Hell

We can no say "We've been to hell and back!"

There is a place on Grand Cayman that is named Hell.

Interestingly enough there is a wall painted near this space that says something along the lines of "Come unto Christ and be saved." 

We stopped at the gift shops and didn't find anything we needed.  

This rock formation is the reason the place is named Hell. An early British Commissioner was touring the island.  it is alleged that he arrived at this site and exclaimed, "MY GOD, THIS MUST BE WHAT HELL LOOKS LIKE!"

The rock is made up of limestone and dolomite.  It has undergone extreme bio-erosion by algae.  It is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite.  The rocks are razor sharp and could cause serious injury.  So stay clear!

After seeing the rock, there's no way I was even thinking about risking life and limb to go get a rock!

A post office in Hell so apparently if you live here, you can still get mail.  :-)

The second time we went past this place there were about 20-30 chickens on the decking in front of the post office.

It may be called Hell, but anywhere I go with my sweetheart is Heaven to me!

Botanical Gardens

Our first full day in Grand Cayman we went for a drive and found some things we wanted to do.  

Our first stop was at the Queen's Botanical Garden.

I was amazed at some of the plants and flowers that we saw.  Things we don't have in our climate. 

As with many of the homes in tropical climates, the kitchen was outside the main house.  Pat is standing in front of the kitchen.

The interior of the kitchen.

The blue iguana is plentiful in this garden space.

This guy greeted us when we walked up to the building.  He was so still we weren't sure he was real.  

The tiny white flowers coming out of the red is very interesting.  Those giant green leaves belong with this plant. 

Another reddish flower but so different than anything I've ever seen.

I would hate to run into this spiky plant.

These pink flowers look like they are coming out of giant spider plants.  

The summer kitchen is behind this little house.  I love the conch shells lining the "walk". 

This is called a Silk Floss Tree.  Notice how it grows sideways.

This was our greeter.  I had to have a picture of it so I could get a feel for just how big it really is.  

We walked through the gardens and saw plenty of lush greenery, lots of lizards, a few iguanas and snakes too.  It was pretty hot and humid and we were plenty warm walking through the garden.  We stopped and climbed the tower and sat on the swings and enjoyed the breeze.  

 

Grand Cayman

A new adventure for us.  We left the country (other than Canada) for the first time.  We took a trip to the Cayman Islands, specifically Grand Cayman.  Some of the random things we saw are in this post.  

          

We went shopping in Georgetown and saw this man filleting fresh fish for anyone to buy.  Pretty sure that's red snapper.

This is 7 mile beach.  Such clear water and miles of sand beach.  I only wish we would've had some floatation devices so we could have floated in this beautiful water.

Cruise ships come several times a week.  On Tuesday there was only one so that was the day we chose to go do our shopping.  Less tourists.  Some days there are three or four docked out in the water which means there could be 2000 people per ship coming ashore to shop!

We took our snorkeling masks along.  Pat found a couple of conch shells but they were pretty green with algae and not in great shape.  Lots of fish to see down there.

While trying to find our way around Georgetown we ran into this road.  I needed a pic!

Driving on the left side of the road had it's challenges.  It might have been easier if we had a car with the steering wheel on the right side.  Pat had to depend on me to see around traffic that was ahead of us when we wanted to pass.

These little lizards were everywhere!  This one is missing his spiral tail.

Remember the first pic with the dead fish?  Well, this is just past where he was cutting up those fish.  This picture doesn't do these guys justice.  They are easier two to three feet long each!

This was the sunset one night as we waited for our Bioluminescence tour.

I found these little houses so enchanting with all their many colors.

We had a full moon while on the island.  I really like how this turned out.

Road signage was very different.  This tells you that there are curves in the road ahead. 

The blow holes were pretty cool.  Especially when a big wave came crashing onto the rocks. 

A different way to say, "Yield".

Speed limit sign.  Notice how close to the road the foliage is.  There really were no ditches at all.  At times there were some widened places at the side of the road. 

Another one of those multi-colored houses.

Seminary via Zoom.

Another pic of the full moon.

Eating dinner at the resort.  We had a lot of the local fare.  Red snapper was just fish.  Jerk chicken was spicy.  It made Pat sweat.  Goat is chewy.

This was our view as we stood on the pier.  The water was so clear it was easy to see the fish and rocks below.  I love the sound of the crashing waves.  Most days the waves were pretty minimal.

It's a great place to visit!

 

Halloween 2022

I've never been a fan of Halloween.  I detested making costumes for my kids.  I suppose because that creative part of my brain is underdeveloped.  :-)

Clint, on the other hand, loves creating costumes.  He had a plan to make his entire family Mandolorians.  He worked on them all year but didn't quite finish all the details he would've liked.  

Cierra's creative brain is amazing to me.  Eddie as Tow Mater was adorable.

Andrew as Rusteze and Cierra as the Cozy Cone Motel.

So creative.

The Fillmore children were a zombie cheerleader and Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf.  She also got some creative genes.  Obviously got what I didn't.  

 We all met up in Clintonville for trick or treating on Sunday the 30th and then again in Gresham on the 31st.  I have some amazing people in my family!

Sky

The Fall sky has been really beautiful.  I enjoyed seeing the jet contrails lit up in orange/pink.

This beautiful sky showed up on November 3rd.  

After seeing that morning sky I just knew it would be a beautiful day!

 

More Updates

Once the drywall was up I went to work mudding and taping.  This is not my forte.

The holes were filled beautifully and no one is the wiser with where they are.  The seems on the walls, however, are a different story.

The wall on the right is the back of the old garage.  Those wide pine planks were a perfect wall.  I painted them and they never came out completely white.  I love it!

Pat installed the ceiling, the lights and the outlets.  It is coming along nicely.