Days passing lazily away

Well not much going on here. The days have become “regular” for us. Blasphemy I know, but sadly it is true. Now don’t get me wrong, we still enjoy our days and consider ourselves lucky to be here but we do not consider them to be extraordinary anymore. The exotic has become the norm. We greet the day with a smile and a beautiful view, we decide what we are going to do then we work or play according to the plan. It is a little like “Groundhog Day” here in Luperon. I get up at 7:30 on Mon, Wed, Fri and go to Yoga. Other than that I have no particular plans, I am happy to go with the flow. Marilyn spends most of her days working. Ryan works on repairing the things we have broken or in bored meetings. Sis lounges and eats. As predictable we spend most of our time making new friends.

Come visit! Relax! Experience Luperon!

Luperon in the morning.

Welcome Cruisers!

Shaggy’s – Our other hang out spot!

Miss you all!

Buzz Buzz

Well since we have been to Luperon we have been busy as bees. We have been soo busy in fact that we may have to buy a calendar and a watch. I know! But between the Trivial Pursuit Tournaments, yoga classes, shopping trips, baseball games, karaoke nights, jam sessions, bored meetings, and travel time via trolling motor we have a schedule to keep.  And that is just since we have been here. Today was a little better day -so far we haven't broke anything. We also haven't touched anything so that may be a part of it. :)

Today the sun had a rainbow all the way around it. It’s not a camera illusion this is how it looked in the sky. Crazy huh?

Ryan playing baseball...sorta.

Luperon in the morning

The dolphins on the way here.

Capt Steve’s Place – One of our new hangouts.

Not Everyday is Paradise

So today has definitely been one of THOSE DAYS. The days that nothing you touch goes right. Right off the bat this morning as Ryan and I were preparing to go into town to clear customs the outboard broke. Not just a little broke, a “we need a machine shop” or a “we need a new outboard” kind of broke. The throttle controls broke off, COMPLETELY OFF. Great! So we decided that we would take our last means of propulsion; a trolling motor. We had to get to town and clear customs and we had no other means of getting there. No problem we have used the trolling motor for months now. It is a great way of getting around without all the noise and struggle. So we go in to clear customs and they want the Dominican Republic Navy to inspect the boat. Great, No Problema. Except….the DR Navy doesn’t own a boat. So, why we didn’t mind, Ryan and I now have to make the return trip to the boat with 3 extra people, and a trolling motor. They kept asking “Is it that boat? How far out?” Halfway there the batteries give out and Ryan is rowing. Super! We have just kidnapped the DR Navy. Luckily it just happened that Joe, a friend we had met in the Turks and Caicos, was at the boat visiting with Marilyn when they saw us break out the oars. He came and tied up and towed us the rest of the way to Sandy Dreams for our Naval inspection. Then once aboard everyone knows that you offer the officials cold beverages, especially cold Cokes. Well guess what, someone drank all the cokes and we didn’t put any new ones on ice. Soo we didn’t have anything cold to offer except Ginger Ale. They had to ask us what it was and didn’t seem to like it much. Poor guys. Fortunately they think that we are crazy and let us slide. In fact they posed for a picture for Marilyn so that we could remember them. Did I mention that I am the translator? Yeah! The Dominican Republic speaks Spanish. Do you know how long it has been since I spoke Spanish?! And I wasn’t good at it then! So now we have to get them back to shore - with our trolling motor. Oh! and we have another boat to inspect. So everyone climbs into Chase (3 Navy officials, Marilyn, Ryan, Sis, & I) and we make the trip to the other boat. When upon arrival we let the guys off to inspect the boat while we wait in Chase. Well most of us waited in Chase. Sis jumped aboard and inspected the boat with the Navy, apparently she is applying as their new drug dog. Somewhere in the go here, no go here, no go back to here, we finally cleared customs. FINALLY!

The Dominican Republic Navy. Note the one in the middle is holding the broken piece of our outboard.

Our first thought after clearing customs…food. So we made our way downtown to Capt Steve’s. It is a one stop shop for everything that you could want. Swimming, internet, food, groceries, transportation, whatever. He is also really nice. So we relaxed a little with a couple beers, some grub, and good company. (Sheridan & Joe met up with us.) Finally a little relaxation and things going the right way. Oopps to soon. After eating lunch and making our way back to the boat we were approached by a high speed dinghy. Apparently our anchor is dragging and we have to get back to the boat…NOW!…with our trolling motor and Ryan rowing. Fortunately Chris (Our Messenger) let Ryan and I board his boat while Sheridan helped get Marilyn back to Sandy Dreams with his dinghy. Whew. It has been a crazy day! Guess everyday can’t be perfect, but it still feels a little unfair. I think I will go back to bed and try this again tomorrow. Hope your day is better.

Leaving for Luperon

After several months of traveling we have finally made our way far enough south to make the crossing to the Dominican Republic. We had planned to be there 3 months ago, but got caught up in the beautiful Bahamas. We have enjoyed every island and are glad to have spent the time exploring them. We will leave our slip here at the Turtle Cove Marina, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, tomorrow morning. It is about a 160 mile trip so it should take us at least all day Sunday and Monday morning. We plan on staying there until sometime in November if you are interested in visiting.

Checking out the marina.

The clouds look green here. -It’s because the light reflects up from the water. The water is so pretty here. It looks fake.

Sissy getting spoiled by seeing the island via rental car and AC. The Amanyara Resort –where Oly and Julie treated us to lunch. Thanks again!

Galley 101

It is 11:00 Saturday night, August 7, 2010. I have anchor watch. Marilyn and I have just finished watching the movie Julie & Julia and I was compelled to write. So many things in the movie spoke out to me and after a week and a half in the kitchen at Rum Cay where I had the joy of watching and helping several great cooks. I wanted to write a blog to them. Thank you all for being patient with me and for taking the time to teach me things and to explain steps while you were busy cooking. Mixing and making things that I had never before heard of or considered blending. You made everything look so easy and effortless and broke it down so that I could follow and understand the process.  

For all of you that know me…You know that I LOVE food. It is one of my favorite things. Cooking? Not so much. But the eating…YUM! Now don’t get me wrong, I CAN cook. I just prefer the eating. Or as I say often “I cook because I like to eat.” But I have been inspired and may even take a few more rotations of kitchen duty to try out some of my newly gained information. Although I can cook I have been limited to what I would call Southern Cooking, I know how to make fried chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and apple pie all from scratch.  But had you asked me to make you conch fritters, Wahoo, mahi mahi, sushi, seared tuna, or lobster I would have laughed at you and suggested you go for takeout. Now I might give it a shot. So thanks everyone you have really boosted my kitchen confidence. I’m going to miss our evening meals together. And Bonnie, extra Thanks for stocking the galley with some supplies, I look forward to adding them into our meals. And thank you for the tips on how to stock the boat I will have a different eye the next time that we go shopping.

Papa I can’t wait to see you - I got a recipe for homemade Blue Cheese Dressing you’ll love it, even I ate a bunch of it.

Tyson & Connie get your butts to the boat we’ll eat sushi!

Today is Monday the 9th of August. We just arrived at Turtle Cove Marina, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. Yea, another stamp in my passport! We will be here a week for Marilyn to get mail then on to the D.R.

Life in Rum Cay

We love it here! It feels like we have known everyone for years, we are having such a great time. The marina has such a laid back and inviting feel to it, it’s impossible not to feel at home. Since our arrival we have made new friends, gone swimming, snorkeling, and spear fishing in the salt ponds, gone off shore fishing, feed and wrestled sharks, learned to paddleboard and surf, eaten like kings, and then done it all again. We LOVE it here! Have I told you that? This is definitely on the come back and visit list. I will be sad when it is time to leave here.

 Our new friends aboard EBB TIDE.  The view from the Marina.The burning man.   Feeding the sharks.The dining room.Ryan playing while he works. The burning man in all his glory.