Little Eden Cay : Photo Journal

I'm home! Yay! It feels so good to be here! 🙂
Before I receive complaints about this uber long blog post, I'd like to preface it by stating that this is a personal journal too. I blog because I want to remember life as it happens…life in words and images. Please feel free to skip my entries and look at the pictures. Or, if you'd like to be extra cool and lovely, you can read each post to experience the trip through my eyes. This entry picks up on Saturday, but if you like to read about the preceding days, feel free to Click Here, Click Here, or Click Here.
Lastly, thank you to all the amazing people who left such nice comments while I was away…you rock my world! 🙂

Saturday December 29, 2007
We arrived to the island after a three-hour boat ride. I don’t think any of us anticipated such an exciting ride, but once the waves crashed against our sunglasses and hats—creating aquatic walls of excitement—we laughed as water dripped from our faces. It was then when I realized I wasn’t going on a vacation, but a real adventure.
Paige and Deyl—along with our chef and island personnel—waved at us from the dock as we approached the breathtaking island. After we exchanged hugs, we toured Little Island Cay, called dibs on the spacious rooms, and prepared for a delicious lunch.
I’m now back in the bedroom and staring at the gorgeous view from my door: hundreds of palm trees, the sparkling ocean, and a breathtaking sky. JD and I are headed to the beach…I can’t wait to work on my tan! 😉

DJ and Allie

DJ's attempts at keeping crow's feet at bay…

Lunch set-up

Sunday December 30, 2007
Oh.dear.lord. Today was probably the second most painful day of my life. Had it not been for breaking my tibia and fibula when I was ten years old, it’d be my first.
Last night a sand flea bit my ring finger. Besides the itching, it was no big deal. Until this morning.
I woke to see my ring finger three times its normal size. And the color was quite disconcerting. I woke JD up and we immediately sought the island manager, Christian. He frowned and said if I couldn’t lubricate it off my finger, he was going to have to saw it off. WHAT?!? Saw+ring finger=A very scared me.
Even though we submerged my hand in ice, used lotion, used soap, used cooking oil…the ring would not come off. In fact, all the pulling and prodding caused my finger only to get larger. I began to panic. The last thing I wanted was to leave the island, so I decided to have my ring sawed off. I was beyond depressed. Instead of my wedding ring, I wore the travel ring JD bought me from Tiffany&Co, and I really didn’t want to lose it. But, really, it was lose the ring, or lose my finger.
The entire group stood around me and offered support and encouragement. The sawing process was a little complicated and took f.o.rrrrrrrrrrr.e.v.e.r! As much as I tried saving face, I cried. It was SO embarrassing! However, everyone was so kind (except for DJ who insisted on filming the whole ordeal and take pictures…thanks, buddy!) and about an hour later, the ring was sawed and pried open. I had never been so thankful to take off a piece of jewelry!
I’m saving the ring and determining if Tiffany&Co can somehow modify it…so then I can say I have a custom Tiffany ring!! 😉

Monday December 31, 2007
Today the boys went hunting. Determined to be men of sea, they chartered a boat to take them exploring at nearby islands. They returned with lobsters, crabs, and fish! I’m sure if I ate meat I’d find this exploration more exciting (I mean, really, how could I be happy when these creatures were staring at me?!), but it was great to see them smile so broadly and feel proud. On the menu tonight is lobster and other island delicacies…then a New Year’s Eve Celebration! Complete with fireworks, French champagne, and music, we’re going to ring the New Year in with a bang!

Here are the manly men workin' it for my camera! 🙂

Tuesday January 1, 2008
Last night was a BLAST!! I’ve never had such a fun night…never, ever, ever! JD and I usually spend the night in front of the TV with takeout and Martinelli’s Apple Cider—which is somewhat pathetic to admit—but this New Year was the best! Matthew’s dinner was simply delicious and the music and dancing afterward was so fun! The only bummer was that JD severely burned his hand lighting a firework. It exploded in his hand unexpectedly, but thankfully Matthew came to the rescue. In addition to being a chef, he’s also a firefighter, so he knew exactly what to do! Gotta love a man who can cook with fire and fix things fire has burned! 😉
This afternoon we’re all just hanging out and working on our tans…and I’m taking care of JD. He can’t do anything, so I’m dressing him in the morning, cutting his food, and tending to his wounds. Kinda like a nurse in a bathing suit!

The New Year's Eve Crew

Okay, I know this is the umpteenth picture of me and JD…but this is my photo journal…and I get to make the rules! 😉

Wednesday January 2, 2008
Tonight the chef is away. And here we stand buzzing around the kitchen. My computer is pumping out Spoon’s Don’t You Evah and Paige and Amy are dancing together along the mahogany wood floor. Spin, clap, spin. Repeat.
On the menu are the biggest pork ribs I’ve ever seen. They’re the type that’d make Charlottte scared. We’ve decided that since the resident New Zealander is retrieving his girlfriend—and second chef—in Bluefields, we should make an American dinner. A finger-lickin’ dinner. Yeehaw.
Today was spent staring at the billowing palm trees. The winds are have picked up considerably, but the sky has been the prettiest color of blue and orange since we’ve been here. JD and I explored the diameter of the island and I made him proud. I walked over large rocks, walked in questionable tidepools, and trekked through thigh-high seawater all in the name of love. I don’t traditionally do adventure, if you know what I mean. I’m the type of girl who would prefer to curl up in a hammock and read until sunset. And while JD and I have curled up together the past few days, today was Adventure Day. The day when we stripped to out smallest swimwear and walked along the Atlantic Coast…together…for the first time in our lives. It was perfect. And when it wasn’t perfect, I sang John Meyer’s Gravity to get me through the scary times. Lobsters, crabs, and blue fish, Oh My!
Tonight the chef is away. And here we stand buzzing in the kitchen. The palm trees are billowing against the dark sky and we’re about to dine.

I'm not sure if he entertains me or himself more!? 😉

Thursday, January 3, 2008
I woke in the darkness of this morning to the sound of thunder. The wind slammed against our bedroom and I woke JD in a fright. I think a palm tree is going to fall on our room…What if our boat floats away…What if a coconut crashes through a window and knocks me out cold?! He grumbled sleepy promises of keeping me safe, but as the rain knocked on our bedroom doors, I stared at the ceiling and prayed for safety.
Once the sun rose—and the rain leaving only sprinting winds in its place—I discovered I wasn’t the only girl having problems sleeping. Paige, Amy and myself swapped nightmares and laughed at our crazy imaginations.
Matt and his girlfriend, Danielle, arrived safely and as a welcome gesture, we played TABOO. In retrospect, hooting and hollering at each other probably wasn’t the best way to show our best sides, but she seemed to have a lovely time. And, yes, this was even despite my showing my ferocious fangs and dangerous competitive streak.
Just now JD and I were laying in bed reading. We started discussing all the American amenities we missed—these were mostly our favorite restaurants. In-N-Out burgers, Houston’s dinners, BJ’s nachos, Olive Garden’s soup&salad, and Shabu Shabu. We planned all the evenings we’d dine out when we returned home, like a culinary map to our hearts. Just when we couldn’t take Red, White, and Blue visions of food, my heart began to race and I remembered something. A tiny little something wrapped in shiny plastic. Located in the bottom of my travel bag.
I jumped from bed—no, leaped from bed—and scattered my personal belonging on the warm wood floor of our bedroom. Okay, close your eyes…no, really, close your eyes. I inched my way back to the bed where JD laid and asked him to open his mouth. I slipped a piece of Nature’s Valley granola bar into his mouth, which was conveniently left ajar. I popped a piece into my mouth and we chewed together. Euphorically. I slumped next to him and continued to break pieces of Americana, realizing just how beautiful life is when appreciated for its simplest pleasures.

Friday, January 4, 2008
Photo Day.
This morning at breakfast, DJ and Allie came looking quite dapper. Much too pretty for traditional island leisure attire, which up until today was bathing suits and flip-flops. Allie wore a sundress with beaded straps and DJ donned himself in all white, they looked like they walked out of Ralph Lauren catalogue.
Once the omelets were devoured, Jim asked why they were dressed in their finest. DJ then uttered a few sentences I didn’t quite hear. Or want to hear. Something about having his picture taken along the island with Allie…aeiruyhaope aoeifyaoeihr oaiypoiwj apsup. That’s pretty much all I heard after that. JD slapped my back and said I’d LOVE to take their photographs. My fork began to shake and I became nauseous. Oh so very nauseous. I immediately left the breakfast table and darted for our bedroom.
When JD followed me a few minutes later, he asked if everything was okay. OKAY?!? How can things be okay?! You just said I’d take pictures of DJ and Allie…of DJ AND ALLIE!! In case you forgot, DJ was OUR wedding photographer…and like one of the best photographers ever. Like, EVER. He blinked a few times and shrugged. Apparently, he didn’t follow my train of thought, or trepidation for that matter. I told him he better get on his knees and pray to sweetbabyjesus that I was just able to keep my hands from uncontrollably shaking. Oh, and taking a decent picture would be nice too.
At the end of the day, I photographed, DJ&Allie, Deyl&Paige, Jim&Amy, and our fabulous chefs, Matthew&Danielle…I guess you could say it was a photography fest for me! Talk about getting my year off with a bang! The best part of the day was when DJ grabbed my camera and took pictures of me and JD along the beach…it was the most perfect way to end our stay here on Little Eden Cay. Undoubtedly, we adore David Jay…he’s changed our lives and become one of the most incredible friend we have. There are no words to describe how much we love him, but we hope to one day return a droplet of love in response to the typhoon he’s poured onto us.

10,000 bonus cool points to the person who guesses why I just adore this picture!!! 🙂

Sunday, January 6, 2008
It’s so nice to be headed home. Home Sweet Home. Yes, Little Island Cay has been truly amazing, but the United States is beckoning us with open arms. God, I love America. I know this may sound dramatic, but I do. Being in a different country further buttresses my love affair with the US.
Here in Managua, Nicaragua, DJ, Allie, JD, and myself holed up in a hotel room and began the evolution to our old selves—an Internet connection, steamy hot showers, and room service. We’re no longer barefoot with matted hair; we’re wearing jeans and texting our friends. Yes, there's beauty and irony in that last sentence, but at least I can admit it. Nevertheless, it’s so nice to be headed home.