Hero's Day and Sunshine Grill

Monday was Hero's Day in Grand Cayman. I'm not sure what that means, except that Brent gets the day off work! This is another example of the island's great work-life balance - in Cincinnati, Brent never got off holidays during busy season.

We celebrated with a completely lazy day, truly the perfect holiday. I decided spur of the moment to make pancakes, without buttermilk, cake flour, or bisquick. They turned out pretty well considering we don't have a griddle or non-stick skillet in the apartment!


We snuggled up on the couch and watched 7 Pounds as we ate breakfast. I love movies that make Brent extra lovey-dovey. (Note to Brent - maybe if you posted on this blog every so often you wouldn't have to worry about me writing comments like that.)

That afternoon we went over to Jenn and Nate's pool for some sun and relaxation. Brent, Jenn and Nate attempted to swim out to the reef, but didn't quite make it. Meanwhile, Walter and I worked on our tan :) It was an especially fun visit because Jenn's parents are in town. I really enjoyed hanging out and getting to know them a little better. They are such fun people, which doesn't surprise me at all considering they raised Jenn.

We split for a while then met up again at Sunshine Grill. This is quickly becoming a favorite for us. The food is amazing - there hasn't been one thing we've tried and didn't like. It's within walking distance from our house, which is always a plus. Their service is amazingly friendly and accommodating. Oh and you get a mini soft serve cone after every meal. Icing on the cake.

Wait, I forgot to mention the burgers. Oh the burgers. I could perhaps write a whole post on Sunshine Grill's famous burgers. Here is a side by side comparison of the "Kitchen Sink" and the "Old Fashion."


I love the look on Jenn's dad's face!


This is Jenn's Tostado Chicken Salad, also incredible. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Brent's Snapper Sandwich, but he said it's his favorite thing he's tried there so far.


Come visit us! We'll take you here and you can taste for yourself!

East End Road Trip

I will start with a disclaimer - this post is seriously overloaded with pictures. Please forgive me - I had 195 images from Saturday and narrowed it down to 30 for the blog. That's pretty good, right? Now that you've been warned...

I just love sleeping in on Saturdays. No alarm clock, no plans. We were out of milk so Brent made his famous scrambled eggs. Realizing we had the day wide open, we decided to explore Grand Cayman's East End. This is something I've wanted to do for a while. We've been to Rum Point a couple times, but have always gone by boat. When we decided to move to GC, Brent's parents gave us a portable Frommer's Guide that has a great East End driving tour. We packed up towels, snorkels, snacks, and sunblock, then headed out!


After taking the customary "outside the car" road trip pictures, Brent realized he had locked his keys inside the car. So for our first adventure of the day, we broke into the apartment.


Who doesn't like to start their day with a little breaking and entering? It was probably an omen, but we were not deterred! Back in the car, we popped in the CD we made that morning and starting jamming to some Bob Marley.


Stopping for gas, you can tell Walter is really excited about our road trip:


Driving through George Town, we spotted this fun cruise ship. In true tourist style, I couldn't resist snapping a shot from the car window.


Our first stop was Smith Barcadere (aka Smith's Cove). Brent and I stumbled across this beach our first weekend in Grand Cayman, but it was fun returning with Walter. He loved exploring every nook and cranny of those rocks.


Our second stop was Spotts Beach (we skipped the Village of Prospect). The only time I've been to Spotts was when we were picking up and dropping off the Swartzentrubers Cruise Clan. Cruise ships dock at Spotts when it's too rocky to come into George Town. It was packed with people and taxis last time we were here, but it was EMPTY on Saturday. It's not the prettiest beach, but there's lots of room to run!


Hey there, good-looking :)


Playing in the waves


Back in the car we just had a couple more stops till we reached Rum Point. We had just entered Bodden Town, when we heard a loud popping. Sure enough....


Our second adventure of the day - changing a blown out tire. Our car was missing a couple items necessary for the job, but Brent met a nice Caymanian who gave us a hand.


The next picture is when Brent realized the tire was a BFGoodrich (which is owned by Michelin). Talk about adding insult to injury. Brent said, "I'm going to have to talk to my dad about this."


At least the view was scenic!


Walter and I did our best to stay cool. There was a fence that provided about a foot of shade, and that's where we waited. I ended up putting on the cowboy hat...Walter ended up under the car.


After an hour's work, my hero had us back on the road. We weren't at all discouraged, in fact the "adventure" made our road trip even more fun. But we decided to cut the driving tour short for the day and head back the Governor's Beach for our picnic.

Check out the reflection in Brent's glasses. I'd take that view any day.


Loving on the cooler Joelle gave us for Christmas


That night we decided to test out the grill we got from the Stricklands (they "upgraded" to a charcoal one and we decided nothing could be worse than our grill in Cincinnati). I thawed some frozen Mahi Mahi and let the grill master do his thing.


Taking a peek at the finished product...


...it looks good!


Absolutely delicious, and so easy too! Despite our setbacks, it was such a fun day. This one will be treasured for a long, long time.

Dining Out (and In)

They say you should take pictures of whatever inspires you. I'm realizing my biggest on-island muse (besides Walter, of course) is food. Some people take pictures of the ocean, some people take pictures of flowers...I take pictures of pasta. What can I say? I was born to eat. And now, for your viewing pleasure, a whole post dedicated to recent dining excursions!

Grand Cayman has so many amazing restaurants. My biggest fear is that we won't be able to get to them all in the next 17 months! A couple nights after returning to the island, Brent and I joined Jenn, Nate, and five of their house guests at The Wharf. I love outside dining, especially overlooking the water. Before dinner I snapped this shot of a cruise ship leaving port.


At 9:00 pm every night they feed the tarpon, which is quite the show. The literally ring a bell and everyone gathers around to watch. Volunteers are pulled from the crowd to throw dead fish out into the dark blue. Jenn has some great shots of the feeding on her post (Nate's sister was one of the volunteers - impressive!).


But enough about the entertainment. On to the food! I got salmon over grilled pineapples, sweet potato, and pumpkin. It was delicious (and I felt good eating my SuperFoods)!


Brent got the seafood pasta and we split a warm toffee banana pudding (not as good as Calypso's sticky toffee pudding, but still a hit).


The next night Brent made me a lovely candlelight meal that consisted of scrambled eggs served on disposable plates. I couldn't resist throwing this shot in the mix!


Our first weekend back, Jeremy and Sheena hosted a game night at their place. I painfully lost Settlers, but after feasting on homemade milkshakes (chocolate for me, vanilla for Brent), fries and Hawaiian burgers, I didn't even care.


For our first date night back in Grand Cayman, we went to Morgan's Harbor.


I love the little doily coasters that slip right on the glass. Genius.


Brent got the fresh Wahoo and I got the Seafood Pasta in White Wine Cream Sauce. The scallops in that pasta were a-ma-zing.


We walked out to the dock after dinner and I took this shot of Calypso Grill. We tried to walk over to get dessert, but alas, without reservations there was no room in the inn.


Wonderful, fun night with my favorite person in the whole world.


Tonight, we are doing another date night at TripAdvisors #2 Grand Cayman restaurant - Tim-Buc-Tuu Diner. I'm sure pictures will follow. But up next on my blog list - Saturday's East End Road Trip! Stay tuned!