Happy Anniversary in St. Maarten!

Shawn & I planned a vacation to celebrate our anniversary. My mom graciously agreed to watch the three boys at our house while we were away, and Nonie & Poppy took them overnight from Saturday to Sunday afternoon as well. Then my Mom watched them Sunday afternoon until Aunt Becky came to take a shift from 8 pm until midnight when we were to arrive home. As I read in my devotions that morning, "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among young men..." Song of Solomon 2:3. With my incredible husband, I often feel like the luckiest girl in the world, but I realize I'm the most blessed. I prayed for this gift from God, and He answered in a BIG way with my man!

Our cell phones don't have international plans available, so we were only able to communicate back home with very limited wifi access which we were able to barely connect to in our room. It's a little scary going to an island that is not owned by the US. But, Shawn was SO excited to get our passports stamped. The minute we walked off the plane, we went through customs and the sound of that stamp was music to our ears!

When we arrived, we picked up our little rental car. We read all sorts of reviews on the island that noted that parking was ridiculous and having a small car was a necessity. I'm glad we did because the roads were barely passable with two small cars - I can't even fathom having one bigger than our compact car! There were no stop signs and absolutely no traffic lights. When roads came together, people just kept going and expected you to merge on these "roundabouts" that kept traffic going. Anyway, we were happy to get our tiny little Hyundai i10 (?) and head to our resort. We couldn't find the resort at first because it was tucked away and all the roads look like they aren't really roads but poorly built private driveways. No road signs and no GPS, we did find where we were going and Shawn figured out how to get in. Since we booked via priceline, we highly doubted we would get a great room, but we were happy with the price. We were absolutely blown away at the quality of where we stayed, though! God gave us another gift.

We knew we were supposed to have a kitchenette of some sort, but this had a full kitchen, complete with a full-size oven/stove, microwave, dishwasher, silverware and huge refrigerator. We should have taken advantage of it, but we didn't. We did however go and get a case of water immediately to keep in our room to stay hydrated, which I think was a wise move.

Our room also had a nice king size bed, and we packed our pillows from home. We realize that we both enjoy our own pillows and that's often why we can't sleep in hotels. Having our own pillows allows us to relax immediately.

Beyond the bedroom was a large living room and dining room. The table had four chairs and two other chairs in the room that could have been used for six. The sofa also pulled out into another bed and there was a folding wall you could close between the living room and bedroom if you so chose to make it more family friendly. We were just as happy to have the space to ourselves!

There were big TVs in both the bedroom and living room, and there was even a DVD player. I had taken a workout DVD to try, so this also was a big gift to me!

The room also had a TON of mirrors to make it seem extra cheery and bright!

The absolute BEST thing about our room, though, by far was the amazing view. We were not expecting an ocean front room. We had read reviews on the hotel and many folks complained of a view overlooking the parking lot. Shawn warned me that for the price we paid, we deserved a parking lot view. But, when he went to get our keys, our room had the PERFECT view of the ocean and the beautiful sun set. We were blown away! What an undeserved gift we received!

From our balcony, here was just some of our view:

The crystal clear blue water, the sailboats, and the palm trees were awaiting us each and every day. Not only could we see this from our balcony, we could see the sunset from our bedroom and all the mirrors in our room. It was BEAUTIFUL! We couldn't get over the sights!

Our trip happened to be the exact same dates as the Heinekken Regatta (sp?), which is a whole lot of sail boat racing. So, we saw tons of sailboats going from our room. It was fun to watch! But we had no clue who was winning!

The first day we were there, we discovered that Shawn had forgotten to pack his sandals. Or I did. We had a miscommunication where I packed his sneakers that he planned on wearing and left behind his sandals that I thought he was going to wear down there. So, when we woke up the first morning, our first plan of the day was to go to Philipsburg to do some shopping and buy a pair of sandals or flip-flops for him. One of my mom's friends recommended a jewelry store named Shiva to check out, so when we found it, we walked in. I tried on some 3-4 carat diamond engagement or anniversary rings. SO gaudy and yet so fun to look at! If we could afford them, I would have brought one home. But, it's not really at the top of our priority list. :) :) :) We ate some TERRIBLE lunch at a restaurant where the waiter stank to high heaven with B.O. BUT the views of the ocean were incredible. We weren't quite sure if our parking spot was legal (parking is EXTREMELY ridiculous there) so we left and ended up hitting another beach, our favorite spot while we were there.

We took our books and headed to Orient Bay/Palm Beach where we found parking (again, not quite sure it was a "legal" spot, but it seemed okay) under a palm tree behind a restaurant. We paid to rent these really nice chairs that had a table in between them to keep our bag and books out of the sand. The sand was a beautiful white sand with seemingly no shells or dirt and the water was crystal clear. We didn't end up swimming that day but just enjoyed getting some sun in the 82 degree weather. The light breeze that came off the ocean was absolutely perfect and felt like God was supplying us with our very own personal fans. We were never hot and yet it felt so good not to be cold. We both read a couple books while we were down there. The waiters would bring us drinks and we literally didn't have to move, but we eventually went for a walk. We discovered that on the other side of the wall of rocks from where we were, there was a french beach (we were then on the French-owned side of the island) that was completely "clothing optional." There were some French families with little naked kids, but most of the people were extremely old and obese and really should have invested in a nice bathing soon. YIKES!

I wore the bikini Shawn bought me for Valentine's Day. I figured I wouldn't see anyone I knew anyway. :) The first day we were there, we ate lunch at a restaurant called "TOPPERS by the Beach" which was part of our resort (picking it because it was literally right below us). The food was AMAZING! Unfortunately, a few of the other places we tried were the opposite. Later we went to "Buccaneer's," a bar right down the street from our hotel and ordered drinks and a pizza for supper. After waiting over an hour, our waitress came up and screamed to us that another table stole our food and ate it all. She seemed highly upset by it and asked if we wanted to continue waiting. We declined. But she still charged us for our drinks and brought us another round ??? We just left, not wanting the second round but missing the pizza. So, the following evening after being on the beach, we ended up going to the pizza galley just because it seemed "happening" and we hoped to have a better experience. Well, the food was awful and the service was almost as good as the night before. Later we went to the "Yacht Club" and while it WAS happening, everyone seemed to know each other (obviously they either worked the yachts or sailing vessels together or owned them and were all part of the same club). We felt a little out of it. We ordered drinks and then people watched, playing a fun game that Shawn started... "So, who do you guess makes the most money here?" "Who do you think has the worst secret here?" etc and we would make up stories about the people around us. We were cracking up until the end of it, and it no longer mattered to us that we were one of the few that didn't know another soul.

Since parking was RIDICULOUS (did I mention that?) we had picked these places because we could park at a resort that was a 'sister property' to the resort we were staying at. Otherwise, we would have never been able to get a space.

The morning of our anniversary, I skipped exercising. Shawn said we were going on an excursion and I would need sneakers and my energy. So, I said okay. I took a picture of the view before we left the room. We ate breakfast at a restaurant right next to our hotel called "Bon Appetit." It was recommended on Trip Advisor, and my crepe was AMAZING! After a full breakfast we once again we headed to the French side of the island - St. Maarten is only 37 square miles and owned half by the Dutch (Netherlands) and half by the French. The taxes to own property on the French side are extraordinarily higher, and they operate mostly in euros so everything is much more expensive. But the roads are a little nicer to travel and make a little more sense.

We ended up at Lottery Farm, which we had seen on one of the "things to do" websites we had researched. I thought maybe we were going for a hike. Instead, Shawn paid for us to go to the "Fly Zone," which was a high intensity ropes course.

Did I ever mention that I'm TERRIFIED of heights? I don't even like going up long sets of stairs for fear of falling. But, this sounded like something fun and different. I had NO idea what we were in for!

I thought we were doing one zip line and then we were done. I was wrong! The guide put us in a harness, helping me when I had no idea what I was doing and gave us a glove for our right hand. He explained that you never un-clip both safety hooks at the same time. He showed us how to hook on and hook off with the safety clips. He showed us that to navigate the course, you hook your clips onto the red-taped ropes. When we got to a black-tape area, we would be doing a zip line and would need to hook that part of our gear up. Then he told us that to slow down, we would use our gloved hand. BUT, you don't want to stop too fast. If you stop too early, you'll have to pull yourself to the end. You also don't want to grab the rope with your other hand, so you had to keep it on the apparatus itself. Then he said "GO!" I  told him I hadn't heard a word of what he was saying because I thought I was going to bring back up my breakfast. He told me to sit down and GO! Then when I said I was scared, he asked me why I was still there. GO! So, after I got enough of the directions to feel somewhat safe, I went. I didn't scream, but I did almost yank off my right arm from trying to stop too fast, which also made me have to pull myself to the end (only a couple feet).

"That was fun," I said, thinking we were done. We were just beginning. Thank God the guide saw that I was terrified and stayed with us. He let two other gals go around us who had climbed up behind us. They asked him a question in French and he easily answered. I was impressed, and he explained that English was actually his third language (French and then Spanish were the first two, in order). He was extremely fluent in English, though, which made me feel better. He stayed right with me and showed me where to go and how to step safely. When I got too nervous, he pointed out a HUGE lizard. Looking at it took my focus off the ground beneath me. I asked if anyone had ever fallen. He said not to the ground - that's what the safety clips were for. But people had mis-stepped. I could just picture falling and breaking something or twisting something on vacation. I was SWEATING and not from the heat. It was scary! But, it WAS fun!

Shawn doesn't get easily rattled, and he stayed right behind me. The guide went first and admittedly babied me since I was freaking out, and Shawn came right up behind. I was thankful to have one in front and one in back. I'd call back and ask Shawn how he was doing, which cracked the guide up. Shawn has nerves of steel, and even though his outward appearance didn't show it, he told me later that it was a total adrenaline rush!

At one point, I asked Shawn to stop shaking the high wire I was walking across. I told him that if he continued to shake it, I wouldn't be able to keep walking. The guide told me to look back - Shawn wasn't even on the line and the guide was already across and off of it. I was the one who was shaking it and I didn't even realize how badly I was shaking. The idea that I was causing all this movement that was difficult to navigate made me even more nervous. I think all the blood left my head. The guide asked me if we had kids. I told them yes, and I didn't want them to be without parents. He laughed and asked me their ages. Thinking of them helped me calm down and get across. He was a good guide. I LOVE this picture of Shawn below.

The more we climbed and I got across each station safe, the more confident I became. The hardest one was some logs tied to little ropes that shifted as we walked. The guide told me after we crossed (and I was literally feeling woozy) that this was the hardest part for him. This wasn't the one we were on (it was much more difficult because the ropes were further apart and the logs were somewhat sideways, etc) but this gives you the idea of the type of thing we were doing. We didn't pull out the camera in the beginning because we were too busy figuring out how to clip and unclip our safety lines and navigate the course.

When we were three-quarters of the way done, he told me that we had passed different ladders on trees that some folks bail on and get off the course. I was glad I didn't know about them before or I may have used them. By this point, though, I felt pretty safe.

I could tell Shawn was relaxing too. Doesn't he look so cute in the picture below? LOVE it! There were lots of obstacles and several times we zipped down. One of them was short so we had to break the whole way. Another was longer and we had to break at a specific red flag. The last one was really, really high and really, really long. It was fun but intense!

We had a GREAT time on the course that day - I'd say it was the favorite part of our vacation. It was sunny and 82 with a nice breeze. The view in the trees was beautiful. And Shawn even zip-lined first into a tree that held the absolutely biggest lizard (I'm guessing, or bearded dragon) that I have ever seen. The thing went straight for him before diving down the tree by his feet. He said it felt odd! That made me last that time, but that was better than going into the creature that was waiting for us! I loved the course and I knew that over a year ago, I wouldn't have been physically able to climb and lift myself and navigate what we needed to do. It was a great time!

After we were done, we sat in their "lounge in the trees" and ordered drinks. We were both shaking from our flight or fight adrenaline nerves. Shawn got a beer and I ordered a "bushwhacker" which is the tastiest drink I had the whole time we were there - it was like a vanilla/banana milkshake with cinnamon. YUM! I can't even imagine the calories, though. I gained 10 lbs while we were gone. I wish I was exaggerating! But, sadly, it's true.

There was a beautiful pool there, too, but we decided to press on and see the beach. :) We left this woodsy area and headed back to our favorite spot from the day before.

After applying some sunscreen, we ordered lunch at the Palm Beach restaurant at Orient Beach and I ate some thai food (?) while Shawn ordered his typical bacon cheeseburger and fries. Here, though, the waiter brought the food and drinks to us, bringing a tiki table out to our chairs right on the sand overlooking the ocean. It was amazing! If we were going again, this is the spot we would spend most of our time. The coolness of the sand on our feet combined with the warm air was amazing. We read and relaxed in the sunshine. Then we walked the beach for a couple miles. We debated on doing another excursion like para-sailing or renting a wave-runner but eventually we agreed that just relaxing as a couple sounded just as good.

When we left the beach, Shawn drove to an area of the island that was supposed to have exquisite French dining called Grand Case. He picked a restaurant and made reservations, simply choosing it based on location (it looked like there was nearby parking and the view of the ocean was incredible). We went back to shower first, and I wore a borrowed white dress from Mom (thanks so much!). Shawn wore a "Hawaiian style" shirt he had worn on our honeymoon. Unfortunately, even though we saw a couple on the elevator as we were leaving who told us how gorgeous we looked, we didn't think to ask them to take our picture and never got one of us that evening. Bummer!

For this being a "high-end" restaurant, the prices were crazy expensive (again, euros vs. dollars) and the food was awful. Literally awful. Shawn had lamb and I had a lobster pasta dish and neither of us finished it because they were gross. But, the view was great, and the company was the best part. I surprised Shawn that evening by taking along copies of our wedding vows that we had written and read to each other when we got married. When I was looking for them, I found our original emails to the pastor and his wife explaining what we wanted to say. They were almost more fun than the vows themselves. I was amazed at how much Shawn has stayed faithful to what he said and how truly I felt what I said all those years ago. I had our program and our invitation that I had found in the same file with our vows. It was fun reading them in our room overlooking the ocean. We checked out a piano bar nearby (reminding us of one we had went to on our honeymoon) but it was far too packed for our liking. We ended up walking around and then calling it an earlier night since we were tired from the days activities. :)

The next day, we knew that we wanted to see the famous beach where the airplanes literally fly so low there are warnings to customers to beware of jet fuel and the danger of low-flying aircraft. The runway starts literally right across from the ocean and this little restaurant called "Sunset Beach" on the other side of the street. So, that was our first "MUST GO" after we had our breakfast at Bon Apetit again (which wasn't nearly as good as the first day since we ordered different things, but was still okay). We walked around first to make sure there weren't any other excursions we wanted to do. Shawn wouldn't have minded taking a boat ride, but we missed the ones that looked the most fun. So, we decided to pass.

The Sunset Beach restaurant was SO packed! They post the flight schedule on a surf-blackboard everyday so you know when the big jets come in. We got our picture taken near it. We had no idea when the planes were coming in, but we knew this looked like a fun hangout spot.

Eventually we found a table that opened up. It ended up being the perfect spot. While there wasn't any shade (and there may have been some 'shady' characters near us - just kidding!) we had a view of our ocean and the perfect spot to check out the planes coming in.

It was almost too perfect as you can see that folks crowded around us to get their own pictures as the planes would come in.

We ordered drinks and burgers. The food was excellent! For all the bad food we had had on that island, the food at this restaurant was superb! I can see why it was packed!

It's hard to tell, but to the right of Shawn's ear in the picture below, there was a HUGE plane that was starting to come in. I got to know the signs of the bigger planes vs. the smaller ones. We ordered drinks in the hot sun and enjoyed our food when it came. We kept drinking even after we were done with our food (did I mention we were in the sun?). I had a lot to drink that day. But, it's rare that we get to have fun just the two of us. We loved the atmosphere and were having fun.

Eventually the water called  to us! With so many other folks swimming, it looked SO good. I realize I'm making the strangest face below (obviously having no idea that I was in the picture) but it shows how close the planes were to us on the beach.

Here's another picture to show how close this plane is to the people below! As a plane took off, we saw hats and sunglasses and towels flying!

We loved this little bar/restaurant and beach. It was definitely a MUST SEE if you ever get to St. Maarten. We were there most of the afternoon. Afterward we drove to see the rest of the Dutch side of the island that we hadn't seen yet. We saw a new mall being built with new apartments above it. If we were going to live there (which beyond the weather I would have NO desire - it was a lot of poverty among a few rich), this is where we would want to be. We did some driving around the rest of the island here and there to see some of the houses in the hills. But, we didn't have the desire to spend our warm weather days in the car. We LOVE being on the beach and in the sunshine!

For dinner that night, we couldn't find a good place to go. I was tired of over-priced food that didn't taste very good. We ended up dressing up and then eventually just going to Bon Apetit near us. No ocean view, but it was a nice place with candle light. I was starting to miss our babies by that evening, too.

The next day, we had to get some pictures of our view. The sailboats were out and when we put the flash on our camera, it looked like we were painted against the most beautiful background even though we were simply on our balcony.

Shawn thoughtfully paid for a Swedish massage for me the next morning and showed me the entrance to the hut where a woman was waiting. While we could have done a couples massage, there was only one worker (and what's the point). I asked him if he wanted one, and he said he'd rather read in the sunshine. So, I enjoyed the massage (which I'll admit was a bit ticklish at times but mostly felt good). I was greased up worse than a pig when I was done, though! (Is that even an expression?!?!). We laid out by the pool at our resort. I regret that we didn't swim in the beach there even though we did take advantage of the chairs to overlook the beach at one point. I had finished the one book the night before and was starting a new one. Shawn was finishing his last book he had brought as well.

It was time to check out soon enough. We ate our breakfast and packed up our stuff and bid our hotel room fair well. We had some wonderful memories! For example, the restaurant below sometimes filled our room with the smell of bacon! I thought to myself, no wonder the Lord enjoys the smell of "burnt offerings." Haaa!!! We had had so much fun together. When Shawn checked out, another customer was there insisting that he was going to upgrade his room to one with the best view - and he said our room number. The front desk told the man the room wasn't ready yet, and Shawn smiled and said "we're ready to give back the keys so they can clean it." It really was the best room in the entire place, I think! Here are some more of the views we enjoyed. We hadn't seen a single drop of rain but enjoyed lots of sunshine and cool breezes.

We headed to the airport a little earlier than we would have needed to, but we weren't sure how long it would take to return our rental car, etc. We asked to get on an earlier flight, but it would have cost a couple hundred bucks extra, so we declined. Instead, Shawn paid for us to get into an exclusive lounge where there was free Internet, free appetizers and free soda/water. It was GREAT! We read in the A/C and caught up on email, etc. The earlier flight had been delayed anyway, so we were only an hour or so behind it.

We boarded in the warm fresh air because of the delay of the other flight. Our seats on the way down were right behind first class (amazing seats!) but they weren't that great on the way home. Still, on both rounds, we sat next to each other and no one sat in the single other seat. We watched movies and I almost finished my book I had started that morning (finishing the last of the almost 500 pages the following morning so I could return it to the library). Shawn left his cell phone on the airplane. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. It is SO like him to leave behind his phone. I called and no one turned it in. Bummer! :(

We landed safely (praise the Lord), changed into warmer clothes and socks and sneakers, got right through customs (again, thanks to God!) and amazingly after Shawn's car hadn't been run for the entire week and sat in frigid temps it still started. Hallelujah! We stopped to use the restroom and grab some caffeine and drove home from Philly where my sister was waiting. It was FREEZING compared to where we had been. They were even calling for 5-8 inches of snow! But, it never came. Either way, we were so thankful to be home with our boys and even more thankful to have had some time away together, just the two of us. I'm grateful for my amazing husband.

And a big thanks to Mom for staying with the kids at our house, getting them to school and back and giving them a fun time while we were gone. :) :) :)