Picked out an outfit and off we went to the Stone for our anniversary dinner.

Finding The Stone is easy. From the airport, drive towards the Simpson's Bay Bridge. As you begin to see it coming in your vision look for The Rancho on the lagoon side. Directly across the street is a yellow building that houses Subway. nestled in a small stone building next door to Subway is The Stone. The bar at the Stone celebrates some famous "rocks" in the world. It is an eclectic place with the menus hanging on the walls. (See a copy below) The concept of the Stone is simple. Choice selected foods, cooked on hot stones to just the degree of  cooking you desire. Served with simplicity and elegance and seasoned for the most discerning palate.

Johan was waiting for us at the door, as was his beautiful friend Justine. Justine and Sean, both long time friends of Johan from South Africa had journeyed over to spend some time and lend support to Johan as he started up this new business venture. Sean was recruited to tend the bar while Justine pitched in as waitress, hostess, dessert chef and simply to give light to the place with her beautiful smile. It took a little bit of conversation to get Johan to place where he knew us from. When we told him that we had eaten his food before on the Celine and that we were the ones with the crazy "Nako" friends, then it all came back to him. The mud, the emergency run for ice. He joked with us the rest of the evening that it was the clothes that made it difficult to recognize us. <LOL> The conversation did intrigue Justine and Sean as they had not been to Orient beach yet. There was much fun as we made conversation about all of our trips to Tintemarre and sailing around the island with our friends. They were planning on giving the mud a try on a private sail with Neil the next weekend, and who knows, maybe even give skinny dipping a try too. Justine's stay on the island would be coming to an end and she was going to have to journey back to Cape Town and return to school.

As is our custom when we are trying a new chef, we placed ourselves in Johan's able hands. We asked him, what would he suggest for something light, something to delight the palate and he certainly did not disappoint us with his selections.

First was his wine selection. Since we were  sharing a bottle and having a mixture of foods to go with, he suggested a Sancere 2003, a French white wine that would stand up to the foods he had selected. It was an excellent choice.

Next was the appetizers. Johan said that the scallops were especially tender and tasty that day. He would prepare them on the stone with a light apricot sauce on the side. The salad would be just as light. The bread came with a dried tomato and spice spread that was just too good for words. There were four of the scallops on the stone and by the time I remembered I was supposed to take pictures we had already devoured 2 of them. A full plate would have been a whole meal for either of us, so we were glad we had decided to split the plate so we could have room for what was yet to come.

For the entree Johan had selected a pair of petite filets cooked on the stone. The filets melted in your mouth, were so tender that you could cut them with your fork. Veggies were a mixture of sliced and roasted veggies and a whipped sweet potato mixed with butter, herbs and some "special" ingredients that made them a delight on the tongue. Tried to find out what was in them and he just smiled. Steak was complimented by a light mushroom sauce. 

Normally for us, this is where we say good night and go back to our room to crash. Not so this evening... just as we were getting ready to call it an evening, Neil arrived. We invited him to share a glass of wine at our table and ended up staying the rest of the evening! Neil knew it was our anniversary and the next thing we knew there was a complimentary magnum of champagne. Life is Good!

After polishing off the champagne, the rest of the bottle of white and a good part of a bottle of red we decided to join with Neil as he had some dinner and we had some dessert. Otherwise poor Johan was going to have to just lock us in for the night! Neil had a wonderful looking tuna filet on the stone with the same mixed assortment of sliced veggies and whipped sweet potato.

I had a light mocha ice cream with some Baileys and Kahlua, the top was sprinkled with dark chocolate shavings and topped with a light whipped cream. Regina had something similar, but with shaved vanilla bean and Frangelico.

As we were enjoying our wine and dessert who should appear but our old friend Alana Busby. Alana is the former owner of Ms B's and the former chef of Mr.Busby's restaurant over at Oyster Pond. Alana is no slouch as a chef, educated in the best culinary institute in the Netherlands. She returned to help her father turn Mr. Busby's into a 4-5 star quality restaurant before the resort owners got greedy and tripled the rent. She brought a party of 5 to give the Stone a try.  She was delighted with their meal and word is quickly spreading about the Stone.) This was a deja vu for Regina and I.  7 years before we had hired Alana to cater a private dinner for the 2 of us at sunset on Dawn Beach for our 20th anniversary. She not only served us a delightful meal but she also treated us with the typical friendly and gracious respect that we have come to love about our island friends. It was serendipity that she would be there to help us celebrate another anniversary on our favorite island. 

The evening came to a close way later than we intended and we had such fun sharing and talking with our good friends. The Stone is a place that is conducive to that sort of thing. Excellent dining, good company, relaxed and friendly atmosphere all combine to make it a spot people will want to return to again and again. I know that is true for us. We returned a few days later with 6 more of our friends and we all had another great meal and a wonderful time.

January 4th          Back to the Top

Slow start due to way too much wine last night! We had a late breakfast in of croissants, juice and coffee. The order of the day was hydrate and replenish electrolytes for Regina.

Went back to Phillipsburg to see if the repair job and David's pendant was complete. It wasn't but they told us to stop by later so we did the shopping for the kids. Found Matt and John's Last Mango in Paradise shirts. We also found a little outfit for our grandson who was due in a couple of months. Browsed the just in from Paris shops and did not find anything that Regina liked for the weddings we knew were coming up.

Ate another lunch at Kangaroo Court. Side Caesar Salads and a wonderful thin crust pizza with cold topping of mozzarella, prosciutto, dried red peppers and olives. It was yummy.

Returned to our unit and both of us took a nap. Woke up in time to watch the sunset and take a soak with a glass of wine.

Then we went off to Skip Jacks for a late dinner.

Randy was our waiter. Brad from West Hartford is the owner and he used to attend a prep school that competed against Maggie's so we had lots to

talk about. Dinner was excellent. Regina had a pan fried grouper with parm cheese and in a light sauce. David had sesame seasoned blackened tuna with curly fries and veggies. We shared a crabmeat avocado dip appetizer that was delicious.

 

 

Watched as Neil put together a Pub Crawl. Probably would have succumbed and joined in had we not felt so out of it from the night before. The moon came up while we were eating. It was just so beautiful. Too bad we were not out on the water to see it. Regina was a little cold with the wind coming off the lagoon, need to remember to bring a wrap the next time we dine there.

 

 

January 5^th                 Back to the Top

 

Up early, packed up for a full beach day and then the party at Bay Watch. Had breakfast with Andy and Randy. Regina had the Italian Omlet, David had a couple of eggs. Met up with Suzie and Kevin when we had just finished and walked the beach with them after the breakfast.

 

Mudslides for lunch. It was then we discovered that Dr. Jim's wife Polly had died of a stroke the night before at their garden chalet at Club Orient. Even though she had been in frail health for a while and had requested a "last trip" to her favorite place, it still was a profound shock to every one.

 

Wandered over to Luiz Gomez's place so Suzie could be measured up for a new suit. Regina bought a duplicate of her first hand painted pareo to replace the one we bought 7 years ago. Then we walked the beach again with Kevin and Suzie as they went back to their place at the Mt Vernon to get ready for the party back at Bay Watch.

 

Morning walk on orient	Get a better tan without the pareo. Too bad we have to cover up at all!	Regina checks out some of Luiz's new fabrics	Suzie gets fitted for a new suit	Shopping for a new thong. Did not find anything as pretty as her WW lace.
Her new pareo at the rock	Modeling the new pareo

 

The party at Bay Watch was great in terms of the food and the staff. As usual, Andy and the crew did a great job putting on a feast for us all. Jane was a big hit at the party as well. The DJ was okay but honestly I think that Andy does a better job just selecting the music on his ipod and playing it himself. Nobody got up to dance this year and that was a disappointment.

 

Regina had the prime rib. It was to die for! I had the fisherman's platter and then we split some of Andy's cheese cake. Dr. Jim joined us and Regina and I kept him company through most of the evening.

 

	A new canvas gets ready for Jane's expert brush
Some samples of Jane's handiwork		Part of the crowd that gathered by the bon fire and watching the moon rise over Orient Bay	Cheryl and the crew. Thanks again guys!	CaptainNeil gets is body paint from Jane
	Lots of fun was had by all with Jane's brush. Some wanted to bring her home so they could get some great costumes for Fantasy Fest.	But nothing compared with the real body work that was shown off much to the amazement of all.	Guess his age! I'll never tell but most were also amazed and no one guessed, not even Jane who had as good a look as any, perhaps better LOL	Moon rise over Orient Beach and the bon fire that Adrian made for us on the beach.

 

 

 

My only disappointment was that so many people who had made commitments to attend just did not show up. 50% of the people who signed up on TTOL and OrientBeach.com did not bother to show and that meant that Andy and Cheryl had way too much food for the people who did come. I am not certain I want to put them to all the trouble of getting the food and the staff and the entertainment only to have the people who wanted the party not to show up.

 

 

January 6th   Moving Day       Back to the Top

Woke up early and watched the sun rise while Regina slept in. Then we packed up our things and got ready to move to the Ocean Club for our last 5 nights. After finishing up our last breakfast goodies we called the Ocean Club about check in time and no one at the desk could tell us. Not a great way to start the day... Rather than wait I lugged our stuff down to the car, checked out and then we took our beach things and walked to Cupecoy.

 

What a beautiful day. Did not bring the camera or I would have had some great photos. We had some of Danny's ribs and a couple of Caribs took a number of walks and dips to stay cool. The sun was so hot we rented an umbrella from Danny and both of us hid under it for a while to keep from getting crunchy burnt.

 

We walked back around 3:00 and were able to check into room 16R. This is a 1 bedroom unit on the pool side of the resort. Second floor, up a unique set of spiral stairs.

 

Room overlooked the pool. huge bathroom with both a shower and a bath tub that could hold 3 our size comfortably. Good sized living room. None of the windows really worked that well, felt it was a shame to run the AC when the windows would not close. Signs everywhere about keeping sand out of the tub, shower and dire warnings about hanging anything out on the balcony.

 

I know that some folks will object to this, but it felt like we were intruding on some one else's party. Later we found out that many people come and stay at Ocean Club for 4-8 weeks at a time, especially during the time we were there, so we were outsiders to them! There were people gathered at a couple of units playing dominos or cards. Old folks snoozing by the pool, nobody swimming much less playing around. Even when we walked into the little cafe and bar no one talked with us. 

 

 . 

 

After cleaning up and taking a little snooze we changed and drove over to meet Kevin and Suzie at Gutside. This was a highlight of the trip this year.

 

Richard Brooks and his partner Lourdes took care of us that evening. What a nice couple! Regina and I both had the shrimp as did Suzie. Kevin had grilled red snapper. Suzie, our resident expert on shrimp said that these were perhaps the best she had ever had on the island.

 

Richard is quite the artist. He is a deeply spiritual man and we had hours of deep conversation about the meaning of his art, his life and then we tackled trying to solve the meaning of life on earth. Maybe it was the great tasting red wine or the homemade guavaberry cordial, the time flew by and we closed the place.

 

Some of Richard's art work. A living mural of life made from objects found around the island.	Kevin and Suzie arrive	Let's study that menu	Richard shared with us a magazine article from one of the Destination magazines that profiled his art and restaurant	Richard pondering the meaning of life
Richard and Lourdes in front of the living mural	David & Regina with Richard and Lourdes	Richard gave the girls a challenge to find certain images in the mural. The hunt was on!	Looking into each part of the mural brought forth new images, insights and meaning. You can spend a lot of time getting lost in Richard's art.

 

 

This place is a find of the island and we certainly will be back again and again. Thanks to Fred and Leslie to steering us to Richard and the Gutside Restaurant. By the way, the name comes from the fact that the restaurant is by the side of a small ravine that is filled with small river of clear running water coming out of the Colombier region of St. Martin. This kind of river/ravine is called a "gut". So the name of the Gutside restaurant was given to it by the locals who all come for the reasonably priced great food. 

 

 Now we only have to find out if Richard and Lourdes finally tied the knot. So Richard have you asked yet?

 

 

January 7th                  Back to the Top

Up very early this morning and over to Orient in time to see the sun rise on our walk on the beach.

Eventually most of our friends arrived, one by one. Larry and Janice, Butch n Kelly and Kevin and Suz. About 11:00 I did a communion service on the beach. Probably had more people this service than I would have had in the second church back home. Denis, the new GM of Club Orient joined us and we had a great chat after. We also had a wonderful chat with Rachel and her husband Greg.

During the mid to late morning a cascading parade of folk came by our chairs and cancelled their participation in the day sail scheduled for the next day. First it was Tom n Janey, then Andrew and Tessa, Fred and Leslie had left a message at the Sapphire telling us they had not even made it to the island due to the illness of their dog. Then Mark and Donna called our cell phone and cancelled due to them both arriving on the island sick.

Now it was panic time. We were down to Rick and Pam and Mike and Michelle. A quick round of invitations on the beach got Carol and Scotty to join us as well as Randy and John. Butch decided to come as well. So it was now not a total bust.

Regina and I had not yet connected with Philippe and William, so we went home, took a nap, cleaned up and then drove back across the island via Marigot, after getting stuck in traffic at the airport for 45 minutes. There was even a lot of traffic in Marigot for a Sunday evening.

Philippe was doing the cooking, William was alone on wait staff. It was their first night open since their return from France after visiting with Philippe's mom, who had cancer. With 6 other couples there for dinner we could not talk much but we caught up as best we could. They had a wonderful Christmas with family, Philippe's mother was in a remission of sorts, but he was trying not to get his hopes up too much as the doctors had given her only 6 to 9 months to live. Philippe and his sister were taking turns going home and that was exacting a huge toll on his spirit. I am worried for my friend.

The food was wonderful again!

 

Regina had Vietnamese Spring Rolls for appetizer, David had the Escargot with a light creamy garlic sauce.  For the main course Regina had tilapia with a ginger and soy sauces, French Fries and plantains, stuffed tomato and herbed broccoli. David had grilled red snapper with a lobster bisque sauce, herbed spinach and roasted red pepper.  William found us a wonderful German white wine that I wish I had gotten the name of, it was very smooth and just the right compliment to the seafood. For dessert Regina had a strawberry soup while David had a home made lemon sorbet with a vodka sauce. Finished the night with some house special rum that only William knows what was in it.

 

January 8^th    Celine Day .             Back to the Top

 

Early start in order to be at the dock by 7:00. Actually got there before with no traffic for a Monday morning. Waited for 10 minutes and Gaynor arrived and when she did not see Neil a bit of smoke came from her ears. he had promised to get there early due to there being a late party at the boat the night before. He did not and the boat was a bit cluttered with the remainders of Neil having partied a bit too long with a dentist friend.

 

Eventually every one for the day showed up. From left to right...

 

Mike and Michelle

Rick and Pam

Carol and Scottie

Butch

Regina (David is taking the photo)

Randy and John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gaynor and Captain Neil finished out the roster.

 

 

 

 

It was the best sailing day we have ever had on the Celine. Flat water, no waves, steady wind. What made it even more spectacular was the small showers and squalls in the distance over by Anguilla. That made for a cascade of rainbows. Single rainbows, double rainbow, triple rainbows!!! By the end of the day we had seen 13 different sets of rainbows without getting a drop of rain upon us. What a day!

Some Where	Over	The	Rainbows!

 

 

 

 

 

The trip out to Tintemarre was a great sail. We motored over to the Marigot Bridge. People gathered on the bow, mingled and got to know each other as Regina, Neil and I caught up. The Marinas were full of the super yachts and Marigot harbor was full of yachts and a luxury clipper ship.