Turks and Caicos

Turks and Caicos

I just finished downloading pictures from our trip to Turks and Caicos Island last month. I had a good excuse: Colin was setting up my new computer. I now have a bigger monitor, faster hard drive, quicker connection - ahhh, sweet.

Back to Turks and Caicos. We stayed for 11 days at Northwest Point Resort located, oddly enough, at the northwest area of the island. Most visitors head to Grace Bay and seeing the beach there I understand. The white sand beach has the most beautiful turquoise water. But there were people (how dare they!), construction, buildings and noise. At the resort, there was us. Us, the geckos, the beach and the warm sea. We pretended we were from Survivor, having to survive on this demanding island alone, having to catch fish in order to survive, having to finish my grouper taco with rum punch (that was our reward challenge - which we won ALL the time).

Lorry and Kyle joined us on the third day. Aside from swimming and lounging, we played Uno, dominoes, hearts and poker. Friendly match at first which quickly became cut-throat. We took our game to the pool, beach, and the restaurants. We also snorkled around the island except for Emma who rode the boogie board that has a viewfinder.


*BREAK for Lauren and Emma*

Emma: I saw a barracuda. I also saw tiny zebra fish.

Lauren: I saw pufferfish and barracuda. I also saw a nurse shark that no one else saw.

Our favorites:

Emma: The pool because I played in it all the time.

Lauren: The Conch Farm because I liked looking at different conchs that were growing and the names the Island Princesses.


And these are My Island Princesses



Lauren at a restaurant in Blue Hills











Emma at the National Park Beach in Northwest Point















We enjoyed being with each other. And isn't that the point of family vacation?

In my mind's eye, I can still see Emma in her blue hat playing in the sand. I can also see Lauren snorkling besides me and suddenly diving down to get a closer look. I see Colin gleefully driving the 4WD on the dirt road. I see Kyle concentrating on what domino tile to throw down. I see Lorry blissfully working out her crossword puzzle. I see myself sitting as gentle waves lap around me and with my family before me, thinking, "This is not bad at all. This family vacation."

Yesterday was game day. Colin came home early to take us to the day game. Red Sox vs. Kansas City Royals at Fenway. We hurried to the park with half an hour to spare. Enough time to load up on 2 Fenway Franks, 1 Italian sausage, 2 fries and 2 fried dough. No, not for me. For the girls - I keep telling myself.

Game day temperature is 75 degrees. Beautiful. Considering the day before it was 98. Slight breeze, clear blue skies, under the cooling shade and the green field before us. Beautiful.

As the game progress, Colin tries to get me to change my seat once again (as always). Two of our seats have obstructed views. We look out over the right field towards home plate (in other stadium it is in the boonies, but in Fenway there is no such thing). Yes, I can't see the pitcher- only the ball being hurled disembodiedly. I can see everything else except whatever is behind the green steel beam in front of me. Do I care, am I bothered by it, is it necessary for my enjoyment? From my seat, there is a tv monitor to the left which brodcast the game on local cable 1.5 seconds behind real-time and on the right the jumbotron which replays any key plays. I have everything I need: my girls sated with fries and french dough, Colin explaining the nuances of scoring the game to Lauren, Emma scanning the park with binoculars, me volleying between the tv, the field and the big screen. Sweet Caroline chorus. Our boys 1, them 0. Beautiful. Even with 2 too many hot dogs.