Frequent Flyer
Joined: 25 Jun 2006
Posts: 97
Location: Northern NJ - USA
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 Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:48 pm Post subject: Our 'boring' trip report |
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I say that; because to us it was exciting and fun and relaxing. But we didn't do anything 'so amazing'...but I know that alot of Cayman newbies can always learn something from a trip report. So here goes...
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Our day started with a 4 a.m. wake up call to each other. I met up with Carolina at 4:50 a.m. at the airport. We always arrive within 4 minutes of each other ? so crazy! I was concerned about my luggage being too heavy; but it weighed in at 66.5 pounds. Our flight changed from 6:30 to 6:15 a.m. ? I had no complaints. The flight to Charlotte was a good smooth uneventful flight. First Class 2 A & C. I was able to see the track! The race was the night before and all the RVs, etc were still there. We had three hours of layover, so we decided to hit the shops. The biggest disappointment was in the duty free. Being there is so much construction at the airport, it?s been reduced to a bodega style ?cart? in the middle of the hallway of the terminal. There were tons of other stores to get into as well ? so we were occupied. Plus, we went to Tequiliara for breakfast. Our flight to Cayman was at 11:25 a.m. ? we landed 45 minutes early! Love that! This flight in particular was the first time that on the approach, from my window I was able to see the entire island. That brought me to tears! I love being so familiar! Right over West Bay, down 7MB, and then to the runway. From the air, I was able to see the construction going on. Wow?so much!
Through immigration, no problems. The woman even said Happy Birthday to Carolina! Thought that was great! Our bags came with no problem, rather fast. Grabbed the newest Activity Guide ? then outside to get a taxi. Our taxi driver wasn?t the friendliest ? but that?s ok ? we made our own fun. Saw so much new construction. Amazing what a year can do. Pulled up to the Westin, and Omar was there to open the door for us! He remembered us ? of course. Fayola was at the front desk and SO glad to see us, as we were glad to see her! They had an ?ocean front? available for us ? and we checked it out. Ocean front is poolside- no view. The Deluxe Oceanfront are at the beach. None were available; so be it. We went to a Starwood Preferred room on the 5th floor; 514. Corner room, bigger than most. We settled in rather quickly; unpacked as much as we could. Just from the looks of it; we both packed too much. We then go dressed and headed to the beach. Two things disappointed me right away. The number of people. Not that it was crowded?but more than was I was used to. And the waves. Yes ? WAVES! Not just splashing, but CRASHING waves. The weather has been so poor?I?m guessing that?s why. We stayed on the beach long enough for a nice nap. Woke up at 5:50 in time for the sunset. We left the beach, and walked across to Eats for takeout. Conch fritters, boneless wings and 2 cobb salads, $44 US. At this point, I am shot tired. I took a shower and got into my heavenly bed. Ahhhhh, we?re home. We love this place.
Monday, October 15, 2007
We got up at 6:40 and were immediately out on the balcony. I love to see the beach when it?s so quiet. Thankfully the waves had calmed down and I was able to see the ?usual? turtles playing off the short where they usually place. I would not have been able to see them yesterday. From what I?m seeing, I have high hopes for today?s weather! We decided to just get our rental car, and get to the grocery store, etc. We got our Avis rental; the convertible PT Cruiser again. Went to Fosters in the Strand for our snacks for the week. Came back and hit the beach. MUCH calmer waves. Walked north on the beach. They painted the Avalon a lavender color. Didn?t like it at all. The Pinnacle, The Great House ? all still lovely. Left the beach at 4:30 and went to Dunkin Donuts, The Galleria, The strand and West Shore Bay ? see what was new, what has opened. We went up to the room for rest, showers and headed up to the Cracked Conch for dinner. We had green salad with ginger vinaigrette, Cracked Conch, and Plantain crusted grouper, cappuccino and sorbets. Up to the room at 10:45 and hit the bed!!!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
We didn?t need the wakeup call after all ? were up at 6:40 a.m. We decided to get into Georgetown early. We had some breakfast in the room; bagels and cream cheese and crackers with jelly. Went into every store ? I swear! A few to mention; Island Treasures ? great for Christmas Ornaments! Columbian Emeralds, Kirks, The Cayman Craft Market. We were back to the room at 1:30 for lunch. We decided to do some exploring instead of going to the beach, being that Ca was kind of burned from yesterday. We drove to Papagallos, Calypso Grille, and Marriott Courtyard for shopping. Also go the chance to visit some of the condo?s we?ve been considering for years. First stop; Discovery Point Club. Rose was terrific and loved showing us the units. Nothing over the top; but definitely would be so much better than a hotel because of the kitchen and super easy beach access. We definitely know we?d stay here if doing a condo. Drove to the Pinnacle Condos. What a disappointment. Management was really rather rude. Sent us off with a very young girl; barely able to speak English (I make note of this as she was visibly uncomfortable not being able to communicate information to us well). The condo was great that we saw ? but again, way too much room for just two people. The last we looked at were the Villas of the Galleon. Hands down ? that manager was a Kooky!!! She just gave us a key, and told us where to go. Rude ? certainly. Again, another nice complex (Nice). Nothing terrific. Of what we?d seen ? definitely Discovery Point. We went shopping over at the Marriott Beach. Then I realized the manager was doing a Managers party in the lobby. We had a terrific fruit punch (no liquor, but it was available with!), a huge display of cheeses, crackers, dips, crudit?s, fruit, nuts ? it was unbelievable. Considering that the Westin only puts out flavored water and rum cake ? I was overly impressed. I think that THIS is the way it should be done. Carolina was mortified that I sat down for snacks?but after spending the money in the gift shop; we were entitled! For dinner we wanted to go someplace really casual, yet some place new. We decided on Cimboco. Carolina had the grilled chicken Caesar salad ? amazing. I had the scallops over lentils special ? delicious! Couldn?t have been happier with the place. It?s not fancy at all; but their menu is impressive and they have a bar. By 8:00 we were back to the room and showered. We watched Borat, and fell asleep.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
6:30 a.m. like clock work. Though, it?s not the usual hustle bustle type of 6:30 a.m. We make coffee, watch a little TV. It?s relaxing! We got dressed and were out for 8:00 a.m. and made our way to Rum Point. I love driving the island and looked forward to the trip. What a great drive, along the ocean for the most part. And the cut up across the island was interesting as well. Past Botanic park and Mastic trail. There was no one there when we arrived, so we chose our chairs wisely. We knew there were no ships this day; and we should have a relatively quite time. We rented floats for $10 and just hung in the water almost all day long! Had a terrific lunch at the Wreck bar; I had the catch of the day Mahi Mahi with rice and corn, Carolina had the fish and chips . THAT was totally delicious ? I can?t get over how amazing it was!!!!!!!!!! We left RP around 3:30 because we wanted to be sure to get to Pure Art ? which we did! The message board is right; this is a not to miss store. You could literally spend hours and continue to see new items. Very unique shop; we enjoyed it very much. Before Pure Art, we stopped at Hurley Supermarket. SO glad we did. It?s so much nicer than Fosters ? I would definitely go out of my way the next time to shop here for sure. Especially if we rent a condo ? the food was amazing! This was more on the lines with a better supermarket here in the States like Wegmans. The one thing we noticed is that the folks on the North Side have a LONG trip to a large grocery store ? for sure. Unless there was something we didn?t see, for groceries. We made a quick stop in the Kirks Freeport in the Strand. There, I found a gorgeous watch; snatched that up for myself! Carolina bought herself a necklace as a birthday gift to herself.
We got back to the room, and showered/ready for our 8:00 reservation for Yoshi. As always, it was packed! Very glad to have reservations (which pretty much are a must!). Carolina and I shared edamame pods, each got the village salad ? that has the most wonderful ginger dressing. Carolina got a few varied rolls, I had a sashimi platter; Giant Clam, octopus, salmon and tuna and shrimp. After dinner, listened to George play piano for a few songs ? then up to the room and bed by 10:30. We are tired today!
Thursday October 18, 2007
Got up late today; 7:30 a.m.! Read my book on the balcony for about an hour. We were on the beach by 9:00. The water was amazing, crystal clear. We had sun all day; not even a sprinkle. We had lunch in our room; and again discovered issues with our housekeeping. Hadn?t mentioned it until now ? was hoping it was a none issue. Our housekeeper didn?t like using the vacuum. I had called twice to have the room vacuumed. Coffee and toiletries were not replenished, and our balcony was never swept/cleaned off. Glasses were kept dirty (even though we would place them in the sink for replacement). Twice I had management up about it. I didn?t stress TOO much, however ? as our nighttime housekeeper ?Patricia? was fantastic! Did way more than our day time keeper. We cam up to the room at 4:30 to shower, etc. Showered and ready for our 7:00 reservation at the Sunshine Suites for their Island BBQ. Turns out we put on The Devil Wears Prada ? got into that ? and changed our reservation for 8:00. We drove over to the Suites, as it was raining rather hard. We were both pleasantly surprised that for $20CI ? what a great spread they had! BBQ ribs, mahi-mahi, chicken, teriyaki chicken, sausage, two pasta dishes, vegetables, cold salads and a host of desserts. Definitely very casual; but the food was amazing! For dessert we decided we wanted to get Dunkin Donuts coffee. Wouldn?t you know; the second time in a week ? they were ?OUT? of coffee? Though, the nice gentleman said he could ?tip the container to see what we can get out of it?. What could I do ? but just laugh? We took a quick trip up to the Ritz, and then out again. *Didn?t want to retire quite yet ? but were just too tired for anything else. Went back up to the room, after listening to George Davidson play the piano again. He is amazing.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Carolina?s birthday! On her request, I didn?t make a big deal that morning, just gave her a ?Happy Birthday? and her cards. We got up really early; just shy of 6 a.m. We went down to the hotel restaurant, Ferdinand?s for their buffet breakfast. On the way to the breakfast, I told Carolina that I got an ?urgent? request to from home to check my email a.s.a.p. She followed me to the business center as I pulled up my email. I clicked on the video that I had made of her; it was a compilation of pictures of she and I through the years, as well as pics of some of our trips, family members and other friends. The movie starts with ?To Carolina, Happy Birthday??and I don?t think she quite got it. Then the pictures started to scroll. I got up and sat her in the seat as she watched all 8 minutes of the video. Yes, it definitely brought her to tears. I think she was in shock more than anything. Her birthday gift is a digital frame (that I gave her back at home), with a chip with all the pictures. I wanted something for her that would bring this birthday a special memory. Breakfast was terrific, we ate outside. Smoothies started us off. The buffet for $15 can?t be beat; eggs to order station, pancakes, French toast, bagels, fruits, breakfast meats ? you name it. After breakfast, the weather was a little gray, so we decided to go into town for another round of shopping. Turns out that it poured for a bit, then not, and then poured again. Turns out that we stayed in town for most of the day, being that the weather was bad. We did a bit of damage as a whole; perfumes, watches, rings, necklaces. Both of us got a terrific sweatshirt in ?L?attitude??hit that store! We grabbed some hot lunch at Fosters, and went back to the room. As we walked down the hall; you could smell a very sweet aroma. We opened our door, and there before us was a HUGE tropical flower arrangement, with balloons. The staff had sent it to Carolina for her birthday ? along with a big carafe of coffee! Fortunately, the coffee was still hot when we got back from town! The flowers looked fake; they were so beautiful and perfect. We just hung out for a while, showered and got ready for dinner at Eduardo?s. This place is great; a lot of charm for an island restaurant. The food ? amazing. We started off with fried calamari. I ordered a personal pizza, and Carolina had the garlic seafood and pasta dish ? wish I got THAT!! Garlic Galore! We drove back to the hotel in the rain, and again listened to George play the piano for a bit. We were in bed early. If finished the book I started on Monday.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
We got up at 6:00 a.m. again. Went and gassed up the car to a full tank. We did a bit over 100 miles this week, and ? of a tank. We ate breakfast in the room and went to the beach. The winds were UP!! But the skies were blue and the sun was out. The winds cranked up the waves ? so much so, that I wouldn?t go in. We took a walk up the beach, and then I went up to the pool. I have to be able to ?dip? if I get hot ? and these waves wouldn?t allow that for me today. Relaxed poolside with my music for while; even fell asleep. We stayed at the pool until about 4:30, and hit the swim up bar for some cocktails. YUM! We got dressed and ready for our last night out to dinner; Yoshi again. Can?t recommend this place enough if you are a sushi lover. And if you appreciate very good ambiance and service. The last night, George played ?New York State of Mind? for us, as he knew we were heading home in the a.m.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
I hate these days. I laid in the bed until about 9:00. I hate leaving. I hate getting my stuff together. I dread it all.
The trip to the airport was uneventful. It was good to see that they put new chairs in to accommodate more people. We did a little bit of shopping, and before we knew it ? we were boarding. Naturally; I cry. I hate leaving. We had a gorgeous flight into Charlotte. The view of Cuba and the Florida Keys was breathtaking. Again, we hit a really hard bump on this route ? just like last year. Don?t know why or how?but it happened. Scared the both of us. We had dinner in the Charlotte airport at Chili?s. I had the BEST chicken fingers I?ve ever had!! We had just enough time to get to the gate for an hour flight into Newark. I hated saying goodbye to Carolina. All in all; I know that we had an amazing week ? and I would miss seeing her every day. It will be a few weeks until our schedules allow us to pal around again. We have a plan for Thanksgiving weekend!! |
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