Family visitors with a Special Treat

Hello!  Well they say 3rd time is a charm...well I'm hoping 4th will do it for me.  I have no idea if Blogger made some changes that gave me a hard time posting this blog or if all my napping has made me goofy.

We had an absolute blast with my family that was just here.  My Mom, Sandy (my step dad), Aunt Luz and my cousin, Gloria.   They spent 9 days with us which wasn't enough time.  

Everyone thinks we'll be happy when they leave but that is the furthest from the truth.  We love hosting and entertaining our family and friends.  We miss everyone dearly and when you come down; it means the world to us and we're very sad to see you go.

This visit from my family was a true blessing.  My Aunt is actually my Great Aunt Luz of 82 yrs.   Do you know how excited I was to hear she was coming down?  I had only prayed that we would have a place built so she could see and enjoy the lifestyle we've chosen.  No, we don't have our own place but we do have a very special home that we are able to share.  Anyway, one of my dreams was for my Aunt to make it down here.  She's always been a big supporter of us and so proud that we're achieving our dreams.  To share this with her was a True Blessing.

Let me introduce you to my Great Aunt Luz.

Bob & my Great Aunt Luz

Of all the guests we've had visit; my Mom and posse had the worst time getting here.

So cool to watch a storm approaching.
OK maybe not from the bird's eye view

Unfortunately, we had thunderstorms all day.  We could see the plane in a distance but then all of sudden the weather turned wicked and the pilot made the decision to pull up and head back to Roatan where they came from.  Awe man!  We kept asking the airlines rep will they make another attempt.  We could see the clouds make a break.  Sure enough as soon as the gang approached the Roatan landing strip; the pilot gave the passengers a thumbs up and announced that he's trying again for Guanaja.  Thank God Guanaja is only 15 mins away; I'm sure the passengers are wondering about gas consumption along with the weather.  But ended very well.  I only wish I had camera on hand when everyone got off the plane.   I would have captured some great photos of the family with bulging eyes, white knuckles and a huge relief of being on the ground. 
I'm so mean!   I can be since they arrived safely.

Fortunately, the rain held off for us on the 30 min boat ride to our cay.  They were pretty stressed out and figured they would be...I was prepared.  I had ice cold libations on the boat for them.  Even my Mom who is not a beer drinker downed hers.  I think she was the 1st on to finish.  hehehe!   By the time we got to the cay; all was really good.  I even think they may have put that flight experience way back in their minds.   We got them all settled in their cabanas and had a nice dinner.

As we do with all our guests; we took them to Manati's for our Saturday ritual.  I was so excited to introduce them to our friends. 

Mom, Sandy and me

My Mom...isn't she pretty!

Now we were a little concerned for my aunt being a 82 yrs and getting around.  For obvious reasons her main concern was falling.   When we left Manati's...I insisted on helping her down the stairs.  She held on to the rail with her left hand while I had her by the arm on her right.

Manati's entrance

Well guess what folks.  I let her stubble over the very last step.  UGH!  How could I have allowed that?  I can't say this enough...my Aunt is one tough cookie and likes to drink.  She busted out laughing, dusted off her knees and was back up on her feet. 
Wha-la...she's OK.  Thank God.  

Bob & Sandy coached her thru the process
of where to step

Getting in and out of the boat can be tricky especially since our bigger boat is out of service.  The smaller boat is a little more unstable but with the help of everyone we made sure my Aunt didn't have another accident. 

She did fabulous!
I'm so proud of her.

What can I say?  I'm married to a pretty cool guy.  He definitely went all out while the family was here.  He was a great host and most of all made sure we had everything we needed.

Early one morning he had the beach area ready for us to enjoy our day.

He had the umbrella and beach chairs up and ready

My aunt & I hung out on the beach near the cooler.

She's drinking her Rusty Water.
At 1st she was saying our pipes were really
rusty only to find out that's Crown & Water.
Nice one, Tia!

My cousin and Mom ventured out in the ocean on their kayaks.  I was so impressed with my Mom. She loved being in the kayak.  She went out several times on her own.

Gloria getting the feel for it.  She
was a little worried that she wouldn't
be able to paddle back to shore.
She did great once she got the hang of it

A picture is worth a thousand words.  If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes...I would have said this picture was photo enhanced.  My Mom helping a dog?!  Now this is one area where my mom and I are so different.  I'm a huge animal lover and my Mom...hell no.  She doesn't like animals much and would never want to be around one.   But looky here.  This was very impressive.  Hero is our island dog.  He has to be in the water when we are kayaking.  He has a mind of his own and won't listen.  Well the current was pretty tough this day and our kayak route was a little further out from the island than Hero was used to.  He needed a little help.  There goes my Mom to the rescue.  With the help of her & Sandy, Hero is now on Mom's kayak and on their way to safety. 

So what were the guys up to?  Bob & Sandy played bocce ball every evening and Sandy would come in beat up.  He sliced his head on a tree and cut his foot on something.  He always blamed Bob for the accidents saying, "Bob became violent when he lost."  Always something with those two.  Apparently, Sandy was pretty good at this beach bocce game.

Mom & Sandy were so looking forward to coming to the island to chill.  Apparently the past few work weeks were very stressful before leaving.  You want to chill?  This is the place

Sandy had no problem relaxing!

Mom's hangout was the hammock at the boathouse.
Where there is always a breeze!

Their last night with us we went to Graham's Resort for drinks and dinner.  

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening.
The sunset was beautiful.  The clouds and sky color were spectacular.

Gloria's sunset glamour pic

Fortunately the weather was very nice when they took off back to Roatan and then on home.

Aerial photo of the island as they left us

We enjoyed a fabulous time and really miss having them here.  We hope they return very soon.

We hope all is going well for you.  Bob & I are truly enjoying life. 

Love,
B & B

It's been so quiet!

Hello out there!

 

How has everyone been?   We've been chillin and still taking it all in.  We've been without guests now for 3 weeks. The last two guests were my cousin, Kris and her husband Greg.  

Kris celebrated her 40th birthday while here & they both toasted their recent marriage several times during their stay.  It was a party and a continuous party at that.   We sent them out with our fishing buddy Hansito and they had a great day as they brought in the heaviest load & most variety so far out of the 3 trips that we have booked with him.   Kris caught a 3-4 ft Lemon Shark, Greg caught a 45 lb Wahoo, and they both caught several Barracudas, Blackfin Tuna and Bonita's.  Most people have said that Bonita is not very good to eat and when we tried it after the first trip, we fully understood their stand & agreed 100%.   They're basically only good for cut bait.  Everything else was a great catch.   Yes, even the Barracuda.  This is one of our favorite fish to eat on the island.   Don't shake your head till you try it.  It's a clean white fish.   When eating Barracuda; you must first throw out the head in the sand or dirt.  You ask why?  Well at least I would hope u would.  This fish sometimes carry a toxic posion.  But hey, several other tropical reef fish carry this toxin like snapper, amberjack, grouper.  & I bet some of u have eated these fish w/o giving it a second thought.  The locals here and in other countries have told about "head trick".  If the ants eat it; then the fish is OK to eat.  If the ants stay away; throw the Barracuda away.  It's poisonous.  Seriously!!!  Well at least it has worked for us, so far.  Want to more about this posion, than google Ciguatera.

Greg enjoyed fishing every evening at sunset from a
corner of the island.

and every evening he reeled in something.
If you look closely...this Barracuda has war wounds (belly towards the tail).
As Greg reeled it in, there was another Cuda attacking this one.

Kris and I are very close and have always competed in sporting events.  We both can be competitive but she definitely still excels where I've seemed to have fallen off quite a bit.  Well maybe more than a bit, cause I basically suck now.  I have no idea whats happened to me.  I used to excel in sports; now...don't pick me for your team.   Every afternoon, we got our cocktails, put our game faces on and had a Bocce Ball tourney right before sunset.   I'm not sure I won a game the whole week they were here.   Kris, Greg and Bob were intense and there was lots of trash talking.  

Intense game.

But more importantly
Everyone has drinks in hand.

I sure miss them being here.  I had a small boating accident where my arm got jammed up between the boat and the dock.  Pretty much had only limited use of my right arm.  Thank God I'm left handed.  But even at that; I had no idea how much I actually used my right arm.  Anyway,  Kris was a huge help for me in the kitchen and she was basically my right hand.  Thank you, Kris  You're the best!

Everyone thinks we'll be glad when they leave but I have to say that's quite the opposite.   We love having visitors.   We enjoy a special place here and love being able to share it.  No one has been disappointed yet.  

They looked pretty relaxed to me.

My Mom, Sandy (step-dad), my Great Aunt Luz and cousin Gloria will be our next group to arrive.  They'll be taking off from Houston tomorrow a.m.  Can't wait till there get here.

Well hope all is going well for you and your family.

We miss you and hope you'll be down to visit us soon too.

Big hugs,

Bonnie and Bob