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!