St. Maarten Day 1

So flying in business class on a long trip is kind of a good gig I might add. What I loved about it was the leg room, the endless service, and the drinks. Nothing starts a vacation like a bloody mary at 6 am before your plane even departs, but after having stayed up the whole night before, I felt it owed to me. Well, needless to say, it put me out for about a half hour of the plane ride down to Atlanta where I needed to catch another flight to St. Maarten. I managed to make it to where I needed to be, and luckily for me, the gate where I needed to be was two gates down. Luckily for me, there was no OJ moments sprinting through an airport terminal hoping to catch the one and only flight that day to St. Maarten like I've had in two other previous trips. A sight it would be, yes, had that happened, but alas it did not. Unfortunately, I could have had several more drinks that day had I wanted to, however, I knew that I still had to pick up a rental car that day, and being in a foreign land, I didn't want to be driving inappropriately so as to land me in some gulag. After all, I've seen several episodes of "Locked Up Abroad." I didn't want to be that guy. The flight to St. Maarten was about 4 hours from Atlanta. It was pretty much uneventful, except that the entire group flying down there were just as anxious and excited as I was to arrive at our destination. I, on the other hand was still worrying about what I was going to do all week, how was I going to get the car, what would happen if I made a wrong turn, what if I got a flat tire, what if I hate it, what if I can't connect to the internet to attend a conference call.....and the worry list could go on and on. It's no wonder I have no hair.... Well, we arrived in St. Maarten, skimming over the top of the heads of the gawkers on Maho Beach landing at Princess Juliana International Airport. The first thing I noticed was that there was no air conditioning in the immigration holding tank. All I kept thinking was that I was sweating more than Mike Tyson in a spelling bee, and was certain that I didn't smell all that wonderful having been up all night and all day the day before. I managed to clear customs without issue and proceeded to pick up my vehicle. It was pretty easy finding everything, and the shuttle took me directly to the Avis car place. Entrusting me with their Toyota Corolla, I headed out on the unfamiliar and foreign road, and proceeded to immediately get turned around upon hitting my first roundabout. I ended up heading back into the airport. Yes. Literally into it. Well, two more circles around the roundabout (thinking all the while of National Lampoon's European Vacation...."Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament"), I got going in the correct direction, and literally 4 minutes later, made it to my resort, where I temporarily parked my car in order to check in. After being accosted by a security guard with pointy teeth, I was redirected to take my car to the parking garage around the corner. After getting my ticket, I found a parking spot, meandered my way back to the hotel, and proceded to check in. I was informed that I was upgraded to a suite, and that after asking about the rental car, everything would be ok. I had nothing to worry about. Whew. Made it to the hotel, made it to the suite, which had a huge living room, a huge bed, and a huge bathroom with spa tub, and a balcony view of the pool grounds, I was feeling great about everything. I then found the first bar I could find, managed to have several cocktails, and met Jack, Jim and a couple of other people sitting around the pool bar, hosted by the effervescent Sheryl....whose charm and accent (and efficiency for drink making) are unrivaled by anyone I've ever met. After that bar closed, I was able to hang out with Jim, and several other people at the main lobby bar until it closed (and until I shut down), and made it to my room for a well deserved rest. Day one was a success!

St. Maarten Respite

So this fall, I decided to do something a bit different.


It's been a stressful year and a half, I first have to say. With the loss of my mom and subsequent settling of her estate, combined with working a ton, I realized that I needed a vacation.


This seems at face value a very easy thing to accomplish. The problem is, when you're single, it's really hard to find other people to accompany you in travel. I spent many months trying to decide where to go, and who to go with. Having gone with friends previously and having loved every minute of it, it's pretty hard to find a place where you can all agree, and still be able to afford it at the same time.


Running out of time in the year, and still needing to take vacation time, I decided to do something that I have NEVER done previously: to vacation alone.


You hear a lot of people online say that they've done it before, and that they absolutely love it. Having been on organized tours with people that have gone solo, I had the preconception that it would be something that I could never ever do. But realizing my limitations in time and in companion options, I decided that if I want to travel, I may just have it along.


For several months, I spent a lot of time researching different places, listing pros and cons to each choice, and reading countless online reviews. After hesitating to pull the trigger, I must have been caught at a weak moment when I hit "send" and booked an all-inclusive vacation. After throwing up a bit, and saying to myself "what the hell have you just done," I realized I was committed.


It was an all inclusive vacation to the island of St. Maarten, at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino. It had good reviews on the whole, and was located in an interesting spot: right next to the international airport, and a beach that abuts the runway.


For the next two months after I booked the trip, I counted down the days, some days thinking "what the hell did i do?" Other days, "get me the hell out of here." And when the day arrived prior to my departure, I stressed for most of the day thinking, "what the hell am I doing to do," or "what if I'm bored," or "what if I hate every minute?"


After exhausting the what-ifs and trying to find all of the necessary items for my vacation: passport, cash, credit card, driver's license, swimsuit, sunscreen, and basic clothing, I stayed up the entire evening since my flight left Saturday morning, November 24, 2012 at 6 a.m. from O'Hare.


And on my way I was!