Wednesday, October 11 (Ron)

I got up and rubbed in some more aloe lotion. Pretty much all of my back, chest, and stomach are burned. Not real bad, just a little. Pat got up, we had breakfast, and decided to have a down day today. Just lay out on the beach under an umbrella.

We had some coffee, talked, entered the journal into the computer, and read. Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We had decided already that we wanted to eat at the resort next to us sometime, so this is as good a time as any. Divi Little Bay and Belair Beach Resort are the only resorts on Little Bay. Little Bay is right next to Great Bay, which is where Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten’s capital, is located.

Anyway, we walked over to Divi. We had eaten there once the last time we were here, but that restaurant had something going on in there, so it was unavailable. Divi is a lot bigger than Belair and we walked along the beach side looking for a place to eat. All we found was a beach bar and we didn’t want to eat outside, so we passed it by. Nothing else on this side, let’s try walking back on the parking lot side of the resort. We asked some resort employees and they told us there was a deli on a little further. We found the deli and went in. At least it was air-conditioned. We ordered a couple of sandwiches and a couple of Diet Coke’s. There weren’t any tables to eat at so we carried our lunch back to the suite and ate there.

After lunch, we read some more, then went down to the lobby to get on the computer and check e-mails. Still no way to get online and add to my blog except to type it all in again. We will rent a car tomorrow and can drive into Phillipsburg where there is a Wi-Fi hot spot and we can get online with the laptop.

Back up to the suite to do some more reading. It just occurred to me to describe the suite. The outside door opens up to a hallway. On the right is the master bedroom and bath. There is a king size bed with a night stand on each side, and a short dresser across from the foot of the bed that is about the width of the bed. A small TV sits on a stand in the corner. On each side of the bathroom door is a wicker and wood armoire. The master bath has a tub and shower combo, a double sink, and a toilet.

On the other side of the hall is the second bedroom. It has a full size bed, a small dresser, and a large wicker and wood armoire. It has a separate bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet.

The hallway opens up into the living room, dining room, and kitchen. On the living room side, at the end of the hallway is another closet, so there really is a lot of storage room. Even with four people here, there would be plenty. The living area is very open and roomy. There are two couches, a coffee table, and a TV in the living room area. The dining area has a round table with four wicker chairs. The kitchen has a full size refrigerator/freezer, a microwave, a toaster oven, a toaster, and a coffee pot.

The wall on the beach side is all glass so we get a great view of the beach and the ocean. We are right on the beach and the ocean is about 50 feet away. There is a sliding glass door that opens up to the balcony. The balcony is about 8 feet by 22 feet and has a small table with four chairs. The balcony is completely walled off at each end so everybody can be out on the deck but have total privacy from their next-door neighbors. The deck is totally open to the beach with just a railing. We really enjoy sitting out on the deck, listening to the ocean, and just relaxing.

About 8pm we went down for supper. The only downside of staying at this resort is that there is nothing nearby. Phillipsburg is within walking distance, maybe a mile and a half, but that’s pretty far to walk in this weather. For supper, Pat had grilled tilapia (fish) and I had citrus chicken. Both were very good. After we finished, our new friend, Brenda, the waitress at the Gingerbread Café, wanted to buy us each an after-dinner drink. We declined, but she insisted, so we accepted her generous offer. Pat had Amaretto and I had Grand Marnier. The restaurant is right next to the ocean, maybe ten feet away, and open to the outside, so it was very nice to sit and sip our drinks and talk.

We decided to rent a movie to watch this evening. The convenience store at the resort has VHS and DVD movies to rent and there is a VHS deck in each suite so we got a VHS movie that looked interesting. It wasn’t! Robert DeNiro was in it and it was supposed to be a thriller, but I kept falling asleep. We went to bed about 11:30.