Signs of the flood

We missed the rain and the floods, but there is some evidence remaining.  Finn and I walked along the river today and I showed him where some trees fell into the river and created a new "island" of mud.

Farther along the riverbank, we found a picnic table that used to be on level ground but was washed up against a tree by the flood waters.

We found some interestingly etched plant leaves and Finnley repeatedly checked the consistency of the soil, finding the dry dirt of an anthill especially fascinating.

Home again

You may have noticed the previous post was Thursday.  Not much happened Friday, just some shopping - we got three tablecloths for the various sizes of our table with and without leaves inserted - and a terrific dinner at La Gondola, an Italian restaurant.  During the day, Mike and I packed and hit the beach a couple of times.

Saturday was dedicated to coming home - after a last lunch overlooking the water at Turtle Pier,

we began the long slog through the air transportation system -- tickets and security and queuing up to get on the plane and sitting across the aisle from each other and in close proximity to strangers for several hours and passport control and baggage claim and customs and security and more queuing and more strangers (this time, 10 rows from each other) and a train ride and baggage claim and a shuttle ride and a drive home.  That's why we've been giving ourselves plenty of goof-off time since then.

It's good to be home.

Thursday

This was a slow day, the slowest yet.  With no group plan, Mike and I drifted.  We went to the beach for a while, then went back to the Kangaroo Court for lunch.  We split a salad with goat cheese and (here's a sign we're close to ready to go home) a bacon cheeseburger.  We hit an ATM and wandered through a couple of shops and swarms of cruise-ship tourists on our way back to the hotel for a nap.  This was the first day we saw a cruise ship anchored docked here.

After another short visit to the beach, we gathered for dinner and went to Taloula Mango's for dinner.  My BBQ pork quesadilla was okay, but Mike's chicken in curry sauce with Creole rice was delicious.  Everyone seems tired because we all went to our rooms after dinner instead of gathering in ours for card games.  The week is winding down.

Wednesday

The adventure for today was to visit the market in Marigot, the capital of the French side, St. Martin.  In the course of the day, we completely circumnavigated the island counterclockwise.

The market, located on the waterfront of Marigot Bay under the watchful presence of an old fort, was a collection of colorful stalls with a lot of bright clothes and many tourist trinkets.  I got a cap and a couple of t-shirts and Mike got a bracelet, and we bought a few other small items.

After the shopping was done, we went to the Tropicana Restaurant where a delightful French waitress entertained us while serving some of the best food we've had on a trip marked by great meals.  I had red snapper with a banana crust with a curry sauce, accompanied with garlic sauteed potatoes while Mike had a pork tenderloin special with a sage crust and a brown sauce, with which we enjoyed a half-bottle of a wine from Provence.  There was, of course, a basket of french bread we used to clean our plates, thereby avoiding the embarrassment of licking them clean.

Finishing our circuit of the island, we rested in our room for a while, then went for a swim in the Caribbean Sea's beautiful clear water.  Now we're getting ready to go back to the Green House for Happy Hour again.

Tuesday

We headed to the French side today, to Grand Case to embark on the Seaworld Explorer.  The boat headed off to a reef where we all went below to look through windows set below the water line.

After the boat ride, we repaired to the nearby La California restaurant.

The food was so good and so plentiful that we are foregoing dinner tonight in favor of snacks and games and, of course, wine.

Monday

Monday was quiet, too.  We spent the morning shopping in the tourist area near our hotel.  Mostly looking, we found a few things to buy, then met for lunch at the Kangaroo Court near the historic Courthouse in Philipsburg.

After lunch, we all wandered at various speeds back to our hotel for a restful afternoon before setting out for dinner at the Greenhouse, recommended by a friendly jeweler as a place locals like.  It was at the waterfront and we arrived just in time for happy hour, 2 for 1 drinks.  The food was really good, too.

Since we are the Game Group, we gathered in our room after dinner (after a rowdy elevator ride) to learn a new card game called "The Big D."  Mike and I started out at the bottom, but I slowly gained speed and got into first place until the very end when Mike roared past me to win.  Where's the surprise there?

Sunday

Sunday was quiet, with most businesses shuttered.  After breakfast and the grocery store visit, we just hung around for the afternoon.  As dark fell, quickly as it does in the tropics, we took off for a sightseeing drive and dinner.  Turning randomly up a hillside, we ended up in a residential area called Guana Bay.  The houses were arrayed up the hills overlooking a lovely bay.  Most of the houses featured a tall wall, which provided some privacy at street level, but not that much because the steepness of the terrain provided sightline over the walls, so we concluded the walls were for security.  As we left Guana Bay, we stopped to enjoy the view down toward town.

Then we entered the heavy traffic headed toward the airport to have dinner at Turtle Pier.  

Our table was at the end of the pier with the water two feet away and a light breeze kept us cool, but never cold.  After a round of tropical drinks, we enjoyed a delicious meal.  Mike and I shared my red snapper in a coconut sauce and her ginger beef.  The six of us sat and swapped stories and laughed for hours before undertaking the slightly harrowing drive back over the hill to the resort.  

Today we are going out for shopping lunch locally.

St. Maarten -- getting there, an early morning walk, and breakfast.

Leaving home at 4:20 am gave us plenty of time to make our 7 am flight on Spirit Airlines.  

One of the other couples on the trip, Phil and Len, were on the same flight.  Because Spirit is a low-fare airline and we read a lot of negative reviews, we were relieved that the flight was quite pleasant -- even the two-hour layover in Ft. Lauderdale was bearable.  The only fly in the ointment was an "ugly American" type on the flight, an intoxicated loud-mouthed redneck retired truck driver who talked the entire time of the flight -- both legs -- about whatever came into his mind.  He had a companion who looked like him but was, thankfully, quiet.

But then we got to St. Maarten and relaxed in a restaurant in the airport waiting for Tom & Bonnie, the couple who arranged for our stay at the Sea Palace Resort.

Of course, having arrived in the tropics, we had to have tropical drinks.  

Our timing was exquisite because as we sat there in air conditioned comfort, a storm came in with heavy rain and wind.

We rented a van and drove to the Sea Palace.  Ours is a fifth floor room with a view of the bay and of the town and the Salt Pond.

Across the alley, we saw a young local girl eating lunch.

Dinner last night was in the Pink Pearl restaurant right here in the Sea Palace.  And who should show up but our loud-mouthed friend from the plane.  Turns out he is staying here, too, and has been drinking and talking loudly since he got here.

Everyone was ready to turn in after dinner.  Mike and I found the Georgia game and watched and dozed through it - 93 points?  Shame on both defenses.  At least Georgia won.

We got up early and after I scouted about fruitlessly for coffee, we took a long walk, finally getting a cup of coffee at McDonald's.  

And who should walk in but the quiet partner of the loudmouth?  Are we being stalked?

But the walk was fun and visually interesting.

We met the other two couples and went to breakfast at Chesterfields, about two-thirds of the way around the bay from our resort.

After breakfast, we took the van through town to a large supermarket and stocked up on breakfast food and necessities such as coffee and wine  Now we're having a bite of lunch in the Pink Pearl and uploading pictures and trying to get this blog updated.  Maybe we'll hit the beach, then.  Or nap.  It's vacation time.

Finn & Reese at Thrasher Park 9/12/09

Finn and Reese visited today and, before lunch and swimming, we went to Thrasher Park.  Because Reese went to sleep on the drive to the park, she and Mike stayed in the car for a while while Finn and I played.  When Reese woke up and she and Mike joined us, Finn said he needed some MeMike time and that I should play with Reese for a while.

More pictures from today are in a set on my flickr page.

Parker Rose comes to visit

Parker Rose came by around noon today to stay with us a while so her mother could do some errands on this side of town.  Mostly, she slept, and with wonderful grace.  Here are three of the best pictures I took of her today.

"Power to the babies!"

Monday with Max and his parents

We went to Athens Monday to visit BenAnnaMax.  He was in fine form and we played outside for a while - he took each of us on a walk through neighbors' backyards - and then inside with building blocks.  We went to lunch in Watkinsville and then looked through the pottery sale at the Perspective show there.  The pictures below show Max running, watching a spider, having a quiet moment, splashing in a puddle, and hiding from MeMike.