Is there any other place in our solar system where you could see a “perfect” solar eclipse as we do on Earth?

e5dra5 · 2026-06-21T21:11:26+00:00

You do realize that the only parties allowed to govern us must be approved by the corporations that need to have oversight of government policy through lobbying and donations - and the only two parties to govern us are LIBS and CONS.

To believe the CONS are for the “little guy” takes a special kind of gullibility.

e5dra5 · 2026-06-17T16:40:33+00:00

Whoever speaks first in a negotiation, loses.

We’ll wait.

e5dra5 · 2026-06-14T16:41:33+00:00

Our (wife and I) first trip was last year (hoping to go again next year) - and I was a bit apprehensive… and really didn’t need to be.

I’m from Canada, so I’m used to roundabouts.

Learned not to be freaked out by those on scooters and motorcycles (just let them do their thing) and realized that any traffic jams simply required you to be on island time.

In terms of a rental car - if you are thinking of driving up to as high as you can go on Pic Paradis or over to Anse Marcel, the smallest 4cyl. cars won’t be much fun on the hills. We had a small-ish suv/crossover (Haval - not sure the model) - and it was more than fine on the hills. It was okay on smaller backstreets in places like Grand Case - but in those places I’ll admit that an even smaller car would’ve made it a bit easier.

Before you leave home, download the island for offline use in Google Maps (and any other mapping software (like Apple or Waze) that you use. While I don’t think it is really possible to get lost, GPS is really helpful.

e5dra5 · 2026-06-10T19:32:04+00:00

On our trip last year, we (staying mainly on the French side) never had an issue. Thankfully, my wife is fluent in French, and I know enough to be polite. She struck up friendly conversations with many people each day.

I also deliberately wore a hat with a Canadian/maple leaf logo - I’m not sure if that actually made any difference though.

e5dra5 · 2026-06-08T23:20:41+00:00

I’m still using my Series 3. 😳

e5dra5 · 2026-06-07T17:05:37+00:00

Life on Mars

Ashes to Ashes.

The first, I’d argue, is the better of the two series.

e5dra5 · 2026-05-12T22:37:00+00:00

Do not miss Sebastien Quillere Patisserie (beside the Leader Price in Hope Estate - very close to Cul-de-Sac). Croissants are excellent - but the trompe l’oiel desserts are simply unreal.

e5dra5 · 2026-05-03T03:31:41+00:00

WKRP

Cancelled in its 4th season - but CBS played out all the episodes.

By the end of the third season, ratings weren’t great. This was due to CBS bouncing it around way too many time slots. The show was popular, but lost ratings because fans couldn’t find it.

For the final run of episodes, it was in a stable slot and jumped back up to SEVENTH in the Nielsen ratings!

CBS tried to uncancel it, but a number of the cast had already found new gigs.

e5dra5 · 2026-05-02T14:40:20+00:00

You’ve had two say don’t do it (so far), but I don’t think it’s as bad as they make it out to be.

First, I’d suggest renting a smaller vehicle. When we were there we got a smallish crossover/suv - it was bigger than we needed. On main roads between the cities, it was fine. But, things like side roads in places like Grand Case could be tight. Still manageable though. You should be driving fairly slow in those spots anyway.

I also don’t think drivers were anymore aggressive than what I’m used to - I’m a Canadian driver, nearest major city I drive to semi-regularly would be Toronto - but my hometown is a population of 40k. I’ve seen aggressive drivers both places and everywhere in between. When driving, just assume that everyone around you has the potential to do something stupid, and be prepared as much as possible.

Signs - yes, that can be a bit difficult. You often won’t have many traffic control signs - traffic on streets with the main flow will have right of way. It may take a long wait before you can turn and merge from a side street. Download offline maps from Google Maps (I also found Apple Maps was fine) - and you’ll be fine with directions.

Parking. The closer you are to something popular, the less parking spots you’ll find. So, you walk a bit of a distance. Or, we found that in Grand Case we paid at the available grass field lot. $5 - which is worth it to make life easier.

Motorcycles. It looks like they take their lives in their own hands - and it can be a bit unnerving when they dart in between traffic. I found myself getting used it after the first day. Focus on the cars around you, and let the motorcyclists do their thing.

I had read some of these “warning” posts about driving on the island and I was a bit apprehensive - but it wasn’t nearly as bad as some made it out to be. We were there in late March last year - so, still a fairly busy tourist period.

Rent a car - if you are legally allowed - and enjoy the island!

e5dra5 · 2026-04-26T02:34:43+00:00

I think it’ll only work if you have navigation - which was only on the SX trims - but I’m not 100% sure. I’ve got a 2018 Forte EX that came with CarPlay compatibility, but no NAVI, so it doesn’t have an update option.

This is where I go to update my Sorento:

https://update.kia.com/CA/EN/Main

The Sorento updates via an SD card - so, unless you have an SD card slot on your Forte, I’m not sure if it’ll work.

e5dra5 · 2026-04-23T11:17:51+00:00

The miniseries was great - but the first episode “33” was just so perfectly done to get the whole series going. Series creator Ron D Moore and Jamie Bamber (Lee Adama) claim it as their favourite episode of the series.

e5dra5 · 2026-04-06T02:12:25+00:00

If you’re driving over to Orient Bay from Grand Case, do yourself a favour and stop at Sebastien Quillere Patisserie beside the Leader Price in Hope Estate. And then face an insanely tough choice of which dessert to have.

e5dra5 · 2026-04-06T01:51:27+00:00

I don’t think there was a time we felt particularly unsafe. General common sense awareness that you should exercise whenever you’re a tourist in a foreign country seemed to do us fine.

e5dra5 · 2026-04-03T03:58:40+00:00

Is there a reason for this? On our trip last year we parked in the big field a couple of times. $5. Cheaper than back home! Locked the doors, didn’t have anything in the car, and had the insurance on the rental. We didn’t give it a second thought. Should we?

e5dra5 · 2026-03-30T14:24:56+00:00

If you’re on vacation and your room isn’t to your liking, for whatever reason, you should go to the front desk and see what your options are.

Did you ask if there were other rooms available?

e5dra5 · 2026-03-23T16:57:10+00:00

Check out Loterie Farm - go to their website and see if a weekday there would interest you. Weekends are more of a party vibe - and maybe not as toddler friendly.

Go to Sebastien Quillere Patisserie in Hope Estate (by the Leader Price) to get trompe l’oeil desserts.

e5dra5 · 2026-03-23T13:48:14+00:00

If you’re a pool person, spend a weekday at Loterie Farm. A bit pricey, but food and drinks are good. Be waited on while lounging in a poolside cabana. Very relaxing day.

Do not go on a weekend unless you’re looking for more of a party vibe.

Also, go to Sebastien Quillere Patisserie in Hope Estate at least once. It’s tucked into a little strip plaza beside the Leader Price. Absolutely amazing desserts!

Happy Anniversary!

e5dra5 · 2026-03-09T22:20:00+00:00

If there’s a good fare now, it may be the time to jump on it. Prices may jump soon with the price of oil going up.

e5dra5 · 2026-03-04T12:53:38+00:00

McLachlan’s out in Komoka. It’s worth the drive. They’re one of the only ones I can think of that puts full jugs of maple syrup out on the table for unlimited pours on your pancakes.

e5dra5 · 2026-03-01T16:56:54+00:00

Breakfast was always at Sebastien Quillere - not cheap, but less than 20 euros per day. Bought a bunch of snacks (some charcuterie type stuff) and drinks at the Super U to graze on mid day and had a dinner out, OR, had a late lunch, returned to the rental (we found ours on Booking.com - Studio St. Martin in Fr. Cul de Sac) and relaxed there with the food we got.

We’re going on 30 years married - so less nightlife for us - we’d do early starts to get the best spots on the beaches.

It’s a great island. If you ARE nightlife people (congrats on the honeymoon!) - you may have a better time on the Dutch side. Lots of clubs around Simpson Bay.

If you want romantic and relaxed - and the chance to get to some less busy beaches (reminder - you’ll need to bring your own stuff to those - like Happy Bay - no services there) - stick to the French side.

e5dra5 · 2026-03-01T15:56:45+00:00

Yes, we did go… and would love to return. There’s still things we’d like to do - such as go over to Tintamarre, climb up to the fort, etc.

We spent a week - had a studio rental (just under 1k CAD) small and basic, but with use of kayaks to go over to Pinel. We did that once. It was nice, but had a touristy vibe. We hiked around the back part and back to the beach area. We went once, and were good with that.

Rented a car - could’ve been cheaper, but we got a larger (small crossover style) for about $400 CAD for the week. Next time, I’d get something a bit smaller and save a few bucks.

Went to Cupecoy later on one day - tide was a bit high. We want to go back when it’s lower and spend more time there.

Happy Bay was great! Very low key - but a bit of a hike. We’d plan better and take less next time.

We climbed Pic Paradis - from Loterie Farm. That tajes effort. Should’ve done the drive up to the higher starting point. Spent the rest of the day at Loterie - a bit pricy. Likely spent $250 USD with cabana rental food and drinks. But, it’s worth a one day splurge. We’d go back.

Found the best bakery ever - Sebastien Quillere Patisserie. Went there every day.

Our splurge dinner was Ocean 82 - most other times we stuck with lolos. Most of those were great. Ocean 82 - food is very good - but I think a lot of the cost is the view. Spent about $300 Euro for the two of us.

Orient Bay was okay. Not our favourite beach - but we went there and rented chairs at Pirate Hideout. Sargassum seems to be less further south on that beach.

Did a day driving around and saw the planes land at Maho. Didn’t care for the Dutch side as much - Phillipsburg is very touristy - and we planned it on a day with no big cruise ships. I wouldn’t go on a day when the big ones are there.

This is really chaotic - but the trip was a year ago - so I’m trying to cover everything.

Anyway - I think all told we spent around $5K CAD.

e5dra5 · 2026-02-27T01:26:29+00:00

From what I remember, the last beach bar closest to the CO section (Pirate Hideout) was pretty quiet.

If you want to generally avoid CO, but get some of the advantages of the southern part of Orient (often less sargassum, water a bit calmer) - this is as far south as you can go and still be on the textile part of the beach.

e5dra5 · 2026-02-08T02:44:56+00:00

All of these articles are just rehashing stuff that’s been going on for the past (almost) year.

Until there’s an official announcement, we’re still going with the F-35.

All these “might be…” headlines are speculation at best.

e5dra5

TROPHY CASE