~*Life's a Beach*~

Mom and Dad lOved Saba
 But it was time to put some Caribbean Beaches in their vacation and my life.
We rented a car, Dad now an expert Caribbean driver
Drove all over St. Maarten/ St. Martin
So we were able to tour the whole island.

My overall impression of St. Martin is:
1) The beaches are beautiful.
2) the landscape is barren, in comparison to Saba's lush Rainforest.
3) Shopping is good, if you:
a) have a job b) want high end products c) are not traveling with my dad;)

Our journey to St. Maarten/ St. Martin

started on a short Winair flight (airtime 15 minutes)

Bye, Bye Saba, The Unspoiled Queen

Hello Winair

small but mighty.

Hello Beaches!

We survived the drive to our hotel and found a beach side bar for lunch.

Mr. Busby's

Dollar Beer ='s not too shabby!

 Life's  a Beach... a glorious beach

Mom trying to decide if we were in St. Maarten or St. Martin

We stayed at Princess Heights Condo Hotel in Dawn Beach, St. Maarten

We all really enjoy the luxury suite

It made our cottage on Saba, really feel like... well...a cottage

The Kitchen

Livingroom

The Bedroom

Ocean and Mountain views from the Balcony

Breakfast on the Balcony

Dawn Beach

*Paradise

"Somewhere over the rainbow, dreams come true..."

My dream come true was St. Martin (The french side)

Croissant amandes, baguettes, pastries, which all tasted as if we were suddenly in Paris, France

it was like a dream come true.

Grand Case Beach

Grand Case Beach, yep that's Anguilla on the Horizon...

Can't wait until April! 

Marigot

The Paris of the Caribbean

We found Sarafina's Patisserie & Boulangerie

Delicious and beautiful French pasties

Maho Beach

Watching planes land from the beach

The waves look nice, but they were strong!

It's a bird, it's a plane!

Planes landing and taking off.
One going to Saba, the other heading back to Canada.
This ends the week in paradise and wonderful vacation with my parents.
I miss them lots.
Thank you for the memories.

~*Mountain Goats*~

Mountain Goats.

as in 

We are the mountain goats.

We've been hiking lots.

and lots.

Day two

 We hiked the Sandy Cruz trail through the rain forest. This is my favorite hike, Mom and Dad enjoyed it too.

The hike ends in the Bottom.

This is where we rented a car.

and ate lunch at the Saba Coffee house

 (this opened very recently and I am in love with the Lattes)

Relaxing at Well's Bay

(I don't think dad enjoyed that steep road)

Next, we hiked the Ladder, I just couldn't tire them out!

The fact that this was the old customs house never gets old!

this was a beautiful hike with great views of the Caribbean Sea and several yachts.

Our rental car was an experience as it did not come with gas and we ran out of gas in our friends driveway

(could have been worse)

So Mom and Dad got a treat and got to experience 'The Van' 

Or as we like to call it: Our Saban Limo

Day Three

 Due to a lack of fuel we hiked to the Sulfur Mine trail

We saw lots of goats!

While we were there, our very good friend got us some gas 

and by the time we returned to the car we were ready to go!

It's all an experience:)

Finally,

I actually succeeded in tiring them out, so we relaxed until it was time to eat dinner at the Ecolodge.

This included a presentation about Saba and the Rain forest.

The food, as always, exceptional

Day Four

Since Dad is now driving like he is Saban, Mom and Dad dumped me so I could do some school work (Boo)

They drove around, looked at houses (some things never change), met some friends, went hiking, ate lunch, and had a great time.

Nathan was home from school early so we all went to see the Tide Pools

Mom and Dad say it feels like walking in an old ash pan

(Guess who are from a coal mining town?)

 Off to St. Martin...

~*Family Time*~

Mom and Dad Finally made it to Saba!

Just in case they actually did make it on the 5pm Sunday flight, our friends Anne and Joel lent us their car, so we could meet them. 

I had my doubts.

but.

They made it.

They were so happy to be here.

So far they love Saba. Mom keeps saying, "it's so unique"

Their first night, we took them on a quick, preview, tour of the island. So they saw Hell's Gate, Windward side, the Bottom,  and Saba University. 

Plus, we all fit nice and cozy in our little cottage.

Although, they keep saying "we're staying at the no star resort" 

(I pretend to not know what that means)

We got up bight an early and put in a full day (it's 6pm and Mom is snoring)

Mom and Dad are proud to announce:

 They have conquered Mount Scenery!

I am so proud of them

 (they were a lot better at it then I thought:)

Looking good before the Hike

It's Getting Hot!

Looking a little tired...

Enjoying the views

On Top of Mount Scenery! View of Windwardside

A little fall in the mud...hehe

Navigating the mud.

The Rope!

Go Mama Go!

No Views on the rope side... Clouds all around!

Finished!

After accomplishing Mount Scenery we had lunch and a couple Presidente at Scouts Place.

Then we walked up to JoBean's place and Mom and I got to make a glass bead each:)

We got some groceries, the grocery store gave us a ride home! (only in Saba).
Everyone was beat, so we had a taco night, relaxed,
and are ready for another Saba day.