January 31, 2012 Tuesday

Here we are at the airport checking in luggage. Afterwards we headed to Iggy's just to the left and behind the airport.

Wind was welcoming us when we woke this morning. A "low" was passing to our west and changed our plans for the day. We wanted to snorkel on this, the last day for the kids to be here.

After breakfast we went to the Tarpon Pond to explore and then checked out Bloody Bay, just to be sure. The waves were spectacular! We did some beach combing and discovered a really cool maze going inland someone has built. They have a simple "shack" with a sand floor and used, discarded rain gutters hooked up to a small cistern. They had a couple makeshift tables that are actually beautiful granite that Southern Cross Club had discarded last year during a remodel. There were a lot of miscellaneous yard chairs and a really nice art station. There was a see/saw to play on. Beautiful clearings were throughout the maze. It was really remarkable. I plan on asking about it when we go to Wet Your Whistle Wednesday at SSC. We took some nice photos on the beach.

We showed the kids the elementary school and the police station on the island and then one last lunch at Little Cayman Beach Resort. Very relaxing. Back home we settled on our own beach for awhile. We put the table and chairs out on our porch and played cards. It was a very enjoyable day.

The kids packed their bags and we headed to the Museum before the airport. Then we stopped in at the airport and got their tickets & dropped off their luggage. We had to hurry to Iggy's for our traditional parting drinks. He put them in plastic glasses as the plane arrived. The kids took their drinks on the plane with them. You can't do that in the big airports. What a riot!

We got a message a few minutes ago that they arrived on Grand and had eaten at the Marriott's beautiful outdoor restaurant on the water at 7 Mile Beach. They were excited to have a fun time their last night on the island. Their flight for Chicago leaves at 8:00 a.m.

Richard and I are trying to adjust to the quiet now. I miss the kids being here, it was fun. We will keep busy with our many plans. The kids with keep busy getting back to their jobs. Tomorrow is another day in our wonderful paradise. The wind is supposed to die down in the morning. Maybe we will snorkel and kayak. What a life.

January 30, 2012 Monday

Point O'Sand snorkel adventure on the 29th.

Another shot of Point O' Sand. It is such a beautiful place. The whitest sand ever.

Here we are at Iggy's having lunch on the 29th. Of course it was outside dining. Very good food.

We went to Mahogany Bay and the really big iguana's came out on the road. One was way bigger than this. Natalie took a photo of one eating right out of Brandon's hand. Kind of risky if you ask me. This was really amazing and fun.


Back to the 30th.

Today was an early day. We had to hurry so the guys could be at the dock for diving by 7:45 a.m. They had great dives. Neither one got sick on the boat which is always good news. Richard took some cool video with the new underwater camera but the battery died and we have no photos.

While the guys were diving, Natalie and I took the kayaks out and the wind came up too strong. We had the wind behind us but it was unbelievable. We were out of control. We went all the way to Southern Cross Club. When we tried to get back it was even stronger and against us. We were stuck. Of course, SSC summoned Fernando to our rescue. He drove a four wheel drive pick up right through the sand, down to the water. He picked up our kayaks one handed and put them in the back of the truck. We jumped in and he drove us home, all the while with the "check engine" light on in the truck. He put the kayaks back on our beach, we all had a cold drink and I said "no one tells Richard about this". The adventure continues here in paradise.

We ate a good lunch and then the guys went fishing and Natalie and I took the bikes to "town". I had to go to the bank and grocery store. We needed supplies for a special salad and entree that Natalie wanted to make. Riding the bikes also gave us some exercise. Yes! When we got back we enjoyed the beach for awhile.

Tonight we played "Skip Bo" (cards). Natalie won. We also harvested a coconut today. Now we are all healthy. Tomorrow is the kids last day here on the island with us. They leave on the 5:20 p.m. flight for Grand Cayman. They are planning a fun evening at Grand and then Wednesday morning it is off to Chicago. The time sure flew.

January 29, 2012 Sunday

We are all exhausted tonight after another busy fun day on the island. At 9:00 a.m. we headed to Southern Cross Club for Brandon to complete his recreational dive course. He needs to get certified so he won't have to do that in the future. Natalie, Richard and I walked the beach and enjoyed the hammocks while Brandon "worked". By 10:15 he was finished. We toured some of the island and then ate a fabulous lunch at "The Hungry Iguana".

After lunch we went home and gathered our snorkel gear and toured more of the island and ended up at Point O' Sand. Boy, was it spectacular! What a snorkel. We went out three times and really wore ourselves out. We saw brain coral the size of my living room sofa, parrot fish, stingray, box fish, and on and on. It always amazes me.

We headed home and cleaned up and went to Southern Cross Club again for dinner. We must stop eating there so often. It is expensive and we are all going to gain weight.

The stars are out and beautiful and the temperature is perfect for a good nights sleep. We better get to bed as we have an early day tomorrow. The guys are diving in the morning at 8:00 A.M. Natalie and I are planning to take the kayaks out and then take a spin on the bikes.

We had banana daquires tonight to die for, so I am positive we will have sweet dreams.

P.S. There are no photos tonight as the photo uploader just wouldn't work for me. Darn.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Hermit crab visiting Brandon.

Brandon in yellow kayak, Natalie & Me sharing big kayak.

Richard and I having fun in the bathtub warm water surrounding tiny Owen Island.

Everyone had a great nights sleep and awoke ready for another day in paradise. We had an eggs and toast breakfast, packed a lunch and headed to Owen Island on the kayaks. A two person kayak was borrowed from the resort next door as there were four of us and we have two kayaks. The sky was clear and the water was calm. Conditions were perfect for sunburns and the kids fell victim. We sure had fun though. We ate our lunch under the coconut tree after doing some exploring, then donned our snorkel gear. What a day! A hermit crab joined us for lunch. Natalie got some great photos. He was so friendly coming to each of us and touching us and begging for food. Made me think of Ginger. Paddling back we saw a big nurse shark and star fish.

Back at the house Richard put up a close line so laundry got underway. We got cleaned up and headed to the grocery store. We needed some "junk food".

We grilled for supper tonight and are going to try and stay awake for a hand of cards. Tomorrow is another big day so we can't stay up too late.

2012 Trip to Little Cayman Jan.25 to 27th.

Lunch at Little Cayman Beach Resort.

Natalie and I were right up front seated by the pilot and co-pilot. What a ride!

The days were busy getting ready for the trip to our Cayman House this year. I packed everything you could think of and all our suitcases were at weight limit. This year we checked to make sure we wouldn't have to pay overweight charges. We packed a cooler of meat. Richard constructed the cooler out of a cardboard box and lined it with two layers of building styrofoam. It worked great. The food stayed in it for two days completely frozen and we didn't have to pay any duty fees. They barely checked it. How fabulous is that! I didn't even have receipts this year.

We arrived at Grand Cayman after an easy flight. The travel weather was easy this year and made tons of fun with Natalie and Brandon accompanying us. We ate at a fabulous restaurant called Agua. The kids treated us. We enjoyed an evening stroll on 7 mile beach and went to sleep. The next morning we ate a gourmet breakfast at the Marriot and the kids hit the beach and Richard and I started shopping. We bought a new stove, an extra water pump, shovels, rakes and decided to wait on a new fridge. This turned out to be a BIG mistake.

Lunch was on the beach at a fun place and then we went to the grocery store for supplies and were back at the airport to get on our "puddle" jumper to Little Cayman. Natalie really got a charge out of the plane. But it was the pilot who really got her attention.

It was after 6:00 (5:00 pm Iowa time) when we landed. This was a rush to get to the house and drop stuff off and head to Southern Cross Club for dinner at 7:00. All this time the weather was warm and beautiful. We had hired a builder to build us a second bathroom at the house while we were away. He said everything was done and ready for us. Boy was it NOT! He promised me he would clean up with not one grain of sheet rock dust to be found. Luckily, I covered everything and was planning to have to clean. Everyone pitched in to help wash this place up after dinner.

The bathroom is great! I love it. It is not finished, but I love it. There is no toilet seat on the potty. The mirror arrived broke so he never bothered to replace it. We brought a light for above the mirror but he forgot to put the electrical for it. What a shock! These things will be fixed and right now I can say this bathroom makes the house even nicer.

Our refrigerator started screaming about 8:30 pm our first night here. It demanded attention! We were busy cleaning and unpacking but we stopped immediately to start worrying about the food if this fridge died. It screamed ALL NIGHT unless we pounded on it every 15 minutes or so to make it stop. Finally towards morning, Richard tore the back off and that helped. All day it has been working great and doing it quietly. I called Grand Cayman and ordered a new one to arrive on the barge with our stove and supplies. We hope this one can make it until next Wednesday. It will be fun to have all new appliances.

We have been busy settling in today and exploring the island a little. Natalie enjoyed the Booby pond and the museum and in the afternoon we headed to Bloody Bay to snorkel. The water was perfect. Nice and calm and warm. I saw the biggest lobster ever! He was a giant! A really hugh, seven foot nurse shark tryed to play with me and a few super large groupers and the largest parrot fish I ever saw. I had one of the best snorkels ever. What fun! While I am typing this, Richard and the kids went over to Little Cayman Beach Resort for Karaoke at the outside bar. We ate lunch there today too. It was very good. I made dinner tonight with rice and black beans ect. and a salad and homemade dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. With lots of sun tea we were happy campers. This life is busy though. I still have to take my shower so I can get to bed.

They screwed up our phone so I will let everyone know our new phone number. I had just memorized the old one. Learning new numbers will keep my mind sharp I guess.