The Weeks That Were

I am starting this list from 2 weeks ago since I did not post one before we left on our trip, and I did not even think about posting one while we were in Paradise! 

I suppose I could lie and say I read all of your posts while I was vacationing or once I got home, but in truth the whole time I was gone, Blogger was the last thing on my mind. Once back in Alabama I had my favorite girl to do things with, and reading blogs was definitely not on my priority list.

I guess I could be forthcoming and tell all of you I planned to read all the back blog posts all of you have written, so I will tell y'all that. Now you can decide for yourself whether I just spoke the truth or not.

Monday, June 17: Son3 and DIL 3 came to town to spend the night here before we began our trip. We had flights from Atlanta to St Maartan scheduled for early Wednesday morning and decided it would be easier if we all spent the night in Atlanta Tuesday night. We were able to have a lovely dinner with them.

Tuesday, June 18: TheHub and I had a little running around to do before leaving for Atlanta. We picked a place that would be convenient for us all, and offered long term parking plus a shuttle to the airport. I might not have normally opted for the Drury Inn but it met all of our criteria. It was wonderful to see everyone and talk a bit before bedtime. I will also say the  Drury Inn has recently been renovated and the bed was just perfect. I do not usually sleep well in "foreign to me" beds, but I slept like a rock even though waking at 4:30 did come a lot earlier than my normal wake-up time.

Wednesday, June 19: As mentioned above, we woke butt early, and were all in the lobby on time ready to start our adventure. We were very glad we took the earlier shuttle because the Atlanta airport was it's usual chaotic self. After standing in a non-moving line for over an hour we were able to hope the train to our gate and load up for the nearly 4 hour flight. Unfortunately for me during the standing still time my knee popped slightly out of joint and I was not able to get it to pop back in place. It made the walk to the gate pretty uncomfortable, but I put on my best "Hopalong Cassidy" face and limped my way through, while muttering some rather inappropriate words to myself.

Once on the plane I had some of the best seat mates ever. Pip was thrilled to sit with TheHub and me because we let her have the window seat, since ,when traveling with her parents she always gets stuck in the middle seat. I will sit in the middle seat any day if I get to sit by her.

The plane landed in St Maartan where we took a shuttle from the airport to the harbor where the ferry would pick us up to take us to St Barths. Once at the harbor and after purchasing tickets for the boat ride, we still had about an hour and a half's wait. Fortunately for us there was a place to eat right by the pier and we were able to have a lunch in the open air restaurant. Decent food in a beautiful setting with the ocean breeze blowing was a  wonderful break.

The ferry ride took about 45 minutes in slightly rough seas. I loved it! Some of the others did not like it quite as much, but I do not get seasick so the more we bounced and got hit with the fine mist from the salt spray the better I liked it.

Once we got to the island, I was blown away by how incredibly beautiful everything was. Though it is technically in the French West Indies and has coasts on both the Atlantic and Caribbean, the towns on the island have a decidedly European feel, rather than a Caribbean vibe.

Hats off to Budget with the car rentals. An attendant met us at the ferry dock with both cars, so we had no wait at all once arriving and going through immigration (their answer to customs). In addition to the car rentals, we had a personal concierge who grabbed our luggage and led the way to our villa. After a quick tour of the facilities we got settled in.

We were lucky to have been able to submit a shopping list in advance and the kitchen was stocked with enough food so that we were able to make sandwiches for a very late dinner

After eating  those who wanted to went for a quick swim before we all went to sleep.

Thursday, June 20:  What is more wonderful than waking up in paradise? The villa consisted of a main house with 2 bedrooms and all the common areas, and two outbuildings each with a bedroom and bath. There was a courtyard in the center with a gazebo, pool, sunning areas and a lanai complete with seating areas as well as a table for outdoor eating. I intended to have my coffee out there each morning, but the onslaught of the smallest mosquitos I have even seen (or should I say not seen?) changed my mind. The only place they did not bother me was either sitting out in the bright sun or immersed in the water

 I texted My Beloved Sister a birthday greeting, then we went to the grocery store to get more necessities for the week. While on the hunt for groceries we found an incredible French pastry shop. It is possible we found it nearly every day we were there.

Friday, June 21: We rented two cars because we had been advised the roads were very narrow and a passenger van that would hold us all would be difficult to drive. I am so glad we listened ! The roads are narrow, very curvy, mountain roads. I was glad I was not listed as a driver because I would not have enjoyed driving them. Instead I could sit in the car and take in all the incredible views. And on my how gorgeous they were. Since we had 2 cars we were rarely in the same places. Everyone just did what they wanted to do. 

The villa was so luxurious TheHub and I were often content to be there and read.

Friday night we had a chef who cooked us a sharing menu, starting with appetizers, beef, prawns, sea bass, truffle mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, breads, cream brulee ice cream and cookies. It was delicious and an experience. 

He had a waiter with him who set a beautiful table then served us each course. It is probably the most indulgent thing I have ever done.

Saturday, June 22: Beaches, sunning, reading , exploring and eating!!!

Sunday, June 23: Beaches, exploring the island, reading, eating!!! And speaking of eating, we had a cook, Sam, who used whatever we had on hand to make us a spectacular meal.

After eating we played trivia and it was fun.

Monday, June 24: Repeat of June 23rd.  Sam was back with us and we had another delicious meal.

Tuesday, June 25: More of the same, though we did do a little more exploring on a different section of the island. It truly is a feast for the eyes.

We had intended on having Sam back, but we had a ton of leftovers we needed to eat. Thank you Son2 and DIL2 who helped so much with the meal.

Wednesday, June 26: We had to leave by 9:30 in order to return the cars before getting on the ferry back to St Maarten. The day was pretty uneventful, until we got to the airport. DIL3 had forgotten her green card and could not return to the United States without it. She stayed in St Maarten while her friends went through her things at her house, found her green card and had it sent priority mail to her. 

The rest of us got on the flight to Atlanta. Son 3, Son1, and Pip were coming to Birmingham with us while DIL1 was going to catch a connecting flight in ATL to Portland and had just 3 hours between flights. Unfortunately once we landed another plane with mechanical issues was at our assigned gate. We sat on the tarmac for a little over an hour before we finally were able to deplane. Because she had to clear customs first and because of the gate delay, she missed her flight. We had already decided we would not leave the airport to drive home until we knew what she was going to be doing. After some not so pleasant conversations she managed to get the early flight to PDX the next morning and score a complimentary overnight stay in a nearby hotel.  We dropped her off at the Sonesta near the airport then started the drive home. It was well after midnight when we finally arrived. All we did was unload the car then everyone went to sleep.

Thursday, June 27: Pip and I had planned to go to Independence Place to get some of our luggage from the trip. Son2 and DIL2 had put some of it in their car in Atlanta because my car would not hold all of it plus 5 passengers . They live on the other side of town and it was easier for me to drive there to pick it up than it would have been for them to drive an additional hour to my house and back to theirs just to unload a couple of bags.

At Ip Pip got to meet the Thursday participants before we trekked off to our planned stops. We had decided we were going to have a blind taste test, between Cookie Fix chocolate chip cookies and Crumbl chocolate chip cookies. Additionally since we were already in Trussville to pick up the luggage at IP we decided to stop at Pastry Arts for some baby bites (tiny 2 bite cakes that are incredibly delicious.) If you are going to overindulge you might as well go all out, right?

We picked up the cakes and were on our way to grab the cookies at Cookie Fix when we passed Sephora. Pip and I had planned to go there while she was here anyway, and since we were right there it made sense to go ahead and stop.

My wallet was much lighter when we left, but Pip was very happy with her haul. (When I was 10 I had no concept of wearing blush and skin care. Just washing my face with soap and water was my entire beauty routine. How times change).

We still had to go to Cookie Fix, but I did talk TheHub into running up the hill to snag something for lunch along with the Crumbl chocolate chip cookie. I mean a blind taste test is science, and has to be done, correct? 

Once home we ate lunch, had the cookie taste test* then it was a swimming day!

Friday, June 28: We woke, had a light breakfast then Pip and I went to Ulta (another hit to my bank account).

I was out of just about everything and while we were out we ran to Aldi and Publix before coming home. More swimming then ensured, and Son2 and DIL2  along with Reesy and Jack (their dog children) came to the house for a bbq dinner.

Saturday, June 29: There was some morning swimming happening before Son 3 left to return to Nashville. DIL3 finally had her green card in her hand,  boarded a plane to Ft. Lauderdale, then was to connect with a flight to Nashville. 

Pip, Son1 and TheHub toured The Civil Rights Museum, came home and had dinner with Son2 and DIL2 before we all left to see Mary Poppins. 

Kudos to Red Mountain Theater for such a wonderful performance. The talent was great, and the orchestra in the pit was wonderful. I am so glad we got to see it. I had never been in their new theater and it was a grand venue. We will be going back to it.

As an aside, we got a text a tad after midnight that DIL3 was back in Nashville. What a harrowing ordeal for her!

Sunday, June 30: We were all tired and took the day kind of slow and easy. Pip and I looked through old photos and I was surprised when she asked if she could have some of them. An old photo for a sorority composite is going home with her, as well as several wedding  photos, along with some pictures of her dad when he was a kid. It will be a few less things for me to weed through later.

We also began the process of transforming an old Barbie into a Taylor Swift look alike.  I have managed to get the hair styled and removed Barbie's facial features so they can be repainted to look more like Taylor's face. Once we get that done, clothes making will take place. I never in a million years thought I would be doing this.

Books read in June

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (Thanks for the heads up Live and Learn)

All We Ever Wanted

The Passengers

Give It Back

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris'

The Dead Romantics

And now on to July!

Look for your joys, they are always there.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

* Cookie Fix and Crumbl tied, but I was the deciding vote and I like Cookie Fix best.