. May 2019 .
Hello!
Here we are at the end of May. Another fun-filled month with a bit of everything! Some swimming, some beaching, some travel all mixed in with a bit of fun as well!
Michelle takes part in Caymas. Sam and Jake have their exams - last year at High school for Sam!
We all do an 800m Sea swim (or two). Touch Rugby & Rugby make an appearance. Jake takes part in the Discovery Day Challenge. Dave pops across to Freeport. Michelle does Washington (and Boston), and Marianne pops in for a visit.
Sea Swim(s)
It is open water swim season at the moment. There were two 800m sea swims held in May. Jake and Sam did both, while Michelle and Dave did one as well.
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| Jake crosses the line in first place in the FLOW 800m Sea Swim |
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| Sam comes in first for her age group |
A couple of weeks later was the Butterfield Sea Swim. Michelle and Dave had no excuse so they went and swam as well.
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| The only picture of us - getting counted in and about to enter the water. |
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| Sam medalled |
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| Jake just missed out this week |
Michelle and Dave both missed out as well (no surprise for Dave!). They both came in in 4th place in their age groups as well! Michelle wasn't impressed - it was the first time that she didn't place in her age group but there was 20 in it this time and she is nearing the top end of it! The Flowers Mile Sea swim is coming up (the richest open water swim meet in the world apparently), so this was a good warm up for that.
Caymas
Caymas!! A long but very fun day! Highlight was the guest appearance of Kes (Soca artist) on their truck during the parade - the crowd loved it! Michelle managed to stay on her feet (which were killing her by the end of the night!) for the after party concert where Kes the Band was the headliner so she saw him twice in one day!!
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| Michelle and Kirsten preening their feathers beforehand |
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The streets were filled with feathers
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Discovery Day Challenge
Jake took part in the Discovery Day Challenge this year. Michelle did it last year but she was traveling so Jake got the call up. He teamed up with Lisa, Molly & Ria to complete a number of challenges around town.
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| This is the list of Challenges |
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| They had to complete the obstacle course in the water (behind them). Tough work apparently! |
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| Not sure what this challenge is... Maybe they are just waiting. |
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| On the Rifle Range |
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Rum 'Sniffing". No Tasting!
They had to identify some specific smells in the various Rums.
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| Pulling a truck across a carpark |
They had a fun time and came in in 10th place, out of about 30 teams.
Freeport 2019
While Jake was running around town and Michelle was gallivanting around, Dave popped over to Freeport (Bahamas) for the Annual Youth Rugby Festival. Jake didn't go this year, but Dave went along and looked after the Camera Crew and provided the live streaming with Cayman Rugby TV. This was the 9th year of this event, and Dave has been to all. Next year could be a big one!
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As is customary we chartered a Cayman Airways plane to take us to Freeport Friday morning
and bring us back on the Monday. Freeport is pretty close to Miami, but with about 80-odd kids in tow, it's so much easier to fly direct and avoid Miami airport. It's about an hour each way.
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Mick (left) is the only other one to have gone to all of these.
They are catching up with Nige and Adam from Freeport who, funnily enough, have been to them all as well!
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| Rob (blue shirt) is the President of the Freeport club and a good mate of Dave's. |
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View from the Media Tower.
It was a hot couple of days out there filming the games.
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Our Sunday lunch and beers afternoon was interrupted by a massive storm.
We just got the edge of it. Apparently some places in the US took a real pounding.
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| A few of the local islands |
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| CRTV Crew visit The Bonanza Bar - always good for a laugh. |
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| Some of the sights of Port Lucaya - where the Cruise Ships/Tourists generally hang out. |
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| Quiet day |
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| Dave and Bluey in Port Lucaya |
Meanwhile, Michelle jetted off to Boston and Washington for work. Even though she had loads of meetings to keep her busy, she managed to go for a few runs, taking her phone and stopping for a few pics along the way! Thankfully the weather was warm - it was actually too warm when arriving in Boston - she was dressed for the cold!
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Managed to get a couple of selfies in while running around Washington!
View from the plane flying into Washington
So nice to have national parks and lakes in the city to run around - plenty to stop and see
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The Don wasn't about...
Gorgeous park in the middle of Boston city
A river runs right through the middle of Boston and is lovely to run alongside
Harvard University!
This is an old jail that was turned into a hotel - the inside is pretty cool - complete with bars over the windows!
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Other Randoms
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| Sunday boat trip out near Rum Point |
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| Michelle and co, returning from a 'Mudslide Mission' to Rum Point (which was almost a fail as the bar was just closing upon arrival, but Michelle managed to sweet-talk the barman into making them) |
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| Sam makes an appearance at the beach |
Michelle made it back in time from her work trip to play in the deciding Gaelic game of the season. They were 2nd in the league but were equal on points difference so could win the league if they won that game. They played an awesome game, being up by 6 at half time. But the Black team came back and the Greens had to work hard to keep their lead - and they did! Celebrations all round! At the start of the season the Green team had not won a game for 2 seasons so this year's Green team were determined to change that and they broke the drought in the first game. Was a great season with only two losses. Finals day is coming up in a few weeks! Can they take the double?
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| There might be something in that cup...just sayin' |
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| Early morning swim time for Dave at Sunset House |
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| Michelle and the Gaelic girls on a night out for their end of (very short) season dinner |
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| Gibbo! |
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Mick multi-tasking with the BBQ and also the Blender (complete with portable generator) at Governor's Beach.
The blender is for the Mudslides...
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| Sunset in George Town |
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| Jake has been playing a few U19 10-a-side games at the club over the last few weekends. Makes a change from swimming! Although he has to do two hours training in the pool prior to rugby every Saturday, so he's pretty knackered after all of that! Makes for a quiet Saturday afternoon! Except for the day that he had to do a sea swim in the afternoon as well - he slept well that night! |
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| Michelle played in the Cayman International Touch tournament last weekend. A couple of visiting teams were in town for this annual event. They had men's and women's games in the morning and mixed in the afternoon - a very busy and hot day! |
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| Just another sunset |
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| Our friend Marianne (from BVI and now Hong Kong fame) was in town this week for work. We managed to catch up for dinner (twice!) which was nice. |
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| Sam and her mate Katherine take some time out after exams |
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| So, the sun sets on another episode from us.... |
Next month:
- Flowers One Mile Sea Swim
- We all get ready to do some traveling - not necessarily in the same direction
- Swim Club Prizegiving
- other random things that I can't recall just now...
Catch you soon! .
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