A family tradition begins

by David Lee
(Boston, MA)

In May of ’03 I went on my second visit to Anguilla.

It was a special trip I planned with my then girlfriend (her first visit). We stayed at the absolutely lovely Fletch’s Cove Villa in the Little Harbor area http://www.fletchscove.com/.

This was prior to the Jeremiah Gumbs Highway being completed, so our late night arrival was down bumpy dirt roads which made my GF nervous but when we arrived, the rental car was in the driveway with the keys in the glove box and a note saying come to the office the next day for paper work. Where else does that happen?! We toured the villa and were absolutely thrilled by the accommodations... private pool, private beach, and super view of the lights in St. Martin.

The remainder of the week was busy with all the usual wonderful places like Shoal Bay, Little Bay, Meads Bay. Meeting welcoming Anguillans like Smitty, Junior, Raymond, Pressure King (RIP); and dining at great eateries from the high end to the down-home like B&D BBQ. The highlight of the trip was that unbeknownst to my GF, I had a very special ring tucked away in my pocket.

I had made reservations for dinner at the Altamer Restaurant and suggested we get a pre-dinner drink at the Malliouhana Bar to watch the sunset. We got our drinks and strolled down to the pool area where we sat on chairs right near the edge. We watched the beautiful sunset and at the right point in time, I pulled out the ring, got down on my knee and made my marriage proposal. Fortunately, she said “YES!” and my new fiancée and I had a wonderful dinner at Altamer where they treated us with champagne to celebrate!

The following year we returned to Anguilla for our Honeymoon and we stayed at the then Shoal Bay Beach Hotel, where we had another memorable visit to mark another milestone.

Two children later, we visited last June without the kids and stayed at Carimar.

Our plan is to return at least every five years and make Anguilla the one family travel tradition we will never give up!