Got passports. Booked an all-inclusive resort. Paid for the flights. Packed up all of our things, including baby and all my camera gear. Off we went to Sint Maarten, my first every real international trip. And I was doing a wedding to boot! I want to share some of the awesome places and things we got to do. I've interspersed my Nikon and iPhone photos for continuity ;)
Julie boarded her first plane in Grand Rapids. It was just a little itty bitty plane to take us to Charlotte. I didn't eat anything before we left because it was such an early flight, and of course it made me nauseous and I got sick. Actually. Gross. Oh well, moving on! Our connection was short so we had to hurry on to the next plane. The next flight was longer but the plane was bigger and it was more comfortable. Julie slept most of the way on Grandma, and then we were in Sint Maarten. Yay!
The Resort
Our resort was all-inclusive and just next to the airport; Sonesta Maho Beach Resort. It was where the wedding was taking place and where everyone was staying so it made sense. We had rooms on the second floor which thankfully were newly remodeled. Some were a lot less nice than ours but ours were great. The food was good, the pool was awesome and the beach was close. So beautiful!!!
Day One
The very first thing we did after checking in was of COURSE change into cooler clothes. It was so nice to break out the flip flops and shorts again. Julie was in heaven in her summer outfits. Then we went to the Palm Grill for lunch. We were pretty starved from all that flying so it was nice to eat. I wasn't impressed with the food at first but later on I found a few great items. I also drank daiquiris all week so I started on that the first day ;) After a little bit of exploring, we decided to go to the pool with Julie. Mike fed her a bottle while Mom, Kara and I went down to see the beach. The waves were big and it was beautiful with the sun setting. We then went back to the pool to watch Jules swim for a minute before getting dinner at Ascot. Their food was nothing exciting either but it was free, so yay there. Julie fell asleep before we even ordered so Mom took her back to the room. We learned that service on the island is very slow. And sometimes people aren't that friendly but not everyone was like that. Our first day was long and tiring but it was great to be in paradise!
Day Two
Julie is always up early so we were too! She still had a bit of a cold while we were on vacation but mostly she was happy as a clam. We played out on the balcony quite a bit that first morning, which was so nice! I miss the sunshine.Then we tried out the buffet for breakfast for the first time. It was the best food at the resort, really, and we ate there most often. So many options and mostly very tasty! Julie had a lot of food from there too. After that, we decided to rent a car and explore the island. We drove through Simpson Bay and Philipsburg, and though we didn't stop to do anything, we saw some sites. And also learned that people drive pretty crazy down there, but I managed to hold my own with the jankety little Nissan the rental place gave us. We did end up hitting a fairly secluded beach on the way back. Julie didn't have a swim diaper but we stuck her in her swimsuit and let her run around in the waves and play in the sand for a little while. She really loved it! Silly girl.
When we finally made it back, I stayed in the room while everyone else went out to do things at the resort. Julie needed a nap but it took awhile to get her to take one. It was a good one when she finally fell asleep and we had to wake her up for dinner! We went out in the car again, this time to the French side of the island. We were looking for an Italian restaurant in Grand Case. It was a long drive and a very tricky route to find the place but we finally did. It was pretty fancy but the place was so good, it was worth it. The food was amazing! Julie had some fruit and loved the bread. I had the mushroom and pumpkin ravioli. So tasty!
Mom took Julie for the night for us which was good so we could go out. Kara was with us for a bit but went to bed before we did. We ended up hanging with Sally and Ricky, and some of their friends and family. It was mostly the bridal party out that night, and Jake Stocking was there too, so it was fun to catch up a bit and chat. Mike had a few too many to drink at the casino (and he lost $40, even though I told him to quit when he was up by $70! hehe), but otherwise we had a good time.
Day Three
After breakfast at the buffet, we went to Simpson Bay to see if we could rent jet skis anywhere. We found a guys and signed up for later that day. We had some time to kill so we went back to the resort and hand lunch and did a little photo shoot with Jules. After that, we went down to the beach. That sun is super serious down there, so we had to slather a lot of lotion on Julie. Mike was nervous on our beach because of the waves. The day before when Jules and I stayed in, a big wave got Mom, Kara and Mike so I think that had him nervous. He made Julie play in her life jacket just in case. She was a pretty good sport about it, considering how constricting it is. Mike and I buried her in the sand for a bit and walked on the water but by then we figured we should get her in the shade. We got a few chairs with umbrellas so we talked her into playing in the sand there for awhile!
We had to head over to Le Mecure resort on the French side to do the jet ski thing, so Mom stayed with Julie while the rest of us went. I thought it would be pretty easy but I was wrong! Mike and I shared a jet ski, and I had a heck of a time getting the hang of the controls at first. Turns out, I needed to look further ahead instead of directly down. Once I got out of my head about it, it wasn't so bad. Our guide had a serious French accent and was a little hard to understand but we did okay. I drove for quite awhile and DAMN were we going fast! We went out into the lagoon and then out into the ocean. We went around the north side of the island and then rounded to the west and down to the south side. That's where the waves got crazy! By this time, Mike was driving which was probably good. I felt like I was riding a mechanical bull. It's HARD to be the passenger! I held onto him with one hand and the jet ski with the other. Somehow I managed to not feel nauseous until the very end, although it's amazing it took so long based on how bumpy it was. Despite that, it was pretty awesome. We also saw Donald Trump's villa and Steve Jobs' yacht. Neat!
