Itsy Bitsy, Teeny Weeny, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Saturday was another beautiful day at the beach. Perfect weather to bust out the itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polks dot bikini (don't worry, it's not as itsy bitsy as the song implies). I love Brent's new colorful swim trunks too! Brent calls my bathing suit collection my new work uniform...not a bad idea if I can drag my desktop outside...


We've been having so much fun in the sun, it's hard to remember that it's supposed to be fall! And I was going to proudly report that we haven't gotten any sunburns, but then I got a little red yesterday. Boo to that. I need to be even better with sunscreen once the sun really heats up in couple months!

Saturday started out as a nice leisurely beach trip, but then Brent was twisting his wedding band in the water and it slipped right off! He looked back at me all panicked and said "My ring just fell off!" I wasn't as far out so I quickly swam over to help look (only slightly annoyed that I had to get my hair wet). But it was a lost cause. I'm sure it sank pretty quickly, and then currents blew sand over it. Brent even went next door to the Ritz to borrow snorkeling gear, but nothing turned up. So sad. I bet there are tons of lost rings in that ocean.

Today was probably my least favorite day on the island so far. It involved a lot of errands and stress. We started out the morning meeting a guy to see a car, and we ended up buying it right there! Sorry, Jack, it's not the Land Rover Defender (the guy never emailed us back). But it is a cute teal Honda CR-V. The inside is in great shape, and I really like it. I took this picture with my phone:


After coming to a deal in the parking lot, we went to some office (Cay-Brit maybe?) to get insurance. Then we went back to the the licensing department to get the car license switched to our name. There was a big stressful ordeal there because yesterday my license had my maiden name istead of married name (they go with the passport, not US license). So today we brought the marriage certificate and then it was printed with our hotel address. We wanted it blank since we don't yet have an apartment, but they said they couldn't do that. When we showed them that they did that yesterday on Brent's, they took his and reprinted it with the hotel address too! Ugh.

After this long process, I had to drive the new car back to the hotel and Brent drove the rental. This was the first time I needed to drive on the island and I was freaking out. Driving on the left side of the road put me totally out of my element. The wheel is on the right too, which mixes up the blinkers and windshield wipers. Then there are these crazy "roundabouts" which make me especially nervous. Just nothing about driving here feels natural. I had white knuckles gripping that wheel! I was following Brent and he tried to take us a longer route with less roundabouts, but there was a detour so he got lost. At one point we were going the wrong direction on a one way road! So awful. My legs felt shaky when I finally got out of that death trap. Brent said I did good (how sweet) and that I will get used to it soon. This may sound silly, but learning to drive in the States was so hard for me that I really don't want to get used to everything backwards here. I would rather avoid driving in general on this tricky island...

We also saw an apartment today and put in an offer! It's the only one bedroom we've seen so far, and it's pretty small. But it's in Lime Tree Bay, which is the complex we REALLY wanted, and it's a very reasonable price. It's funny because before leaving we were sure we were going to get a one bedroom to save money, but then there weren't too many available. Now going back to a one bedroom feels like a compromise, but it's really what we intended to get all along. It's hard because when shopping for apartments/cars, you say so often, "that would be great for when guests come." But I have to remember that I can't base my decision on that because 90% of the time it will just be me and Brent.

Back to the complex - we found Lime Tree Bay on Century 21 while still in Cincinnati. When we got here, we found another site called ecaytrade which is basically the CI craigslist. It's has a lot more apartments listed, so we primarily use that as our resource. We really wanted to check out Lime Tree Bay, but there was only a 3 bedroom available. It was absolutely gorgeous but listed at CI$2500/month. We tried to put in a lowball offer and though they did come down some, it wasn't enough. We searched and searched for another place in Lime Tree Bay, but there were none available. We called the office and asked if any would open up soon, and then we called ones that were listed as "for sale" and asked if they would rent instead. Nothing. Then last night Brent checked Century 21 again and there was a one bedroom there that has been vacant for months, and the price was just reduced last week! It's like God had it tucked away waiting for us! Even as a one bedroom, it meets all our criteria - on-site gym, pool, dock for jet ski, and a four minute walk to Seven Mile Beach (and a three minute walk to TCBY as we timed today :). So the offers in, and we'll see what happens.

I took a long nap this afternoon while Brent worked out (I haven't used our two week complimentary gym membership ONCE since we've gotten here, haha). Now he's at some new hire dinner and I'm catching up a little. Next post - my Turtle Farm birthday!

One last picture - Brent's 3 lb box of Cheezits from Cost U Less. You should have seen the look on his face when we walked by the display. I think he's going to be all right on this little island :)