HM: Hotlanta be Gone!

One minute, there we were, flying high, living large in first class, wrinkling our noses at those that were forced to sit like sardines in the back, drinking vodka and gin and being snobbish. The next minute, we found ourselves in the lobby of the terminal, protecting our turf. We had managed to grab a couch in the main aspect of the large room, there was only 4 available and if we were to move to grab drink or things at the chop house or IHOP, we’d lose this protected space. We also had our main bags with us as we had to claim them. See, Matt and I, in an attempt to save money and time, decided to stay the night at the Atlanta airport. We arrived at 10:30, had to grab our bags and we would have to be back by 9:00 or something like that the next morning to ensure that we made it through customs and our international flight. I was unsure about this idea, but Mr. Airport was ready.

Ready until we were doing it and his sleep was stopped by the floor cleaning who in Matt’s mind was taking too long and was too loud. The funny part was I actually didn’t mind him. See when I was sleeping and was lightly awakened by this, I actually had one of those moments that you forget where you are but recognize the sound as something similar. The sound reminded me of a lawn mower and I was taken back to my parents’ house. I didn’t think it was that bad. See it also drowned out the 2 types of music that was being played (one was overhead sound and the other was coming from some local shop or restaurant – and they did not complement each other). It also drowned out the two girls that continually chattered back and forth irritatingly and incessantly. See, so I didn’t mind the floor guy but I think Matt was ready to string him up by the floor cleaner cord. Eventually we shifted spots and I got the couch back as it didn’t fit Matt at all and if I wriggled just right it did fit me. There was my first 2 hours of sleep. Matt woke me up at 4:30 when it was finally allowed that we could check our bags and get our boarding pass. I suppose that I could have shown a bit more excitement that we could keep moving forward but it was 430 in the morning and we were both a bit punchy.

After checking the bags and getting into the sterile area, we found our gate and Matt laid down across the floor while I took 3 or 4 chairs above him to cuddle on. This was better than the lobby but I still was irritated that CNN or something similar was blasting Anthony Bourdain’s show. And given any circumstance but the sheer need for sleep, I would have been happy as the show sounded interesting and I actually wanted to see it. They should have put something quieter and more boring on at 5:00am.

We slept for a couple more hours and finally got up and had bagels and coffee and juice in the concourse. We made our way back on the plane…Matt would tell you what it was…I think it was an MD80 or a 757, I can’t remember, either way…to get to our seats, we went left! And I was never so glad in the fortuitous gift of first class. We had our hot towels, our champagne to start the flight, our snacks, our meal which was pasta gnocchi for me and a chicken for Matt with cheesecake custard of some sort for both. We continued the meal with screwdrivers and gin and tonics and while we watched a movie, Matt also settled in for a nap.

We arrived mid afternoon in St. Maarten. Let’s back up a bit. See this was Saturday. I started my vacation on Thursday night but Matt waited until Friday at 1:00. I drove him into the airport and he worked on Friday morning while I finalized packing, details around the house, some final errands, and some light cleaning. See, he went into work because the past three weeks have been yucky for him. The jets are a blessing in offering vital area service that is well needed and reliable but also come with expansion issues and needed space. Because of this expansion, they’ve had the ramp unavailable for use and have been busing passengers with a big yellow school bus. He went in on Friday to ensure that the first flight of our honeymoon, we would not be getting on a bus to start our honeymoon. But back to St. Maarten, you wouldn’t believe the ironic laugh that I felt bubble up when we got off the plane at St. Juliana Airport and got on a bus to make our way to the terminal.

The instant heat was a beautiful feeling. It forced us to rip off sweaters and roll up sleeves that had followed us down to the Caribbean. We grabbed our luggage and a cab and made our way to Divi Little Bay, where Kevin had secured us a location. I took it as a good sign to see the front desk stocked with rum punch for those waiting in line to check in, and I didn’t have a problem enjoying it while Matt handled the details of the front desk. I did get him a virgin one to tide him over.

After trekking up the hill (which is shared with Fort Amsterdam), we got into our rooms and enjoyed the set up. It was one bedroom, 2 bath, a full kitchen, a dining room, a secluded walk out patio, a living room, and a luxury tub (Bigger than most but still not meant to be enjoyed by us). Our only complaint on the whole room was the distance from the beach and the excursion up the hill.

We ended the night with a look around the resort, which had 3 pools (one was an infinite pool), 1 snack bar, 1 restaurant, and 1 bar. We walked a bit of the beach, saw the spa, the dive shop, the other activities, and finally settled into the bar for some beer and another rum punch for me. We enjoyed a meal of Mahi Mahi in Caribbean sauce and a combination plate of Chicken, ribs, and pork. We had to have a starter of mozzarella sticks and their marinara was unique as it was a salsa-ish marinara.

And after a long day after a longer night, we went to sleep in our king sized bed.

Best meal: I really enjoyed all the meals that we had. The bagel with lox cream cheese, the gnocchi, and the fish…hard to pick one. But I did feel good that I had settled into my favorite drink of the rum punch.

Back in the Atlanta Airport, on a cold couch and a cold chair that was never meant to be sat on for more than 20 minutes at a time….
ALR: I do have the pillow that I stole out of first class would that help you get more comfortable (snuggling with the blanket that was also ripped out of first class)
MJR: Yeah, that’d be nice.
ALR: Hmmmm….I think I will take that as you eating your words for gwauffing at me for taking them when I did.
MJR: Yeah, Yeah…yes, good thing you did.
ALR: I expect more vigor next time I do something that DOES benefit you in the long run despite you chastising me.