Cayman.1--Diana and Fred's

(The view from Diana and Fred's balcony)

Last week I broke my self-imposed, dissertation-induced travel ban. Diana and Fred, my friends since we were all in the single digits, moved to the Cayman Islands two years ago (well, they moved to one specific Cayman island). So my visit to see their home was past due--and what better time to make up for that than December, when there clearly isn't anywhere near enough sun in St. Louis?

(The view from Diana and Fred's pier)

I took about a thousand pictures, give or take, and I clearly have to show you every. single. one. So my apologies in advance for that.

(One of Diana and Fred's many lizards)

(And again)

The fence that the lizard is standing on? It's made out of big chunks of corral. The funny thing is--the corral leads to all those gorgeous white sand beaches, but when you make it into a fence, it comes out looking black.

Here's some of the horseback riders that unrelentingly marched up and down Diana and Fred's beach. I would like to pause briefly to make fun of them. It was funny to watch--they trudged slowly up and down the beach in a straight line in groups of up to maybe ten people--groups of tourists who, for the most part, had never ridden a horse before. The funny thing is, they probably thought this would fulfill their tv fantasy of romantically galloping up a beach. But there was no galloping--just plodding. Diana agreed--she said that the funny thing is that when you're up there, you just sort of want it to be over.

 

It really is a picture-perfect beach. I can't imagine having this always outside of my front door.