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Wedding Specialist
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 812
Location: New Jersey & New York
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 Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 11:16 am Post subject: SHELLNNYNJ TRIP REPORT |
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Thursday May 10th Arrived at Cayman Airport, Welcomed by the Cayman Band Playing pleasant Island Music to soothe the soul from the flight in. Elma helped us at Andy?s Car Rental completed the paperwork process as the car pulled up to the door in less then 10 minutes. 
Treasure Island Hotel & Condos(TI) is such a short ride from the airport we couldn?t wait to get there and get into the pool. We checked in, spoke to the woman at the front desk for a good 40 minutes, so personable and friendly. Now we booked the condos not the Hotel. The Hotel had its grand opening on Monday the 14th. This was great, because there were lots of giveaways and specials!!! 
We walked through all the rooms to check out our new digs for the next 5 days and I of course snapped some shots of every room! We got a 2 bdrm 2 bath all to ourselves! We changed into our suits and were ready to take on Cayman. We both jumped right into the pool and swam up to the pool bar and ordered our first brew of many. Carol & Rob bartended at Billy Bones and we hit it off right from the start. They started a tab for us, so we wouldn?t have to carry our wallet around all vacation?How great is that! 
Here is a shot of a Beergarita. Believe it or not it was pretty good.
We spent hours here and watched the sunset. I know we all love seeing sunset shots so here are some of our favorite?s pictures.
Friday May 11th We awoke about 7am in the morning and decided to our all time favorite [B]Coconut Joes [/B]for B?fast. Drew had the omelet and I the egg white BLT. Afterwards, we walked down the block past Comfort Suites and headed to the beach for a nice walk. We seen some empty lounge chairs and sat for a bit and enjoyed the cool breeze and listened to the waves run into the sand. The moment appeased any anxiety that lingered from our normal day to day life back in NYC. We noticed some signs, and by the looks of it, a new condo unit will be here at some point. 
We walked back to TI, it gets a bit rockier on the beach when walking from the Marriott Beach Resort and Comfort Suites. We noticed no cruise ships in port so we headed down to Georgetown for some shopping. 
After we walked in and out of some shops we headed to lunch and then for some margaritas. We headed to Kirks Supermarket for just some essentials and Big Daddy?s so we can stock the fridge up on beverages. 
After a day of shopping and some swimming, we were looking forward to the Marriott?s Buccaneer Buffet. The Marriott had WINE & FOOD Magazine there for a special 4 day event, so we were fortunate enough to have the buffet on the beach! We got there early so we could have a few drinks at Marriott?s Balboa?s. We met Laurant the bartender, who was fast, receptive and most kind. We listened to the piano player and I thought about the great times we shared with our friends and family last year for our wedding. Can u hear the tune ?memories?? Anyway, I went to the reception desk to ask about the other FOOD & WINE events and was told about a special breakfast buffet being offered at the Solana Restaurant outside on Sunday. I decided we would sign up for that to be sure our Anniversary started on a full stomach and a nice reminiscence of our wedding last year. Anyway, back to the Buccaneers Buffet. It was a fantastic Dinner. Various different food selections were available and all the tastier then the last. They had jerk chicken, bbq chicken, lamb, beef, pork?two types of pasta, Shrimp, crab legs, sushi? I can go on for days. Anyway Drew went back for 4X that?s 4 plates! I was maxed out after 2. One of the other hotels down by the Hyatt or even further was having Fireworks! What a nice surprise to watch fireworks while sitting on the beach relaxing after a great meal. When paying the bill, we placed the CAG coupon in with our Credit card and the 10% was taken off our dinner tickets tab. Thank YOU Cayman Activity Guide. 
Saturday May 12th I tried out the FREE scuba Lesson, at TI. No go for me, but Drew did well. We went out to Wreck of Calli and Drew was able to scuba, I just followed along the group and snorkeled. We saw a lot of fish a sting ray hiding in the sand and a lot of BIG fish. There were over 30 different kinds of sea creatures! The water was only about 20 feet deep, so I was able to watch all the scuba divers from above. What a nice experience, and Drew loved it. 
We were going to head to hammerheads, but decided to give Rackems a try. Nonetheless, another friendly and outgoing bartender, named Tom. We stayed for some appetizers and lots of cold ones. On the walk back to TI, I was a bit dehydrated and needed to be re-hydrated by being hosed down. It was a bit scary in the beginning, but having the cold water hit woke me up. Back to the condo we went and I crashed for the night. Drew fortunately awoke and headed out to Billy bones for nightcap. 
SUNDAY MAY 13th. Our official 1 YEAR anniversary. We awoke pretty early?so I decided we need to go for a walk up 7MB. We walked all the way to the Westin and back. It was delightful because it was 6am and only 4-5 other people on the beach walking or running. Though while walking back the amount tripled. No big deal everyone says ?good morning!? as you pass and enjoy the light breeze & blue crystal clear waves crashing at your feet. 
Anyway, we packed up a beach bag and headed down to Royal Palms to hang out for the day. As I mentioned earlier the beach outside of our condo was very rocky which is best for snorkeling. So, heading a bit further west gave us key swimming conditions. The weather was partly cloudy and seemed to get darker by the hour. It did rain down on us a few times while we were here, but we just stayed under the umbrella, the times we weren?t swimming and ordered a bucket of brew and a pizza and enjoyed being on the island-rain or shine...OH I and tried the infamous MUD Slides that everyone else has been mentioning on the board. Definitely tastes like a milk shake. About mid afternoon we headed back to TI and had a few more cold ones at Billy Bones.
We had a 7PM reservation at the Wharf, of course for a dinner with a magnificent view of the sunset, just like our wedding day. Reno, the manager set up an extra little private area on the beach for us. This was so romantic. We talked, laughed, drank and I couldn?t be any more pleased with the day and night. I had the Salmon with an herb crust and Drew had the sea bass. Reno also made us a small Happy 1 yr anniversary cake. HOW sweet was that! After dinner Drew and I decided to head up to the bar to hang out with Reno and the bartenders. Being it was Sunday all restaurants and bars close early. Let?s just say it was a very late night for all of us, and we laughed and shared so many stories all night long. 
Monday May 14th 2007 We awoke very late. It rained all morning so we headed out to Billy Bones Pool Bar for some Buffalo wings and quesadillas. I figured we should try and get to visit the butterfly farm, before the rain really comes down. What a joyful experience. Amazing! We spent almost 3 hours there! We hit Baskin Robbins after right next door. Afterwards we went to Smiths Cove, there were light showers but still able to get some sun and swimming done. I noticed heat rash on me of some sort?so we stopped at a lovely lil store at Treasure Island, the person there named Eva was of great help. She insisted I go to the pharmacist in Kirks supermarket to get my rash?looked at. So I DID! They prescribed an antihistamine and an ointment (kind of like benadryl) and told me to bath in baking soda. Apparently it kills the sting. So back to the room I went to rest and let the burn/Rash take its course. I awoke about 9PM To loud snaps and bangs, there were fireworks. All I can think of is today was my grandmother?s birthday, and how much she enjoyed fireworks. We ran to the beach to see where they were coming from and just enjoyed the sights. It was a memorable and emotional moment for me, to say the least. 
Tuesday May 15th. We checked out at 11am from TI, packed up the car and went for our Kayak Adventure. The Sun was shining and I was a bit worried, because I was beginning to burn and the rash from all the sun and lotion I had been using was getting a bit worse. I thought maybe it was sea itch, but when I went to Kirks supermarket pharmacy, she said it was an allergic reaction. Well we went into Georgetown and realized I booked the wrong place. Let me explain, I booked Cayman Kayaks back in NY but forgot the number. So called once I go to the island and ended up booking with Atlantis, thinking they lost my reservation?So I went one another Kayak Adventure-Sorry BOB. The beginning of our kayak adventure Drew flipped us over, there we were standing in seaweed up to our knees. EW! EW! EW! Back in the boat we go?and off on our 3 hours long exertion. We saw the non-stinging Jelly Fish along with learning about the land. We then paddled out to a floating Dock, where we were given water and granola bars. The water was a bit stronger the farther out we went. A very good workout to say the least. We went to about 4 different snorkeling spots and seen Lobsters and many other sea animals. I?m not as experienced as many of you with there names 
After wards we couldn?t decide to hit Hard Rock, Jimmy buffet?s Margaretville or just hold off. We held off and headed up toward Shangri-La and stopped at Legends. What a great bar and restaurant. YUMMY!!! The bartender was a bit busy with many of us at the bar, but we still enjoyed lots of good food and drinks. This was my first time here and definitely won?t be the last! We waited for rush hour to lighten up and with our bellies full we headed out to Shangri-la. WHAT AN AMAZAING PLACE! So beautiful and well put together. Our room was spectacular! The linens, furniture, Gigantic Jacuzzi tub! It looked like a room out of Ideal Home magazine. My arms and shins were swollen and red so I decided I needed to stay in and get some shut eye. The room made it so easy to crash. Eileen Davidson, was a gem, she gave me some aloe to try and soothe the pain. She was so accommodating. We gave her our time for breakfast in the am and off to bed we went. I decided to wait until morning to take a bath in our oversized Jacuzzi with the baking soda?I guess that Kayaking really pooped me out! Or legends fed me too well! 
Wednesday May 16th It was very cloudy and raining on and off today. Our breakfast appeared at 9am sharp, so we sat on the outside area by the pool to have our breakfast. It was a tradional breakfast. Small pasteries, fruit and eggs benidict. What a delight, to have breakfast served. I decided we should go and hit the Boatswain?s Turtle Farm. I learned a tremendous amount of information! Did you know there are about 22000 turtles in this farm? 20% of all newly lay?d eggs a.k.a hatchlings are launched to sea. About 300 1 year old turtles so far to date 32000 have been launched. 
They currently have 8 sharks that are fed at 10:30 each day. Be sure to see this, It?s an amazing experience. Their oldest turtle is 75 years old. They belive they live until 100! Prior to the release of the turtles on Cayman 1 out of 1000 lived, now about 50-60 turtles are added a year to the turtle population in the waters of Grand Cayman.
There is also an array of fish in a separate lagoon that you can snorkel in. It?s a nice for beginners, as there aren?t any waves, and you can get in the water at your own pace and still see so many different types of fish.
It rained on and off, but I had my handy dandy umbrella so it didn?t bother us in the least. This place is big! There is even a huge walk in bird cage, where you can feed many types of bird. Drew being braver then I took part in the feeding while I shot the pics! We hit the souvenir shop afterwards and got T-shirts and jewelry.
After The turtle farm we went to Cracked Conch. Everyone was sitting at Macabuca Bar but being I still had the rash and was a bit burnt, I asked if we could sit inside by the bar area. Of course it was fine and all was wonderful. Here are some pics of us, the interior and exterior of Cracked conch. We had Chris as our waiter from Vancouver. He gave me a special drink he likes to make?called a Cocktail Napkin a.k.a Pickled Tink. YUMMY! We had the macho Cheesecake and Key lime pie for dessert. SO GOOD!
Afterwards I went to visit Rebecca Davidson, our photographer from our wedding last year. I finally have separated all the photos that she had taken along with all the ones our family and friends have taken and placed them on a CD for an Album to be made.
Afterwards, we went back to Shangri-La our home away from home, for some poolside relaxation. Dark clouds and thunder began to roll in so we just hung out and watched. 
May 17th 2007, Thursday Only 2 days left in paradise. Apparently the group next door rented the whole house next door. They are getting married at Shangri-La on Saturday. A group of 14. We decided to back to Cracked Conch so Drew can do some diving. I sat at the bar; being I still had this rash burn?I really didn?t mind I had some Bellini?s! Next stop cemetery beach, I got some shut eye while Drew snorkeled for well over an hour. Then we decided we need some drinks it was very hot and humid today. So we went to Calico Jacks. I was a bit shocked, very disrespectful, bad service, due to drunken bartenders. They were all about socializing amongst themselves. These cruise people visiting didn?t have a chance in the world of getting a drink. I was thirsty and not in the mood to hear rude comments and not get served quickly. So off we went to Lone Star we went. Food was YUMMY. Had a jerk chicken salad and quesadillas. Bartender friendly, of course most of them are. We just say tat the bar and watched the tub and spoke with some locals. Afterwards back to Shangri-La for some swimming. We went to Calypso Grill at night. Very crowded and we didn?t make a reservation so we sat at the bar to eat. Not a problem, I enjoy sitting at the bar, being we are taller the bar stools are usually more comfortable.
May 18th Friday Hung out by the pool all day, had tamales for lunch. We headed out to Hyatt to go to Bamboo for dinner. Sushi and martinis were delish. We walked a bit on the beach and then headed to Ritz Carlton to see the quarterbacks in from US Football Teams. There was a Football Challenge Saturday morning so we know they would have to be in tonight. We were right! We had seen Tray Wingo, the announcer for ESPN. It was pretty crowded so we went outside on the balcony and enjoyed the good weather and all the bartenders we met through the course of our stay. I guess this is a new hot spot. 
May 19th Saturday It was a cloudy morning. We planned on hitting the beach before heading to the airport, but the weather was pretty lousy, so we just stopped for some breakfast, finished up some shopping, and headed to Andy?s Car Rental. We had flown Spirit and the max weight limit is 50lbs. Well of course my luggage was 55 and Drews was 45..so we asked if she could just combine the balance and we would be fine?so they did?We loaded up on some duty free booze, and were on our way. Now Just an FYI we were not allowed to carry the booze through the gate once we got to the Florida airport. So we had to check them in a separate bag, because God knows I couldn?t fit a sock never mind a bottle of booze?in our cases. We took one of our carry ones and packed them in. I won?t kill you with the suspense; they all made it on one piece! Phew! And they didn?t charge us the extra fee for a second piece of luggage ?Your only suppose to have 1 check in per person! Another Phew! So we made back to NJ on time, and drove home from Atlantic City in about an hour and forty minutes. 
PICS to follow... |
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Warm Regards,
Michelle
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FAQ
and Congratulations on the 1 year Anniversary 
? Looking forward to seeing the photos 