Sandy Bank Stupidity

What a great beach weekend this was.



I walked/ran back and forth for a couple of hours (running into friends also walking), came back to float in the water a bit, Michael got a hold of my mp3 player, and then this happened.



If that wasn't enough I got to witness Michael's version of synchronized swimming.



And chair dancing.



I demanded my 1/2 of the earplugs and we then started some karaoke, which we haven't done since our other life, lounging on our catamaran trampoline in the quiet anchorage of White House Bay. It's a good thing no one came down on "our" end of the beach; it wasn't pretty. I think we got a serotonin overdose.

We arrived home to notice only one cat greeting us at the door. I went upstairs to find poor Jack stuck outside on the balcony. The poor guy had been locked outside with no water and a little shade all day. MICHAEL!! This is the 3rd time a certain someone has locked Jack out like this. He is soooooooooooo lucky that it hasn't rained any of those times. I won't say which male is luckier. I'm pretty sure if we had had kids, Michael would have been one of those parents who forgets their munchkin in the backseat, accidentally leaving the sleeping child in the car until a neighbor rings the doorbell (um, I think you forgot something...). An aside - leather seats in warm climates are really stupid.

We had planned on going to an Emancipation Concert at the Brimstone Hill Fortress this afternoon, but it's hard to quit liming once you're in the groove. I'm sure it would have been spectacular.

Another week begins.

Clouds on a Sandy Bank Beach

Sigh. We are determined to have our one beach day, but the weather is just not cooperating. This is what it looked like heading to our favorite spot.



We sucked it up though, because for a while the clouds kept going south and left us alone.



Surfing.



Then the clouds started creeping over to our side of beach.



And then this happened.



And then this.



You'd think the rapture happened (as if we'd get swept up), but of course everyone ran for cover. The rain is cold!!! We came back and tried again before we got doused again (and eaten alive by bugs) and gave it up.



Time for some fajitas!! Orange juice yesterday, veggies today. We've even got our hands on a ripe avocado - speaking of rapture - YUM!!!! My body isn't going to know what hit it. Vitamins!!!!

Underwater at Sandy Bank

Well, I figure you're tired of seeing the beach all the time, although it never gets old for us, so we went snorkeling to get you some pictures of something new. It's actually only the 2nd time I've snorkeled for fun here (I snorkeled from the boat plenty of times to clean the bottom and look for lost stuff, but that doesn't count). Unfortunately, the water was a bit cloudy so we didn't really see anything until we were up on it. We were at Sandy Bank, surprise surprise, and decided to tackle the right side if looking toward the ocean. Before we got in, we waited for a very large barracuda to move off and later wondered what the heck he was eating. There sure wasn't a lot of sea life out there. There's kind of a cliff of coral to follow. We saw 2 purplish/blue fish, a few sargeant majors, and then a number of tiny striped fish. That's pretty much it. Michael managed to catch me



and a needle-nose fish (that's not what they're called, but that's what I call them)



and saw a hawksbill turtle that moved so fast he couldn't catch it on camera. That's it. There were some neat purple fans,



some softer, plant-like corals



a bit of elkhorn



and some brain coral, so it wasn't completely devoid of life.



It did seem like a lot of it was bleached out, which is sad, but we found that in a lot of places we snorkeled. I suppose that's sad too.

Ok, now if you haven't had your coffee or breakfast yet, you might want to save this next picture for when your stomach is ready. If we had to see it, so do you.
You have been warned.




Got crack? Sheesh. You'd think she might have felt a breeze. Happy Monday!

Reggae Beach Insanity

Well, the weather held for us, saving the thunder and lightning until about 2 this morning. After a quick stop at Sandy Bank so I could get some exercise and Michael could get some reading in, we ended up over at Reggae Beach (Cockleshell). This would be the Lovrics' last Sunday bash on this beach for a while (ever?) so we stayed until after the sun set. The liming lasted until someone found this huge noodle-type thing and everyone had to give it a shot (except Pat with a bum knee & a migraine and me without health insurance).

Charlie got into the act



until this happened.



Steve and Heather



until Heather was down.



Tanya looked quite poised up there.



Of course, Kat - with Molly for support



Nat's turn!



Michael was on the thing just about all afternoon.



Uncle Mikey, the jungle gym.



Group picture!



An exhausted Steven.



He probably should have stayed there as it was all fun and games until someone got hurt, of course. The little guy found himself wiping away tears and sitting on a lounge chair icing a very swollen knee. Sigh (and you scoffed at my health insurance comment).

We split a final bucket of beer and headed to our cars, where it was time to deal with an island car - making sure Heather could get home without her radiator overheating.



Yep, a typical day on the island..

Save the Turtles! Sandy Bank

Another calm day at the beach.



While Mike was getting caught up on the latest gossip,



I was beach walking (with Steve aka The Big Dip) and ran into another beach comber who's been keeping up on the latest leatherback turtle layings & hatchings. She went to an area where a momma turtle had laid her eggs around 6 weeks ago. Sure enough there were lots of little turtle tracks from that spot down to the ocean.



Unfortunately, one didn't make it.



One of the guys from the turtle organization here told Michael that the new fences they put on the beach to add sand to the dunes, was affecting the turtles. He said that a few of the nests were right at the edge of the fences and that the structures were building up sand over the nests. Mama turtles know exactly how deep to lay their eggs and exactly how far up their offspring can dig. These fences may be doing wonders for the beach (and giving the turtles a place to lay the eggs), but they're also burying any nests that get dug too close. It's never simple. So while this one didn't quite get to the top in time, a young girl was able to save another one that was clearly about to quit. That was very exciting and got us all digging. While we didn't find any more (not even the broken eggs), the "turtle people" were called into the rescue and hopefully will be able to assist should any more newbies need a lift out of the sand and into the ocean.

In the meantime, lightning and thunder was off in the not-too-far distance, so we decided to call it a day. Wonder if we'll have an illuminating evening? I'll take it if it means some wind. Yes, please.