DAY 8 - Last Day of the Honeymoon

DAY 8 - Our last full day on the island!!! 

Dear Atlantic ocean, I love you. Yours sincerely, Laurie

I guess the hat is really the focal point here.

We went back to Orient Bay to blow the rest of our Euros on ocean play and maybe massages if we had anything leftover, we weren’t taking that money back with us! First up: Jet Skiing! Joey drove most of the time and got us up to an impressive 39kph. He wanted to jump out into the ocean like a boss so I drove and got myself up to 49kph which is basically like lightning speed. Okay, Joey is way faster than me but it was easier and less scary to drive without someone holding onto your back just waiting to pull you in if you take a turn too quick.

After jet skiing we were trying to find a legitimate place to book a massage on the beach but that was actually hard to come by. The missuses work out of these tiny huts where you write your name on the front door to put yourself in a queue but every hut was bolted up with no one around to help. Now some of the women of the island know how to work this beach. They walk up and down to offer braids in hair, massages, sell hats and jewelry and they offer very competitive pricing. There are also many signs on the beach saying to not solicit from these women, it's an illegal act, especially massages. So I'm looking at a massage sign and a very friendly Jamaican woman asks if I’d like one, she even has real Aloe Vera that came straight out of a flipping leaf. I passed but she was very persistent and gave me a free taste AND offered a deal for both of us so we said ‘…uh ok’. We found a couple of chairs that were under a coconut tree and Joey and I got massages on the beach and it was as amazing as it sounds; so relaxing and great. Another girl who looked maybe 17 massaged Joey and offered us braids. For me it was a hard pass but Joey wanted it and Joey got it. They braided him real good. One of the women then scaled the tree above us, yanked some coconuts off and beat them into giving up their coconut water. They shared with us and Joey scaled the tree to grab more for them prompting the teenager to call Joey 'her hero'.

Coconut tree view during our massages.

He's my hero too!

I'm not good at this. 

We had to eat at our favorite lolo (Cynthia's) one more time. We shared that fan-flipping-
tastic meat platter which is just straight up ribs cooked in the best way with some sides. We ate outside on Restaurant Row then walked home and swam at our resort's beach. This is where we wanted our last swim to be – we were starting to get nostalgic already! 

Look at his hair! Looks good on him!

We showered and walked to the resort restaurant. Joey booked us a private dining area to watch the sunset. Also, this experience goes down as one of the top 5 of our honeymoon. We laid on two lounge chairs on an intimate patio with drinks and food and an insane sunset and no one else. If this was Hawaii we would have had to pay top dollar and we definitely would not have been alone.

A little alone time to watch our last sunset.

My baby and our secluded deck to watch the sunset.

Okay, so we weren't totally alone.

Watching the sunset.

After the sunset we headed back to the Italian restaurant (3^rd time!) so we could feed some kittens we saw and Joey really wanted to order pizza to go so we could watch Game of Thrones in bed. After our long, amazing honeymoon where we played and swam and hiked and explored, all we wanted to do at the end of it was eat food in bed and watch HBO’s wonderful Sunday programming.

The restaurant was closed so Joey took us to a pizza parlor that looked like trailer. We ordered our food then tried to fill our rental car up with gas next door but unfortunately we did not realize gas is sold by the liter and not gallon so we only filled it about 3/4 of the way. Ah well that would be a problem for the next day before we return the car! We got our 'zas, went back and ate and watched tv and packed. Once we were done with everything we took one more walk on the grounds including laying on our hammock - our special place. 

I decided to not create a blog for Monday, our last official day of the honeymoon. The day included going to three or four gas stations until we figured out we needed to hit up an ATM and pull out cash first to fill up, stopping by the Sunset Bar for a final mojito and rum shot, being sick at the airport because of the mojito and final run shot, oh then like 13 hours of travel. 

Gotta end the blog with one last picture of our beach! See Creole Rock back there?

This trip was everything we wanted it to be. We had swimming, action, adventure, romance, amazing food, animals galore, swimming, a great hotel, friends, swimming, cats on cats, Game of Thrones and most importantly I was able to be with my husband. We weren’t on our phones, we weren’t interrupted by life, we were able to just enjoy each other like honeymooners do.

Joey took video where he could so here’s a little recap if you’d like to see:

Honeymoon 2.30 video

Joey's favorite moment: The massage and hair braiding.

Laurie's favorite moment: Sitting on the roof watching the sunset with Joey, just holding his hand and sipping on my Guavaberry colada. 

DAY 7 - Climbing to the top of the island!

DAY 7:

We woke up early (Laurie early that is) to enjoy Lotterie farms which isn’t a real farm though I did see some chickens? It is a beautifully landscaped huge field with tree houses to dine in and a gorgeous pool deck that you must pay 25 Euros per person to enjoy or you go down the street to the beach for free. But that’s not what we were there for. See here you can hike to the summit of St Martin to see some truly breathtaking sights and an almost 360 degree view from the top of the island. It was a pretty aggressive hike that included almost a mile of switch backs that go straight up the side of the mountain and some massive loose rocks throughout the paths. The total trek took us about 2 1/2 hours but we stopped a lot to take pictures and also found other little trails to venture off of. We also ran into our resort anniversary friends there!

This is only about 1/4 of the way up! Still a ways to go.

One of the better tree houses I've been to...

I'm about to give up. 

Joey ain't.

We made it!

Joey pointing to the top of the mountain we climbed to about an hour earlier.

After the hike we drove over to Marigot, the French capital, known for their outdoor market place run by women selling clothing, spices and souvenirs. We looked around and ate at a local Caribbean restaurant where I had beef stew and Joey had a burger. We ran into our friends again like cool locals and enjoyed guessing whether the drunk man smoking outside worked at the restaurant or not. He talked to every table outside (especially the women) but I didn’t see him do any actual work until I put cash down on our receipt. Actually, maybe he didn’t work there…

Joey enjoying his purses.

Lunch time! 

We walked some more and saw a mall and more beach and caught a glimpse of Fort Louis at the top of the hill. Fort Louis was used back in the day to keep the British at bay from St Martin and Anguilla (the island right next to St Martin). You can walk in the skeleton of the fort during daylight hours. It was super cool and all but we had not been in the water yet and were sweating our butts off all day from the crazy workout and heat.

Joey holding down the fort! So proud of myself for this pun.

We went to our favorite beach Mullet Bay to have one last swim there. It was awesome obviously and we air dried by walking around the beach holding hands like gross lovers before we headed back to the resort.

Joey asked Chris and Heather if they wanted to join us for dinner so we double dated at the Italian restaurant he ordered from the night before. The owner and server remembered Joey so naturally we received VIP treatment as well as an indulgent dinner.

Look at these happy little couples!

Joey's favorite moment: Seeing Laurie be able to hike uphill so well on that rehabbed knee.  

Laurie's favorite moment: Taking in the view from the top at the summit with Joey.

Day 6 - Swimming with Barry

DAY 6:

So I slept in and Joey ran 2 miles! He ran around Grand Case in the humidity, so proud of him. We walked down to a place called Octopus Snorkel. We had a 12:45pm arrival time to load a boat so people could either snorkel or dive at two locations. Also, you may have noticed the 12:45pm arrival time, yes I slept in that late, ok? It’s my honeymoon!

This is Creole Rock's head.

 

This is Creole Rocks'...legs?

1. Creole Rock. A little island that you could see from our resort. It's called Creole Rock because it's said to resemble a Creole man (which we found a little racist…). It's a bird sanctuary so no one is able to step foot on the island but there are many fish and creatures under the water near it. This was Joey’s first real snorkel adventure and saw so many wonderful things below us including Barry the barracuda. Barry looks a little scary because of his sharp teeth, but we kept our calm. Well, at least until I looked and he was gone then flipped out thinking he was stalking me or at least playing with me before the murder.

2. Turtle Reef. A reef in the center of the water with more fishes and turtles. We unfortunately did not see any turtles but it was still a blast. 

There were only ten people on this big ole boat. Another thing about this island, it was not crowded anywhere. We never had to fight for the best table or the best view anywhere!

Taking a little breather outside our patio.

We finished the snorkel tour around 5:00pm and showered then headed to Cupecoy Bay on the Dutch side. Joey took me to this wonderful little spot called Tang's Hideaway. My name is Laurie and I’m an Asian food junkie. Joey of course knew I could not go 9 days without it in my system so he found this little gem. It was nestled inside condos by their pool area. We had time to kill because Tangs wasn't open until 6pm but there was a bar and a pool and corn hole and a cat so we were doing pretty, pretty good. Joey ordered me a strawberry daquiri and we played corn hole while we watched it start to get crowded at the bar. I was ready to fight for my food but turned out a nearby school was doing their annual outing. This school teaches Canadian curriculum and most of the teachers are from Canada. What a place to live to educate, huh?

This cat is doing good in life.

We don't need no stinking selfie sticks! The cat took this one.

Guys, the food was amazing! Tang did buffet style and made ginger fried rice, pad thai, orange chicken and a seafood dish. I put a little of everything on my plate (sans seafood) and then went back for seconds once I picked my favorite items as one should always do with a buffet.

Mama happy.

Now in his defense Joey doesn’t eat Asian food so he was able to closely monitor my intake but he did poke fun of what I was able to put down (he might also have been impressed). I was in a food coma so chilled at the resort later but Joey went out to get pizza at the Tex Mex restaurant we ate at previously. He sat at a table to order to-go and a huge cockroach popped up to say hi. The server screamed and used her food tray to crush the little guy and for some reason this was not appetizing to Joey so he decided to go elsewhere. We had seen an Italian restaurant near us so he stopped there to order pizza then came back to get money (yep, poor guy forgot that) then went back and brought the pizza home. He ate it all and said we had to go to this restaurant later. I did not mock Joey for finishing the entire pizza because that is NOT what couples do.

Joey's favorite moment: Laurie pointing out the barracuda under the water to him.

Laurie's favorite moment: Playing corn hole by the pool with my boo.

DAY 5 - Partying with the Dutch

DAY 5:

The beach at Phillipsburg.

After my sleep-in and waking to hubby and breakfast we drove to Phillipsburg which is known for great shopping.

Me when anyone tells me about great shopping. Also I always send this to my sister when I find a big Toblerone (see FRIENDS episode in which Joey has same reaction).

 The outdoor kiosks sold souvenirs and colorful beach wear while the indoor shopping was known for designer brands at a great price plus no tax. We walked on Front St., their main street by the beach, and they did have a lot of designer brands but unfortunately (or fortunately for our wallets) it was all accessories and no clothing. We didn't buy much for ourselves but we did get our souvenir on for friends and family. We even found a few casinos and anyone who knows me knows I cannot say no to a good slot machine.

Me when someone takes me to casino sans the Toblerone.

BTW, this little top hat man is the Rum guy on the island... or something like that...

We enjoying a little stroll.

We went inside a casino and blew about $15 on the oldest looking slot machines. Like these were so old that only a few buttons worked on them and not even the fun lever thingie you get to pull. The machines were not loose despite their age so we didn’t stay long. We bought a Heineken and walked out in the streets because we could.

Joey ALMOST booked that beer commercial until the realized the label wasn't facing out...

So, Sunset Bar is probably the most famous place on the island. It's a huge outdoor restaurant right next to Princess Juliana airport and by Sunset beach - where you see the planes fly in very low and close to you. The bar had a big surfboard/chalk board and written down were flight arrival times. We showed up around 2pm just in time to see some jumbo jets land and take off. Departing planes line up with their backs to the beach so there's a huge jet blast if you line up behind it. Joey took video of the biggest plane and got annihilated by the heat, sand and sadly his baseball stud sunglasses flew out into the big blue water (RIP 2015-2016). We ate lunch and I mustered up the strength to stand behind a smaller plane. Side note: my dad built airplanes for a living and would probably be ashamed of me getting behind the jets like that. Sorry Pops!

Airport to the right, beach to the left, party in the back.

RIP sunglasses. I don't miss you, but I think Joey does.

Joey Vs Jumbo Jet

Found footage of Joey vs. Jumbo Jet

We didn't get in the water here because it was right next to Maho Bay, where we were originally booked our hotel but due to Joey's intel and research he found that it is one of the more heavily populated towns on the island, and it is near the cruise line docking areas. Our original resort was hiding evidence of a Norovirus outbreak AND it's been going on for several years. People had been posting horror stories online but the resort denied claims and when we called were told ‘everything was under control’. After the phone call we kept an eye on reviews and yep: poor people still getting sick on their vacation. There is even a group of people who banded together to start a lawsuit. DO NOT STAY at any SONESTA resorts, especially Sonesta Ocean Pointe. A lot of the sick guests posted pictures of crates of Gatorade behind the reception area so they were ready for something…

So we went back to our super virus free resort and swam in our friendly, safe waters until about 5pm then ran to our room and quickly changed because our resort was hosting a cocktail mixer for guests of the resort from 5-6pm next to the pool on the roof. They had beer, wine and a dangerously delicious peach (insert liquor here) cocktail as well as hors d’oeuvres. We made friends with guests and staff (we were popular being the young honeymooners plus everyone at the restaurant wanted to be Joey’s BFF) and met our vacation couple friends Chris and Heather! They were celebrating their one year anniversary and had come their year prior for their honeymoon.

This is Joey and Chris and they'll be friends soon. Also, Creole Rock is right behind them photo bombing!

We had been to every part of the island at this point. We had driven around so many times that we knew the lay of the land and we stayed at the best resort and the best location. We were on the French side where it's less tourist-y, right next to Restaurant Row (known for food that makes me happy) and we had our own little bay with free water activities and chairs at our disposal. Security made us feel safe at all times, the staff was amazingly friendly, their hotel restaurant is voted the prettiest view and the prices there were very reasonable. There were stray cats on the grounds so we didn't feel as many heart pangs for leaving our little guys… we were so glad that we had to shuffle around our itinerary.

Joey did not eat much at the mixer so we drove to Restaurant Row to find him some pizza. Joey is a pizza lover and if it's not in his system he will perish. We walked and found a new litter of kittens so obviously we had to stop and buy some kitten food for them. The kittie bag was big so we had plenty of leftovers to feed the millions of other cat friends. Also I told Joey I'm going to buy a fanny pack and fill it only with cat food. This way if I ever see a hungry animal – boom; food. The craziest part of all of that is that I just NOW thought of this idea.

One of them is named Romo for Kellen.

If we had not brought food home it would have surely been us eaten.

Joey unfortunately did not find pizza

so we went home and he ordered some pasta from our hotel. We called it an early night after feeding our felines on the grounds. 

Joey's favorite moment: Walking up and down Grand Case aka Restaurant Row. 

Laurie's favorite moment: The hotel mixer, hanging out and meeting new people!