We had one of the couples in our little travel group pull the plug on going to the island with us this year. No biggie there is always another year but am having issues with getting others to join us. I don’t get it, I shower, we leave our clothes on at the beach, and am not the typical obnoxious American tourist.
It is ODD to us since we love traveling to St Maarten that so many have either backed out or turned us down. I am guessing it is one of two things….either my sterling personality…I can be a travel bear….or our economy. I cant do much about the second part but the first one I can explain. We are a bit adventurous and don’t like being tied down. Criteria for travel with Rob is…you too must rent a car and we wont be spending every waking minute together. There are various reasons for part two of that statement.
1. We all so spend a couple of dollars to get there and we like some couples rejuvenation time while there. This is our yearly escape and we love sharing but aren’t willing to be tour guides for a week.
2. I have started a business that is in its infancy that will require me to be free at certain times of the day.
3. We have some differing interests that will cause us to go our separate ways…such as golf and diving.
I know that I am a bit ODD as I will take any opportunity to head for the islands. In today’s economy many are much more leery of dropping the coin it takes to fly from the middle of the US to the island for a week. I just look at it as this is what I work 50+ weeks a year for…and I will do what ever it takes to get me there!!!!! So I guess it is just me that is ODD. LOL
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Hey It’s late why you calling? Oh! OK!!!
Phone rang at 10PM last night…that usually only brings bad news.
Last night was an exception to that rule. It was my buddy saying that they had worked everything out and are definitely in for our fall trip to the islands. Wooo hoo SXM virgins. Get the volcano ready..one, two, oh yeah this is a holiday not a sacrifice…never mind guys, shut off the flames and hike back down the hill. Lets head for the beach instead….and who is bringing the cooler?? By the way just incase you are reading this ...no I'm not bothered that you called at 10 is just a fun way to title my blog.
Actually I have been talking the island up for years and they have been saying we would love to go….my response is one day…guess what!!! That one day is arriving soon. As in this fall. I am excited to have them join the crew this year.
We discussed things like airfare…I already have mine but shared what to look for and setting a price he is comfortable with. When it hits the price buy buy buy and then if satisfied don’t look back cause you will kick yourself when you could have saved another 50 a ticket. Told him I will pick them up at the airport on island with some cold ones ready for their consumption.
So the confirmed crew is now 4 there may be 2 more joining this party with the possibility of another 8 that we know being there in overlapping times. We are in process of scouting out a place to call our own on the beach…with those numbers look out we are bringing it!! LOL Actually we are all pretty quiet and generally respectful folks that wont take over a beach or be obnoxious to others.
Is there anyone else out there that wants to join our party? There is plenty of room on the beach!
Last night was an exception to that rule. It was my buddy saying that they had worked everything out and are definitely in for our fall trip to the islands. Wooo hoo SXM virgins. Get the volcano ready..one, two, oh yeah this is a holiday not a sacrifice…never mind guys, shut off the flames and hike back down the hill. Lets head for the beach instead….and who is bringing the cooler?? By the way just incase you are reading this ...no I'm not bothered that you called at 10 is just a fun way to title my blog.
Actually I have been talking the island up for years and they have been saying we would love to go….my response is one day…guess what!!! That one day is arriving soon. As in this fall. I am excited to have them join the crew this year.
We discussed things like airfare…I already have mine but shared what to look for and setting a price he is comfortable with. When it hits the price buy buy buy and then if satisfied don’t look back cause you will kick yourself when you could have saved another 50 a ticket. Told him I will pick them up at the airport on island with some cold ones ready for their consumption.
So the confirmed crew is now 4 there may be 2 more joining this party with the possibility of another 8 that we know being there in overlapping times. We are in process of scouting out a place to call our own on the beach…with those numbers look out we are bringing it!! LOL Actually we are all pretty quiet and generally respectful folks that wont take over a beach or be obnoxious to others.
Is there anyone else out there that wants to join our party? There is plenty of room on the beach!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Vacation + Daily Schedule = Crazy!!!
I will stick by the math in the title for planning a vacation. I will plan things like room, airfare, car rental and a couple of activities but in the past have not put a daily schedule together to structure our days. This time I must. Not happy about it but since this is business first for me I will build daily structure but not assign days. My first task this time is not to simply enjoy the trip, it is to gather some marketable photos of places known and unknown on both ST Maarten/Saint Marten and Anguilla.
Yes I am trying to make my mark with art photography. These are not of people but rather nature as well as some man made vistas. So this trip will be photo op + specific daylight = work…bright sun = poorer opportunity so we will then relax or make some contacts for possible product sales.
Guess that means, with the help of my trusty COO and assistant, we will be grouping beach visits together with where we would like to enjoy a bit of the sun for the day…
Here is the only catch, we will be bringing two first time visitor couples with us this trip too.
We do have one item we will want to do with the group, we want to go to FT ST Louis above Marigot and watch the sunset while sharing a bit of wine and cheese. Have been to the fort a few times but never later in the day when the light might give an incredible glow as the sunset occurs.
Yes I am trying to make my mark with art photography. These are not of people but rather nature as well as some man made vistas. So this trip will be photo op + specific daylight = work…bright sun = poorer opportunity so we will then relax or make some contacts for possible product sales.
Guess that means, with the help of my trusty COO and assistant, we will be grouping beach visits together with where we would like to enjoy a bit of the sun for the day…
Here is the only catch, we will be bringing two first time visitor couples with us this trip too.
We do have one item we will want to do with the group, we want to go to FT ST Louis above Marigot and watch the sunset while sharing a bit of wine and cheese. Have been to the fort a few times but never later in the day when the light might give an incredible glow as the sunset occurs.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Planning and Friends for travel
Met this weekend with some friends/business associates and discussed ST Maarten. They had just come back and found the trip to be very worth while to them. I shared that we in turn had just booked our tickets to go in Nov. He said that they may be returning to the island about the same time. What a blast it would be if they went at the same time we did. We have been trying for years to get together while on island.
There is an outside possibility that some friends of ours from Texas may be on island when we get there too. There is also the chance that yet another one of our friends from the KC area will be there at the same time. This could lead to a couple of VERY fun nights out!!!
Rob’s count of friends on island could be something like 12. There is some economy stimulation for SXM.
We so far have our flights paid and our week long stay on SXM booked. I still need to pay for our stay on Anguilla and a single night on SXM before we go to Anguilla.
Other things left to do is book cars for both islands and the hardest part for me……plan our days. No I am not looking to plan out every minute but we are going with the intent of taking lots of photos for my business. That comes first for us, way before hanging out on the beaches or what non-business meals we may plan.
Our typical plan in the past has been ….make a list of three or four things to do and do them otherwise we get up in the morning and have a conversation that goes something like this….
R says “Hey honey can you help me with sunscreen?”
M says “ Sure let me get that for you.”
R “Hey I need to run by and get my Espresso fix on our way to…..what beach do you want to go to today?”
M “Well, I kind of like the chairs at La String over on Orient, would you mind if we drive across island today”
R “No problem as long as I can stop by Zee Best on our way”
M “Ok, and I have already gotten the cooler ready for some snacks”
R “Cool, lets get outa here so we can enjoy the sun and surf, besides we need to get there and grab front row chairs”
M “ Ok I’m ready lets go”
That is a conversation that goes on almost every morning..just change the name of the beach. This time I will need to work on planning a bit better so we can hit some other photo ops while there.
To say we are getting excited about traveling back to the island is a bit of an understatement but that is what this blog is all about remember!!!
You will see me posting quite a bit more often now that we are booked!!
There is an outside possibility that some friends of ours from Texas may be on island when we get there too. There is also the chance that yet another one of our friends from the KC area will be there at the same time. This could lead to a couple of VERY fun nights out!!!
Rob’s count of friends on island could be something like 12. There is some economy stimulation for SXM.
We so far have our flights paid and our week long stay on SXM booked. I still need to pay for our stay on Anguilla and a single night on SXM before we go to Anguilla.
Other things left to do is book cars for both islands and the hardest part for me……plan our days. No I am not looking to plan out every minute but we are going with the intent of taking lots of photos for my business. That comes first for us, way before hanging out on the beaches or what non-business meals we may plan.
Our typical plan in the past has been ….make a list of three or four things to do and do them otherwise we get up in the morning and have a conversation that goes something like this….
R says “Hey honey can you help me with sunscreen?”
M says “ Sure let me get that for you.”
R “Hey I need to run by and get my Espresso fix on our way to…..what beach do you want to go to today?”
M “Well, I kind of like the chairs at La String over on Orient, would you mind if we drive across island today”
R “No problem as long as I can stop by Zee Best on our way”
M “Ok, and I have already gotten the cooler ready for some snacks”
R “Cool, lets get outa here so we can enjoy the sun and surf, besides we need to get there and grab front row chairs”
M “ Ok I’m ready lets go”
That is a conversation that goes on almost every morning..just change the name of the beach. This time I will need to work on planning a bit better so we can hit some other photo ops while there.
To say we are getting excited about traveling back to the island is a bit of an understatement but that is what this blog is all about remember!!!
You will see me posting quite a bit more often now that we are booked!!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Book’em Danno!!
It’s done, we are proud owners of two tickets to paradise…we wont be packing our bags to leave tonight but will however be spending 10 days in island paradise. For us that is three days and nights on Anguilla followed by another 7 on ST Maarten.
My constant monitoring of a couple of travel sites has paid off and in our eyes paid big.
Our tickets were about $50 less than what we paid last year and we were quite happy with those then. The best part is that there will be no overnight travel stays. Ok one, but I don’t consider a night on ST Maarten before going to Anguilla an overnight for travel purpose. We will spend one night on SXM then head to AXA for three days to include something I have wanted to do for years, that would be listening to the pickup reggae band at Gwen’s on Sunday afternoon. We will then return to SXM for a week.
This will give me more than plenty of opportunities to shoot all the photos I need for an upcoming project.
My constant monitoring of a couple of travel sites has paid off and in our eyes paid big.
Our tickets were about $50 less than what we paid last year and we were quite happy with those then. The best part is that there will be no overnight travel stays. Ok one, but I don’t consider a night on ST Maarten before going to Anguilla an overnight for travel purpose. We will spend one night on SXM then head to AXA for three days to include something I have wanted to do for years, that would be listening to the pickup reggae band at Gwen’s on Sunday afternoon. We will then return to SXM for a week.
This will give me more than plenty of opportunities to shoot all the photos I need for an upcoming project.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Did I wait just a bit too long?
This morning I did my usual perusal of prices on flights from Kansas City to ST Maarten.
We are going! It will be in early November now here is the rum, er rub!! Last week I priced airfare and found the perfect flight…and price for us. KC to Dallas, overnight and see some friends and then next morning Dallas to SXM. Return would all be in one day. Price for 2..rt with taxes $1200. This week, price of gas is up 18 cents a gallon cause it is driving season again. Same flight, $1350. I am experienced enough to know that the prices will fluctuate and will wait a couple more weeks to monitor but I am now ready to make that purchase.
On a more fun note, I am now exploring new products to add to my hopefully soon to be published website. At this point I have photos and some logo wear but my stock is growing. Hope to have a few products other than just photos. More on this one to come in later blogs....
We are going! It will be in early November now here is the rum, er rub!! Last week I priced airfare and found the perfect flight…and price for us. KC to Dallas, overnight and see some friends and then next morning Dallas to SXM. Return would all be in one day. Price for 2..rt with taxes $1200. This week, price of gas is up 18 cents a gallon cause it is driving season again. Same flight, $1350. I am experienced enough to know that the prices will fluctuate and will wait a couple more weeks to monitor but I am now ready to make that purchase.
On a more fun note, I am now exploring new products to add to my hopefully soon to be published website. At this point I have photos and some logo wear but my stock is growing. Hope to have a few products other than just photos. More on this one to come in later blogs....
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