Friday

Friday morning Mommy and Daddy woke up at 6:30 a.m. but managed to doze off (after opening the doors to their veranda to see the sun and ocean) until 7:50. At 8:00, breakfast of breads, fruit and hot chocolate was brought to our suite and we ate it out on the veranda. After breakfast, Mommy went for a short run around the resort and along the beach before going back to pick up Daddy and head to check out the fitness center, which had been dramatically improved since the last time we were here.

Our rental car was delivered at 11:00, so we showered and headed out to explore the island and see the changes since the last time we were here 10 years ago. We had learned from our cab driver the first day that there is much economic development going on around the island, and we could see for ourself how different things looked since the last time we were here. The roads were better, there were many more larger buildings and most importantly the "shack" we had visited for lunch every day during our honeymoon ("Gee Wee's") had relocated to a more modern "strip shopping center" of sorts. The island still retained its feel, though. We made a quick stop at the "grocery store" to pick up some snacks for our room and then headed to the other side of the island.

Friday was the last day of Carnival and, as such, the biggest day and a holiday on the island, so we went to see what activities were going on. We had been told that a parade would start at 1:00 p.m. but shortly before that time we didn't see any preparations and saw few people. So after exploring the downtown (Valley) area and locating the restaurant for dinner later that night (Koal Keel), we decided to go to Shoal Bay and get lunch. We immediately found the place we had eaten lunch at 10 years ago, Uncle Ernie's, where we enjoyed a lunch of a veggie burger and fries (for Mommy) and ribs and fries (for Daddy). We learned that, like Cap Juluca, Uncle Ernie's had been destroyed by the hurricane in 1999 but Uncle Ernie himself rebuilt in three days and reopened the beachside restaurant. Sadly, we also learned that Uncle Ernie died last year.

After lunch we stopped at an art gallery where we met the artist and bought a couple of gifts. We then went back to Cap Juluca in time to go to a beginner tennis clinic where Mommy proved to be VERY beginner and Daddy proved to be a ringer. The tennis pro here was a very good (and patient) teacher, though, and we met a nice family from Westchester, New York.

After the tennis clinic, we finally made our way to the beach in what we thought was time enough to get the sorbet that is delivered to guests. We were disappointed to find that we missed the sorbet delivery by a half hour but learned our lesson and won't let that happen again! Instead, we took a short swim in the ocean, where Mommy learned it's quite different than her laps in the pool and that sea water doesn't taste as good as pool water.

We had a brief rain shower, but that didn't deter Daddy from staying on the beach. Mommy came back up to the room to read and take a short nap before we both got ready for dinner at Koal Keel. On the way to the restaurant, we finally saw all of the Carnival celebrations- we figured that everyone on the island (14,000 inhabitants) must have been at this celebration! We were actually the only ones at the restaurant at first, but were quickly joined by a large party and another couple who we found out were also staying at Cap Juluca.

A picture of Mommy and Daddy leaving for dinner...the staff member who took the picture didn't quite get how to use a camera...

We enjoyed another yummy dinner- Mommy had a goat cheese salad to start, followed by tamarind shrimp. Daddy had crawfish ravioli to start and tuna for dinner. The best part was dessert- Mommy had pavlova (cherries, ice cream and meringue) and Daddy had an apple tart:

It was a perfect day- and Mommy and Daddy agreed we'd "lather, rinse, repeat" the next day!

Meanwhile, back at home Alex, Ari and Kira were all having a good time. Ari and Alex took a trip to feed the ducks at the lake, followed by a shopping trip to Target judging by the pictures sent to us by Aunt Lori. All of the kids had a reunion when Alex, Ari, Nana and Poppy went to Miri and Opa's house for Shabbat dinner.