Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Here we go!  This is our last day in paradise!  Of course, it is a beautiful day.  We are waiting until after lunch to start putting things away.  I have to soak up this place and keep it in my heart until I get back here once again.  We ate all three meals out on the porch.  We paid off our huge grocery bill.  It was a little over $2500.00 and I thought we brought most of our food with us.  This does include gas for the truck, scooter, and boat!!

Our flight out tomorrow morning is at 8:30 A.M. so we will be up early.  Until next January....

Here we are on our last day on our beach.  We sure had a good time.

The latest shot of the street side of our house.

Richard hosing off his kayak to put it away for the year.  We got one of those fancy new cloth hoses that shrink up when the water is turned off.  It worked great!

 

Monday, March 16, 2015

Yesterday the internet was down so I didn't get to type on my blog.  We had a very nice day here in paradise of course!  Richard went fishing in the morning and they caught tuna but he gave it to the guy who went with him.  I enjoyed myself here at the house and took my kayak out.  I have started thinking about going home and have been cleaning things for departure.  It is going to be hard to leave the beach behind let alone the weather!

Last night Tom and Pattie had a party at their place.  Everyone was there!  We are so fortunate to have made so many nice friends while here.  We didn't get home too late so I still sat on the beach and admired the stars.

This morning (Monday) Richard and Joe went fishing and I did some laundry and soaked up some sun on the beach. My hammock needed to be used and I obliged.  This afternoon I took my floaty out in front of the house and a big turtle swam with me!  He put his head up about a foot from me and just looked at me for the longest time.  I thought he would start a conversation he looked at me for so long.  That was a pretty special time!

Tonight we had fresh caught tuna for dinner that Richard caught this morning.  We froze the rest and will bring it back home with us.  The wind is very still tonight and it is so quiet.  Tomorrow is our last day here in paradise.  We leave on the 8:30 A.M. flight on Wednesday.

Here is a picture of the area that we cleared from the jungle this year.  We can actually hang a hammock there now!  Way off to the left on the photo is a burn pile that we will start up tomorrow.  

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Today is Saturday but I will first post about Friday.  We woke up on Friday to a very cloudy day.  It was so unusual and lasted until almost noon.  Some areas of the island even got a little rain.  We did some work on the grounds to take advantage of the cooler temperature.  The sun came out of course and we had a beautiful clear sky and nice hot weather.  Last night we went to some friends house and had a game night.  It was lots of fun and we think we will continue the "tradition" next year when we come back.

The weather today was spectacular, of course!  I expect nothing less any more!  We actually spent some of the morning just sitting on the beach enjoying it.  I was down there by 7:00 A.M. today.  I have to make sure I get out there a lot as our time is almost up here.  How will I ever leave!

I cleaned all the ceiling fans today.  We are starting to get the place ready for shut down.  I like to have everything nice and clean when we leave.  I took my kayak out for a long time in the afternoon.  There are so many fun things to do here.  I did some reading in my hammock today also.  There is nothing more comfy than a hammock!

As the sun was setting tonight some guy and his girl friend or wife decided to fish on our beach.  He even caught a tiny fish.  The sad thing was, when he left, he left garbage behind.  I was very disappointed.

I think I will shut down now and go sit under the stars on the beach.  We have started doing this and it is so relaxing.  Some nights we even light the Tiki torches.  What a life in paradise!

Thursday, March 12, 2015

This morning we woke up early as Richard wanted to go fishing again.  The forecast for the wind was supposed to be good to get through the cut.  It was not!  After getting to the cut, it was so bad, the only thing to do was turn around and go back.  Not worth the risk.

Richard went back to bed.  I am starting to think ahead to what needs to be done to prepare for our departure in a week.  The time here goes so fast!  I didn't go to bed.  I did laundry.  Then I took our new grill tank to the area where the guy can fill it when he comes over from the Brac.  He comes around every three weeks or so.  I'm so happy to now have two tanks so I will not run out of fuel.

Jane and John arrived on Sunday as planned.  We had nice weather the whole time they were here.  The guys went bone fishing and Tarpon fishing and seemed to be enjoying themselves.  The first morning they were here, we took the boat out to go deep sea fishing.   The conditions were very bad at the cut.  We all got soaking wet!  What an adventure!  The swells were so high that we came back without even fishing.  It was treacherous!  We did get to snorkel  and that was lots of fun.  We enjoyed sitting out on the beach late and watching the stars.  We all said we could have slept out there right under the stars and been very comfy.  The day Jane and John left (yesterday),  Richard and I headed right over to the North side to snorkel.  We were so glad we weren't the ones who had to leave the island.  We got cleaned up and then  we had guests join us  for dinner.  We ate outside and watched the sunset.

Today we did some work around the house and then went to Point of Sand.  We stopped to visit some friends who live near there.  Richard and I ate a light supper tonight as we decided to go to the Hungry Iguana to watch the ISU basketball game tonight.  While there, we had some of their yummy french fries.  The best in the world!  WOW!  I also had a mud slide.  That was very good too. ISU won their game so we celebrated.

All this visiting has worn me out.  I think I'll sleep really good tonight.  Tomorrow will be another busy, fun day in paradise.

Eating out a special dinner at Southern Cross Club with Jane and John.     

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Another day in paradise!  The full moon has been just beautiful again and in the morning it is still in the sky where the sun usually sets.  It is not dark at night and the early morning hours are well lit too.  The cut is much easier for the fishermen to see by the light of this moon also.  This morning Richard took Mark and his son out fishing.  Mark is the owner of the boat Richard is renting this year.  They caught two black fin tuna!  They had two lines out and both went off at the same time!  How exciting!

Tonight for dinner we had fresh yellow fin tuna that Richard caught yesterday.  It was so yummy!

Today the weather was very warm, upper eighty's and the sky was so pretty.  Tonight it is going to be in the 70's though.  This is our forecast every day.  Cannot get any better.  It is good and hot in the sun for water play and one can be in the shade and get a breeze and be very comfortable.  I think I'll just stay here for awhile yet.

Tomorrow, Jane and John are coming to visit us.  We have been busy making plans for all the fun things we can do while they are here.  

Here is a shot of our pretty sunset tonight.  The water was as smooth as ice.  

Richard took a sneaky shot of me finishing eating dinner on the porch.  We have been eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner out on the porch almost every day.  Can't do that at home now!

Friday, March 6, 2015

Today we hardly have a breeze at all here in our paradise.  The water is so smooth and the sky is so blue.  Richard and Tom P. went fishing this morning and caught a yellow fin tuna!  How exciting is that!!

We moved slow today as it is very warm here.  It's a good water day.  Today I was out in the driveway and Cutie Pie was there.  I was able to get super close to him.  I was closer than two feet from him.  He is getting used to us.  The little green anoli's are here yet and I love to watch them.  They also are very easy around us.  They can be found only on Little Cayman and one of the islands in Hawaii.  Richard saw the reef shark this morning when he went down to the boat to go fishing.  It is the one we saw last night in our waters.  Wow!

Marsha came for dinner tonight as Mark is gone home for the week.  We had a good time visiting.

Here he is!  A little Anoli.  When you talk to him he cocks his head and looks at you real cute.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

We got up early again today.  Richard and Tom P. went out fishing this morning.  What a beautiful morning.  The water was calm and the full moon was setting.  It looked just like a huge sunset!  In the exact same place the sun sets.  What a sight!

I did my workout and house duties and was just going to head out on my bike ride when I saw them pulling into the dock.  No fish!  I think it has something to do with the full moon.  They will try again tomorrow.

We have been working on the jungle on the resort side of our property.  It has been a huge job and we are finally ready to call it finished for the year.  It really looks great!  One of these days I will take pictures so I can remember it always.  We have completed a lot of big projects this year.  Very rewarding.  Hope it all makes it through the year, hurricane season and all.

Here is our nice shark we saw while snorkeliing today.  What a beauty!

Last night we went to friends for dinner and had a nice relaxing evening.  After working so hard all day, it was a nice treat.  I took my floaty out in the water to cool off after the hard days work and there were four kite surfers there too.  It was so pretty to see their colorful kites.

This afternoon. after working hard in the morning, we went snorkeling.  We saw a huge shark and a mean looking barracuda.  Today our sky was just so clear!  Very striking!  Tonight Richard and I went out to sit on the beach chairs around 7:00 P.M.  We discovered a shark in the water right at our beach. His fin was up out of the water.  That full moon is so bright, we could easily see him.

Hello, mean looking barracuda!  

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Hello paradise!  Thank goodness I am still here.  It is cold and snowy back home.  Today we had a relaxing breakfast and then Richard went to help Tom put in a rope filter for their cistern.  I did some grocery shopping as this is Super Tuesday.  We get 15% off at the store!  It is fun to go on this day as lots of islanders are there getting in on the savings.

This afternoon I worked hard on the jungle area I am trying to clean out.  I got so hot and sweaty.  I jumped in the water and relaxed on my floaty.  It was fabulous!

I did a load of laundry today and layed on the beach.  That about sums up my day today.  I sound like a bum hanging out on an island.  The good life!!

Monday, March 2, 2015

Today I got to wake up when I wanted to.  We did not go fishing this morning.  They predicted big swells in the ocean and rough seas.  The morning was kind of lazy with little work projects.  We are working on the side jungle and I was picking up giant sea grape leaves when an army of biting ants attacked my feet and ankles.  Each time they get me my reaction seems to get worse.  This time I got big blisters and itched like I was on fire!  I ran and sprayed off and got benedryl cream but that was not enough.  I took a pill.  That finally helped.  I found a pair of fishing boots that Richard outgrew and I will wear those when I work from now on.  That "episode" slowed me down.  I eventually made lunch.

After lunch we hauled beach sand to our beach.  We need to do repair work after all the stump removal.  This was fun as I wasn't being attacked by ants!  I cut some island sea grape branches off and the sand fleas started attacking.  It seems this was the day of angry biters!

I decided to try to make a loaf of gluten free bread today.  I pulled out the bread machine to see if it worked.  I followed instructions on line for a flour mixture I had brought along.  It had me add milk, eggs, honey, olive oil and yeast.  It turned out great!  We tried it and it tastes great too!  Yay!

Richard and I sat outside tonight for a long time.  The weather is so perfect and the moon is nearly full tonight.  Cutie Pie came along to talk to us on the beach.  I don't know if I mentioned in an earlier blog post that he is still here on our property.  He is full grown now and very handsome.  When he talks to us he sounds like a horrible croak.  What a cutie!  I guess that is why we call him Cutie Pie!  Every day after lunch, Wnston, the iguana from next door comes over to visit us.  He is very large!  I ask him if he wants something to eat and he shakes his head up and down.  It is unbelievable!  I always get him some pieces of broccoli.  They are vegetarians.  You could set your watch by this guy coming over.

Another day comes to a close on our wonderful island escape.  This place is really special.

  

Sunday, March1, 2015

This morning I woke up to another beautiful day in paradise!  Richard got up early to go fishing but I didn't go.  Mike went with him as his boat is out of commission!  I went back to sleep for a little while and it was great!  I ate my breakfast out on the porch and watched the water and listened to the birds!  Doesn't get any better.  The guys didn't catch any fish.  Richard blamed it on me.  He says I am his good luck charm and I didn't go along.

I finally found out what the water fountain spray was that I saw the other day out in front of our house.  It was an eagle ray spraying up.  I knew it couldn't be a whale or a dolphin.  How lucky am I to have seen such a thing happen.  It was really something!

Today a big island sea grape tree fell down right across our driveway!  Good heavens!  Good thing it didn't land on anyone.  All our cutting and one falls down on its own.  Who would think!  Crazy!!

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Life is continuing to be busy here in paradise!  Yesterday we went out fishing again and it was a little rough out there.  We did not get a fish, not even a bite!  It was rough coming back in through the cut.  I definitely prefer perfect smooth ocean water when I go fishing.  That is pretty much never going to happen though.

We went to Mike and Linda's for dinner.  Susan and Joe, Brian, and Pattie and Tom were there too.  Boy, did we have a feast!  Brian brought a lot of tuna that he caught in the morning.  I brought a spinach salad and chips and dip.  Susan brought a yummy salad.  Pattie brought a special dip and veggees and Linda made enchiladas and rice and all kinds of good stuff.  We had rum punch of two varieties and partied until late!  The decision was made for all of us to go fishing in the early morning hours.

This morning we headed out extra early as it was a serious tournament to see who could catch the most fish or at least a Wahoo.  We weren't out there very long and Richard got a Wahoo on the line.  We were excited!  He brought it almost all the way to the boat when it somehow bit off the line.  What a bummer!  He was putting a new lure on when I discovered Mike and Linda were stopped yet again in the water.  We had noticed this several times and thought they had seaweed on their lines or something.  I motored over near them while Richard was working and Mike made a distress signal.  They were dead in the water!!!!  The ocean had huge swells and waves and they had no power!  We got as close as we could to them.  We didn't have a long enough rope to tow them but they did.  The problem was, it was not very big.  Mike kept throwing it and I tried to catch it.  Finally we succeeded and tied them to us.  It was a rough tow but what we were really worried about was getting them through the cut!    Talk about dangerous!!  Brian was there with his boat waiting for us at the cut.  We tried to time it just right with the waves and swells.  We were midway through and the line snapped!!  Horror!!  We of course had to get out of the way and their boat headed to the left with waves and got hung up in the breakers!  They were lurching severely!  How they didn't tip over completely I don't know!  The boat started to get full of water and we all were hollering at them to stay in the boat!
Suddenly, Christian, with SCC races on the scene with a skiff boat and is able to get close enough to toss them a rope and get them out of the breakers.  He saved the day!  People could have died in this situation.  We are all very grateful with the outcome.    We are all hoping the breakers didn't ruin the boat, of course.  They did have a lot of luck to not get much damage!  No one caught a fish!!!

Afterwards we all gathered at the Sunset Cove resort next door to our place and had a big breakfast and talk about how grateful we all are that everyone is ok.     We will all learn from this adventure!

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Today we got up around 5:15 to go fishing again.  We got ready and went out the door and down to the dock.  The wind was blowing very strong out of the south.  Just last night we checked Wind finder forecast and it was supposed to be calm.  The weather just does what it wants to do.  We went back in the house and Richard went back to bed.  The ocean would have been too rough and the cut would have been hard to get out of.  It was disappointing as we had such a good time catching fish yesterday.  We will try again tomorrow.

I made pancakes for breakfast since I had a lot of time to enjoy them.  They were yummy!  I worked a little finessing the beach and relaxed a bit.  Off and on all morning, we got a stray shower.  There must have been a weather system passing over us.  The afternoon was blue sky.  Richard went in the afternoon to look for lobsters with the guys.  They came home empty handed!  They just left again tonight (8:00 P.M.) to try again.  I guess that is the best time to go lobstering.

The weather was good for a bike ride today.  I went around 10:30, which is a later ride for me.  In the afternoon, my hammock called me in and boy was that nice.  I'm reading a good book right now and that hammock is the perfect place to read it.  My day was just so enjoyable.

We ate lunch on the porch and I looked out at the water and there were two turtles!  They were going in opposite directions.  They popped their heads out of the water even!

I have a beautiful cool breeze blowing in through the house this evening on me.  Should be another good sleeping night.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Today was a super busy, exciting day!  We got up at 5:30 A.M. to go fishing.  I guess fish like to eat early!  So we get out through "the cut" in the breakers and head to the spot in the ocean that Richard wanted to try to get the big one.  We were out there fifteen to twenty minutes and one of the polls started humming!  OMG!  We had hooked a Wahoo!  It took a long time and a lot of work to reel him in.  I took over control of the boat and Richard brought the fish in.  Talk about exciting!  I was shaking like a leaf by the time this thing was in the boat.  Richard has been wanting to catch a Wahoo for his whole life!!  Boy is he happy!  I thought we would head back after this but we kept fishing.  I couldn't believe it, we hooked another fish!  It was a super giant tuna!  We had our hands full!  Suddenly a giant shark shows up and bit it in half!  I guess the shark has to eat too!  What a morning!  We were back home by 9:00.  Of course, then we had to clean these fish!  That took awhile!  We have at least 10 pounds of meat from these fish!

We ate an early lunch and both of us took a nap.  I was very tired!  Then we headed to the north side to snorkel.  The water couldn't have been more perfect.  I had the very best snorkel of all time!  We swam with a huge turtle, saw the biggest groupers ever.  There were two barracudas that were 7 feet long and a giant shark!  I could go on and on!  Boy, were we lucky to be there to see this!

This evening we entertained guests for dinner and I am very late updating my blog.  Time is just too fast for me.

Yesterday, Richard went fishing for a short while early in the morning to get the boat going.  We had a busy day getting things done around the house and I took my kayak out in the afternoon for a long beautiful ride as the water was spectacular.  After my ride, I layed on the beach and just relaxed.  Last night was Ladies Night so I headed to Little Cayman Beach Resort for dinner with the gals!  We had a great fun time.

Tomorrow the plan is to fish early again.  What a life here in Paradise!

Richard reeling in his big Wahoo.

Here is his big Wahoo.  What a beautiful fish!

Here is the poor tuna.  More than half went to the shark.  He fought like crazy until shark got him.

Hello beautiful, graceful turtle.

Sunrise over the ocean.

Richard bringing in his Wahoo.  

Monday, February 23, 2015

Here we go again!  It sounds like a broken record to say once again how perfect the weather was.  Today was glorious!  Richard went fishing and he caught a Mahi Mahi!  He went with Brian.  We ate fish for supper tonight and was it ever yummy!  Oh my!!  I fixed it on the grill.  I also did baked potatoes and broccoli on the grill.  They finally had nice fresh broccoli in the store.

Our sign is all finished so it is official.  We are the Gecko Shack!

This afternoon Christian was unable to help put the boat in again so super nice Brian helped us.  We had serious trouble with the trailer breaking down on the way.  This can be fixed and we are looking forward to taking the boat out tomorrow.

We ate supper out on the porch again tonight.  This year we seem to be eating most every meal outside.  We sure wouldn't be doing that at home!  

The sunset was so pretty tonight.  Notice the star in the sky.  

Here is the famous sign!  It is kind of hard to read it here.  I will do a close up soon.  It was fun to make.  Natalie helped when she was here.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Of course, it is a beautiful day in paradise and I am the lucky girl who is here to enjoy it!  Richard and I worked outside this morning for awhile but I took a nice break before lunch.  We know how fortunate we are as it was only 9 degrees at home today and even colder tomorrow.

Richard still doesn't have the boat in the water.  They were going to do it today but the guy who was going to help him works at SSC and they had a fatality at the resort today.  A man had gotten back from diving and then had a heart attack.  Not a good thing to have happen to you on this little island.

This afternoon I took my floaty out and had a nice time relaxing.  Afterwards I layed on my chair and enjoyed just being on the beach.  Where was my beach guy to bring me a drink?  Say a mudslide!!

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Friday, yesterday was a super work day here at out house.  At 7:30 A.M. LeRoy Brown arrived with 30 tons of sand for our driveway and road.  He brought a front loader along and as they dropped the sand he spread it down the length of our drive.  We shoveled and raked our way through it to make it nice and smooth.  Boy, did we work!  We love the finished product!

We managed to have a little afternoon time left to wash our new truck and wax it.  This is Mardi Gras weekend here on the island so we needed to have a clean truck to go out Friday evening.  Dinner this year was at Pirates Point Resort with a live band for dancing following.  They really have good bands here and everyone gets on the "floor" to have a good time to the beat!!  We had a good group of friends to celebrate with and the food was spectacular.  We got home late!

Saturday weather was perfect to work on some little outside projects and sit on the beach.  After lunch Richard announced ISU was playing a game that we should watch at Iggy's.  We decided to do that and immediately got a call from Mike and Linda.  The parade for Mardi Gras started at 4:00 and they asked us to do a float with them.  They have a perfect vehicle for the MASH movie/show and Linda is an artist.  She transformed their SUV and we came up with costumes with materials on hand.  Boy!  We had fun!  I made crutches out of brooms and foam, towels wrapped around arms and legs were casts. Heads were bandaged and blood was spray painted on us.  I carried an IV pole made of a water bottle and rope and old broom handle.  Mike was the doctor chasing after "hot lips" from the show.  We had the music playing from the show.  FUN FUN FUN!  We won second place in the residence float category and first place in the group category.  The theme of our Mardi Gras this year was Hollywood.  There was a big Casablanca float, a Wizard of Oz float and a Bollywood float.  The Hitchcock float was awesome.  Needless to say, we didn't watch the game!  ISU won anyway!

I made a late supper of tacos and we are both tired and going to bed early.  Tomorrow will be another big day I am sure.

Trucks and sand arrive.

I'm barefoot'n in the sand while I work!

Finished product!

Our lovely entrance.  That big bamboo pole on the left will be the site of my new sign!

Richard and I with Linda and Mike at Mardi Gras.

Some of the Mardi Gras crowd after parade.

This is our driveway entrance when we purchased the property.   What a lot of work!  Compare to above photo. 

Thursday, February 19, 2015

This morning we woke up to rain!  What a surprise!  We had a lot of things to do this morning so the rain fit right into our schedule.  We needed to go to the bank.  When we got there they were closed.  Turned out their plane was late as the windshield on the plane broke.  Good heavens!  We seem to be having issues with our plane this year.  It turned out LeRoy Brown was on the same plane.  We were waiting for him to do our sand delivery.  He arrived and started working on Johnny's road first and tomorrow at 7:30 am he will be here in our driveway and road.  How exciting!  Things are coming together here.

We got our tickets to Mardi Gras.  The dinner is tomorrow night and the parade is Saturday.  Should be fun!

Today the tide went way out.  I took pictures of it as it was so alarming!  I don't believe it has ever gone out this far before!  What is going on??

This shot is to the south.  All the brown is seaweed that washed in.  The water is normally way up near the beginning of the kayaks.

This is to the north.  The water should be way up where the seaweed got deposited.   The seaweed doesn't usually come in either.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

We awoke to another beautiful day here and boy are we glad to not be in Ames right now.  It is only 2 degrees for a high and brutal wind chills.  Today we have only a slight breeze and it is hot!  We worked on cleaning up our new truck this morning.  We wanted to "clean it our way".  We made a trip to the grocery store and picked up the rest of our things from the barge.  I had ordered a bottle of vinegar and expected to receive a little one (16 fl oz).  They sent a huge thing (l.32 gallons, 5 liters)!!
Why would they do this? Obviously, it will last me a life time!

 This morning we discovered the air conditioning in our truck does not work.  We are awaiting a call back from Vampt Motors.  They are the ones we had make sure everything worked on our truck before shipping it to Little Cayman.  I am sure they will make it right.

We ate an early lunch and headed to the north side to snorkel.  When we got there, Tom and Patty were already there.  We didn't even plan it like that.  I saw a huge turtle and swam around with him for a long time.  I am always looking for turtles.  They are my favorite snorkel buddies.  I also saw a nice ray and the biggest parrot fish ever!  The size of a cruise ship!  ha ha ha!  Then I discovered I was way too far out in the sea.  This is why the fish was so large!  I was very alarmed and tried to hurry back in but there was a strong current and I felt I was swimming and not moving forever!  Boy, was I ever tired after that!  What a fun afternoon!

Tonight we went to Wet Your Whistle Wednesday and had a wonderful time!  Lots of friends were there.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Needless to say, it is another glorious day here in paradise!  Richard went deep sea fishing this morning with Mike.  I took the opportunity to wash bedding.  It smells so good when I bring it in off the line.  I ate a leisurely breakfast on the porch while watching all the water action.  One cannot help but relax when looking at the Caribbean waters.

After all that hard work I had to settle in a beach chair and read for awhile.  I was feeling very good!  Richard got back from fishing so I moved to the hammock on the porch and tried to read there.  Good grief!  I fell asleep!  Lunch time.

This afternoon I trimmed up some greenery around the side of the house.  Trimming is not hard, it is the removal of the trimmed goods that is work.  I was sweating immensely!  As soon as that job was done I put on a swim suit and got in the water.  Wow was that refreshing.  We tried to stay here at the house today as we were waiting for the barge to dock.  Our truck was finally going to arrive!  It finally showed up at supper hour.  We took the scooter to pick it up and I drove the truck home at last.

Tomorrow we have a busy day planned and it is for sure going to include going snorkeling.  It is going to be another grand day in paradise!

This little guy was on the side of our house when we came home tonight.  It is a tree frog.  Isn't he cute!

Here is the truck!  Interesting that we have a red truck and a red scooter.  We also have a photo of the barge but it is too blurry to post.  Darn!

Sunday, February, 15, 2015

Imagine waking up everyday to sunshine and warm temperatures.  That is the paradise I am living right now!  It is like this can't be real, but it is!  We have been so busy here on our island that I have not posted since Wednesday.  Thursday was a beautiful day of course! I have to try and remember what we did that day.  We got busy doing some beach work as we goofed off the whole week Natalie was here.  Richard did some serious stump removal on our beach.  It now is looking even better than before!  I have been working on our driveway entrance again this year and am almost finished.  It is looking good.  Little Cayman Beach Resort held a program present by Jim Hellemn on ocean photography that we attended.

Both Thursday and Friday I did my bike ride and made sure I "hit the hammock" in the heat of the day.  I took my floaty out in the water on Friday but I missed having Natalie here to do it with me.  Friday evening we went to Patty and Tom's place for dinner.  We had such a nice time and boy can they cook!!

Saturday was Valentines Day and we enjoyed every minute of it!  We had Linda and Mike over for dinner.  It was fun catching up with them again.

This shows the new fun balls I got for the beds.  They are so cute!

Now it is Sunday evening and we are both wore out.  Thompson shipping called us and said our truck is coming in on Tuesdays barge.  Finally!!  Richard has made a deal with Mark to rent his boat while we are here.  This is very exciting news!  It is 21 feet long and set up very nicely.  Mark also is going to Florida and is picking up a truck cover for us and bringing it back.  How nice is that!!

Here is a picture of my new lamps.  We finally found some on Grand and had them shipped over.  I got one for each sofa.  

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Hello paradise!  We awoke to a beautiful day, it could not be more perfect.  Too bad Natalie had to leave today.  After eating breakfast, Natalie and I took the bikes out for a nice long ride and walked the beach.  We were early enough so the sun was not eating into us.  When we got back to the house we sat on the beach and relaxed.  She needed to soak up the perfectness for when she gets home it will be very cold!

We were noticing that there were no planes flying today or yesterday.  When we arrived at the airport this morning they informed us the plane had broke.  Natalie would be leaving the island by helicopter.  How exciting!  She was thrilled!  Of course, we took photos!  She reported in that she loved her ride of a lifetime!  She got to sit right up with the pilot for an unbelievable birds eye view!  Now she wants to travel by helicopter all the time.

Yesterday was windy on the island so we didn't do any water "play".  We did manage our bike ride.  We rode across island to check on the bloody bay wall.  The waves were at least six feet tall and simply beautiful.  It was hard to look at it and imagine we had been in there just days earlier.  We had fun!  Natalie and I finished our Gecko Shack sign and we visited the beautiful new museum on the island.  It is very impressive.  Looks like it could be in New York City!  So our day was enjoyable.  She wanted to eat at Southern Cross Club for her last night here.  We enjoyed our time and the food was spectacular!  When we got home, we played a few games of Skip-Bo for old times sake!

When we got back from the airport, the water was smooth as glass and the wind was calm.  If only she could have stayed a little longer, we could have taken the "floaties" out on the water one more time.  I guess she will have to wait for next year.  I'm sure glad I have five more weeks here.  The fact is, I miss Natalie a lot though.  It was fun to have her to do things with.  One night, she made a really good meal for us.  I may try to copy it.  Time for me to get back on the beach!  

Here is Natalie getting ready to board the helicopter!

This photo goes with a past post.  It is the shark we saw right from shore at Owen Island.  Notice how clear the water is.

Here we are at the airport seeing Natalie off.  Her week sure went by quickly.  We kept busy every second.  Fun, fun!

Monday, February 9, 2015

Today we got up early and were on the first flight out to Brac.  We decided to explore our sister island.  Wow!  It is so different than Little Cayman.  First of all it has a real paved road that is wonderful!  The island is bigger than Little Cayman but it was hard to find a restaurant.  The island seemed less developed than here but there are 2500 people living there.  It has a parrot reserve, tons of caves in a magnificent bluff along the east end of the island.  Boy, did we explore!  We hiked in the hot sun under the bluffs along the ocean and then cooled off inside a bat cave and Rebecca's cave and other caves in the bluff along the south side.  I got to see several parrots and boy do they make a lot of noise!  We ate lunch at the Tipsy Turtle Beach Bar at the Brac Reef Resort.  The place had great food and a fun Caribbean vibe.  

Now I am back home in my paradise, Little Cayman.  Richard and I definitely chose the right island for us.

Exploring a cave.

Riding my bike on Little Cayman.  I love to do this!  

A smaller bluff on Cayman Brac.

In the center of this photo you will find a parrot.  Click on the photo to enlarge.

Natalie and I with Little Cayman in the background across the sea.

Natalie on the plane heading to the Brac.

Natalie holding up the cave.  Thank you Natalie!

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Life is treating me good here in paradise!  It is late at night and I am finally updating my blog.  Yesterday Natalie and I went on a long bike ride and hike and just had fun.  Richard and Natalie went to The Hungry Iguana to watch Iowa State play basketball on their TV.  While they did that, I made potato salad and a few other things.  We were invited to a party at Brian and Cammies house for dinner with three other couples and we all brought food along.  We had a super fun time with lots of really nice people.

Today we did another bike ride and hike and then we took the "floaties" out in the water.  What fun!!
Then we layed on the beach and Richard brought us our books and a coconut with a straw.  He was our "beach boy"!!!!  After lunch, Natalie and I started working on our sign for the house.  I have a great piece of driftwood that has taken a long time to find and we settled on a name for the house.  Richard will put a long piece of bamboo cemented in the ground to post our sign.  When this is finished I'll post a picture of our handiwork.

This afternoon we even had a little time to play cards out on the porch.  The weather has been so nice.  Natalie made supper tonight and I helped.  It was a fabulous curry dish with sweet potato, black beans, coconut milk and tons of vegees all over rice.  We ate outside, which we have been doing pretty much all the time.

Tomorrow early we are catching a plane for the Brac.  We will explore the island and be back on the last flight back to Little Cayman.  Maybe the Brac won't have the nasty bugs that have been bothering Natalie here.  There are a few other people we know here who also have reactions to them.      

Friday, February 6, 2015

Hello paradise!  What a beautiful day we woke up to today!  The water looked like glass and we decided to take advantage.  After a hardy breakfast we took the kayaks to Owen Island.  We spent the whole morning there just playing in the water and having fun.  We took our snorkel gear along and I did some snorkeling.  I managed to see a few nice fish.  I had just gotten out of the water and I turned around and thought I saw a really large shark.  I thought it couldn't be, must be a stingray!  It was a huge nurse shark!!  Who would think it would be so close to the shore.  It must have been checking us out.  Just minutes earlier I would have been swimming with it.  Richard had the camera but we had to remind him to take a picture.  He was as surprised as me!!  The water was so clear, we took photos right from shore!  What a morning it turned out to be!

After lunch, we headed out in search of iguanas.  Mahogany Bay had a lot of them in the past and we did find them again.   We had taken lettuce along to feed them.  We had it in a zip lock bag.  Natalie had the bag in her hand and was squatted down feeding one and suddenly he just snapped the whole bag right out of her hand.  We both jumped a foot!!  What a riot!!

We hiked the trail to Preston Bay and enjoyed the sights and then headed to the barge.  My new lamps had arrived.  Yes, we finally found lamps at Grand and I just love them.  They look so great in the living room.  I am glad we waited and found the perfect ones.  There were a few other fun items we had bought on Grand that arrived too, so it was like Christmas day for me!!  Now we wait for the next barge to arrive.  It will hold our truck which I did manage to pack with a lot of purchases also.  We are sure accumulating a lot of "stuff" here at the house lately.  

Natalie wanted to eat dinner at The Hungry Iguana tonight, so of course we did!  What a meal!  Tonight we are all exhausted.  This sunshine and warm weather seems to be wearing us out.

Natalie feeding one of the iguanas.  This is the one who grabbed the bag!

 

Eating dinner at The Hungry Iguana.

Taking a hike island style!

Thursday, February 5, 2015

What a whirlwind the last days have been here on Little Cayman.  Natalie arrived Wednesday on the 5:45 flight.  She looked so cute getting off the plane.  We went right to Wet Your Whistle Wednesday at SSC.  It was fun to catch up with old friends and they all remembered Natalie too.  We had a fun time and yummy food.  

Before her arrival the barge came in and we were able to get the new mattress that we ordered back to the house and put on the sofa bed.  Natalie says it is super comfortable and she slept great.  Yeah!!  Kevin loaned us his truck to get the mattress here as our truck will not arrive until next week.  What a nice guy!!

This morning Natalie and I went on a bike ride and then walked on the beach and took a swim in Southern Cross Club's pool.  What fun!  When we got back, we had a chocolate malt next door and packed a lunch.  We headed to Point of Sand for a picnic.  After that we went to Bloody Bay and had a wonderful time snorkeling.  The conditions there were perfect.  This was one busy day!!  We had a Mud Slide at Little Cayman Beach Resort this evening.  Yes, I had a malt and a mud slide in one day!!

Natalie arriving!

The three of us at Point of Sand.

Latest photo of our beach.

 

Monday, February 2, 2015

I am finally getting a chance to type on my blog again.  Richard and I have been so busy since we got here.  We arrived on Little Cayman Friday around 5:30 P.M.  When we got to the house everything looked really great on the property.  Blossom Construction guys did a very nice job keeping things decent for our arrival.  They even opened up the hurricane shutters for us.  I was so happy to discover the house stayed as clean as I had left it.  It didn't even seem to be dusty!  I had very few tiny bug areas by the doors but that was it.  I do cover everything when we leave, even my appliances.

We ate supper at the little resort next door.  They have two guys running the place now and one is a professional chef.  We had the best dinner ever!!!  I am looking forward to eating there again.

The last two nights have been very comfortable sleeping.  Tonight is warmer though and not much of a breeze.  I am tired enough that I will sleep.

Last night we went to Southern Cross Club for dinner and the Super Bowl.  We ate with friends and the game was actually good.  We had such a great time and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  Of course they showed the game outside.

This place is amazing!

January 28, 2015 Wednesday

Finally made it to Grand Cayman today.  Seems like I have been waiting forever!  I feel very happy to be on island again.  We are staying here at Grand for a couple days as Richard wants to purchase a vehicle.  We have a few lined up to look at and hope we can get it on the barge for Little Cayman.  If we find a boat, he would be extra happy!

Tonight we ate at The Wharf Restaurant and sat at a table right over the water.  It was lovely.  We seem to be eating there every time we are on Grand.

We have a really nice suite at Comfort Suites and I am positive I will sleep soundly.  I was up at 3:30 A.M. and already want to go to bed!!

Just arrived.  Selfie at the airport on Grand

Flowering tree from my room at hotel.

Mudslide at The Wharf  Restaurant.

Richard at our table at restaurant.

Beautiful sunset!