Back from Grand Cayman

Hey everybody,

Sorry it has been so long since I've blogged. You would think that since I am off of school this summer that I would have time! Well, we have gotten back from our trip to Grand Cayman with our friends Ben and Miranda. Of course, it was beautiful and we had a great time. We arrived on Saturday June 18 and it was very muggy. The only time it rained was on Friday evening while the guys were grilling our fish. OK, let me tell you about our trip! Saturday after we checked in, we had to walk about 1/2 a mile away to get to our grocery store. We didn't have a car so we pushed a cart back with our groceries---it was very hot and exhausting! That evening we decided to go across the street and eat at Coconut Joe's where we sat outside and ate. Sunday lots of things were closed so it was beach day! The water was crystal clear and it was like swimming in a swimming pool, it was so clear. We stayed on Seven Mile Beach and right out in front of our condo was some great snorkeling. Miranda and I took a looooong walk up the beach Sunday afternoon which was a good excuse to get us a froo froo drink at a bar up on the beach. Monday we took a bus to Georgetown to walk around and get some souvenirs since the cruise ships dock there every day of the week and the shops were open when the ships were in. We got our lunch from a buffet where several locals eat, then ate outside with the locals and the chickens. Yes, I said chickens!! THey were everywhere! We even saw a chicken right in front of a KFC and it was standing by the door as if it were waiting it's turn! Monday evening, Paul and I bought some snorkel gear and we all headed back out in front of our condo where we snorkeled for 1-1/2 hours. Paul and I even saw a sea turtle--beautiful! That night we walked up the beach and ate at Royal Palms where we ate right off the beach and watched the sunset. Tuesday morning, Ben and Miranda went to get our rental car. It was so little and we kept calling Paul and Ben by their alias'---Barney and Fred. The only catch was driving on the left hand side of the road and having the steering wheel on the right hand side of the car. We never wrecked but needless to say, driving could sometimes be such a hoot! We took off on a drivng tour on Tuesday. We went to the Queen's Botanical Gardens which was home to the blue iguana. They have a rescue mission set up there to restore the blue iguana population. We walked quite a bit looking at various vegetation (some poisonous) and some flowers. We ate lunch at Water's Edge where it overlooked the north side of the island. On the way home we stopped and saw the blow hole's and a gentleman named Alan who looked like Barack OBama gave us a tour--whether we wanted it or not! That night Paul grilled salmon and jerk chicken. Wednesday we visited the sea turtle farm where we saw baby turtles all the way up to some huge sea turtles. They were beautiful. We drove up to a place called Hell--which was basically an area with jagged black rock that was eroded b/c of the type of rock and acid rain. Not much to see, just to say we've been to Hell and back! That night the guys set up a surprise supper--which was aboard the Jolly Roger pirate ship. We dressed up and had a great supper, rum cake for dessert, and all the drinks we could manage. All the while, we sailed along Seven Mile Beach in the deep blue water! Thursday we went up to Rum Point and snorkeled where we saw lots of conch shells and some small stingrays. We ate supper somewhere then at 9pm we went on a kayak tour. It was called Bio-luminescence tour. We kayaked back to a bay where everything in the water glowed white. It was like the Avatar movie. Our paddles glowed, and our hands and feet glowed white b/c of the organisms in the water lighting up. This is only about 10 places in the world. I will never forget it. On friday, we took our last excursion which was a waverunner tour out to see the stingrays. We were in 3 feet of water and the stingrays swam up against your legs. Miranda and I put our arms under a stingray and even gave it a kiss! That was cool. That afternoon, we went back to Georgetown and went to a fish market and bought red snapper and tuna. yummy! Saturday, we left bright and early and after several layovers got home to see our sweet boys. Thanks mom and dad and Jerry and Shirley for all your help. We had a great time!