moving in

FINALLY. This post is long in coming. Part of the reason is that we had some major internet hiccups in our new place over the past week, and I was unable to have a productive blog day. But the main reason that it seems like forever since I've wanted to post on this topic is that we moved out of our NJ apartment on August 29th and didn't move into our Cayman condo until October 30th. Talk about being bored of wearing the same outfits for eight weeks!

On the same day as my dolphin adventure and the CISPA volleyball tournament on the SMB public beach, we moved out of Sunshine Suites into our two-bedroom condo in West Bay. Nope, we didn't cut out any extracurricular activities just because we were moving. By 8:30 a.m., we had moved almost all of our belongings out of a second-floor hotel room into a second- and third-floor condo. A special thanks to NS and BK for managing several large boxes up and down all those stairs!

In the scope of moves over the course of one's lifetime, this one will probably be one of the easiest. Moving out of NJ was quite the challenge as we had to find homes for every little knick knack we owned. Once in Grand Cayman, however, our boxes consisted of clothes, a few kitchen items, electronics, minimal decorations, toiletries, and sports gear. It really didn't take long to find a place for almost everything. Clothes took the longest to sort through, since we had many things to wash, press, and hang (and we still have a hanger shortage). Overall, though, there was nothing too strenuous, which worked out well with our firsts guests arriving Thursday after moving day.

We're quite pleased with our condo. We feel that it provides us the best value for the dollar, considering the island's apartment market coupled with the items on our wish list.  Features we especially like:

• Two bedrooms, two bathrooms. I mentioned guests. I haven't met anyone with a guest list like ours. We are expecting people in November, December, January, February, May, July, August, and December 2011. We're glad people want to visit us (or rather, the island), and we made sure to rent the extra space. Plus, there is no way a 1-bedroom would have enough closest space for me.

Master bedroom

Main bathroom

Guest bedroom

• Near a beach and pool. I adore the beach, but not everyone can take that much sand. I wanted to be within a short bike ride of the coast, and we were fortunate enough to find this condo that has both beach and pool.  Our pool overlooks the sea, and there is a reef about 200 yards out where you can see waves gently breaking. We hear that the snorkeling and diving is terrific right off our own beach! The beach itself is a bit "wild" and is in need of a good raking, for which NS has volunteered. Also, the water right off the beach has a good deal of turtle grass growing in it, so they've built a dock so you can walk out beyond most of the grass and climb down into the water. Then again, if all that is too much, there is always the pristine pool!

[photo credit: MOD]

Hmm should we go to the beach, or stay at the pool?

• Updated furniture. I know this is weird and kind of shallow, but it was hard for me to reconcile myself to a couch with palm trees on it for two years. I'm sure in the long-run it wouldn't have mattered, but I was really hoping for something somewhat modern. Our condo is owned by a law firm, and the former tenant was one of the firm's attorneys who apparently was given a decorating allowance. She didn't do too badly!

Living room

Dining room

• Four balconies. I'm still amazed there are four! Currently, we have a grill on the one outside of the dining room, a 5-piece patio set outside of the living room (facing the sea), and NS' hammock will be hung on our bedroom patio. We've found that when the humidity is low (which is becoming more frequent as we approach "winter"), we can leave all these balcony doors open and get an incredible sea breeze in the condo.
• Decent pots and pans. A minor point, but again, we're talking two years here. Cooking (assuming I cook) on el-cheapo stuff would get old fast, especially while preparing a Thanksgiving meal. The condo came with a basic set of Wolfgang Puck stainless steel pots and pans. Good enough for the likes of me. And while I'm at it, I'll mention that the silverware is even nicer than the stuff I left at home.
• A front-loading washing machine. This is super super minor, and it was never on "the list", but many of the apartments we looked at had a stacked washer/dryer combo, so I was excited to see a free-standing set. On the flip side, I haven't been overly impressed with the dryer's capabilities. I'm thinking a small clothesline on one of the balconies might be in order.
• A double sink in the master bathroom. This is going to ruin me for life.

• A cute little key holder with real Cayman postage stamps shellacked on the front. I won't get into my former philately obsession. Just know that I love this.

• An amazing view from the master bedroom. Truly a selling point!

By day

By night

But at the end of the day, I guess home is where this picture sits: