Sunsets and More

Another "this and that" post. As promised, more sunsets - starting with a particularly special one.

In Remembrance

My beautiful grandma, Isabel Bongey, passed away on March 8th. I don't really have the words to express how wonderful she was or how much I miss her, so I won't try to fit it into the sphere of this blog. On the evening she left us, I escaped to the beach to watch the sunset alone. To think of her and picture her looking down on this same sunset from heaven, with her precious Savior, her beloved husband, and all the others who had been eagerly awaiting her arrival.


You are deeply missed, Maw Maw, but we celebrate your life and rejoice at your homecoming. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Sunset and Chicken

Last Friday Brent and I decided to do a little dinner on the beach after work. The plan was to be all healthy and get salads from the grocery salad bar, but one look at that and we quickly changed our minds. Plan B - rotisserie chicken which came highly recommended by the lady in the meat department. No side dishes, no forks...just chicken.


Hey, I didn't say this would be pretty.


Luckily we had this big body of water nearby to wash our hands.


This white cloud hung above the sunset. Brent said it looked like a shell, later we agreed it resembled fish bones.


Leaving Governor's Beach, I turned around to snap one last shot...


The Definition of "Comfortable"

Whoa - I wish this is what Walter does when we say "play dead," but no, this is just a regular afternoon nap. He opened his eyes once I started taking pictures, but don't worry, he didn't feel the need to move an inch.


Sleep on, dog.


Island living can be exhausting.

This and That

Sunset Drinks at Calico Jacks

Get ready: I've got a lot of sunset beach pictures coming up these next few posts. I'll take as many Cayman sunsets as I can get! One night, we met up with Jenn and Nate at Calico Jacks to enjoy some tropical drinks. Life doesn't get much better than this.


Weeknight Sunsets

We are now officially in Brent's busy season. Since he's been working till 7:30 or 8pm the last couple weeks, I've had some extra evening hours to fill. Walter and I are trying to fit in more sunset walks on the beach. Exercise for the dog, soul-recharge for me.


Maybe my favorite sunset picture yet? It's definitely up there.


Michael's Genuine Food & Drink

Our friend Brad celebrated his big 3-0 birthday with a three part-celebration. Brent and I met up with the b-day boy and his lovely wife for drinks at Michael's. As always, Camana Bay doesn't disappoint.


As darkness fell, I snapped this little shot of one of the fountains all lit up. Kids love to run and play in the water. There's something for everyone here!


House Hunters International

Last Thursday, Jenn and Nate made their House Hunters International debut! Brent and I went over to their apartment to watch the show with them. They had wine, dark chocolate and a bunch of international cheese. That's my kind of party!

The show was wonderful. They both looked great and were total naturals. I felt so honored to be watching with the stars! It was very surreal to see my friends on a show we watch all the time. To read more about their experience, check out Jenn's blog. If you missed the first show, you should try to catch a rerun. Brent and I make a brief cameo in the bonfire scene at the end :)

Beach Volleyball

It's been a while since I posted beach volleyball pictures. A couple weeks ago, Nate and Sheena's team was a few players short, so Jeremy and Brent helped out. It was fun to watch the four friends in action together!

This first picture isn't really of "our" team, but I like the spray of sand! (You can see my co-photographer Jenn on the other side of the court.)


Nice jump!


Not all plays are successful. Love the expressions, though!


Could there be a more beautiful background?


Fun times!

Valentine's Date at Ortanique

Valentine's day fell on a Tuesday this year, so Brent and I decided to save our date for Saturday night. We had reservations at Ortanique and went for the whole shebang - drinks, appetizers and entrees, all with a beautiful sunset backdrop.


I always appreciate a unique menu


Cheers!


Camana Bay is beautiful at the golden hour. Sitting right by the water was so wonderfully picturesque. This is truly one of my favorite places on Earth. (As a side note - after the sun went down, I was unknowingly terrorized by mosquitoes. By the time we got home, I had so many bumps on my forehead, it looked like I had an allergic reaction to the food or something!)


The food was really delicious. We tried to order some unique items, and loved everything we got. The appetizer was a truffled short rib crepe with Caribbean butter beans, grape tomatoes, scallion and goat’s cheese espuma.


For dinner, Brent had jerked chicken penne pasta and I had pan seared salmon, topped with a cocoa and coffee rub. We were very pleased!


It was such a fun night. Lots of good discussions on the future and what's next. Sometimes you need to actually leave the house, distractions, and general hustle-bustle to really think through the things in your head.

On an unrelated note, Jenn just posted her pictures from the Little Cayman trip. You should definitely check them out. I especially love the tribute to Cincinnati Skyline Chili!