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Published: February 11th 2011
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I think I’ve decided that February is the best time to take a beach vacation. This seems obvious I guess, but this winter the snow, slush, rain, cold rain, hail, winter extravaganza that I’ve gotten to experience in Atlanta, Minneapolis, New York, etc. lately has been a lot of cold, boots, puffy jackets, layers, scarves, gloves, hats, and other nonsense that I’ve been glad to not think about for the past week. I started to get a scratchy throat/cold a couple of days before we left town – just what every girls wants on her way to vacation! The day we left I felt pretty badly, and was just hoping for the best when we arrived in Turks & Caicos. It worked – by the next morning I felt considerably better, throat not aching, other symptoms kept mostly at bay. Thank you warm, salty, beautiful, breezy ocean air. Thank you for making my cold practically nonexistent. I still went through the requisite seven days, but it is amazing how this is the best cold I’ve ever had, sitting here in the gorgeous Caribbean weather. I’d like to winter in the islands from now on, please.
Speaking of the Caribbean, did
you know that Turks & Caicos is actually in the Atlantic Ocean? And that it is made up of a grouping of about 40 islands (8 are inhabited)? Nope, me either, but I’m so glad to know this now as I can easily see coming back here. For starters, our house is amazing. We found it online many months ago over dinner at our friends Cathy & Dan’s house, and decided to just do it. Dave has a thing about being somewhere else for Super Bowl, so that’s the week we decided to come. The house is arranged so that every room is about two steps away with direct access to the amazing patio/infinity pool/ hot tub/ ocean view area. Every bedroom walks directly out onto this area, with the two master bedrooms on either end with individual lanais with their own amazing views. We have direct access down to a dock with a ladder right down into the ocean. We are on a rocky bluff area, and the way the stairs and dock are built into the rocks is very cool and crafty. Dan has done most of the cooking with Dave collaborating and creating some of the dishes.
view of house & pool
standing with my back to the ocean, looking back at the house Highlights include a mango/avocado/oniony salsa, lobster, chicken, steak, hamburgers, grouper. No doubt, we are eating quite well. Cathy and I have stuck mainly to making snacks, lunches, etc. letting the guys do the real cooking – heaven!
Yesterday we ventured away from the awesomeness that is our house to go fishing for a half-day. It was nice to see the other side of the island where most of the hotels and resorts are, as well as the pretty marina and get out onto the water. We all caught something – mostly strawberry grouper and trigger fish. The triggers are lovely with a piercing royal blue pattern, but not the best for eating. We threw back a lot of fish, and kept the grouper (which Dan, Cathy & Dave concocted into a yummy dinner). The water was incredibly blue. We saw a school of dolphins roll by. We saw a mom and baby whale, very close! I have never seen whales that I know of. These were not very far from our boat, coming up for air – so cool the way the water turns pale blue where the whale will shortly surface, letting you know where to watch. No
big jumps or shows, but amazing to be so close to humongous whales! The captain Shaun and his aid Jose where fun and funny to be around, telling us local stories, allowing me to not actually have to touch the bait or the fish, being generally great guides. It was a fun day on the water.
Today’s adventure was out to a little beach near our house called Taylor Bay/ Sunset Beach. Wow, is that place gorgeous. The water remains about knee to thigh depth for a looooong while so it is like walking on a seemingly never-ending shore that does eventually open out into the full ocean. This little bay area is pretty protected with small waves rippling through and no signs of fish, just the occasional sand crab. The houses and flowers along the bay are really pretty. Most houses are surrounded by lush greenery and flowers, creating a protective layer of gorgeous green, red, purple, yellow. Ours is no exception, and it makes you feel very secluded with the amazing views of water all around.
I guess our collective favorite activity so far is just hanging around in our pool area, watching the ocean, swimming,
Dave with a trigger fish
and Captain Shaun behind him diving in the pool, sunset on the lanai we all deemed perfect for sunset, ocean kayaking off our dock, and the like. Sitting in the hot tub under amazing stars at night isn’t so shabby either. What a needed vacation to pull us all through the February winter yuckiness. Trying very hard not to think about having to go back to it in a couple of days!
More photos are on my
Flickr page.
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