Our adventures in Grand Cayman: 2013

Caleb and I just love having visitors. In April we have had 2 sets of visitors! First, Caleb's parents, Mark and Terri came down. Then, 4 days after they left, our cousin Trina came down. This is the tale of our adventures....

Mark and Terri's adventure started out like any other...we got them off the plane, and got lunch at Ala Kebob. (YUM!-best Gyro you will ever eat, I promise). We then took the 15 mile drive to West Bay to our apartment. We got them all settled in, and enjoyed the ocean front view from our patio. Throughout their trip we went to several of the beaches, our favorite being Cemetery Beach, which we went to a few times. We pretty much ate our way through the week as well enjoying some home cooked meals, but also, awesome meals at Tim Buc Tuu (ate breakfast there several times), Heritage Kitchen (ate there twice-best local food on the island, not kidding), Karma, Ortanique, Chimboco and The Greenhouse Cafe. On Eater Sunday we enjoyed a home cooked meal of Cayman Chicken, roast pumpkin and potatoes, callaloo, deviled eggs, and pumpkin sufflee for dessert. On Easter Sunday we also enjoyed the afternoon at Smith's Cove where we got to see the police being called on a group of Jamaicans that decided to drive their boat into the cove and anchor...BIG NO NO! That was quite exciting. We also enjoyed the beautiful water, and Caleb did some Kayaking. During the week we also went to Rum Point/Starfish Point, and to the Botanic Garden, which was beautiful. Lots of gorgeous flowers, and awesome Blue Iguanas! And, of course we went to The Turtle Farm, which was awesome as always! Who doesn't love playing with the little turtles! We also did some snorkeling at both Cemetery Beach and Eden Rock. Of course, poor me, got stung by a Jelly Fish at Eden Rock and decided not to get in the water the rest of the trip (I have gotten over it now...) We also enjoyed a casual visit or two to Hell, yes, Hell, Grand Cayman, there is such a place. And, it just so happened to be as hot as Hell the day we went (near 90 and humid). :-)

During their visit we enjoyed food, family and fun, oh, and Rum! We spent most of our nights just sitting on the porch talking and listening to the sounds of the sea crashing into the iron shore, while drinking some sort of rum concoction...ahhh paradise. At the end of the stay we were sad to see them go, but we happy that they had a great time, and can't wait until they come back again!!!

After we said goodbye to the parents, we had 4 days to clean and get ready for cousin Trina! Caleb has only met his cousin Trina once, about 10 years ago, and I have never met her, so we were really looking forward to spending time getting to know her, and boy did we have a blast! We of course enjoyed the usual, beach and food! We went to West Bay Beach, Governor's Beach and Rum Point/Starfish Point. We enjoyed food from Tim Buc Tuu, Karma, Michael's, Margaritaville, and The Greenhouse Cafe. Trina also got to swim with the Dolphin Lucy and go horse back riding on the beach/in the water!! How cool is that?! We enjoyed our laid back nights relaxing and watching TV, or chatting on the porch getting to know each other better. Trina and I also enjoyed chilling by the pool, and our shopping trip in George Town! We did a short snorkeling trip to Eden Rock which was a lot of fun, and while Trina and I were shopping, Caleb swam with about 2 dozen Tarpon! And....of course, we went to the Turtle Farm!!! (The Turtle Farm really should start paying us since we keep bringing people) :) All in all we had a great time getting to Trina, and we hope she had just as fun getting to know us...now we just have to plan a trip to Seattle!!

P.S.-While Trina was here, I got a job working for Stepping Stones as a Staffing Consultant/Immigration Specialists! Yay! Work Hard, Play Hard! :-)

P.P.S.-Our next Visitor arrives at the end of next week, Gilbert! Get ready to have fun Gilbert!!Che

Until next time...Cheers!

We had our first house guests arrive on February 14th for 10 days of fun in the sun (and fun in the cold as we had a cold front come through). My daddy (Freddy) and my sister, her husband and 4 children (Stacey, Micah, Aaron, Noah, Alora and Isaiah) all came down from Virginia. Stacey and Micah had the spare bedroom, daddy had a blow up mattress, Alora had the love seat and the boys traded off with the other blow up mattress and the couch. It may sound like a lot of people in a 2 bedroom apartment, but it worked out wonderfully!! I think everyone had a wonderful time. I know I did!!! The first day we just relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the view from our apartment. For dinner we had the Heritage Kitchen fish fry. If you live in Grand Cayman, or visit, you MUST try Heritage Kitchen. It is SO good! The Coconut grouper is to DIE for!! The next day, Caleb had to work, so I took everyone to Cemetery Beach. It was a beautiful warm sunny day. The water was beautiful (until the afternoon when the tide started picking up), but all in all we had a wonderful day! Alora, Stacey and Noah went snorkeling for the first time, so that was really cool!! Sunday was a blustery cold day. Probably the coldest day we have had since moving to the island. Church was wonderful. Alora called it "the happy, clappy church" :-) After church we went to Rackham's and enjoyed the cold breeze while watching the huge waves crash against the Harbour. After lunch we took them to check out Smith Cove and South Sound. The waves were so big! Monday the weather was better, but not great. But we did get to go to Governor's Beach. It was still chilly, so not everyone got in the water. :-) We ended the day by eating Sushi at Karma...YUM! Tuesday we got to go swim with the Dolphins at Dolphin Cove. That was a ton of fun!!! We all had a great time! Tuesday night dad stayed home with the kids and Stacey, Micah, Caleb and I had a double date at Ortanique. All I have to say about the food is, "WOW". It was delicious! The cheese plate and ceviche for starters, and then I had jerk chicken pasta and Caleb had a game hen and Stacey and Micah shared the Bouillabaisse. It was delicious. Again, if you are on island, or are visiting, go to Ortanique, you will not be disappointed! So good! Wednesday I honestly cannot remember what we did. HAHA. But, I am sure we had a great time. Thursday we went to Smith's Cove and had a great time snorkeling and playing in the water, and ended the day eating at Macabuca. Friday was another really fun day because we went to the Turtle Farm. That is such a cool place! Where else can you pick up turtles, and swim in a lagoon??! I think the Turtle Farm is probably one of the top 5 things I have ever done...such a cool experience! Stacey, Noah, Caleb and I went on a sunset snorkeling swim at Macabuca. It was amazing. We saw so many awesome fish. Caleb also free-dived to about 75 feet and busted a blood vessel in his eye (yuck!) Friday for dinner we ordered Tim Buc Tuu and chilled at the apartment since we had such a log day of Turle fun :-) Saturday Caleb had to work, so I decided to take the gang to Rum Point, Starfish Point and Blow holes. The weather was perfect, the water was clear, and we had an awesome time! We ended the day with Margaritaville! Sunday was their last full day on island as they were leaving Monday afternoon. It was a sad day as no one wanted to leave the next day. We went to church, came home at lunch and then went snorkeling at Eden Rock. Again, the fish were amazing. I hadn't seen so many fish at Eden Rock before. Even Isaiah and Micah joined us in the fun! Sunday night we had dinner at Chimboco. I cannot tell you how great it was to have my family down here to experience this beautiful island! As you can see by the pictures below, we all had a wonderful time. I can't wait til they come back! I think after the cold weather they have had since returning the Virginia, they are already ready to come back! Now Caleb and I are gearing up for our next visitors, his parents! Until next time, I hope all of you are doing well! Who wants to come for a visit!? (seriously) :-)

Cemetery Beach