prismakaos | Entries tagged with beach

Day 5 - 3/16/08

Final day. Got up, saw sunrise. Took pictures. Many pictures. Went back to bed for several hours. Dreamt of ninjas attacking me just as I sat down to mess about with an Excel spreadsheet. Wonder what that's all about. Ninjas. Eventually got up again and went for lunch. Had blue margarita to coordinate with outfit. (I begin to believe that margaritas may take the place of my previous favorite drink, the screwdriver.)

Went back to room, read, went swimming, got bowled over repeatedly by waves, given how strong the wind was. Went home, took shower, went on sunset boat cruise. Too cloudy for good sunset, but drank punch and lounged about on the boat for two hours. Nice catamaran, good to go sailing, given that snorkelling doesn't work with glasses. Came home, ate dinner and rum cake. Mmm, rum cake. (Where has all the rum gone? Into the cake. Why? It tastes better that way.) Decided that a question on my "Informational Questionaire for Prospective Dates" should be "What's your opinion on cheese?"

Read some more, determined that we both had long layovers in Atlanta. Were vaguely displeased. I threatened to buy another Phillipa Gregory novel to keep me entertained during the long hours. Henry offered one of his books, telling me not to stoop to such ludicrous depths.

Getting up relatively early tomorrow, inclined to remember to wear more clothing, given how cold I was on the flight out. Am looking forward to being home; forced relaxation is rather tiring and I can only imagine how the porridge is doing.

Needless to say, but I'll do it anyway, AWESOME idea, whosever it was. Warm warm warm all of the time, even at night. A little too humid sometimes, but the everpresent seabreeze keeps the temperature just right. I will say, though, that I will not miss the feel or smell of sunblock. Or what the sea breeze/water does to my hair. I believe I'm more tan -- I daresay that my tummy is, given the tanlines, but I couldn't say how noticeable any of the rest of it is. Come to think of it, I have very few, if any, pictures of me in the sun. I doubt anyone will believe I was even there. Clearly, I'm just playing hooky from work and ordering rum cakes online.

Day 4 - 3/15/08

I'm slightly tipsy, so this entry will be short. Well, that and we're getting up at 415am to watch the sunrise. Yes, I know, we're crazy. Ask me again, and I'll tell you the same.

So we got up, drove to Hell and back. I would have stopped to take a picture, but there wasn't much there. Odd to think that Hell is actually the backstreets of a small tropical island. We drove along 7 Mile Beach, which is where all the touristy hotels (like the Hyatt and the Ritz) are, admired the oh so white sands. Then stopped at Georgetown to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. My luck to choose the island that HAS a Hard Rock Cafe. I was thoroughly amused by their guitar selection -- Roger Waters parked next to Slash; it doesn't get much better than that. Then we wandered up and down Georgetown, looking for touristy knicknacks, Tortuga Rum Cakes (which, OMG, so good at the Hard Rock), and a long sleeve button down for Henry, none of which we were particularly able to find. We also went looking for a bookstore, which turned out to have a very limited selection, although they did have several Erikson books, but nothing that particularly struck our fancy. I guess good ole Atlanta will be my hope and salvation. Although I haven't yet started my Asimov book. Maybe it'll last.

By this point, we were fully sick of the tourists, so we decided to go home, back to the East End, where you're more likely to see fish than people. We stopped off on the side of the road and went wading in just because we could. As I was standing knee deep in water, holding my pants up to keep them from getting wet, a Vespa went by and honked at us. I was terribly amused. I think they were also tourists, saluting us for being as touristy as we could possibly be.

Following our beach excursion, we wandered into a Pirate Cave place, which also had a zoo and nature walk. I got to pet a goat and it wagged its tail at me! There are a bunch of pictures of me and Henry crawling around searching for gold doubloons. We didn't find any, of course, but we almost got attacked by a bat and almost got lost deep within the caverns. The proprietor told us a story of an Australian guy who spent 2 and a half hours in the caves just clambering around. He was, I'm sure, smaller and more appropriately dressed than either of us were at the time.

Then back to the hotel and a 2 hour nap before hitting the beach bar where I ordered a mango daiquiri (eh) and a shark bite (yum, but really strong). We determined that tomorrow, I will wear blue and get a blue margarita or sapphire martini and then there will be overly coordinated pictures of me. Anyway, that's why I'm tipsy. (I was thinking that at some point, there should be a drinking game of all the drinks featured in songs, while listening to that song. "Tequila Sunrise", "Margaritaville", "Escape (the Pina Colada Song)". I worry what would happen if I listen to Thorogood's "I Drink Alone". Large quantities of alcohol poisoning, I shouldn't wonder. Maybe this would be an awesome mix CD; I could call it "The Drinking Game". "10 Rounds of Jose Cuervo", "Gin & Juice", etc. Hmmm, there might be something to this...) I've determined that I'm not a huge fan of rum.

And also, here, I'd like to put in a plug for aloe, which is so awesome on sunburns. Well, mine at least. It made Henry's hurt more, but I might actually be able to sleep on my back tonight.

So, then, up in 6 hours to catch a sunrise and begin the last day on the island. Ironic how I said this would be short and it's the longest entry yet.

Day 3 - 3/14/08

Happy Pi Day! So okay, ow. Sunburns suck. Like, really. Did you konw that if you take a hot shower, you find out exactly where you're burned, even if you didn't think you were? Yeah. Painful.

Anyway, today we slept in until noon and then put on as much clothing and sunblock as we possibly could, to the point of nearly being dressed for California winter, and then we went to the Botanical Gardens, the only major nature preserve on the Grand Cayman Island. The specialty is the Cayman Blue Iguana (aka, the Blue Dragon), of which we were fortunate to see 3, two in the wild and one in captivity. The ones in the wild were larger and bluere than the one in the box. And of course my camera ran out of batteries. Happily, Henry's still had juice, so we got tons of iguana pics. I swear, from the number of pictures we have, you'd think we ran into a giant pack of iguanas. There were parrots and other lizards and pretty tropical flowers too so all in all quite pretty.

We then decided to actually drive up to Rum Point, which is a major landmark on the map, but nothing more than a pier, a foodshack, a gift shop and a scuba rental place. This seems to be a tendency of the island as well as my map, which considers Rum Point worth a ! and a picture. The water was crystal clear and very shallow. We got to see a really skinny trumpetfish-like fish in the water, even without snorkel gear. I guess Rum Point is mostly a nifty beach and everything else is a sidenote.

Anyway, we got food, which was a good thing given that I almost collapsed from lack of it (or the heat or dehydration, I don't know. All I know was that my vision started to narrow and I did almost pass out.). Then we watched the tourists (yes, we finally found them -- they're at Rum Point!). Then we came back to the hotel, ate some ice cream, and read books. Amazingly, I've now finished 3 books -- "The Hedonism Handbook", "The Other Boelyn Girl", and Ellison's "Approaching Oblivion". I've only got my small Asimov book left before I'm without reading material. Good thing we're going to Georgetown tomorrow and seeking out a bookstore.

Left to do on this vacation: 1) drink fruity drinks; 2) buy souveniry things; 3) go snorkeling; 4) find, eat, and buy rum cake. Given the 2 days remaining to us, objects 1,2,4 can all be accomplished tomorrow with our drive to Georgetown and 3 will happen Sunday when practically the entire island shuts down. And 1 could happen more than once anyway.

Do I feel relaxed and rejuvenated? Yes and no. I don't think I ever have this much down time, and all I kind of want to do is sleep. Sad really, but I guess that's better than running around like a crazed tourist. still, too short of a time and not as much done as I'd like. Need to start planning a trip to Egypt. Who's with me?

Day 2 - 3/13/08

Today was the day in which everything broke, so Henry and I will be forced to do nothing tomorrow. The microwave and toaster are practically nonfunctional (where nonfunctional is defined as 'broken start button' and 'sets off the smoke detector', respectively), the water was cold, the light on our balcony is half on, half off and flickers between these states relatively rapidly, to the point of driving me batty. I meanwhile am covered in sunburn all over. It's not a BAD sunburn. I did cover myself repeatedly with sunscreen but am apparently too fair even for SPF 45. That or the sun just loves me. I mean, okay, sure, I did fall asleep lying on my stomach in the sun reading "The Other Boelyn Girl", and it's entirely my fault I'm burned, but STILL. Yes, yes, I know -- Ah, me, look at my terrible life.

Anyway, we sat on the beach and went into the ocean and read a book and had some lunch (actually, just french fries, which brought me back to Saudi where I'd sit by the compound pool drinking ice tea and eating french fries. Such is the memory of childhood that I had to recreate it), and went back in the water and lay on the beach and eventually went back to the room with the lofty goal of dinner and driving up to Rum Point. As I mentioned the toaster/microwave were broken so dinner was cheese, crackers and apple, bought from the RIDICULOUSLY convenient convenience store across the way. Rum Point didn't so much happen either as I was content to fall asleep for a few hours instead.

I am not quite the color of the lobster I had last night, but my back does hurt abysmally. Henry, despite his care to put on sunscreen and sit only in the shade is also burned although not as badly as me.

So, yeah. Tomorrow, we have high ambitions of going to Georgetown and trinket shopping, reasoning that another day spent on the beach and the toaster won't be the only thing that catches on fire -- we will both be crispy.

I have been very good, however, about not thinking about work. I realized that my timecard was due today and I'd failed to approve it before I left. I tried to send a text message to my coworker to make it work (considering that we have no internet readily available), but was unsuccessful. I guess Sprint's digital roaming doesn't take texts. Ah well. I'm not working, unlikely Henry who is doing work even as I write this. he claims it's all in fun and is terribly interesting, but c'mon dude. Stop being useful.

Day 1 - 3/12/08

So a few days before I left for the wondrous world of the Grand Caymans, I stumbled upon "The Hedonism Handbook" at the Stanford Bookstore. Intrigued, I picked it up. The back said, "Dare to go on vacation without your laptop and cellphone. Let red wine and great sex improve your health. Embrace your secret urge to do absolutely nothing today." Huh, I thought. This is precisely what I need to help me enjoy my vacation in the Caribbean. So I bought it.

In the end, leaving the Bay Area to go on vacation was somewhat more difficult than expected. I was at work late, trying to set up things for porridge emails, kept wondering if I should bring my laptop so I could do work during my 5 hour layover in Atlanta. After 4/4 people said, with varying degrees of emphaticness, "No, you're on vacation," I left it at work. By the time I actually boarded my flight, I had already thought of at least 6 or 7 emails I'd forgotten to send before I left. But as my handbook says, my coworkers will deal. How do I know? What would happen if I had died? They'd go on. So vacation will be no different.

Anyway, Henry met a very groggy and sleep deprived me in Atlanta, we flew down to the Cayman Islands, rented a car, got lost, figured out where we were, got to our hotel. We're staying at the Reef Resort, which is on the opposite end of the Island from everything else. We're very happy about this, as it means that for most of the afternoon, we were the only people in the water, and there were only three people on the beach. And it's spring break time. Good choice, us.

Anyway, the water is remarkably clear and this feel very like something out of a movie, complete with bad DJ and couples dancing outside the beach bar. I have yet to order a fruity drink, but I lay in the sun in a bikini and went swimming (well, wading, given how shallow it is here), lay on the dock and looked at the stars, and had lobster for dinner.

Also, I bought a hat. Bright blue, matches excellently with my sarong and bikini, and generally looks pretty cute. There are pictures. By the way, did I mention? SUN, WARMTH, and OCEAN that doesn't freeze. It was a little cloudy, but honestly, if that's all I have to worry about, I'm doing all right.

I think tomorrow, I will do absolutely nothing.

So I got to ride in a Z at over 120 mph. Thoughts:

Car pretty. Goes fast. Sounds loud. I'm gonna die. Do it again?

I'm definitely in need of some crazy in my life - right now, it's all contained within me, and that's a bad way to be. I need a car, so I can go drive to the beach at midnight, look up at the moon, and get arrested by cops.

Maybe not the latter.

It's almost Friday - this weekend came quickly. Amazingly, the caffeine detox is going relatively well. I have SO MUCH ENERGY, holy crap, I cannot express this to you. Sadly, still suffering from a headache, but don't worry, Rico Suave is there to save me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaXp6ewtMoo

Inspired by watching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pCBGeny1DM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6XN4q-yH-o

I've also since decided that this is an "I ate toast and got angsty about it" blog, not just the run of the mill "I ate toast this morning" blog. I can't decide whether toast with angst is better than toast without.

totally a good day for beach-hopping....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ZayLAysjg

today, I am happy about: going to the beach! and having dinner in Half Moon Bay. Well, not in the Bay, but in the town of. Also, he called, but I'm wondering how much of that is because of my previous LJ entry...tho I don't remember if he reads this.

today, I am less happy about: laundry being so damn expensive. This might have something to do with the fact that I have done 4 loads, each of which costs 2 dollars (1 for washing and 1 for drying), and I am only halfway through my laundry. This would be okay if my washer and dryer accepted credit cards, because I never carry cash, much less 16 dollars worth of quarters. Ah, well, time to go to Borrone's and buy a latte.

today, I wish that: I could stop being so whiny. Other people have lives beyond me and I should really work to recognize that and stop monopolizing the conversation. You'd think this would be easy to change, but I'm one of those people where I can listen no problem unless I have something on my mind. And then I need to complain about it for forever.

happy thought for the day: the fact that i can spend the entire day in pajamas, if i wanted to, and no one would care. yay pajamas.

and who said that it was okay for every goddamn apartment in california (near a caltrain station) to be no cheaper than 850/mo? and a decent place, where i won't get murdered in my sleep, is nearly a thousand bucks a month. the worst part about it is that if i had a car, i could get an apt on the seaside for that. wtf? give me a good job with a good company, and i'm still beggared before I turn thirty. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=450+Esplanade+Ave,+Pacifica,+CA+94044&iwloc=A&hl=en right on the damn seaside. bloody hell.

i just want a hint manual to my life. why can't i have a hint manual? at least then i wouldn't feel quite like i was banging my head against the wall again and again and again. it's like those computer games, where you have to buy something really expensive, and you can only bargain him down so much, but you've wasted all your gold on armor or whatever so you have to go out and kill the creatures and steal their gold. but of course, the creatures inevitably kill you more than once, so it just becomes futile. and with the hint manual, you'd at least KNOW before you spent your gold on armor that you'd need to buy this quest item. hint manuals for life; i think someone would make a killing producing these things.

oh, yes, and i would LOVE some cheese with my whine.

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prismakaos

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