St. Marteen trip

So after 27 years, I finally made it to St. Marteen. It was a great trip with Jenn as we traveled to the French and Dutch island last Tuesday. We arrived early afternoon and immediately started drinking carib's. Grammy and Grampy still know how to have a good time. We also enjoyed some pretzels with peanut butter in the middle. If you have not bought this delicacy, you are missing out! We were both immediately struck by how much more built up the island was relative to St. Croix. There are literally restaurants and shops on every street. There are also many more Europeans and more yachts than you can count. We knew we were going to be in for a great week.
The first night, we went to grand case on the French side. This was both of our first authentic French meal. I had an amazing salmon app and Jenn and I tried snails for the first time. It was the first meal of many where Grampy dunked French bread continuously in garlic butter. Grammy ordered frog legs for dinner and Jenn even tried those! Her palate is becoming more refined by the day. We finished off a great first meal with strawberry shortcake. There were even some fireworks as they were celebrating something which escapes me...
We ventured to the casino after dinner and gambled a bit. It was a good time but you can smoke inside which is terrible.
The second day, we wanted to get a feel for the island. We went to Phillipsburg on the Dutch side, which is where all the cruise ships go. There were an amazing 6 ships that day! We window shopped a little and had some chocolate rum before lunch time. We continued around the out skirts of the island and saw St. Barts and Anguilla from the distance. We went to orient beach which is the most famous on the island. Finally, we stopped at g and g's favorite rib place for some local BBQ. That night, we didn't have the best meal but we enjoyed some live jazz and danced a little.
The following day we relaxed by the beach for most of the day. The airport is only a 3 iron away, so we saw many planes take off and land. There were many crazy people on the beach that would get blasted with the jet engines for the rush of it. Pretty cool to see huge planes land so close to you. That night we went to a harbor on the French side and had some great pizza.

At this point, it is worth mentioning that we had played copious amounts of cribbage. Couples vs. couples. We went on a nice run on thursday and were beating them pretty good. Jenn has only been playing for a couple years but she learned from a pro. Let's just say Grampy grew very tired of losing. Now both Jenn and I know where I get my "fighting spirit" or crying from...Grampy.
Our last day was spent by the beach as well. We had another great French meal that night as well. Also, the Casino finally treated me right and I had a big winning night.
All in all, we had a fantastic trip! St marteen is a phenomenal island with so much to offer. We hope to make it back again very soon.
The week back in St croix has brought Jenn's mom and sister Meghan. It has been fun to be tour guides for the first time. I'm sure Jenn will have a blog to follow.
Hope all is well with everyone state side.
Peace and love,
Drew and Jenn.