Tuesday, February 6, 2018

No Rest For The Weary


Everybody get a ball!
Sundays are a serious day of rest on the Island and there isn't much going on anywhere.  But we've got things to do and places to go! I did let the kids sleep in, but never let it be said that I was derelict in my vacation planning duties!

Chico picked us up early afternoon and took the four of us, plus our friends from Kelly Nicole - Paul and Deb - to the surprisingly upscale, if somewhat small, Lavo Lanes Bowling Alley.  Yes!  I took my kids Bowling in Paradise!


We got a discount on bowling early in the afternoon and the place was just opening up when we arrived.  I was very impressed at how modern and new the facility is!  There is a restaurant with a really decent menu and all the shoes were nice and new!  We got right down to business and bowled two games and shared a whole pile of chicken wings and fries! 



Yes, Paul and Deb had to participate in a Foot Picture!
 What a great time we had even though it was sort of like being in the twilight zone!  Just weird that we're here on an island in the Caribbean and there's this time machine that transported us back to Anywhere-USA for a couple of hours on a hot afternoon!

Nobody complained when the fun was over and we were deposited back at the boat once again.  We all crashed thankfully that there WASN'T more entertainment available on a Sunday evening!


We still had two full days and part of a third to fill with sights, so early the next morning we got started with a delicious cup of island brewed coffee and pastries from Spice Isle Coffee.

There has been a serious lack of coffee choices throughout the Caribbean.  I had no idea that we would have such a difficult time finding good coffee.  I thought it would be grown on all of these islands, but no!  We've been searching since Puerto Rico and the French Islands, for a coffee that measures up to our favorite coffee from Texas.  A chance detour brought us here and we are so glad! 



Gerald came to live on the island and saw the need for fine roasted coffee made locally, so he started his business and it has been growing steadily ever since.  He brings the finest coffee beans here in bulk and then roasts them, to make an assortment of very individual and unique coffee flavors.

Raw beans ready for roasting 
This simple machine is where the magic happens!
The roasted beans are stored in bins until the ladies come to package them for sale.  They smell like heaven!
Raw beans are poured into the top of the roasting machine
Today was our lucky day!  Gerry was roasting and we got to watch! 

He had this machine shipped here, and even though it looks simple enough, the magic happens in the roasting.   Gerry experiments with the roasting process until he gets the best flavor from each of the different beans he uses.  He may or may not get more of those same beans again, so each batch has the potential to be one-of-a-kind!  The end product is an assortment of truly Artisan Coffees right here in li'l ol' Grenada!

The beans already inside the machine can be seen turning brown through the viewing glass



The aroma from these hot beans was almost tangible!
We all had a nice coffee drink and a pastry and left feeling very special for having been given the chance to peek behind the curtain.  The caffein gave us the jolt we needed to get us through another busy day of touristing! 









We caught another public van and rode on toward St. Georges.  The kids wanted to take another look at the market and maybe pick up some souvenirs.  I took them to see one of my favorite vendors, the peanut guy!  He makes honey roasted and ginger peanuts fresh all day.  You can get a little bag of them for around 50¢ US and they are warm and wonderful. 

We got there just as it began to rain so the freshly roasted nuts had to be quickly covered.  They can't be bagged until they cool a bit, and they have to be kept dry!

It began to rain so things had to be covered, but we weren't leaving without the NUTS!
We strolled through the vast souvenir market but the kids weren't swayed by the typical stuff.
Finding nothing that tempted their discriminating tastes, we backtracked by public van to the Grand Anse Craft and Spice Market.  This is another little mall that's right on one of the prettiest beaches on Grenada.

The vendors sell locally made wares of all kinds and Melissa found a woven hat that she couldn't live without.  Shopping done, we wandered out onto the beach.  The line of food vendors were calling my name with their tantalising smells!  It MUST be lunch time!  And maybe we could get a nice cold drink at one of these little bars as well!


No wine coolers here, so Ting with a shot of rum will do nicely!

Limited seating as we waited for our fish & chips, but more tables await in the courtyard.
The kids picked lunch from another vendor


Maybe it was the warm day, or the full tummies, or the rum!  Probably a combination of all three - but whatever it was, we were fading fast.  After our snack, we dragged our tired bodies back to the boat for a nap before dinner.  Lucky for me, I didn't have to cook at ALL today!  The kids are Craft Beer lovers and we were delighted to show off what Grenada has to offer in micro-brew!




We had a nice dinner at the Brewery - along with our drinks of course.  But I've gotta tell you, our asses were dragging!  The days are warm and we're packing so much into each hour, even the kids were happy to go back to the boat and relax!  We've got one more fun-filled day and it's the best one yet!  The Cutty Tour!  I just can't wait to show the kids all of the wonderful things this island has hidden in her lush green hills!  Tune in for the last installment of  Other-People's-Vacation-Pics!

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