We didn’t have to say bye to any blue skies as it was blue skies all day long. By popular demand, we of course spent the morning at the pool, but for the afternoon tackled #2 on the must-do list with a little watching of some BIG airplanes.

I can’t help thinking about my dad. He loved the water and boats. He hated sand. The house he and my mom retired to was perfect. No sand, great views of Little Creek Amphibious Base and the traffic that special waterway offers. Binoculars and a telescope – he spent his last days slowly. Slowly watching the amazing things moving around him. Ships, helicopters, toddlers, political unrest. This place is his speed.

The airport at Maho Beach is technically the Princess Juliana International Airport, ranked by The History Channel as the 4th Most Dangerous Airport in the World. The runway is relatively short, starting just after the sand and ending just before some mountain elevations. It was first used as a military landing strip by the United States during WWII and opened in 1944 as a commercial airport open to public travel. At present, the entire airport operates out of makeshift tents that feel more like a state fair setup than a trustworthy aviation operation – but that’s just due to a huge renovation project that commenced in 1994 combined with the setbacks of Hurricane Irma (Cat 5) that struck the island in 2017.

When we approached the Sunset Bar and Grill, we were a bit worried about the size of the crowd and our ability to secure a table and food prior to multiple toddler meltdowns. By some stroke of luck, we walked up, asked for a table for six, and were taken to a high top with the best view in the joint.

Despite being crazy crowded, the restaurant runs like a well-oiled machine except with new technology. Our waiter greeted us promptly, took our drink and food orders on an iPad, and returned within 15 minutes with frozen fruity fun for all.

I forgot to take any photos of my fish tacos – I ate them too quickly. The tuna tartare is worth trying, and the tortilla chips and guacamole were solid (verified by Ale, legit Mexican pedigree).

We stuck around until 3pm, awaiting the arrival of an Air France flight from Paris. The plane is an Airbus A330, the largest aircraft that currently lands at Princess Juliana. Amir downloaded an air tracker app – perhaps the sister app to his helicopter app he uses to track aeromedical flights – and was able to provide a realtime countdown to its arrival.

After the aerospectating, we split up. Me and the littles went back to the room for some naps and downtime, Amir and #1BigSister for some beach time, and Ale for some free time to decompress. No big plans tonight as tomorrow we have an early start for a catamaran and snorkeling trip to a nearby island.

– Steph