The "Photos that SCREAM Vacation: Part 2" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just finishing picking a few more photos to share with you. I have tried not to re-use any photos that have been part of another story or will be used in the future. Enjoy. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Go'in under for the third time

American owned rooftop restaurant in Grand Case

Pareo at Pinel Island Boutique

Great Bay Beach, Philipsburg

Grand Case store front

Ice Cream stop at Pinel Island Ferry Depot

Poolside guest

Orient Beach Watersport's Shop

Rum, the water of the Caribbean

On the island of Pinel - Men's toilet

Local product on sale in store on St. Martin

The "Photos that SCREAM Vacation: Part 1" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just finishing downloading my photos from my Sony Alpha DSLR and my Koday EasyShare M380 to my iMac computer. Photos are from my recent vacation that Carol and I took to St. Martin/Sint Maarten. 1,487 of them, plus a few videos from my Kodak mini underwater camcorder. If you have been reading my blog during the last two years you know by now that I enjoy taking photos. One of my passions! And ... you know that I am going to share some of them with you. I have divided the photos into 4 parts so you don't get too bored. I see things in a different light and perspective than some, so keep that in mind as you explore the photos that follow. A brief description accompanies each photo. Enjoy. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Sea Fan hat at an art gallery at Bobby's Marina, Philipsburg

Art Gallery in Marigot

Orange Fever, Orient Beach, French West Indies

Face lift on St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church

Grand Case at sunset

Images of light through glass

Island Time

Gett'in a leg up

When you're serious about how you look - West Indies Mall

Early morning on Happy Bay beach

Mannequin in a store on Front Street, Philipburg

The "Why God Don't Own a Car - JB" Story

It was an ordinary day. Heading back home for the day. Headed down the hill, reached the entrance to the villa, pulled off to the right trying not to scrape the bottom of the car on the concrete drive, pulled about 15 feet up the driveway, put my key fob on the gate release, waited for the large gate to open, and slowly accelerated up the steep incline to the villa. Sounds pretty easy, and if you do everything just right, it is easy. But, if you push down too hard on the gas, the wheels start spinning. That's the reason for all the black rubber that I left on the driveway ramp during our vacation. A little bit of rain will make the concrete like

ice and the almost bald tires of the rental car have no traction. Other than getting into and out of the villa, I enjoy driving on St. Martin. There is essentially one main road around the entire island with a road down the middle. Feeder roads lead off the main road that take you to smaller towns and developments. Sure, there are lots of hills to navigate, but there is only one (1) traffic light on the entire island. There are zillions of speed bumps, most not painted that you can see them. Some are identified with a sign, but most are learned by driving the same road numerous times and hitting your head on the roof of the car their first time you encounter one. Quite a few intersections on the island are controlled with the traffic circle. Why we don't have more of those in the USA is a mystery to me. Really keeps the flow of traffic moving. Someone started a thread on my favorite island forum titled

"Driving in SXM" and some of the responses are: I'm glad we decided to arrive during the day than in the evening, otherwise I don't know where I will end up at; Driving is a zoo on the island; There are lots of people that refuse to drive on SXM and I don't blame them with all the pot holes, narrow streets, and locals stopping right in the middle of the road to talk to a friend. Now for every negative response, there wereat least three positive ones. Such as: Love to drive SXM ..... such an adventure; Some of the best finds we found while driving lost; The only way to really learn the island is to drive it; I love driving on the island .... gives me

a chance to constantly honk the horn. Now that last comment was from yours truly. Once you learn the traffic signs in both Dutch and French, you got it made. Speed limits are listed in kilometers per hour and the fastest speed limit sign I have seen on the island is 90 kph which translates to about 56 mph. Traffic at certain times of the day is heavy, just the same as here in the USA. About the only thing I have trouble

with are the suicidcylists (my own description) that travel in the middle of the road and pass

you at tremendous speeds, even with a passenger and traffic coming the opposite direction. Can't imagine why more are killed. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pix from the top are: coming down the road to enter the villa which is on the bottom right of the photo where the wall is being rebuilt (Wasn't me!), stopping for opening the gate, one of the hundreds of steep hills on the island, one of four border signs that take you from the French side to the Dutch side, one of the suicidcylists that just passed us a second ago. Below you will find some of the different signs that are used on both sides of the island.

The only stop light on the island

Pedestrian Crossing and single speed bump

Double speed bump

Yield in French

Signaling do not enter or no exit

Sign showing how many roads lead off of the traffic circle

Speed limit sign

The "Poop Mystery" Story

It was an ordinary day. Walking around the pool at Villa Bonita. Trying to figure out what is laying along the edge of the pool. As I get closer I see that it is ...... poop! Now we have fences around the property so it can't be a dog, but a cat could have gotten onto the property without any trouble. But then again, a cat always buries their poop. At least all the cats that we have ever had buried it. OK, I'm stumped. Not small enough to come from one of the hundreds of lizards or geckos that live around the property. Carol and I were both stumped. I just cleaned it up and forgot about it. Until the next morning. Two piles of poop that day. "OK," I said to Carol. "You're missing the toilet by a whole lot, you know." She just looked at me with disbelief in her eyes. Just then Stefane, our realtor, arrived to help with the electrical problem I seemed to have created when I plugged something 110v into the 220v circuit. I pulled him off to the side and showed him the poop. "What did that come from?" I asked him. "That's iguana poop," he said. "And a mighty big one." Well, now at least we know. I'd love to see him, but it seems he only goes swimming and pooping in the evening, after we have gone to bed. The next day as we were getting ready to head into town for some shopping, Carol pointed to one of the huge fleur de yucca plants by the side of the pool and said, "Look up there." Sure enough, there he was. Blended in perfect with the light color of the plant. He was 30 feet up on the top of the plant looking down at us. And then ..... next to him was another one on the next plant. Smaller in size. He slowly started eating the white flowers of the yucca plant as we watched him. Both mom and dad remained our constant companions throughout our stay, never leaving the top of the plants except during the night to do their swimming and business next to the pool. Hey, wouldn't want to poop in the plant and then have to sit in it. I certainly wouldn't! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - as you can see I did get photos of the two in the top of the plants as well as the remains of the their meal around the pool.

The "Villa Bonita" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just arrived at Princess Juliana airport in Sint Maarten. The airport is on the Dutch side of the island. After going through customs and getting our luggage, we exit the airport and hunt for Leslie Bruce, the local that we rented our car from this year. Asked someone if they had seen him and they pointed toward the airport parking lot. "Just look for the skinniest guy on the island," we were told. Sure enough, there he is, coming towards us. And the guy was right! Got our dented Totota and off for the French side and Villa Bonita. We visited this villa last year during our vacation and thought we would enjoy staying in it this year. Stopped at Cap Caraibes to let the realtor know we had arrived and she grabbed the keys and off we all went to the villa. Magali, our realtor, showed us through the villa, gave us the keys and off she went. Time for a dip in the pool. Weather was overcast, but that doesn't effect the water. Warm water felt good after seven hours of travel. The villa overlooks Orient Bay and naturally Orient Beach. We could see the islands of Green Key, St. Barts, and Saba off in the distance. The flowers around the villa were in full bloom, but then they are always blooming in the tropics. Reds, yellows, oranges, whites: they were all giving different smells to go with their vibrant colors. Villa Bonita is a three bedroom villa, but we are only staying in one of the bedrooms, so we pay a reduced rate for our time in it. Very modern interior with a Swedish style kitchen, Caribbean living room and bedroom, ugly bathroom and the most amazing views from the outdoor living area (I called the the porch!). We had some minor issues with the operations of some of the items in the house, but they were promptly overcome. Hey, we're in paradise! The inclined driveway to the villa was a real challenge, but after a day or two, I became a pro at it. Except for all the black rubber marks I left on the driveway during our stay. The entrance to the villa, off the main road, had been damaged before our arrival (it really wasn't me!) and it took workers the entire time we were there to rebuild the wall that someone had evidently run into. We had many meals sitting on our porch, looking at the many shades of blue water in front of us. Villa Bonita was our home away from home for 16 days, and it certainly did not disappoint. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos of the villa with a brief description of each one follow.

Entrance to Villa Bonita is at the bottom of the hill and off to the right

Outdoor living area as seen from the driveway

Pathway to the front door is located by the side of the pool

Outdoor living area and the pool

Looking toward the villa from the pool area

Looking toward Orient Bay

Outdoor living area for relaxing

Outdoor living area looking from the kitchen and living room

Very modern kitchen and dining area

Bedroom

Now this is vacation!

The "Some call it Vacation, some call it Holiday, I call it Rainy" Story

It was an ordinary day. Our St. Martin vacation, holiday, or whatever is drawing to a close. Raining so hard the sugar birds are hiding somewhere. So hard the volume on the TV can't be turned up loud enough to hear them speaking above the sound of the rain on the metal roof above us. So hard you can't see the end of the driveway 50 feet from our porch. And then ...... the cable goes out. NO SIGNAL! No wonder, with all this rain. Not just one day of it, but 11 of the 16 days of our vacation, holiday, or whatever. Chairs are getting more uncomfortable, drinking water is getting browner, skeeters are biting harder, the three English channels we get on the TV are getting boring, the sugar we put out for the sugar birds liquifies in no time, but the pool is getting fuller and the foilage is definitely greener. We saved and scrounged for a year to be able to take our vacation, holiday, or whatever. The last month or two the excitement was building and we started making lists of what we wanted to do when we got here. Scrap them! Can't take a side trip to the neighboring island of Anguilla this year unless we want to drive in the rain to the beaches there. Besides the ocean must be much higher by now, what with all the rain. Can't buy a week-long pass for our favorite beach, since we didn't have a full week of days on the beach. Tough taking driving tours of the island, since you can't see very well through the windows with all the rain pelting down on them. I guess we should be glad we had a chance to visit St. Martin again, rain or shine. And we are, but......... Also, should be glad we aren't 25 years younger and have our three young kids with us. How much fun would that be for two rainy weeks? "OK, stop the complaining" my wife tells me. "All the complaining won't stop the rain." Now, how does she know? Maybe if I complain some more while hitting these black keys, the sun will come out and we can have at least one more day in the sun! Don't anybody pray for rain for the next 48 hours. Thanks! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Beautiful Barbados" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just finished making a CD with all the songs from my new music CD titled "The Merrymen Story - Part 1" on it for Just Sue (JS). I few years ago Carol and I traveled with Jerry and JS to Barbados for the first time. During the trip JS bought a music CD titled "Beautiful Barbados" by The Merrymen. We all enjoyed it immensely and I borrowed it from JS so I could make a copy for myself. I took the copy to work with me at Manheim Township High School during the summer when I ran all the in-house printing needs for the school district. To keep me company I would play "Beautiful Barbados" over and over. And LOUD! Only way I could hear it above the thump, thump, thump of the printing press. Seems that I not only enjoyed the music, but the custodians, maintenance men and secretaries who were close by and could hear it through the concrete block walls of the print shop would enjoy it. I must have made a dozen or more copies of it for others in the school that summer. Well, while traveling around St. Martin in the Caribbean recently, I found "The Merrymen Story - Part 1" and snatched up a copy. Just love the music of the Merrymen. And .... now I am making another CD for my friend JS. In 1962, the year of my high school graduation, three young musicians from Barbados made their debut at the Drift Wood Cellar Bar along St. Lawrence Gap. The called themselves "The Merrymen" and earned $18 for the night. Stephen Fields, Robin Hunte, and Emile Straker made up the trio of guitar and banjo playing minstrels. Shortly they added another member, bass player Chris Gibbs. In 1966 they added the final member to the group, drummer Robert Foster. Their trademark sound is an upbeat form of calypso, reminiscent of what was popular in the Caribbean in the late 60s and early 70s, that samples liberally from latin, funk, tuk, and spouge musical styles. Lead singer Emile's whistling is one of the most distinctive components of their sound, and often serves as the primary focus of the musical interludes in their songs. Come to think of it, while in Barbados we visited the Whistling Frog Bar. Makes me wonder if the Merrymen played that venue many times. In 1966 they released their album, "Introducing the Merrymen." Their biggest single was "Big Bamboo" which topped the charts not only in Barbados, but in Holland, Belgium and Germany. Also in 1966, "The Merrymen" traveled to England to represent Barbados at the Commonwealth Arts Festival. One of their producers was the great George Martin, producer of the "Beatles." While in England they spent many days in the Abbey Road Studio, home of the "Beatles". They have performed in Hong Kong, Austiralia, New Zealand, Canada as well as the USA where they appeared at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and the Super Bowl when it was in Miami. They have recorded over 35 albums and won the 1997 Lifetime Achievement Award presented at the Caribbean Music Awards. They stopped touring in the early 2000s, but still remain Ambassadors for the Barbados Board of Tourism and play quite a few charity concerts in their home country of Barbados. In October of this year, we plan to make our second trip to Barbados and hope to be able to see "The Merrymen" perform live. Won't be quite the same as seeing Jimmy Buffett perform, but a close second. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - listen to them perform "Beautiful Barbados" and get a feel for their style of music.

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The "Birdman of the Caribbean" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just finished pounding on some sugar cubes to break them apart so I could put them on the picnic table for the sugar birds. Carol and I have called these little dark-gray, yellow bellied birds with white stripes on their heads and red on the side of their bill, sugar birds for years and years. They are actually Bananaquit birds, but that's too hard to say. Seems that no matter which island we visit in the Caribbean, we encounter a few. Our latest trip was no different. When we arrived at Villa Bonita in the hills overlooking Orient Bay in St. Martin, we saw them again. We also saw a small bird house on the overhang of our porch which had activity in it. Carol said, "I can hear a baby bird in the house." Sure enough, in a day or two we could see the mother feeding the young one. Feeding it sugar! The sugar bird has a slender, curved bill, adapted to takingnectar from flowers. It sometimes pierces flowers from the side, in order to take the nectar. It cannot hover like a hummingbird, and must always perch while feeding. It will also eat fruit and insects. We call it the sugarbird, since it likes to feed on granular sugar. And, it can become very tame. I would often sit at the table, reading or typing on my computer and the birds would be feeding on the sugar just a few feet away. As the days went by they became more accustomed to having us visit with them. They awaited the sugar supply in the morning and attacked it as soon as we put it on the table or a porch support nearby. Feeding these beautiful birds is one of the many highlights of our trips to the Caribbean. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pixs from the top: one of my friends waiting on the shrubs while I get the sugar ready in the morning, a few sugar birds arriving closeby for some sugar, mother sugar bird feeding her young one in the birdhouse above our porch, the "lineup", the Birdman of the Caribbean" enjoying the view while the birds sit on the end of the table.