Reunited and it feels so good

Come on, sing it with me.  You know the tune, by Peaches and Herb...."Reunited, and it feels so good...."

It had been nearly a month since we parted ways with Patronus and for a long while we weren't positive that we would be in the same place at the same time.  But thanks to our autopilot, we were going to see them in St. Maarten for one day before they left.  That was part of the plan and another reason why we had such a short stay in St. Kitts.

We left St. Kitts at midnight in order to make the 50 mile sail and arrive on the french side of St. Maarten by the time the 9:30 am bridge opening.  The girls wanted our arrival to be a surprise for Bryson, Reese and Porter!

Happy girls excited to see Patronus

Olivia looks at the cruise ship breathing down our neck

Cruise ship heading for Phillipsburg in St. Martin

We found this little flying fish on our trampoline.....great bait food

Kate passes the time playing solitaire

Arriving in St. Marten at 8:30 am.  We dropped anchor to wait for the bridge to open

Here we go.....

SURPRISE!!  Bryson, Reese and Porter thought they were just watching random boats going through the drawbridge that morning.  It took them a minute to say "hey, that looks like Anything Goes".  "HEY, that IS Anything Goes!!".

We made it through

Taking pictures of each other

Here they come, excited to be reunited.  Reese had a visiting friend, Kelli, from home

Taking the local bus to Airplane Beach

It was sunny with a light breeze when we left the boats to go to Airplane Beach and by the time we got there, in all of 10 minutes, it was pouring rain and very windy.

Airplane Beach is literally at the end of the runway.  The island is not very big and the runway takes up most of the flat space, which doesn't leave much room for the beach and passing road.  This is a famous spot to watch the airplanes take off and get blown away from the powerful jet wash.  We had NO idea how powerful it would be and how much sand would be kicked up.  So we waited like school children excited for the experience.

We got a doozy of a jet blast from the AA 747!  It was so powerful that it pushed us along the beach.  We turned away abruptly as soon as the sand started flying.  Kate hit the deck while the other kids ran away as fast as they could.  The noise was deafening and scared a few of them.  But it was cool none-the-less.

Craig turned and ran towards the water and ducked behind the sand berm, put his head down to wait for it all to be over.  This is what he looked like when it was all over.  The sand had imbedded itself in his skin.  It was impossible to brush off!  

Small plane landing.....they make their approach over the water and feel so close when they fly over the beach that it feels like you could reach out and touch its underbelly.

The kids take cover in the water 

A big jet landing

Visiting a friend of the Conway's at a nearby condo complex, the kids took advantage of the pool.

All smiles as we catch up and share stories

The kids happy to be together again

Happy hour at Barnacles, meeting Kelli's grandparents and cousins, Kyra and Gillian.  Bryson plays chess with Kyra. 

Maggie, Kelli, Kate and Reese

It was another bittersweet evening for all of us.  Patronus was leaving us once again.  They were meeting friends in the BVI's and we were staying in St. Maarten to get our new autopilot.  We made a pact that we would somehow meet again in the Bahamas.  Remember, plans are made in the sand at low tide!