house guests.17: hungry men

As my last post about these guys indicated, they kept their days filled with as many action-packed adventures as possible. But everyone needs the chance to refuel, and Grand Cayman has more than enough options in that regard. The theme for this trip's restaurants was "Delicious Yet Affordable". You know our default choice for that combo is The Sunshine Grille.

Waiting for a table, sitting pool-side. Not so bad.

Aside from the award-winning menu, you can also find local touches like Pepper Jelly and fresh tomatoes lining the screened-in porch. It's the epitome of casual island dining, and as you can see from N's ensemble above, footwear is optional.

Another one of our top picks for affordable dining is Grand Old House's pasta night every Thursday. B&K joined us for this regularly-scheduled feast.

friends. fire. piano. I'll take all three.

The deal with Pasta Night is that it's a huge plate of design-your-own pasta for $10. I recommend showing up between 6 and 7 p.m., because you don't want the chefs to run out of ingredients...

...and you also don't want to miss the sunset.

Grand Old House is the host to many formal events. Looks wedding-worthy to me!

After stuffing our faces and bellies with customized pasta, it was time to walk it off by strolling through Camana Bay.  I'd venture to say that no matter what time of day or night I visit Camana Bay, I always find something photo-worthy.

Full moon at Camana Bay

The amount of thought that must have gone into the design of Camana Bay is mind-boggling. I like the repeated elements in the top two photos below, where the patterns of live palm trees can be found within the lanterns and the wooden backdrops of the storefront signs. I also like how the bottom photo shows off the multitude of little lanterns that softly light the Paseo.

A trip up the Observation Tower never disappoints, especially with the colorful underwater mosaic to distract from the 75-foot climb.

Group shot!

Since there really aren't that many tall buildings on the island, the Observation Tower provides a unique vantage point.

Land ho!

Here's an easterly shot of of the island from the tower, with the lights of Rum Point and Kaibo in the distance.

The tower also provides a great view of the ever-changing fountains in the Crescent.

A walk along Camana Bay's canal waterfront had me noticing even more of the interesting design features and lights.

No trip to Camana Bay, however brief, would be complete without stopping in at one of the several eateries. Since my heavy dinner had me feeling the guilt, I forewent the popular Haagen Dazs option and instead visited Ginger Lily's frozen yogurt shop.

Green tea frozen yogurt with raspberries and blackberries.
My salivary glands just time traveled to the past.

Now, lest you think that our only source of sustenance was found outside the home, let me set the record straight. Most of our sustenance was found outside the home, but we did make time for a couple chill nights of eating in.

The guys look for crabs on our dock while catching the sunset before dinner.

We brought out the crepe pan for another design-your-own meal - this time with more sweet options.

KT works for his dinner.

There are a select few cooking projects that I quickly delegate to N, and he immediately accepts: Grilling, donut-making, and crepe-flipping.

It's all in the wrist. Or something.

Who can resist a combo of strawberries and nutella, or chicken and manchego, or peanut butter and banana?

None of us, that's for sure.

On another evening, we enjoyed a beach bonfire by the light of a full moon. I think I spent five minutes trying to get a tripod-less shot of the orange sky as the moon rose.

[I think someone told me the moon doesn't actually rise. Newsflash: It did that night.]

It's hard to find enough dry wood on this island to have a well-stoked fire, so we usually end up burning a wooden pallet. We (read: NS) also usually chop up the pallet prior to lighting it. But it was a long weekend and we (read: NS) were feeling lazy.

The boys coaxed and teased and pleaded with this pallet to finally light. It did. But only after I prayed.

Fun with a sparkler: Eight second exposure, no tripod.

I think, if you read it right to left, it says "N [heart] upside down open box".
Which may mean "N loves J".

I leave you with a shot of the three guys at one of my personal favorite cheap eats on the island: Al La Kebab. I've visited ALK on my birthday two years in a row. Middle Eastern food never disappoints me!

A huge thanks to KT and JDub for visiting and giving us an excuse to show off the island and enjoy ourselves during a brief lull in our busy season. You know where to find us for your next Caribbean adventure!