The Ritz: Recreation

Laptop Saga update: Some days the old girl works, and other days it gives me the Blue Screen of Death. I'm slowly restoring a selection of photo folders from our online backup to the C drive, and then attempting to move them to our networked external hard drive for safekeeping, but our router (through which I access this external hard drive) is also taking an unscheduled sabbatical. And because things happen in threes: My Garmin running watch has failed on me the last couple times out on the road. It seems like you never realize how much you depend on electronics until none of them work! 

Oh, and speaking of the road and running, this is totally unrelated but super current: A large portion of West Bay Road north of Seven Mile Public Beach has been closed for a huge project between Dart and the CI Government. As I was driving home tonight (after the first day of closure today), I realized that I'll never run on that portion of road again. It just felt weird. Sometimes I get sentimental about the strangest things...

And then I realized that the road is still accessible to non-vehicular traffic (for now). Hooray!  I'll put my tissue box away.

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Anyway.

In my last post, I mentioned that during our Christmas break, we spent some time hanging around the Ritz. This occurred because JS' family was staying at one of the residences, so it was a natural place for all of us to meet and hang out in the sun.

Like several of the large hotels on island, the Ritz offers water crafts of various shapes and sizes to its guests. In addition to the floating table that my MIL can be seen enjoying above, NS and his sister took the Ritz' stand-up paddleboards out for a spin.

I don't know if N has the right idea about paddleboarding. I view it as a way to enjoy the scenery without getting your face wet, while working on your abs and balance.

He didn't get the same memo on the subject.

First, N pulled a King of the Mountain pose.

Then, he took to attacking his sister on her board.

I didn't have my long lens that day, so these zoomed-in photos get a little blurry, but I think you get the idea: He was the aggressive one.

This backfired, of course, since the whole point of these things (as I mentioned) is to maintain balance, not to attack your neighbor.

He was first in the water, but still keeping the Sister Attack as his main priority:

Mission accomplished!!

She screams. He grins. Sibling affection.

With extra people around, N also took advantage of the opportunity to recruit three others for a few rounds of Spikeball.

I love it when there's a girl involved!

As an aside, you'll notice how gorgeous the sky turned out in this next shot, which is directly correlated with the new polarizing filter my in-laws got me for Christmas:

Thanks for helping to beautify the blog, Mom & Dad!

We also used the Ritz as a launching point to try some wakeboarding action along Seven Mile Beach.

A group of us (N, me, his sister, J&S, J's two siblings and his brother-in-law) hooked up with Wakeboard Cayman for a group session. For this activity, I did bring the long lens, and became photographer-in-chief while the experienced riders took to the water.

All the boys were brave enough to try for some air.

On a non-windy day, wakeboarding is a great option for those that like to incorporate a little action into their beach experiences.

We also got a close look at the newest water-based activity craze on the island: The jet pack.

To me, this seems like an expensive way to enjoy the sea, but you must surely feel like a superhero in the process.

Back to the photo-worthy wakeboarders...

Oh look! It wasn't just the boys that got to have all the fun. N's daredevil ways must run in the family, because it didn't take any convincing to get AS on the water.

I definitely need How-To-Be-Brave-And-Coordinated lessons from this one.

JS' sister also looked very comfortable behind the boat.

One of my favorite photos: Wakeboarding past the Ritz. I do love that place!

There were just a few too many observers on the boat to warrant a first-time experience for me, but SS and I definitely want a private lesson some time. Then we'll show those boys how it's done.

Christmas is for family! We had a great time joining our family with J's family for a fabulous morning on the water.

For more wakeboarding shots, check out the full album here.

In my next Ritz-themed post, I'll share our experiences from being guests at the Ritz - the ultimate in the Cayman tourist experience!


That is, if the laptop will let me...