My real trip report with photos

Status Member Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 852

Okay, I'll get started on this, but will do it in increments.........it's a long one. Embarassed

Thurs. the 10th.......went to Chicago and did a park, sleep and fly at the Wyndham O'Hare. Upon check in we were taken to our room. The bellboy opened the door and the bed was literally off the wall and mattress and box spring standing up.........I couldn't help but wonder if this was an omen........either it would be a good vacation or a bad one, since we were upgraded to a suite.

Had dinner at Harry Carey's restaurant on Higgins Road. Fabulous rib eye but quite pricey.....all sides were ala carte but the meal was great.

Friday, May 11th........woke at 2:00 A.M.......had to take the 3:30 shuttle to the airport. We were told to be there by 4:00 but Delta ticket desk didn't open until 4:30. Rolling Eyes

We were in the air by 6:05 and on our way. clapping

Change over in Atlanta was very smooth......the tram is a great way to get around the airport. Loved the airport........could have done some damage shopping wise. Wink

Boarded our plane for GC......after a while the pilot announced there were technical problems Shock

Finally, after about 30 minutes, we were told it was a glitch in the system and we were on our way. Mr. Green

Arrived on GC about 12:30 and were at our resort by 1:30.

OMG.........the water was beautiful. It did remind me of flying into Aruba.

Here are photo pictures (a repeat but I wanted to add them to my report.)

Once there we were also given an upgraded room because of our anniversary months ago and my birthday. Jump

Room was clean and spacious and the view from our porch was of the dive shop, beach and sea. We were in room #9. Couldn't have been better.

Had lunch and changed into our suits and walked the beach and then swam in the pool and hung out at the bar some. Why not? This was vacation. Cheers

Saturday.......hung out at the resort.....swam, snorkled, ate and drank.

Sunday.....spent some time at Beach Club on 7MB. As I looked up and down the beach I could see only about 50 people at most. The sky turned very black and we had a few sprinkles. Once back to SBRR, we learned it had poured and a small funnel cloud had been spotted.

Monday, hung out at the resort and did the usual. Snorkeling was great.

I'll add more SB snorkel pictures as we go along but I'm trying to post the best ones...........so bear with me.

Here are some pictures from the resort, 7MB and snorkeling and of course, our first sunset.

To be continued...........downloading more photos. Wink

That's DH's toe. BouncingLaugh

Tuesday we got our bright yellow Suzuki from Andy's. Never had a problem finding it after we parked. rofl2

Went to the Turtle farm and it was packed with cruisers. Rolling Eyes

Didn't feel like spending the 75.00 each so we moved on the the Tortuga Rum Factory........another mistake.....thought we were going to be stampeeded. Also found we could not buy rum from them. Rolling Eyes

We had lunch at Cracked Conch..........yummy conch. Wish I would have know, we could snorkel there. Watched the divers as we ate lunch.

Then on to Hell to send postcards. Not much to see but people loved the cards.

It was cloudy and rainy so we decided to shop in Georgetown....we were told many shops weren't open when the ships weren't in. Checked out some shops and naturally had to hit the Harley shop for shirts.

I don't know if all cruisers are rude but they reminded me of a herd of cattle (and I don't mean to offend anyone). One woman practically grabbed a very pretty shirt right out of my hand. nono

The ships were all Carnival and I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

Here are some photos of Hell and Georgetown............

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 6:39 pm Post subject:

Yeah great start and some great pictures........looks like you were having fun

Diana

Status Member Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 852

thanks Diana........just uploaded more pictures, so I'll continue. I know some of my fish pictures need editing, but I'm doing good to get all this on here. LOL

To continue:

Had an early breakfast on Wednesday, the 16th and then decided to head to the east part of the island and see the sights.

It rained on and off most of the morning so the pictures of the water weren't as pretty as when it's sunny.

Found the blowholes easily.....(Joe, I think the map is wrong in the CAG).

Then drove to the Lighthouse restaurant.......wasn't open yet for lunch. Met a couple in the parking lot and they told us about a beach to find conch shells.......and we did..........and some nice ones. It's somewhere between a resort down on the very east end and before Rum Point.

After we walked the beach a looooooooooonnnnnnnggggggggg time, we went to Rum Point. You could tell it had poured rain........puddles all over the road. It was very crowded.......cruise shippers again and it was not sunny, so we did not snorkel there. The beach was very nice though and I can understand why so many people visit there. I did notice some of the beaches have a lot of rock and cannot be entered as easily as Rum Point or 7MB. But, no matter where we were, the water was such wonderful colors.

Grabbed some lunch (I was starving) and a couple of Caybrews. I found it to be pricey for what we ate.

Then off to Kaibo and our search of Starfish beach which we easily found. Parked the car and got out and the starfish were right there. How lucky was that!

Here are some more photos of our little day trip.

If you notice, some of the people had started to clear out as noted by the empty chairs just before we left Rum Point

Status Member Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 852

Thursday came and it was beautiful and sunny so decided it was the perfect day for cemetery beach. This was to be the most memorable day of our trip. rolllaugh

One lady at our resort told us to go out about 300 yards if we really wanted to see some good things. crazy

So, no problem. Water was smooth and calm. We both consider ourselves strong swimmers but I did take a noodle along just in case. I find the vests hinder me and bobble me around too much. Saw a lot of interesting fish. Suddenly, I looked up at the sky and it was becoming very dark. We headed back. On the way back my right leg cramped up and DH pulled me with the noodle for a ways. Cramp seemed to subside so I started swimming again and the water was becoming much rougher. Snorkel

Well, I cramped up again and this time it was much worse and the water was getting rougher and rougher. water

So DH told me to grab the noodle and he'd pull me in. Having a right leg that wouldn't work and one hand holding onto my camera, I grabbed the noodle........after a while, the water was so rough, I lost hold of the noodle. water

I fought my way back as best I could, in the meantime yelling HELP-HELP-HELP. DH couldn't hear me......no one could. help

Finally got over to one of the big white buoys and held on for dear life. I could see people close and continued to call for help. Two of them came to get me.......one without a vest......told him I had cramped up and let me rest a minute.........I didn't want to pull him down.....although I probably wouldn't have. He commented on how rough the current was and yes, it was rough.

Anyway, when DH got to shore, he thought I had met new people to snorkel with. Rolling Eyes

Of course he hadn't realized I'd slipped off the noodle.

Got back up on shore.......and just sat there for a while with the waves and sand coming up around us. I think he brushed a few crabs off me.

Limped back to where our towels were and some lady said, "oh I thought I heard you yelling for help". redbite

I said to DH, now I know why they call it cemetery Beach.

Got back to our room....dropped my suit and there was a live crab in it. Shock

Hopped in the shower immediately........didn't know if anymore were hiding. Embarassed

Well, between my snorkel mishap and my first encounter with crabs, it became quite the joke at the resort. Whenever someone would see DH without me they would kid about him making "another attempt". Of course we laugh about it but I would never go out that far again......no matter how strong of a swimmer. I've never experienced cramps like that in my life and have never been more afraid in the water. So, for all who are reading this, if you really want to go out a long way, do an excursion. We were out so far, we were close to an excursion boat. Very easy going out..........very difficult coming back in.

In fact a couple drowned last year on Baby Beach in Aruba because if was very rough and he was a weak swimmer and obviously the wife could not save him. Very sad.

This was embarrassing Embarassed

but if someone reads this, maybe they won't be as stooooooooooooooooppppppppppiiiiid as I was. I was the one who wanted to go out further.

Now you know why they're still drinking Miami Vices in my honor at SBRR.

Here are a few pictures.

Status Member Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 852

Friday........wow the time was flying by quickly.

Had our usual great breakfast.....DH wanted to snorkel at SB and I told him to go ahead............I was going to call home and make sure he didn't take out a new life insurance policy on me. rofl2

He didn't go out.......if I remember correctly this was the day jellies were in the water at SB. Hung around the pool and drank. drinking

Also took some more pictures of SBRR and some more sunset pictures.

I actually took the time to put on some makeup and fix my hair for dinner. Of course the jokes continued about the day before and my newly acquired friend from England made sure each newcomer and Lady Pamela knew the whole story. Embarassed

Here are some more pictures. Hope you're not getting bored yet.

They serve roast turkey on Friday. It was awesome.

Hey, check out the infamous noodle. LOL

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 8:49 pm Post subject:

Wow, knees! What a story about your snorkel excursion to Cemetery Beach.......your telling of the story was really delightful. Great that you could laugh about it now.....but it does sound really scary.

More great pictures! Thanks!

Char

Status Member Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 852

scubachar wrote:

Wow, knees! What a story about your snorkel excursion to Cemetery Beach.......your telling of the story was really delightful. Great that you could laugh about it now.....but it does sound really scary.

More great pictures! Thanks!

Char

Both of us are still laughing about it. DH wants to know how many more times I'm going to tell it............the kids haven't heard it yet. BouncingLaugh

Poor hubby....he's such a great guy. I know he felt terrible about the whole thing. He was in constant watch for me when we snorkeled after that. Razz

Now on to another day......want to get this completed as soon as I can.

Native Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 1181 Location: Illinois

Gosh Knees

I can only imagine how scared you were. Sure glad you made it back in!!!

This year we stayed in Cayman Kai and I was very leary about going snorkeling because I didn't know what the water and currents there were. I'm gathering information so I will feel better about it next year. I think I learned something from you too--I won't be going out too far! I used to do that when I was younger--but I don't do it anymore.

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself anyway--thanks for posting all those wonderful pictures.

I thought we had to leave early to catch our Cayman plane---but you sure beat us by a lot!

Shelly :-)

Status Member Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 852

Oh dear, Saturday already. We had our excursion planned to coral gardens, barrier reef and stingray sandbar. It was a beautiful bright sunny morning.

Excursion operator picked us up and we were off again. Gave DH a warning again.............don't stop watching for me. BouncingLaugh

The trip was great but unfortunately it started to rain.......we were getting wet anyway but it seemed like the with the cloudiness it was more difficult to capture the beauty of the water. So, you go with the flow and turn the lemons into lemonade. We had a great day. Also decided to purchase the video they took............priceless. I'm so glad we did.

Here are photos..........a lot. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Status Member Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 852

More Saturday excursion

Frequent Flyer Joined: 27 Apr 2007 Posts: 49

Loving this Knees! But holy crap - that snorkel trip! Glad I'm reading this after we were there - might not have ventured out otherwise. I must say, you're quite the pip and a real trooper! You're also putting me to shame not having done my report yet *pffffft*. This is so much fun to read and to see your pics - wish we could have had a Miami Vice together - next time! Do go on... Smile

Status Member Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 852

toos wrote:

Loving this Knees! But holy crap - that snorkel trip! Glad I'm reading this after we were there - might not have ventured out otherwise. I must say, you're quite the pip and a real trooper! You're also putting me to shame not having done my report yet *pffffft*. This is so much fun to read and to see your pics - wish we could have had a Miami Vice together - next time! Do go on... Smile

toos,

Get your arse in gear. Jump

I am still downloading some pictures.........6:30 will come way too early tomorrow. rolllaugh

I am glad you didn't read anything like that before you left or you might not have tried it. So glad you did. ThumbsUp

My small mishap will not prevent me from snorkeling or venturing out again.............just makes me more aware. Who would have thought a leg cramp would happen. Guess my number wasn't up yet. Surprised

I will write the rest tomorrow or Wednesday............seems like I'm closing a book when the report is done. Crying or Very sad

I didn't think I would ever love a place as much as Aruba..........now both equally.........both have very positive points............also both expensive........leave it to me..........LOL

Hey, DH does that ppppffffffffffttttttttttt thing with his mouth all the time......he ppppfffffffffttttttttttt's.............whenever I say something he doesn't agree with. Didn't pppppffffffttttttttt when he almost lost me. water

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 11:17 pm Post subject:

Gosh Knees that was really scary........ I'm soooo glad everything turned out OK!!!!! I'm really enjoying your trip report. You are doing a GREAT job !!!!!... I love all the pictures, what camera did you use? I think I am getting the Sea and Sea 8000g ....a little bit more than I wanted to spend buuuuttttt it can also be used to dive IF I am able to certify and dive

Thanks for all of your effort ....... I'm really enjoying your trip report

Diana PS Think we'll go to SB for a Miami Vice in your honor

Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 7:14 am Post subject:

Wow, Knees........................what a story. So glad it had a happy ending. Like you say, hope your story serves as a caution to us all.

Seems like you had a wonderful time. Can't wait to see more pictures and read more about your trip.

Welcome back.

Heidi martini

Status Member Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 852

I'll try and get this finished tonight. I think I have the rest of the pictures downloaded.

Diana,

I bought a new Sealife Eco Shot just before we left. I really messed up my night photos.........should have put it on night scene. Rolling Eyes

I'm still learning with it. It's an amphibious camera and goes down 75 feet, if I ever take up diving. Wink

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