May 19, 2008

And we come to an end

So here we are on the last night of our vacation. It was a really memorable time. I think we were in the best spot that we could have picked on the island. We were close to all the big restaurants and stores, but our beach was totally secluded (as you can see from the pictures). Tish and I managed to circle the entire island in two driving tours, which was pretty cool. As a vacation destination, I would totally recommend it, especially if snorkeling is the most strenuous water activity planned. It is totally amazing. There's lots and lots to see, and you don't have to rent special charters to go see it.

So here are some pictures that close out our vacation.

But first.. a girl can never have enough shoes...

We all went on a sunset cruise which included the sun setting, followed by dinner. It was impressive that they could guarantee both.

The obligatory sunset picture

Someone liked dinner...

Tish's dad chartered a boat to take them deep sea fishing. I wasn't so much into the idea of baking in the sun for several hours, so I stayed back with the kids. So.. how did it go?

The bait was cast...

The captain tried to find a good spot...

But.. ummm.. oh fishy.. where are you?

And after six hours.. huge catches by all three!

A blow hole on one of our driving tours

Getting soaked by the blow hole

These fossils reminded me of our vacation in the Bahamas

Oh.. Armaan wants you to check out his digs in the corner

The last sunset of our stay

On our last night, we went to eat at this really cool restaurant called Bed

You can see how each booth is curtained off. Makes for a really intimate setting. And the food was really good too!

So that's it. Tomorrow we have to take the long journey back. But I think we're ready to get back. The kids have been great, but I think they are feeling a bit neglected, and overwhelmed by the constant doing of things every day. Both of them would just like some quiet quality time with us. The next post will continue life back in Chicago. Not as picturesque, but still fun to read!

May 17, 2008

I'm not fish food

The snorkeling is just amazing here. We have managed to average about 2 snorkels a day. The place where we're staying is so different from our honeymoon in the Bahamas. There we had to actually go on a special trip to find a good snorkeling spot. Here, you can go out about 100 feet from the shore and there are schools and schools of fish. We have seen many, many different kinds of fish.

But now here's the part no one tells you. Because there are so many snorkelers and divers who go in the water every day and feed the fish, any time the fish see a person, they expect food. So even though it's the wild ocean out there, the fish are pretty Pavlovian. It doesn't take much to be surrounded by 20-50 fish of all different sizes who are looking for something to eat. There was this one little yellow and black striped fella that kept swimming right past my mask trying to do a stare-down. So as I was swimming to shore, I had about 30 fish following me, ranging in size from 6 inches to about 2 feet. When you snorkel, you don't really use your hands, so my hands were on my side as I kicked. Suddenly I felt a nip on one of my fingers in my right hand. I thought Tish had actually caught hold of my hand, but as I looked down, I saw all these fish, and one of them that was swimming pretty close to me. Yep - my fingers looked like bait. Only, I wasn't fishing. So, I love nature and all, but not when it's trying to eat me. So I made it back to shore in double-time. When I saw my finger (it was the pinky) I saw the fish did manage to get a piece of me. He had broken skin, and there was a little blood. Is there an antidote for fish rabies?

So here are some more pictures from the trip...

Can I hear a collective, "Awww...." Armaan fell asleep as Tish was with him in the hammock looking at the sun go down.

You can never get enough of the breathtaking view as you step outside.

A classic "postcard" picture

It's amazing how much Armaan loves water

Here are some pictures of the condo we are staying in. What is not pictured are the two bedrooms and bathrooms.

The kitchen and dining area

The living room

Priya's room


The big van we were driving. Driving is on the left side, and this big baby had steering on the right, and stick shift. Fun stuff!

This is "Hell" - as in the part of Grand Cayman named Hell

The island girl

Visiting the Turtle Farm

These fellas are destined for soups and steaks




May 14, 2008

This is living

So someone ask me.. What did you do today? Oh nothing... Just woke up.. Went outside and had a quick dip in the warm Caribbean waters before breakfast! Grabbed the snorkeling gear and saw schools of fish... Now to repeat this for six more days!

I can't promise to blog often, but I have a short opportunity to upload the first quick pictures from the trip.

So this is the view when you get out of the condo.

But before all that, the start of the journey...

The kids were amazing throughout. We had people commenting on them in the plane on how good they were. Here's Armaan grabbing one of his quick catnaps on the layover in Miami. It looks unstable, but that stroller wasn't going anywhere...

Priya was completely worn out by the end of the trip. But as soon as we got to the condo, she begged and begged to go in the pool. So after 14 hours of traveling she got to go in the pool for 15 minutes.
Another water baby is born...