will never forget that birthday dinner!

I am glad to hear that you are going to 50s PT. We are trying it on this trip largely because of what we read in your last TR. Oh,.... and let's hear about that conversation with the planners!!

The 50s PT has gained a place in my heart for sure. When is your trip? I would love to see a trip report with your take on the 50s PT!

Jay, I loved hearing about all of this! It's amazing what Disney can really do. It sounds like so much fun, so special -- love the adventurer leading everybody to the quest and who else but Adventurer Mickey to be waiting! The Indiana Jones-themed food sounds great, your boys will be so surprised! Heck, it's making me hyper just reading about it! Oooo and an hour on the lagoon eating desserts.....it really will be a dream! Keep us updated, can't wait to hear more!

It is my dream plus some (my imagination didn't even stretch to the extent of the stuff they offer)!! As soon as I hear back from them I will post something. I got an email from one of them today, but the attachment had not attached. I am sure they will email it again tomorrow!

Hey, that's my DD above me! Great minds think alike!!

Jay, how exciting. I LOVE the fact that the event planners are so wonderful! The whole adventure sounds amazing and fun and will be such a surprise!!

Hey, where is that mini-TR? I'm not being demanding or .... okay, so I'm demanding a little!!

HA HA HA. I guess you have the right to demand since I have been known to do the same thing. I will start on the mini trip report very shortly!

Oh my goodness Jay....that plan sounds UNBELIEVABLE!!! How exciting and fun!!! Your boys are gonna freak with excitement!!! I can't wait to see pictures from this big surprise!!!! You ROCK....!!!

I am gonna freak with excitement!!!

Wow - that is amazing!! My boys would go crazy if they could eat the "monkey brains dessert"! This sounds like a fabulous day. Both kids and adults will have a great time! Those Disney planners ROCK!

I wish I had one of them to plan the boys' birthday parties here at home!

OMG, Jay!!! Once again, YOU ROCK!!! Your boys, big & small, are going to FLIP. I know my DS(11) would LOVE to eat monkey brains! (My girls probably would, too.)

Can't wait to hear the final details.

~B~

How are those little monkey brain lovers of yours? The funny thing is I am not worried about the girls who will be there liking it, but I am worried about Aladdin's good friend. He has an aversion to gross things. I am hoping he is so caught up in the fun that he forgets to let himself gross out.

Jay this is going to be an amazing event , I'm so excited about it and it's not even happening to me

I am beyond excited. Last night I had trouble falling asleep because I was laying there day dreaming (at night when I should have been REM sleep dreaming)about it.

The monkey brain dessert sounds AWESOME!

I am also wanting a mini-TR of your vacation with your DH.

And many hugs and prayers for your family, I am glad to hear the Grandmas are doing better.

Thanks Brooke. The prayers and hugs are appreciated. His dad's mom's kidneys have been shut down for the past 36 hours. We are hoping they kick back on by themselves, but in the event that they don't we have tentative plans to go to his parent's house this weekend. And like I posted earlier, mini trip report will be coming up very shortly!

 

[moparop]

The 50s PT has gained a place in my heart for sure. When is your trip? I would love to see a trip report with your take on the 50s PT!

We are doing a grand gathering at Disney August 9-15 with my parents and bro/sil. After hearing about our last trip to Disney, my parents decided that they needed to see the grandkids at Disney World and by default invited us along. I am pondering doing a real TR this time because it's such a great way to save all of the memories.

Oh, and add me to the list of people hoping to read a miniTR!

 

[jaycns]

We are doing a grand gathering at Disney August 9-15 with my parents and bro/sil. After hearing about our last trip to Disney, my parents decided that they needed to see the grandkids at Disney World and by default invited us along. I am pondering doing a real TR this time because it's such a great way to save all of the memories.

Oh, and add me to the list of people hoping to read a miniTR!

I am looking forward to reading that trip report! Trips with extended family can really be great! I bet your parents will have so much fun seeing your little ones "live the magic".

Trip reports are a great way to keep your feelings, memories and impression of the trip fresh forever. I know I have gone back and read an old trip report and realized, that I had already started to lose some of the memories. I am so glad I put them all down before they "poofed" for good.

I would be delighted to write that mini trip report but I have one not so small problem. PHOTOBUCKET. CAN ANYONE GET TO PHOTOBUCKET? I keep getting redirected to a strange site. I cannot access my photos. And looking back through some old posted photos (in this pre trip and other trip reports, I am seeing the dreaded red x in a lot of cases instead of the photos). What is going on with Photobucket? It's been three days now.

 

[SoonerGirl]

I would be delighted to write that mini trip report but I have one not so small problem. PHOTOBUCKET. CAN ANYONE GET TO PHOTOBUCKET? I keep getting redirected to a strange site. I cannot access my photos. And looking back through some old posted photos (in this pre trip and other trip reports, I am seeing the dreaded red x in a lot of cases instead of the photos). What is going on with Photobucket? It's been three days now.

From what I understand, photobucket was hit by a hacker. They have identified the problem and have it corrected, but said it may take a little while for everything to get back to normal. Someone on another site that I frequent was having the same problem as you, but I noticed this afternoon that all her pictures are back (no more red x's!), so hopefully yours will be back to normal soon as well!

 

[MouseTriper]

I am so glad I put them all down before they "poofed" for good.

Okay just where IS that TAG Fairy....!!!!

 

[jaycns]

From what I understand, photobucket was hit by a hacker. They have identified the problem and have it corrected, but said it may take a little while for everything to get back to normal. Someone on another site that I frequent was having the same problem as you, but I noticed this afternoon that all her pictures are back (no more red x's!), so hopefully yours will be back to normal soon as well!

Thanks for the answer! I just checked the site and it is back up and running...thus I will start my mini trip report within the pretrip report. Thanks again for the info!!

 

[jaycns]

Dh was honored as one his company's top employees in North and South America. Along with the award came a kick butt vacation. Dh and I got to spend 8 days in sunny St. Martin. I am sticking this mini trip report smack dab in the middle of my planning for two reasons:
1. It's just easier for me.
and 2. I know it's a bit off topic, but not terribly because Disney Cruise Line goes to St. Martin and the island info might just help some other DISer planning a DCL trip.

Day 1
The day we left we had to be at the airport by 7:30 in the morning so we said goodbye to our boys the night before and basically got almost no sleep before we had to head to the airport.

We flew from our home city to Charlotte and then from Charlotte to St. Martin. The flight their was uneventful and long. We took a few naps, listened to our Ipods, ate a pretty good in flight lunch and basically decompressed.

Here is our first glimpse of the island.

When you land at St. Martin, you brake hard. The runway starts right after a small patch of beach and it's a short runway. To land in St. Martin is quite an experience. We landed on the French side of the island. Two totally separate countries coexist on this one island. Their is a French side and a Dutch side of the island and each side has it's own fully functioning government.

Upon arrival we were greeted at the airport. I was given a beautiful tropical flower tied up in ribbons while they helped dh grab our luggage and then we whisked off to our resort. It was the first special touch of the trip. That one flower at arrival...it was a small gesture, but it really made me feel special. We stayed at the Westin Dawn Beach Spa and Resort. It's a four star resort on the Dutch side of the island.

When we arrived at the resort we were taken to a beautiful center courtyard, given chilled towels and cold fruit punch. It was here that checked in as part of the group (counting guests of employees, the company's group totaled about 120 people). We were also given nifty backpacks that were towels or was it towels that were backpacks? Either way, they were pretty cool and the boys have pretty much laid claim to them since our return.

Next, our room. AHHHH! I loved the room. It reminded me of the style of the Contemporary Resort with a touch of the rooms at the Animal Kingdom Lodge thrown in for good measure.. Both of which, I love. Here are some pictures of the room.

You can sort of see the flower they gave me sitting on the bed.

While the rooms were a combination of relaxing and simply elegant, the balcony (and it's views) were the best part of the room.

This picture was taken from our room balcony while looking out toward a small finger of the island that jutted out into the ocean.

This picture was taken looking straight out from our balcony. We could open the door to our balcony and hear the wind rushing through the palm trees and the waves crashing on the shore juts a few feet away.

This evening we went to a poolside welcome reception/dinner. The food was really good and eating around a pool with the ocean in the background is a lot of fun. The pool was a three tiered infinity pool that looked like it ran off into the ocean. We got to know some people who work for the same company as dh but not with immediately with dh. It was nice to speak with them because dh was not all business talk. Always a plus at these things! After the poolside feast we took a moon lit stroll on the beach. It was very relaxing with the water lapping around our feet, the breeze and the moonlight. We also ran back to the room to call the kids and make sure they were doing okay. I may have been really enjoying myself, but nothing was going to keep me from checking in on the kids. Not even international calling rates.

Day 2
On Friday we woke up TOO EARLY. We had to be at an award's breakfast by 7:00 AM. Then it lasted until ELEVEN! Ugh. Boring. But it was nice to see dh get some accolades (that was the good ten minutes, the rest was boring seeing people I didn't know get awards). After that we went to a place at the resort called Oceans and had lunch sitting outside on their veranda watching the ocean and the clouds. It was very relaxing. The food was good. I had a jerk chicken fajita and shrimp cocktail.

These pictures were snapped after lunch. The first is of dh standing on the path which we took to the beach each day. Within sixty seconds of leaving our room we could have our feet in the water.

The next one is of me.

A look back at the resort from the edge of the beach.

After a few hours we ran (almost literally, we hadn't kept great track of time and we were cutting it really close to making our appointments) back inside, took quick showers and headed to the spa. Dh got a massage. I got a spa
manicure/pedicure at the same time. It was WONDERFUL. And really relaxing. They did a massage from my hands to my elbows and then my feet to my knees. They also did an aromatherapy thing with lavender essence heated up next to me during each part. It was topped off with a paraffin wax treatment for my feet and hands. The entire thing was so decadent and I loved every second of it. Thank goodness his company was paying for it...along with the decadent treatment came an enormous bill.

As soon as I got done at the spa I went back to the room and got ready double time to go out to dinner that night. Do you see the pattern developing here? I think we started to take island time a bit too seriously. HA! We went to a place on the French side of the island called Le Testivan. To sum it up in one word,YUM. Lobster soup that was likely 3000 calories by itself (so rich and creamy). I could have eaten that for starting, main course and dessert. It was the best food I have ever consumed. Rich, creamy, hearty with huge chunks of lobster floating in it. SO GOOD! We had great conversation that night with some "new friends". The conversation was good. The food was exceptional. And we ate in an outdoor dining room that was built out over the ocean. It was such a beautiful night. There was a full moon, sailboats in the harbor and the open ocean beyond that.

After we got back, we once again walked along the ocean and this time we sat down and watched the moonlight on the ocean for a good hour.

To be continued...

 

[SkyGirl]

Thanks for sharing all that Jay!!!

CONGRATS TO HUBBY!!!

What a great trip. Romantic and relaxing and fun! I love the view from your room and the spa treatment!!

I don't blame you for taking that Island Time seriously! It is good to go island once in a while!!

Can't wait for more!

 

[jaycns]

Day 3

On Saturday we had another early morning breakfast. Dh had a working
breakfast and I had a really cool "Breakfast Lesson". The top chef at the
resort gave the guests a cooking class while the employees worked. He gave us the recipe and made lobster and saffron omelets. Crepes with a mango and mint chutney and we topped it with the best tasting stuff ever. Whipped cream with guavaberry liquor mixed in. Guavaberries are not related to guavas at all...but they are OH SO GOOD. I loved this breakfast. It was totally tasty and it was cool to watch the executive chef 'do his thing'. I learned quite a bit in an hour and a half.

After breakfast I ran back to the room (okay, speed walked) and changed for our day trip. We went to an island called Prickly Pear (named after the cactus that grows there) in the neighboring country of Anguilla. We got there via a 2 hour catamaran ride. We sat up in the front on the trampoline over the water. Here is a picture of the catamaran.

The sail was so relaxing. We had a great time visiting with some of our new
acquaintances. As we sailed along this little rainbow followed us along in the spray that came up when the catamaran flew over the water.

This was our first glimpse of the island. The island and the waters around it are part of Anguilla's national marine preserve. The island has only two buildings, a BBQ hut and an outhouse.

Our catamaran anchored out about 200 meters from the beach. It was either take a dingy or swim in. We chose to swim in, but first, we swam out a short ways and snorkeled over a coral reef. Here is a view of the beach as we first saw it.

We snorkeled for about 45 minutes and saw a ton of neat stuff. I loved the coral and the fish variety was amazing. Here are some pictures I took while snorkeling over the reef.

We even saw a small sting ray as we swam in from the reef to the island (we either had to swim in or swim back to the ship and take a dingy in, we chose to swim in). By the time we made it to shore, I was tired. But glad I had done it. We had lunch at the BBQ shack. Really good BBQ chicken, cole slaw and rice and beans. Simple but good. While we were eating a tasty lunch at the BBQ shack, we saw one of the island's residents.

We spent the better part of the afternoon bobbing in the waves and walking along the powdery white sands.

After another 200 meter swim back to the catamaran we rinsed off and enjoyed some cold drinks.

One last look back at the island.

The sail back was very relaxing. The crew turned up the sound system and we kicked back and listened to some tunes while we enjoyed the ride. We even saw a sea turtle swim by. We once again sat out in the open up at the front on the trampoline and we got quite wet when the waves bounced in a few times. The crew on the ship brought us drinks and just before we got back, they put bow ties on with their swim trunks and popped the cork on champagne and we all toasted a great day. It was one of my very favorite days ever. I really missed the boys this day. They would have loved the catamaran and the snorkeling and the swimming. Dh did very well considering watching a merry-go-round makes him motion sick...but it was not a moment too soon for him when St. Martin came back into view.

We docked on the French side of the island and had a thirty minute ride back to our resort.

This fence was located on the road leading to our resort. The "BAD DOG" sign just made me laugh every single time we passed it.

What didn't make me laugh was the driving. It made my sink my fingernails into my palms and start to pray. I have yet to figure out one rule of the road that anyone seemed to be following while driving on the island!

Looking down on our resort from the road leading to it.

When we got back it was again a hustle to get ready for dinner. This night we attended a formal gala. We had great food once again sunfish and fillet for the main course. We sat with the CEO and some friends we knew from a few years back when dh worked at his company's headquarters. The conversation was good and it wasn't until after the CEO left the table that I even knew who he was. Dh makes fun of me saying that if he is let go it is because I was teasing the CEO about how small he cut his meat (seriously, the man cut it up in such tiny pieces I think that my five month old could have gummed them). After dinner, there was surprise entertainment. We had Micheal McDonald (of the Doobie Brothers) put on a private concert.

After the dinner/concert we once again went down to the ocean, this time with our friends. We watched the ocean, saw a shooting star and dug our toes into the sand. We stayed out on the beach until about 1:00AM. When we returned to our rooms from the gala we had his greatest hits CD waiting for us along with a carnival mask and invitation for tomorrow's dinner. The carnival mask was a hint as to the theme of the next night's entertainment. Each evening we had some small gift waiting for us. Previous nights we found island spices to take home and a gourmet box of chocolates.

Day 4

We started the day by sleeping in. We had breakfast delivered to our room at ten am...and we slept until then!! We had them set up breakfast outside on our balcony and I ate it in the big fluffy robe that was in the room. Once again thank goodness dh's company was paying for that! We had bagels, omelets, chocolate croissants, breakfast smoothies (strawberry and banana), sausages and pancakes. It was a HUGE breakfast.

After our long breakfast we showered and then dh went to relax with some company friends and I went to the spa again and got a facial/mini massage. It was once again wonderful. After my facial and massage (which lasted the rest of the morning) we had lunch on an open air deck overlooking the pool area and ocean. We both had some very tasty food. Here is the view of the pool and the ocean beyond that we had during our lunch.

Following lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and snorkeling at the reef just about 30 feet out from the beach at the resort. The number of fish there was amazing. At one point it was a tad bit scary when we saw a school of about twenty barracuda. They didn't do anything to us, but they did take a nice long look. EEK!

Here is a picture I took from our balcony as we got ready for our dinner this night.

And another picture I took, from our balcony, of the tables they were setting up for our group on the beach.

The invitation we had gotten the night before said that shoes were optional and I took that literally. Eating crab and shrimp with your toes in the sand, the ocean breeze blowing and the moonlight shining down is an experience not to be missed! As the night wore on, the entertainment started. King Beau Beau (a local entertainer) sang and danced and made us laugh so very hard. Along with his very good show, we had island dancers, fire dancers and a carnival type parade. The ocean looked beautiful with back lights shining on the ocean and the full moon shining down. We once again enjoyed talking with our old friends late into the night. In fact we sat their so long that we were there as they started to break the tables down, so the four of us moved to the waters edge and once again sat and talked late into the night.

This was one of the most relaxing evenings of my entire life.

To be continued...

 

[brookelizabeth]

Ahhhhh, what a relaxing trip (aside from the car ride!) you had!! I love all your pictures, what a beautiful place.

 

[jaycns]

Day 5
This day started with a very early alarm clock...but I didn't mind one bit. While dh slept in, I went back to the spa. YES, again! I did get just a wee bit addicted. This time it was for a hair treatment and scalp massage after which I took a scented shower and then had a cup of tea in the relaxation area. By the time I got back to the room, dh had our room service breakfast ordered and it arrived shortly after I got back. Once again we ate while watching the waves crash along the beach.

Following breakfast we enjoyed a long lazy morning in one of the beach side cabanas.

When we got hungry we once again headed for lunch and ate it on the outdoor patio of the resort's casual restaurant.

After lunch we took a cab to Philipsburg and did some shopping on the Dutch side of the island. We shopped in the same areas that we had shopped at, in 2000, while on our Disney Cruise. Without any cruise ships in the port, the area was very uncrowded. Below are a few pictures we snapped while shopping.

We found a few good buys, some impulse purchases we really didn't need and a few things that fall somewhere in between.

HOT TIP...if your Disney Cruise takes you to St. Martin DO NOT buy anything before you go to Rima. Just ask any cab driver (it's only two blocks off of Front Street so the cab ride won't cost that much) to take you there. It is the wholesale distributor which provides almost all of the stands, shops and street vendors with the souvenirish stuff they sell to the tourists. The prices there are DIRT CHEAP and it's open to the public. Take my advice, look around everywhere else but buy your touristy stuff at Rima You will save a ton of money!

Once we finished up shopping we went back to the resort and took a walk down the beach as the sun was setting. We were off in search of a favorite dinner place of one of the locals we had talked with.

Once we arrived we stopped to watch the sunset before we were seated in their outdoor dining room.

Italian was the predominant menu choice. Dh had the lasagna. He said it was very good. I chose to eat the lemon and herb pasta with lobster chunks, crab lumps and huge whole shrimp. It was G-O-O-D!!

After another moon lit stroll along the beach we ended up back at our resort and we once again placed a call to our boys. I was more than happy to hear that they were doing well. I was really missing them by this point!

Day 6

This morning started with breakfast in bed. Ahhh...this is serious decadence for the parents of four little boys!

After breakfast we headed out to do some island exploration. Before we did, we stopped and took some pictures. Here is dh sitting in the rotunda outside of the resort.

And a picture of me there as well.

And one taken while looking up. It was a really beautiful spot.

And one of us together as we were waiting for our driver to bring the car around. On this day, we would were heading to The Butterfly Farm which was located on the French side of the island.

At the Butterfly Farm we saw hundreds of butterflies.

to be continued...

 

[jaycns]

Day 6 continued

After our time at the Butterfly Farm we went to Sunset Beach to watch the planes land. It was amazing how close they would come! Their approach takes them right over the beach area. The landing strip starts just feet from the beach area.

This jet was even closer then it appears to be in this picture!

The incoming jumbo jet flights are listed.

Dh is in the brown shirt picking up some frozen drinks and hamburgers for us to enjoy while we watch the planes land and take off. It was a fun afternoon.

They were so close!

Hmmm...this sign is up and yet tourists (including us) flock to this beach to watch the jets land and depart. What a smart thing to do. HA HA HA. This would NEVER be allowed in the states. When the jets would take off, sand would blow all over and chairs, people, towels and everything else would be blown toward the ocean (only if you wanted to be, you had to line up directly behind the departing jet for this to happen).

After our beach time, we did a little more shopping. This time we did our shopping on the French side of the island. When we got hot, we stopped and got ice cream and sat at a street side table people watching.

Upon our return to the resort we made reservations for dinner at the fine dining restaurant at the resort, Aura.

It is the signature dining experience at the Westin Dawn Beach Resort. We were seated in the outdoor dining area. The moon was full, the breeze was refreshing and the ocean was beautiful in the background. Our meal lasted just over 3 hours and was a very romantic and delicious way to spend an evening.

We started out with a special off the menu specially created treat. The chef remembered me from the cooking lesson and created a special seafood tar tare just for us. Since dh doesn't eat seafood, I was twice as lucky...let's just say that his tar tare did not go to waste.

For the next course dh chose a Cesar salad (he said it was very good) and I chose the crab and shrimp salad. It was EXCELLENT!

Up next was the soup course. Dh chose the warm vichyssoise (potato leek soup) and I chose the lobster bisque. Both of them were very rich and very good.

After a cleansing champagne sorbet we went on to our main course. Dh had the filet with mushroom sauce. I chose the filet with lump crab sauce.

For dessert I had the bananas foster. It was fun to see my dessert flaming right before I dug in! It was the best dessert I have ever had. DELISH!

The bananas foster...it was the most amazing tasting dessert ever.

Dh had the warm chocolate fondant with hazelnut ice cream. He said it was amazing (and he is not really a cake guy).

After dinner we took a stroll throughout the property and found this beautiful fountain. We had a wonderful night. Great food. Romantic setting. And for once, we finished an entire meal without having to take anyone to the restroom.

To be continued...

 

[MouseTriper]

Oh my goodness Jay....your St. Martin trip sounds so wonderful and relaxing!!!! I love all the pictures you shared with us! It definitely looks like you guys had a marvelous time. I am so happy for you!!!!

Now...lets cross our fingers, eyes and toes that your DH gets awarded again next year and that you get to experience another totally romantic and beautiful getaway!!!!

 

[jaycns]

Day 7

This day we started with breakfast in the room. Just breakfast smoothies. We wanted to keep it light to leave room for a big lunch.

We spent the entire morning in the ocean. We rented a body board and spent hours riding the waves. We bobbed and looked for some more shells.

Dh bobbing in the water.

Here I am bobbing along as well. We loved swimming out to where the waves were breaking and then being pushed back in toward the shore.

We took a break to eat lunch at Liquid, the oceanside restaurant at the resort. I had a great pasta salad and dh had a good Cuban panini. After that we jumped back in the water for about another hour.

After a long rest on the beach, dh and I went for a long walk down the beach to another resort. We were in search of a "King Beau Beau" (the entertainer from our dinner on the beach) CD to bring home with us and also looking for a few last minute gifts for the boys. We enjoyed our walk and had a whole lot of fun strolling along the beach with the waves coming in over our feet.

At one point we had to cross a rocky area where many crabs made their homes. I had a lot of fun trying to snap a good picture of one of them. They sure could move fast!

Here is our resort as we saw it while walking back along the beach.

For dinner, we attended the resort's pirate buffet. We enjoyed some very tasty foods! Once again we chose to dine outdoors with the ocean in the background.

On this night they had a local steel drum band playing and later in the night, a fire dancer. It was a very fun meal.

Day 8

We spent our last morning on the island sleeping in and enjoying our last breakfast on the balcony. After that we packed up, did a bit of last minute shopping and then had lunch out on the beach at Liquid (the poolside bar) for the last time. After lunch we met up with some of the other company employees and awaited our airport transfer.

I snapped this picture right before take off. In this picture you can see the beach bar we spent an afternoon watching the planes land and take off from.

Taking off from St. Martin is an intense experience. The runway is short and as you take off a huge hill is right there. When you take off they punch it and pull straight up to climb over the hill. Not so many years ago they used to do take offs with a small amount of fuel and the planes would have to stop and fuel up on a nearby island. Thanks to more powerful engines, that is no longer needed...but the climb is still very steep!

Goodbye St. Martin.

One last look back.

We had a great trip, but I was ever so glad to be home with our boys again!

THE END

 

[busymomma123]

Thank you for posting this mini TR. It made my morning to read it. Looks like you both had a wonderful time. I love the line about you got to finish your meals without taking anyone to the bathroom.