Friday Morning

A happy day of sunning on the beach!

All spiffed up, going for our gourmet dinner at Sir Richard's! (Shirlene, notice the elegant evening bag I am carrying!)

We are all sad that our fabulous week is winding down! It is 7 a.m. and I am, once again, sitting in the resort foyer with my computer. Unfortunately, there is no computer access in the rooms, but who can complain about sitting here with the ocean on my one side, beautiful palms and gardens on the other, with a gentle breeze blowing through. Betty is around the corner, second in line for making dinner reservations. Tonight we are headed to the Japanese Restaurant.

Because the computers weren't working for two days, we weren't able to give many details of the wedding. I think the pictures we posted give an idea of the idyllic setting. Pat and the girls had left around noon to get their hair done and then Pat rejoined us for lunch. Her hair looked fantastic and fortunately they had put enough hair spray on it that even a hurricane wouldn't have disturbed it. Even though there had been a rainstorm in the morning, the afternoon was perfect: warm, sunny and breezy.

The guests began assembling on the beach about 3:45. The chairs were set up facing the arbour with the ocean behind - beautiful! Betty had brought "bubbles" for everyone to blow so she put those on the seats. The groom and groomsmen came down first and we were able to get some nice shots of the Wilson family together. Then came the bridesmaids, beautiful in teal. The got rid of their shoes and walked barefoot on the beach. Angela walked slowly down the ramp in her gorgeous dress. She looked amazing - she had chosen the perfect dress for a destination wedding. Her hair cascaded down her back and she had a flower behind her ear. The ceremony itself was very touching and beautiful. The minister gave a few pieces of advice to the newlyweds. After the declaration that they were Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, we all went along the beach for some group shots. What fun that was, trying to get everyone into one picture! We stood on the beach drinking champagne and toasting the happy couple. Fantastic

!

The reception was traditional in format - entrance of the wedding party, followed by the bride and groom, speeches (short and sweet), yummy dinner, and lotsa dancing. However the setting made it very unique: singing crickets (Richard says they are tree frogs!), gentle breezes, the sound of the ocean waves pounding on the shore, friendly beaming waitstaff. All in all, it was a perfect day!

Wednesday was our "off day".The weather was threatening all day with short periods of sun but never much blue sky. It ended up raining from mid afternoon off and on. However, that gave us a chance to go to Pat and Donna's room and visit with the three Wilson boys. Scott brought the DVD of their trip to the falls on the catamaran and that was fun to watch. That was our night to have our fancy meal at "Sir Richard's" so we got all dressed up and had a leisurely meal. We all enjoyed our dinner, although 9 o'clock is too late for "old gals" to be eating! Betty had crab soup, Pat had mussels Rockefeller, Donna had cous cous with shrimp and mussels and octopus, I had vegetable soup (of course). For dinner, Betty had the beef filet which she said was divine, Donna had chicken, Pat had lamb, and I had linguini. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Thursday was perfect! There was not a cloud in the sky until about 4 p.m. and the breezes kept it from getting too hot! We had our usual extensive breakfast at the buffet. It is so much fun having so many friends and acquaintances here - everywhere we go, we know people! We spent the morning on the beach, sunning and swimming. The water was quite wavy, although the reef keeps it from ever getting too choppy. We were surprised by the number of topless women on the beach - some even as old as us!!! (We took pictures!). Then, of course, there were also the Speedo clad Europeans - gross!

Around noon, we moved to the pool as sand was blowing into everything. The kids and other adults were spread around the deck so everyone was very friendly. We swam in the Infinity pool - very refreshing - and Pat and I lay on the tile lounges in the pool. I could have cheerfully gone to sleep there but would have been a lobster by the end! We sauntered down the beach to The Plantation for lunch. On our way, we went through the auditorium and got our picture taken with a very skinny "Santa". They were putting up rather tacky Christmas decorations on the stage. The others had Jerk Chicken along with the buffet and said it was amazing. No one could complain about the variety at the buffet! WOW. For those of us who love vegetables, we are in heaven. I love how they use "pumpkin" (squash) in so many ways. Yummy.

After more time by the pool, sunning and visiting, we came up and put the pictures on our blog. While we were doing that, some staff were decorating the Christmas tree in the foyer. The decorations are rather sparse and there is no star at the top, but who's criticizing. It does add a festive touch to the space! We were casual for dinner last night and went to the buffet. Everyone was feeling a bit bloated, so it seemed that we all cut down a bit on what we ate. I still managed to have a piece of pumpkin pie!!! After dinner, we went back to our room while Donna went to use my computer in the foyer. She came running up to say Alicia was on the stage competing in the Scavenger Hunt. We ran down and watched the end of the competition - very funny. Alicia was third - no one had any i.d. to give her. We watched some Jay Leno - poor Tiger and all the jokes - and then turned in about 11:30.

Donna is now up to 14 different drinks which she has sampled - add a Blue Ocean, Strawberry Daiquiri, a Cosmo, a lime Daiquiri to the list. I tried a Miami Vice under Leah's instructions.

Today looks like a great day. The sun is up now and Betty has just gone to get us a pot of coffee. We hope you are all having a great day up there in the northland! Betty and Donna have now joined me, Pat is saving our spot on the beach, then we are off to breakfast and another day of frolicking in the sun!