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haltom’s Trip Report 4/24-5/2 way too many words and PHOTOS

HOME Forums General Discussion Topics about the Cayman Islands Trip Reports haltom’s Trip Report 4/24-5/2 way too many words and PHOTOS

Viewing 15 posts – 16 through 30 (of 122 total)
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  • #43309
    Haltom
    haltom
    Member

    shelly,

    I think you’re right. I know it’s long, and we’re only on day 4. This way everyone can just come back and check in a few times.

    The kids were amazing. I can’t even put into words how wonderful it was to share this with our kids. For a brief moment in time I considered applying to the University of the Virgin Islands for marine biology. I should have. The scenery would have been better than Purdue and Oklahoma State! Maybe after the kids are done with college…. ?

    I know that the kids take cues from their parents, but they did really enjoy our time. This was the first time that I realized our little one spots things as quickly as his father. I would see a tiny hermit crab from 10 yards away. Then he would have the patience to watch it forever. That he gets from me. ? When we got the kids up on Sunday we asked what they wanted to do. They wanted to go to the beach. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty far haul from here. Hopefully we can work this trip in again. SOON.

    We did make some notes, but my mother-in-law has them. We have plenty of pics from each spot, so it’s not too hard to recall. I know the kids won’t remember all the details, but I strongly believe a trip like this helps shape who they are. What fantastic family time!

    Allison

    #43325
    Shelly
    shelly
    Member

    Hi Haltom

    I agree about it being great family time. When our kids were young, my husband was one of those hard working guys and up until our daughter went into 7th grade we did take them out of school to spend this time together (low season rates) The schools didn’t like it, but I thought it was worth it to all be together like that. Then we had to switch to the Christmas holidays but they still love it. The youngest was 15 months when we started and he is now 35! Hope you have as many good memories as we do.

    shelly ?

    #43357
    Haltom
    haltom
    Member

    [align=center]

    On my way back at Cemetery, I was very close to shore when I saw this. I was coming back in with my husband. I kind of veered off away from him to go get the stash of beach glass I hid before going in. ? This fish was very cool. I didn’t want to post it before I knew what it was. The coconsensus is that it is a triggerfish. I believe it’s an ocean triggerfish. Another new one for me! I was worried that we wouldn’t get enough water time this trip or see enough. Last time we went we were snorkeling at least 3 times a day. I will definitely be diving sometime, but it won’t fit in well now. Probably after we kick these boys out of the house

    [align=center]

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    [/align]

    #43372
    Jpep
    jpep
    Participant

    haltom,

    Wonderful report and great pictures… keep ’em coming! :clapping:

    Glad to see and hear the whole family had a fantastic vacation!

    jpep

    #43379

    haltom,

    I am really enjoying your trip report. My husband and I first went to GC in 1988 and we remember it with little or no traffic too. I don’t want it to get much busier!

    Your balcony view is amazing. We will be staying close to your place over at Tamarind Bay in a short while. It is a beautiful area there and fine sunset pics you captured.

    I recognized the staghorn coral from Smith Cove – that is one of my favorite spots and I usually head in that direction first thing when we get there…The big school of blue tangs – GORGEOUS! My daughter and I love to find those and swim along above them.

    Keep it coming!

    #43393
    Haltom
    haltom
    Member

    [align=center] Day 5

    We went to Stingray Sandbar this morning. It was absolutely fantastic. My kids got to touch a stingray! It was such a fun experience for everyone. If you ask our 2 year old what you do with a stingray, he says, ?Pet it!? It cracks me up. They both do quite a good impression of them swimming. To make it even better, my father-in-law got in the water in the middle of the ocean! The temptation was too great for him to stay onboard.

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    A trunkfish!

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    Then we headed over to the barrier reef.

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    We went back to Cemetery to snorkel for beach glass during naptime. There was quite a bit! My mom took a Bonine-induced nap on the beach while we were snorkeling. She woke up to someone singing for a funeral! ? She quickly made her way down to the water to help us.

    We had kebobs and watched the sunset.

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    There is one more picture from the barrier reef. I’m trying to find out what it is before I post it. Check the Fish ID thread in the snorkeling section if you are a super sleuth!

    [/align]

    #43394
    Haltom
    haltom
    Member

    I almost forgot to thank you all for your kind comments! I did the trip report in MS Word, so I am cutting and pasting the days in.

    Gardengirl – many of my beach pictures are in front of or around Tamarind Bay. We usually walked around the point to the north. I’ll have to look back and see if the ones I posted were close.

    I really like the south side of the beach. The other times we went we stayed at Harbour View Apartments – a little more south. I could spend half the days looking in tide pools at all the cool little critters.

    Allison

    #43400

    Allison, We stayed at Harbour View last year and loved it. Your trip report is wonderful and I love the stingray pics! Your little ones are too cute in their snorkel gear.

    #43405
    Husker
    husker
    Member

    The pics of the kids was great! I also liked the sting ray pics. Oh yea I posted earlier and asked a question but sure you didnt see it as I posted between two of your trip reports

    #43412

    Great report so far and the pictures are wonderful! I’m in awe of those stingray pictures! They’re simply the best I’ve ever seen, other than by a professional! Honest! I too would like to know what kind of a camera you were using! I’m sure you told us but I don’t remember…

    Char

    #43413
    Middletb
    middletb
    Member

    Alison,

    Your photos are truly wonderful. Keep them coming………need my fix till I can get back there.

    So glad to read that you and the whole family had such a wonderful time. The little ones really seem to have enjoyed themselves as well ans yes, they are young but they will remember.

    My two have travelled all over the world and it always amazes me what they can remember from their travels. They are now 18 and 21 and luckily still enjoy travelling with us. :butterfly:

    Can’t wait to read more.

    Thanks

    Heidi :martini:

    #43414
    Haltom
    haltom
    Member

    husker,

    So sorry I missed your question. You were right! You caught me in between cutting and pasting and I didn’t notice you stuck in the middle of my wordiness and inability to limit my pictures to a normal amount! ?

    The camera I got was a Fuji FinePix A500. The housing is WP-FXA500. I didn’t know how well it would work, but the idea of being able to edit the pictures really appealed to me. Plus I got to take so many more photos. There are things I did not like about it. It has a pretty good lag time between shots if you use the flash. My Nikon is ready to go instantly, and I’ve gotten spoiled! However, being able to lay the camera down on the sand or throw it in our snorkel bag without worries made up for it. The only other complaint was that it was hard if not impossible to see the screen underwater. All that clear water and sunny skies are such a bother! The viewfinder was somewhat skewed by the housing. So most of the time I just held the camera as deep as I could and hoped. And I took multiple shots of everything. It was hard on the sunny beach sometimes, too.

    I bought them both online before our trip. You can look around locally. I think the a500 is probably about to be out. I think there’s a 600 model now. You might be able to find a deal. ?

    P.S. Rechargable batteries are a MUST!

    scubachar,

    Thank you so much for the compliment! I did some things that I think worked out great. I used the fine setting for the pictures. It takes up more space, but it’s worth it. I can crop things out that way without degrading the photo too much. I just downloaded them each night so I didn’t ever run out of space.

    The other thing that was new to me was Photoshop. I haven’t ever used it before. It was really great on helping the underwater pics. The auto button sometimes made it look off. Most of them I had to do individually to see what worked best. The stingray pictures are pretty straightforward – shallow clear water, but photoshop still helped. The one below is probably one that was helped the most of the stingray pics….

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    Rumrunner,

    We liked it there, too. We have very basic needs, so price is a definite decision maker for us.

    I wish the boys really went snorkeling this time. They were getting much more comfortable in the water by the end of the trip. Maybe next time. I really hope we can get back.

    Heidi,

    Yes, they had a great time. Pictures always help, and we have plenty of them to go around! This is only a very small portion of what I took. I’m sure your kids still like traveling with you. And if they don’t, you can just take me!

    Allison

    #43420
    Haltom
    haltom
    Member

    [align=center] Add On Day 5 [/align][align=center] I had to add these in, because I am impatient. ? I saw this guy on our Barrier Reef snorkel. I don’t know if I would have noticed it, but I have liked seeing the little things on the coral in other trip reports. Especially the flamingo tongues. I wanted to see if I could find anything cool for myself. In the middle of the first picture is this wormy guy. He was yellow/orange. He moved like a caterpillar, and moved quite a bit from the start of his photos to the end. The book I have has drawings of the fish/creatures, so I couldn’t be sure of his identity. I didn’t get any responses to my other post yet, so I’ll just call him a bristle worm/fireworm. If I’m wrong, one of the lovely moderators can edit it for me. ? The quick internet research I did makes me think that it’s accurate, though most of the pages I saw were addressing saltwater aquariums. This particular one must be a giant based on what I was reading! The second picture zooms in on him a bit, and you will be able to spot him more quickly on the first pic. Thank you all for making me more observant!

    http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u29/haltomaj/cayman%20day%205/DSCF0647_edited.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

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    #43422
    Pbengels
    pbengels
    Member

    Great photos, Allison!

    It’s wonderful that your appreciation for marine life is already rubbing off on the kids — or is that genetic?

    The triggerfish is a beauty. On our last trip, my friend saw a queen triggerfish in a similar, unexpected spot — shallow water just off Cemetery Beach. Pretty sure that’s what it was…

    For those of us who are not marine biologists, fish are harder to ID than birds , which you can look at while referring to guidebooks. And, as with birds, the juveniles can be particularly confusing.

    Anyone know if there’s biologist who offers snorkel tours?

    Peter

    #43426
    Haltom
    haltom
    Member

    Peter,

    I don’t know if it’s genetic or if it’s learned, but I’m sure glad they have it. I need their help in lobbying for our next trip. :thumb: I always see good, unexpected things on my way in at Cemetetry. My husband starts dragging me in, and I go in reluctantly. Last trip this is where I saw my turtle! There are always good things there. I miss it already.

    I would love to go out with a marine biologist. Let me know when you get a lead! That will give you something to do on your trip! ?

    Allison

    PS I also responded in Beyond.

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