The Honeymoon Party

My parents retired quite young, due to completely unforeseen circumstances.  They live pretty simply and travel when they feel like it, going to interesting places around the world and close to home.

But their favorite place for several years has been a little Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles, the ownership of which is divided between France (Saint-Martin) and the Netherlands (Sint Maarten).


(Map stolen from these guys)

When Chas and I got married in 1998, Mom and Dad gave us money for a honeymoon.  They encouraged us to go somewhere memorable, because we were not likely to be able to travel again for many years (so true).  As we talked it over, St. Martin kept coming up, and they were eager to tell us all about it.  The conversations went something like this:

Dad:  "Oh, you'll love it there, especially the French side.  Orient Beach is consistently rated one of the top five beaches in the world."

Mom:  "Kontiki and Boo Boo Jam's are a lot of fun.  And the restaurants in Grand Case are wonderful --"

Dad:  "You know, the far end of Orient Beach is a nude beach, so you'll want to take your binoculars.  Well, Chas will."

Mom:  "And you'll have to go to the farmer's market over in Marigot --"

Dad:  "The Dutch side has all the nightlife.  You don't want nightlife, do you?  That'd be pretty boring, just the two of you.  Too bad you're not going with another couple; it'd be more fun."

Mom:  "If you rent Chip's villa, you'd be just up the hill from Dawn Beach and Captain Oliver's, which we really like --"

Dad:  "Do you know anybody who could go with you?  Because it really would be a lot more fun with more people."

Later that night . . .

Um.  Chas?

Yes?

Now, hear me out.  Say no and I'll never bring it up again, but . . . what would you think about asking my parents to go with us on our honeymoon?

Yeah, okay.

Are you sure?  Because, you know, HONEYMOON . . .

No, it's fine.

So.  We were married in February and honeymooned in St. Martin in the summer, which is low season because of the chance of having a hurricane ruin your dream vacation.  We weren't joined by any hurricanes, but we WERE joined by my parents, my brother Mantel Man, and my brother Bocci and his wife.  My sister couldn't make it, so we were only seven in our honeymoon villa.


(Photo stolen from the source)

Coincidentally, the place slept seven just fine.

So, yeah, I'm a bit of a freak because I took my family on my honeymoon.  But no one EVER had a better time on their honeymoon (thatwecan
talkaboutinpolitecompanythankyouverymuch).


(Photo stolen from RogerTheriault on Flickr)

Comments

[Jason]

Okay, but what about those of us who aren't polite company?

[24Crayons]

Thats bizarre, and freaking awesome all at the same time!

I never would have even thought of that, but it DID sound like they were hinting. :)

[mommypie]

Love it :) When my brother got married, he and my sister-in-law had the ceremony in Bermuda and invited both families. We made one big family vacation out of it and they stayed in a cute little B & B, away from us when they wanted some privacy. Everyone had a fantastic time. Sounds like you guys did too!

[Mantel Man]

I always thought the whole thing was the parentals' idea!

'Course, the way you describe it, I suppose I was right.

My favorite part of the trip was seeing our dad say "Boo Boo Jam's" with a straight face, as casually as if he were talking about the auction yard.

[Grandma J]

I was quite surprised that Madame X gave us such a nice "shout out". I love your site.
How nice of your husband to accomodate his inlaws on his honeymoon.
I'm curious about how long it took you Dad to take the guys to Orient Beach.

That challenge? Cortney at:

http://cortneyaggie.blogspot.com/

gave it to me. Have fun,

[David]

Laurie that is amazing! I would so do that with great parents as yours sound like. Way to go!

[madame x]

Certainly better than a kegger tubing down the Sac River on a blistering Labor Day Weekend... On a Nick Asshat honeymoon

[MamaMo]

How AWESOME!! Our honeymoon: one week with his dad (L.A.), one week with his mom (Eugene, Oregon), and one week with my parents (Rainier, WA).

[Jessica Keith]

You have a sister?

You know, I think people would have a lot more fun if they did take folks with them on their honeymoon. We went to the mountains (in the SE that means the Smokies), and it was kinda boring. Well, the parts you can talk about in "polite company" were boring anyway.

[Bob Cleveland]

Laurie,

I don't know if the Marina Port La Royale had been built when you were there, but it's the Marina in Marigot behind all those buildings across from and south of the market.

THAT is our favorite place to go .. well, that and the Ma Ti Beach Bar & Grill on Bay Nettle. That's a completely idyllic beachside restaurant .. we always eat in a palm-frond-surrounded glorified picnic table on the beach when we're there.

Oh ... MomBomb: "hep-cats"? That sounds like something my FATHER would have said, and he was born 100 years ago this September!

[The Mom Bomb]

Your parents are hep-cats!

[Kyddryn]

Every now and then I go on a cruise with a group of friends, and St. Martins was one of our stops, last time around.

The photo of the butterfly on the phallic flower? Butterfly farm. I loved the market in Marigot - shot some great pics of a spice seller's table there, and would have taken more but the family was getting antsy (I think they somehow knew I'd be at it for at least another hour if they let me).

Cool honeymoon!

Shade and Sweetwater,
K

[Bob Cleveland]

Well, a week in Florida isn't as glamorous a honeymoon as St Martin or Anguilla, but our parents DID go on our honeymoon. But that was OK because we didn't.

See .. our first married abode was with mom and dad, in the basement of their home (all fixed up nice) with the BR & bath upstairs. Since we couldn't get time off work, mom and dad went to Florida and Peg and I went home. So .. the scenery wasn't great but we had 3000 sq ft in which to spend the week.

Next anniv will be #50, so I guess it was a pretty good start.

IF that's Capt Oliver's Marina visible thru the railing, that's one of the places Peg and I always have lunch when we go to St Martin. I love watching the pelicans sitting on the posts out in the water.

[Asthmagirl]

Wow, what a great idea! Family can be fun to travel with, especially when they already have the lay of the land!
So glad you had a great time (sans hurricane)!

[Debbie]

I'm so jealous and I think it's great you did a family vacamoon!

Now ex Hubby was stationed in Iceland and me in CA. He came back, we married in Vegas on a weekend, spent 3 weeks together and then back to our separate duty stations! UGH, but I did visit Iceland 3 months later which was fantastic :)

[Chesapeake Bay Woman]

I think that is absolutely awesome. I love traveling with my parents, but we don't do it often enough anymore.

Your parents sound like a lot of fun.

[Mental P Mama]

I think that was the plan all along...and I bet it was a blast!

[Meg]

Two similar if unrelated thoughts - 1) We vacationed in Anguilla BWI in 1992 and are still plotting our return. Our friends' parents had built a villa there and they hosted us. To say it was fantastic would be a gross understatement.

2) Our own honeymoon was spent mooching off of friends in Europe - we spent only two nights in a hotel by ourselves, unless you count the overnight train from Frankfurt into Paris. Otherwise, we stayed with friends everywhere we went. Romantic, eh? But so damn much fun. Shoestring budget aside, I wouldn't have changed a thing.