house guests.8

In another episode of "NS v. The Women", I was pleased to host two fellow accountants from New Jersey - former coworkers that are now strictly friends.

Outnumbered, but handling it well.

 JG and CMD arrived in Grand Cayman on a Sunday, leaving behind a rainy New Jersey and mountains of work. Their one rule while on vacation? No talking about work (except to bring me up to speed on any interesting news.) I was happy they chose to spend their hard-earned time off with us, so we started their vacation off right with a Cayman sunset on the beach.

The next day was Discovery Day - a beautiful public holiday, where we spent hours in the sun. What a contrast to the horrible winter the Northeast U.S. experienced this year! That evening, the four of us headed to Osetra Bay - a new restaurant on the water in West Bay. We had heard many good things, and we weren't disappointed.

I really liked the white linens against the dark wood, and hanging a chandelier in the middle of an indoor/outdoor nautical-styled patio added an unexpected touch of elegance.

A full moon only added to the magic of the evening.

Once the sun had set, the warm lights came on, giving the whole place a clean, creamy, comforting glow.

Everyone enjoyed the food. It seemed like there was so much of it! I'll only include a few photos here, but between tiny tastes to start (compliments of the chef), appetizers, palate cleansers, entrées, and a complimentary dessert sampler, no one went hungry! The prettiest pictures follow:

Cayman Salad, including beetroot and celeriac

NS ordered baby octopus as his app (including a tiny quail egg). Can we say brave?!
This guy has changed so much in the last eight years...

Each entrée came with the most darling jar of mashed potatoes.  If only it was just a bit larger...

In general, Osetra Bay boasts unique table wear and cutlery - making for a lovely table setting.

So many fun sweets to sample! All complimentary - amazing!

What an enjoyable evening, spending it with these great people.

Unfortunately, after Discovery Day, I had to return to full-time work. So while my NJ girls drove themselves around on the left side of the road, swimming with dolphins and kissing stingrays, my adventures with them were limited to dinners out. Which were all lovely.

We meandered around Camana Bay one evening and found ourselves at Abacus after I gushed and gushed about their Sea Bass. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Will I ever order anything else there??

"Cheers. To another night in Cayman."

While strolling back to the car, we passed through the Lilly Pulitzer patio. We weren't sure what to make of their posted hours. I wonder if I tried to arrive at 10:00 a.m., if that would constitute private shopping? Maybe that's why they have this outdoor furniture - to relax while you're waiting the one minute for it to open.

 

You may be wondering where NS was in all this. He has been working like a maniac in what seems to be the busy season that just won't quit. We were sorry to leave him behind, but it gave us the chance to focus on our girl time. Like french braiding.

The result: So classy!

I wanted the girls to experience a sunset dinner, and what better place for that than The Cracked Conch in West Bay. We arrived in time, but with the haze on the horizon, I was initially somewhat disappointed with the show.

No one else at the restaurant seemed to mind, and soon people were lining up just to get a shot while the sun was still visible.

Then suddenly, the sky transformed into a multi-colored miracle.

For the record, I specifically requested this table in the reservation.
You'll have deal with looking at the backs of these heads.

 The sunset just became more and more amazing. I almost couldn't focus on my food (which is quite the statement, considering I ordered sea scallops with roasted capers and pumpkin puree, topped with watercress. I literally scraped my plate.)

The sky was so unbelievable that, like an annoying mom, I made everyone get in the hot seat for their photo shoot.

Even myself.

Not to be outdone, JG had a stroke of photography genius and saw this shot in our neighbors' wine glasses:

*sigh*    All too soon, it was our last night all together. We made it a casual one and chose Sunshine Grill for our final dinner. You've seen photos of the food before: Can't go wrong with Island Fish Tacos, the Snapper Sandwich, and any of their burgers. Now that I don't live at Sunshine (like we did for five weeks), being there always makes me smile.

 I'm such a fan of the personal service that Sunshine Suites provides to its guests. For the first time, I noticed that they now have rack of pastel-colored beach cruisers available to their guests for rental. Besides being the quintessential mode of beach transportation, on this flat island, a beach cruiser is all you'll ever need.

I think the girls had a nice time relaxing in Cayman. I hope they returned home refreshed and rejuvenated. They deserved every moment of rest here, and hopefully they'll have a ray of Cayman sunshine in their pockets to warm up their home state.

Complimentary ice cream. Flavor: PB&J! Delish!

Thanks for the visit, girls! We enjoyed your smiles and laughter - keep the Cayman vibe alive in NJ!