¶ … repeated, tweet of Leonard Niamey before his death was "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory." Perfect moments may be fleeting, but the memories last a lifetime. Looking back on memorable days, one stands out in my memory; the day my boyfriend proposed marriage. It was a wonderful day which I will remember for the rest of my life. The memorable day was experienced while taking a holiday at the Sonesta Maho Bay Resort and Casino on the Caribbean Island of St. Maarten. The location itself is idyllic, with a white hotel building with luscious green trees against a backdrop of crystal clear blue waters, both the sea that is visible from the hotel, as well as the lovely pool, that sparkle in the sunlight. Waking up in this environment is pleasant, surrounding by the feelings of comfort and luxury. On my memorable day, after waking up and admiring the view from the balcony, we went for breakfast in the hotel restaurant. We had eaten breakfast in the restaurant each day of the holiday, and knew that the food was delicious. The menu is extensive, but on this day I had a light breakfast, scrambled egg with delicious whole-wheat toast, accompanied by coffee. Breakfast is self was enjoyable and relaxing; a lovely start to the day.

Following breakfast my boyfriend and I took a walk around the resort. The resort tended to be a little quieter in the mornings, and this morning was no different, with only a few other people around the resort. The sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze, so we decided to go down to the beach pool, lying on chairs that were placed under a waterfall that flew into the pool. The position was heavenly; the waterfall was almost musical, providing an atmospheric accompaniment to the tropical setting. As the breeze blew through the waterfall, there was a pleasant cooling effect, which was particularly welcome as it was a hot day. Laying under the waterfall it was possible to see the beach, which is quite short, and led to the sea which could be seen rhythmically lapping the shore. In my memory, it felt like we were there for hours, although we were only there for about half an hour, before moving on to our next activity for the day.

We have decided to explore the island, so rather than taking one of the many tours is organized by commercial operations, we decided to rent a car, and find our own way around the island. We enjoy driving around the island, and seeing the local culture, which included a number of rickety roads and quaint buildings. During the day we visited the Philipsburg market area....

The market stalls were colorful, and many vendors were calling out to attract business. While in this area we were attracted by some colorful T-shirts, which we purchased as gifts for families back in New York. While in this area we then went across to Front Street, is an area where more expensive shops were located. It was here that my boyfriend demonstrated some of his generosity. This was not a new characteristic, it was one already known to me, but I honestly did not expect him to buy me a new iPhone in St. Maarten. This was a big surprise, as I had wanted a new iPhone for some time.
The lunch we went to Chesterfield's restaurant, a restaurant located at Great Bay Marina. It appeared in the restaurant was very popular, and revealing conversations as we were led to a table, I had the impression that it was frequented by both locals as well as tourists. The restaurant offers an extensive menu, but unsurprising for a seafront location, specialty was seafood. We chose to mixed seafood dishes along with two shots of tequila. The service was discreet, and the food arrived quickly. The restaurant had provided a delightful break, and although it would have been easy to spend more time with the wonderful view, we wanted to get on and see more of the island while we have the rental car. In the afternoon we travelled to orient beach, the beach which is well-known for its clean sands, and wonderful views. After lunch it seemed appropriate to take a break, so we rented two beach chairs with umbrellas, and enjoyed the wonderful sound of waves crashing on the beach. The beaches in St. Maarten wonderful, and while we plan to do more travelling, we decided that he would stay and enjoy the speech before travelling back to the resort.

We arrived back at the resort at 4.30 in the afternoon, and after parking the car balked over to the beach. This is a beach that is well-known for its location close to the island airport, it is often shown on YouTube videos, as the planes take off and land directly over the beach. The images seen on the Internet do not fully convey the sense of overwhelming power felt from the closeness of the aircraft. At first, the proximity was daunting, as aircraft felt like there were only 20 feet above our heads as they took off and landed. One aircraft taking off started the taxi while it was near the fence separating the airport from the beach. This was a KLM Boeing 747, my boyfriend and I, along with approximately 250 tourists were able to stand approximately 200 feet behind this aircraft as it powered up its engines. The experience was memorable, not only for the sound…