Day 1 in St. Maarten

Our flight left CLT about 30 min late yesterday, and we arrived here around 3:45p. We were on the plane with a few honeymooners who had just gotten married the night before! As we were landing, it was pretty cool to fly very low over a beach (we're going to check out that beach and take pics of jets flying over!). We picked up our rental Toyota Corolla and made our way to the resort. Here are some observations from our first, short day on the Dutch side:

• M has taken up using some funky accent when he pronounces things. It's not Dutch or French, or anything else for that matter, and it's quite funny!
• We have seen a ton of ads for jewelry/watch places.
• The island is very hilly, and rather cluttered-feeling. Houses, restaurants, resorts, shops are all on top of one another. You know how in some places the tourists are kept far removed from the locals? Not here, which is kind of nice.
• Everything is apparently closed on Sunday, and if not all day, certainly after 6pm, which is when we were out. Walking in the Dutch capital of Philipsburg, we heard all kinds of normal, local noises streaming from people's houses, and we even heard singing in a church!

Gotta go, so we can head out to the beach and explore some more of the Dutch side today. Stay tuned...