St Maarten also-should-mentions

beach dogs - are everywhere.  They belong to people but they hang out on the beach all day.  Our hotel had a hotel-dog, Stripe, pictured in the slideshow.  There were usually around four dogs within sight at all times.  All happy, friendly, tongue wagging kings of pure sloth and play: Wake up.  Eat some food (granted, dog food), Sniff the beach a bit.  Get too hot.  Jump in the ocean.  Shake off.  Sniff around some more.  Play with dog friends.  Chase dog friends off your territory. Go find a beach chair.  Dig a shallow, cool pit underneath it to lie in.  Nap ... Repeat.

dune buggies - we saw this car on our second to last day or I would have raced our rental car back to the lot and rented this in a HEARTBEAT.  Oh my dune buggy goodness.  Cant you picture me in this?  I mean, Really!!?!?!!

lizzards - are everywhere also.  My theory is they turn into beach dogs later in life.  My theory has not met with popular approval amongst the scientific community.

pregnant ladies - are everywhere also, also.  Is there a connection with beach dogs and lizzards?  Scientists may never know.

robbie's lottery - define's the term "are everywhere".  You know when you hear something like "what's with all the Dunkin Donut's in Boston??" and then you start noticing all the Dunkin Donuts and then you start thinking "WTF?  what IS with all the Dunkin' Donuts??!" and then you keep seeing them.  And then you start getting angry at Dunkin Donuts.  And then you get scared.   Wait, what was I talking about?  Oh yeah, Robbie's lottery.  It's like the Dunkin' Donuts of St Maarten.  Except they replace your income with false hope and despair.  Definitely less calories, though.

Fireman Rich - Our next-hotel-door-neighbor was a retired Manhattan fireman, ..forcibly retired by his union due to 9/11 related health issues.  Suffice to say, part of what we talked about was that day and it's after effects.  Heavy stuff, obviously, but intensely interesting, heartfelt, jaw dropping stories.  He'd been there on a neighboring island scuba diving where he dove.. with a head cold.  the pressure in his sinuses didnt equalize & he blew out an ear. [ouch?] He said he'd be recovering in weeks but that the Dr.'s told him he couldnt dive for a full year.  [ouch?]  Did I mention that he'd had a liver transplant?  And in his retirement had built his own house from scratch?  Yeah.. an amazing guy to say the least.  Oh and when he asked where we lived & i told him he said "Ah, ya.  I've got a friend who lives over there. Steve Buscemi" - (whom I'd seen on the street for the 4th time in my 6 years in NY, not 2 days before meeting Fireman Rich.  (They'd both been fireman in Engine 55 w/ him prior to Steve's acting career))

Reading World War Z while on vacation - highly recommended.  Although,.. I kept expecting zombies to walk out of the ocean & all I had around me to kill them with were coconuts and beach chairs.