A day in the sun (Not as common as you'd think)

So there is a place where you can swim with dolphins. We decided to go to the shopping center. We gotta let the guys come when we actually swim with dolphins. It was just a fun low key day.

Oh yeah and Geno and me found a boyfriend only thing is we gotta share him, but maybe we could work some kinda custody thing where I get him half the year or on weekends and holidays. Ah I never liked that much anyways. Geno can have him.

On the walkway we could look in the water and see so many fish. The water is so clear here and so many bright fish. Its cool.

Oh and the lizards here have curly tales. They are so so cute. and some are huge. Someone's gonna start mistaking them for cats.

This hotel is so beautiful on the outside. I love being on an island where it actually feels like a vacation paradise kinda thing. Dominica was kinda missing that aspect. 

How cool is this

So we discovered that the beaches here have more to offer then just sand and water meeting. The hotels are all along the beach so this one has some awesome pools and a waterslide. There is also a Towel Hut and a Braiding Hut. Yep you can get your hair braided right there on the beach. The restaurants are mostly in the Port Lucaya shopping center but a few are overlooking the beach.

The new way to get to the beach

This is the Weston Hotel and I've decided that it looks like a cruise ship. which is interesting since most that come and stay probably came on one. It is pretty nice looking though.

Steve's old roommate Shane gave him some beach toys before he left for Dominica so this is our tribute to him. We miss you Shane so much. You were pretty much the funnest ever! And Steve loves the little yellow boat in the set. He played and played with it. You would have been so proud.

These 2 girls can stop traffic. People are always stopping and oohing and ahhing. They always scream when they see each other cause they are excited to play.  (including church)

There's something about these telephone booths. I just think they're cute.

Welcome to Bahamas Ross

This is Paradise Cove where they had the opening party for Ross. It was so pretty. We played Volleyball in the white sand and drank (juice) and ate. We took the bus out there with the rest of the school and the driver was telling us all about 8 mile rock being the oldest settlement there. It was kinda funny because it wasn't even a cool looking area. It just looked like the bad side of town where all the bars and gangs would be. An the hurricanes wiped them out a few years ago so  there are tons of houses that have roofs falling in and the trees have their tops chopped off still from years ago. 

I didn't tell him to put the rubber band on I swear. He's so photogenic. Look at the camera love the camera.

I'm glad I didn't need to know cause no on never sat at the stand and in an emergency panic would have erupted.

I was just trying to get the moon but Geno got in the way. Good thing she's cute!

Mi Casa Just For Now

Our new dwelling is in an Apartment building right next to or in a golf course called Lucayan Towers. Its a nice place to live in because its safe. there is a guard on duty 24 hours and they have to buzz you in to get to the elevators. Now for those of you in Dominica whose jaws just dropped, thats right and elevator! We live on the 9th floor which would be more of a mini Boiling Lake hike compared with our 4 floors at Nick Vidal, Dom. 

We have a couch now which isn't a huge deal to many but after living with a bed that double as a couch and a small 2 person kitchen table its pretty great. Our counter that separates the kitchen from living room is awesome. We love it and use it for everything. The kitchen table has now turned into a desk for computers. We really had to spread our belongs out thin to fill most of the shelves here, but no complaints cause there is so much storage here. We have 3 closets for hanging clothes and tons of cupboard space and a linen closet. I love just having space. The only downside is that the bed is teeny tiny. I'm not very good at sharing either so poor Steve is pushed to the edge nightly.

Take a look and see what you think. This place was so dirty when we got here. We had to wipe down everything, even inside drawers. I'm really missing maid service! But I can do my laundry any time I want now cause we don't have to send it out to a laundry service here. There is a laundry room on every floor and its empty so much that its no hassel. and there is a trash  chute so we don't have to carry it down to a stinky dumpster.

So this couch is kinda faded and needs more cushioning on the back but its still a good couch. I still love my Herbert (couch).

Yep yep we have a sink in the bathroom and outside it with a long counter and huge mirror. I love it. This place has mirrors all over the place. Its great for people who are a teensy bit vain, I might just be but the support group says I could recover.

Our complex comes with tennis courts, a pool and a gym (we haven't really looked at that but not really expecting much so who cares) If you play where's waldo you can see our red scooter. It was parked in 6 inches of water. It doesn't rain too much here, but it sure drowns us when it does. Lots of lightening storms too.

Golf course. If you weren't worried about being pelted by golfers then it really would be a pleasant place to explore. Really makes you remember its a good walk spoiled! Maybe if I was good at it, but I have no aspirations so it'll never happen.

This is the downtown area from our house its a 10-15 minute drive. They are so proud of their tallest building that you can see here, but the fact remains that its not even in use. There were 2 hurricanes that wiped out a lot of stuff on this island in 2004. One was a category 5 hurricane. They had one in 2005 also. So this building was one of the many places that was damaged and closed to that.

A few random things about this island. Tree groves are on fire all the time. They just start up randomly. Its weird to drive past burning bushes by the roads every night. Also they have all the islandy palm trees and the tropical flowers, but totally random of all things are the pine trees. They are everywhere. I feel sometimes like I'm back home. This island really doesn't feel islandy until you go to Port Lucaya. That is the main tourist hub. There is a nice shopping area and pubs with a performing stage. The hotels are there too with some great white sand beaches.

Faith Cottage and bye bye Dominica

So yeah its a party! We had our fun packed our bags and checked out of the apt. checked in at the airport. You'd think that was it. Bye Dominica, I'm ready to find a new home. Well ya know I don't think I've ever had luck with things that already for sure. For instance, we were surly going to stay in Dominica until 2 weeks before the end of school. So we sat and waited for hours in the airport at Dominica where the are making lots of renovations. We got the temporary waiting room to get on the plane. It was dark and gloomy grimy and wet. The last of which was because of the bathroom.. Ew! It was also crowded cause other flights were coming and going. I wish we had been going. Our flight was cancelled. I guess it was to cloudy to land. The planes land from inland since they take off over the sea. So we had to gather our luggage which was might I saw enormously crazily heavy, and decided to stay in some Cottage inn type place close to the airport. I didn't want to eve drive to Picard again so we stayed close by. This is the Faith Cottage where we stayed. The main sucky part about our flight being cancelled was that we reserved a room in Puerto Rico and so we lost money on that. I've decided that unless its the busy season and necessary no more advance booking.

Might I add that the bathroom and shower are behind th curtains and I barely slept because someone mentioned a place they stayed where they got bites from the beds.

It was so strange. We were one of a few groups from our flight staying there and we  felt like we were on some weird tour. We were transported to the cottage together then herded to our rooms then herded to the bus to go to a restaurant then herded to the cottage. Then woken up for coffee and ate breakfast together. Weird to be so close with strangers for a good 12 hours. The restaurant was actually really good. A couple from New York own it and it has American food and great cheesecake. Its called Pagua Bay. The next morning we were lucky to get a rebooked flight out where we decided to overnight in Miami instead of Puerto Rico. And a little FYI for travelors. The Miami airport hotel is so great. Its still about $120 but the beds are so so so comfy and its a really beautiful room. So we decided at the airport  that instead of sitting in that awful waiting room for forever we would wait in the room that you pick up your tickets. When we finally did go in it was like a miracle. They had overnight finished their new waiting room which was beautiful and clean and had room to breath. I swear it was so weird after the day before awful room. 

So yeah after an overnight in Miami and a huge waste of money on this whole trip we made it! We got to the hill less country of Grand Bahama and moved into our grimy 80's style apartment, that is actually pretty nice. It was a nice present to remind us that Dominica isn't the worst place in the world but honestly I am so glad to be rid of the "What's customer service?" attitude and the crazy stomach churning roads and I've have come to the promised land.

Red Rock Resort

Just when I thought I'd seen all there was to see I found out that there places here just like paradise. This resort is so beautiful. A lady from Seattle runs it and it has a beautiful walkway that is lit a t night to walk down to the tiki bar you can order from and sit under thatched tables or go down to the beach and sit in the comfy beach chairs on the white sand beach with a beautiful view of the Atlantic. Yep I like this place. 

While we were eating these amazing BBQ ribs and most amazing salad this dog was just lying there and we thought it was pretty much the best "play dead" we'd ever seen.

I love how its lit up at night.

We even found a little hike to explore. it was a bit of climbing and some steep cliffs but the view was awesome. I recommend this place to anyone who wants to relax with a view and have some dang good food.