So, here's a lengthy recap of the vacation...
Thursday, March 19
After working late on Wednesday night, I stayed up all night and finished packing for my vacation to the Cayman Islands. I left my house around 3:30 a.m. and got to Newark International Airport about 5 a.m. The shuttle bus got me at 5:05 a.m. and it dropped me at terminal A at 5:17 a.m. I was too late to get on my flight to Miami, according to one rude American Airlines representative. For the record, I've only missed one flight in my entire life and I wasn't about to miss another one do to a rude American Airlines employee. Thankfully, a nice American Airlines representative (probably the other woman's boss) told the rude one to put me through. Begrudgingly she did, and I made it through security at terminal A and ran like Carl Lewis to gate 33. I made it in line before the final boarding call for my 6 a.m. flight.
After working late on Wednesday night, I stayed up all night and finished packing for my vacation to the Cayman Islands. I left my house around 3:30 a.m. and got to Newark International Airport about 5 a.m. The shuttle bus got me at 5:05 a.m. and it dropped me at terminal A at 5:17 a.m. I was too late to get on my flight to Miami, according to one rude American Airlines representative. For the record, I've only missed one flight in my entire life and I wasn't about to miss another one do to a rude American Airlines employee. Thankfully, a nice American Airlines representative (probably the other woman's boss) told the rude one to put me through. Begrudgingly she did, and I made it through security at terminal A and ran like Carl Lewis to gate 33. I made it in line before the final boarding call for my 6 a.m. flight.
I got to Miami International Airport around 9 a.m. or so and I made my way to Terminal E (which I think is the International terminal). I must say Miami International Airport needs to upgrade the food choices in this terminal. There was only a Quiznos stand that served only cold food, a convenience store, some other small place where the food looked disgusting and a bar called "Home Turf." 
I settled on the bar because I could get some hot food. I ordered their chicken wings buffalo style. The wings were decent but a little overpriced but for that moment it filled my appetitte. My connecting flight to Grand Cayman was scheduled for 12:15 p.m. so I spent the remaining time before that on my laptop checking Facebook and e-mails.
I settled on the bar because I could get some hot food. I ordered their chicken wings buffalo style. The wings were decent but a little overpriced but for that moment it filled my appetitte. My connecting flight to Grand Cayman was scheduled for 12:15 p.m. so I spent the remaining time before that on my laptop checking Facebook and e-mails.The only part about flying internationally that is a minor nuisance to me is filling out the Immigration and Customs forms and then waiting in line to clear Immigration and then Customs at your destination. I got through Immigration with no hassle but some dude at Customs hoodwinked me. I brought a gift to my cousin (a car seat) for her baby girl and the price tag on the stroller was $150 and the customs agent said I have to pay duty on it. I looked at him crossed-eye and told him it is a gift that I only paid $150 and the limit is $500 before you can impose duty or whatever taxes. He said no...it is his discretion. It was apparent to me that I wasn't going to win the fight...so I said how much is it going to cost me...he said $35 US dollars. I paid the duty and they finally let me through Customs and my cousin was waiting for me outside.
As my cousin went to get the car, I saw this fine, black Caymanian woman in the corner wearing the perfect outfit to catch my eye. A colorful blouse, a form-fitting skirt with a split and stilettos. She also had legs with some serious definition. I had to stand and stare (I mean salute) her eye-catching appearance. If my cousin wasn't honking her horn, her signal for me to whip the drool off my lips and get my ass into the car, I probably would have proposed on the spot. My cousin (who is Jamaican but lives and works in the Cayman Islands) warned me that Caymanian women are very superficial and prey on American men coming for visits or vacations. So, she probably did me a favor. We drove to her house after that and just chilled. We later watched a DVD called "A Good Man Is Hard To Find." My celebrity baby-momma candidate Golden Brooks (Mya on Girlfriends) is a co-star in it with Darrin Dewitt Henson (Lem from Soul Food). After watching the DVD it was time for some ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Friday, March 20
On Friday morning, we went to Captain Marvin's Watersports and bought a ticket for the Sting Ray City boat tour. It is about $30 CI and $40 US for the tour. You can take the shuttle bus to the dock or drive behind the shuttle bus to the dock. The tour took about 2 hours. We made three stops. The first stop was to a sand bar where we did some snorkeling. I am not a good swimmer and haven't gone swimming in a long time...so I needed a life vest and I also used goggles, a breathing tube and flippers to go snorkeling.
The water was beyond COLD but it was fun being in the water and once I remembered to breathe normally and put my head horizontal to the water I was fine. We snorkeled for about 15 minutes before getting back on the boat and going to the next stop. The next stop was a coral reef. We got out of the boat again and went into the water for another 15 minutes. Since I wasn't a strong swimmer and didn't want to get myself in trouble...I didn't go underwater like everyone else to see the life under the sea. That reminds me...I need to get some more swimming classes.
The third and final stop was Sting Ray City. Now it isn't a real city...like I thought we were going to but it is more of location in the Caribbean Sea where Sting Ray rules. Although the tour guide said I didn't have anything to worry about...every time a sting ray came next to me in the water...I shuddered.
After a while, I got use to them being next to me. We stayed in the water for 15 minutes before getting back in the boat and going back to the shore. We were hungry after the 2 hours on the water and stopped at Burger King. The prices were a bit expensive there but the food was good. The french fries tasted different than the U.S. version but I think the Caymanian version is healthier because their fries had less grease. Besides Burger King, the other popular fast food places on the Island are Wendy's, KFC, Papa John's, Pizza Hunt, Dominos and Subway. There are no McDonald's on the island.After that we went shopping at the Bayside Mall where I was shocked to see so many jewelry and perfumes/colognes stores. Apparently, jewelry and perfumes/colognes sales are big business on the Cayman Islands, according to my cousin. I didn't buy any jewelry even though I need a chain to match my bracelet watch (hint...hint...for anyone that wants to buy me a birthday present in August) and I don't need any more cologne after I bought a bottle of Diddy's "Unforgivable" and I can tell you it works wonders. lol. So, I settled on a polo shirt from this store called Del Sol. It has a design on it that changes color in the sun even though the shirt is white. I liked the concept and the shirt wasn't that expensive $34 US, so I bought it.
We came back to the house and chilled for a little bit. Later that night, my cousin's friend, Earl, took me out to experience some of the nightlife on the Cayman Islands. He first took me to a bar called the "Royal Palms Beach Club" and according to the description in the Key to Cayman Magazine it is "a vacation picture postcard. It's hard to top the experience of sipping frozen drinks as you sit and listen to the sea. Royal Palms is known for its live music that takes patrons into the weekend." That night, there was a band there playing reggae, calypso and soca music. There was a good mixture of White, Black, Indian, Asian and Hispanic women. I had a Heineken and tried a drink that I've heard about and never tried before. I went for a mudslide and I'll have to work that into my drink repertoire for future notice.
After a few drinks, we left that place to go to the O-Bar, which is more like a night club. I didn't want to leave the first place so soon because there were some very cute women but my host was driving and I didn't want to be a jerk. Besides the bars close at 12 a.m. and are not open on Sundays in the Cayman Islands. The clubs are open till 3 a.m. and able to serve alcohol till 2 a.m. They are also not open on Sunday. The club got poppin' around 12:30 a.m. and I ended up dancing with a White girl, an Asian girl, a Black girl and an Indian girl. It was such a carefree environment. The white girl was REALLY feeling me and gave me her number. She lives in the Cayman Islands and said she wouldn't mind seeing me again. Of course, the Black girl later gave me the cold shoulder once she saw the White give me her number. The Asian and Indian girls didn't protest and still danced with me afterwards. The Black girl mean mugged me the rest of the night and I was prepared to buy her and her friends a round of drinks but she blew it. Where I went afterwards is top secret information...lol.
Saturday, March 21
The first thing my cousin and I did was take my baby cousin Arianna to a music class. We then got some Chinese food for lunch and sat on the beach and ate it. We then went to this place known as "Hell".
The first thing my cousin and I did was take my baby cousin Arianna to a music class. We then got some Chinese food for lunch and sat on the beach and ate it. We then went to this place known as "Hell".
The gift shop was closed so I didn't get a chance to buy anything from there. Interesting place and the rocks do look like they came from hell. We 
then went to this place called Dolphin Discovery where you could swim with the dolphins as they performed tricks with you. I had enough of the water adventures for one trip...so all we did was watch. We then went to a bookstore and I looked for a copy of Steve Harvey's book. "Act Like A Lady: Think Like A Man. They were out...so bought the book when I got back to New Jersey We then came home and rested a little bit before we got dressed up a for a dinner party at my cousin's friend's house. We left the party early because Arianna wanted to sleep.
then went to this place called Dolphin Discovery where you could swim with the dolphins as they performed tricks with you. I had enough of the water adventures for one trip...so all we did was watch. We then went to a bookstore and I looked for a copy of Steve Harvey's book. "Act Like A Lady: Think Like A Man. They were out...so bought the book when I got back to New Jersey We then came home and rested a little bit before we got dressed up a for a dinner party at my cousin's friend's house. We left the party early because Arianna wanted to sleep. Sunday, March 22
We went to my cousin's church First Assembly of God on 195 Old Crew Road, Georgetown. Nice church. There was a guest speaker that Sunday...a Canadian guy. He preached a good message and the service was short...2 hours tops. Unlike my home church in Boston, Mass. where service can last for 3-4 hours. When I was a baby...I got some good naps during church service but once I was a teenager that wasn't acceptable. The pastor of the church made a stunning announcement...that you don't have to be a member of the church to participate on like the choir or other church functions. Hmm...that's where I strongly disagree but i guess Rev. Torrance Bobb, the pastor, knows his congregation better than I. My cousin says there is a lot of politics and drama at the church and that sometimes turns her off...lol...I guess that's an international problem for churches.
After church we had brunch at this place called Harvey's Island Grill. It is a seafood-type place that was moderately priced and the food was very good. After that, we came back to the house and chilled. We watched "Not Easily Broken" on DVD and then went to bed. I flew back to New Jersey the next day.
Now, it is time to think about my international vacation spot for 2010. Right now, the leading candidates are England, Spain or somewhere in Latin America.
2 comments:
Awww, you look very handsome snorkeling lol...
@anonymous...thanks..
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