Author: Steph Louka

Stephanie is an EMS Physician and Life-Member of the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad. She lives in Richmond, VA with her husband Amir.
Family & Friends, Travel Adventures

St Maarten Day 4: I feel old

While the days here are going well, the nights are a bit painful. Between me snoring and keeping Amir awake, little people crawling into our bed and some less than fluffy pillows… this isn’t the best sleep we’ve ever had. Thankfully the days are exhausting, so you have no choice but to crash when your head hits that stiff pillow.

Today we ate all three meals at the buffet here at Sonesta Maho. The food is delicious, with a wide variety of local dishes as well as guaranteed to please toddler favorites like chicken nuggets and pizza. Last night we marveled at how they seem to have gotten a hold of the supplier for McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets which, if you’ve had them, you know are very distinct. And no where except McDonalds. And apparently Sonesta Maho.

Enjoying the finer things in life

This trip is a bit different than our usual adventures. This is not intended to be an exploratory mission of the island, rather a slow down and easy fun. We’ve gotten to know the pool, waterslides and swim up bar in great detail, but I don’t have too much to share on local culture and society. I started to feel guilty for like a half second and then remembered just how hard we work, and that the kids are perfectly happy eating pizza and ice cream at the same place every day. And I’ve yet to hear a complaint about the endless “slushies.”

Nap time

Right now we’re looking at July for a two week trip. Iceland and a France are on the menu for consideration thanks to reasonable fares on Icelandic Air.

The sandpit at Kids Club

Mid afternoon we did make a new discovery – hidden behind the lush greenery by the pool is the kids club. Suited for ages 3-11, it’s a two story indoor/outdoor facility with art, legos, a two-story indoor slide, beanbag chairs, Xbox stations and an entire playground outside. It’s closed off from the rest of the resort and surprisingly quiet. We dropped the two oldest off for an hour to enjoy some independence for all. Amir felt guilty – I was kicking myself for only discovering the place at the end of the trip. The kids want to go back tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll cave.

– Steph

#1BigBrother makes a new friend

Family & Friends, Travel Adventures

St Maarten Day 3: Catamaran Adventure

Ooof. This will be a short one. I’m sitting on our balcony listening to the steel drum band play Bruno Mars. I probably enjoyed the fruity drinks too much today.

Piña colada fan

Just after we made our hotel reservations, I went online and booked a Catamaran snorkeling adventure. We met the bus at 0845 and landed at the dock at 0920. Our tour wasn’t leaving until 1000, so we chatted with nearby friends and explored a few shops.

Waiting for the boat

The catamaran has a max of 60 – we were pushing 51. The start was a little bumpy – delayed by the late arrival of some cruise ship passengers from Wonder of the Sea.

We stopped at two snorkeling spots, plus two beach spots. Lunch was impressive. I thought the tuna and hand and cheese sandwiches were the meal, but they turned out to be just an apperatife when the chef surfaced with grilled pork ribs and chicken with curry sauce.

Exhaustion on the way back

Tomorrow is a big “?” We might rent a car and explore – we might hang at the resort and do the usual. The latter sounds fairly appealing right now, but I’m also exhausted.

– Steph

Family & Friends, Travel Adventures

St. Maarten Day 2: Look Mummy – there’s an airplane up in the sky!

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.

Photo credit: Amir Louka

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.

Waterside table at Sunset Bar and Grill

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.

The largest plane that lands here – Airbus A330

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.

Airbus A330 landing at Princess Juliana Airport

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

Afternoon nap

Family & Friends, Travel Adventures, Uncategorized

St Maarten Day 1: Why can’t we drive to the island?

Sometime in October, we got another itch to travel – sooner than later – and somewhere warm. Amir found reasonable flights to St. Maarten, a small island in the Atlantic, a territory of the Netherlands.

He’s been here before – at least twice. When we met and were courting, I remember him showing me photos of a beach at the end of an airport runway where you can stand and be blown backward by the engine thrust from above. Now flash forward 11 years later – we are on our way.

Getting there is fun!

There’s no question this destination will satisfy everyone. #1BigBrother is in the peak of his transportation and trucks era. The planes will blow his hair and mind. The pool apparently has two waterslides, so #1BigSister has her dreams filled. I’m looking forward to all inclusive food that I don’t have to cook. Oh and dishes. No dishes. Did I mention the dishwasher broke just before Christmas?

#1BigSister in her mermaid bathing suit from Santa

As soon as as we hit tie doors of the Sonesta Maho, the kids were begging to go to the pool. I was impressed how fast we all made getting ready (swim suits, sunscreen, tactical wees) happen since we’d all woken up at 3am. Usually an extra early wakeup is a recipe for lack of cooperation. Today we got lucky thanks to a double waterslide and strawberry smoothies beckoning the kids.

Strawberry daiquiris in the pool

After the pool we walked just a few yards to the beach. Maho is one of the world’s most famous beaches, known as the beach where airplanes fly over. I was a bit skeptical of the serenity one could get with commercial jet noise, but I was quickly proven wrong. Planes pass in just a few seconds, hardly adding any noise pollution and giving a feast for eyes young and old.

Sunset at Sonesta Maho

We accidentally timed it perfectly. The sun was setting just as we approached. The beach was far less crowded than I’d expected. Everything seemed to come together to create the serenity I’d written off.

We have zero plans yet for tomorrow aside from sleeping in as late as possible. It’s 9:51PM (8:51 EST) as I type this, and that 3AM wakeup is really catching up with me. The two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc probably aren’t helping either.

– Steph

Family & Friends, Travel Adventures

UK Day 14: The long journey back to reality

The end of the trip is always the worst… Nevermind the physical exhaustion of an on-the-go two week “vacation” with kids… for me it’s the emotional closure that’s most difficult. You plan a vacation months in advance. The anticipation builds – you do the things – make the memories. It’s typically even better than imagined. That was the case this trip for sure. But vacations are escapism, and the end of the vacation means a return to reality, to the every day, to the grind.

Sometimes I’m good at seeing the beauty in the tedious, messy side of parenting, but just like anyone else, I’m often overwhelmed by it and oscillate between wishing it away and savoring it. Lately it’s been much of the former rather than the latter. Three is hard. Three is exhausting. It’s rowdy and non-stop and silly and physically demanding.

I’m not so far away from our infertility struggles to realize what I am saying. I’m sure the old me would want to slap now me right in the face hearing me say some of these “ungrateful” things… but the reality is you can be grateful and exhausted in tandem. Joy and frustration often arrive simultaneously. Giving everything of yourself to your kids and then being angry at them (and yourself) that you neglected to spare even a morsel for yourself. I guess this multilayered dichotomy is the essence of parenting. Eventually all those conflicting emotions swirl together with the march of days to weeks, and form a fog that makes it hard to see the future.

Right now all I can do is look around at my family, these successes, and realize that no matter what happens, I have everything I need.

– Steph

ETA: arrived to the parking lot at Dulles to find our right rear tie with a pressure of only 19. We topped it off at a Shell station but hopefully won’t end up doing an ETA2 from the side of I-95.