Visions of Tiki Huts

7 mile bridge to Key West

After picking up our bus at Car Safe… a secure car storage place in Miami that is run by Andrew and his lovely wife Victoria. They are a wonderful couple and were very gracious to us…even giving us a refund (which we weren’t expecting) after we returned early from our trip. If you are looking for a great place to keep your vehicle safe while touring the local islands, check them out!....we are off to the Florida Keys.

Ok….hey where are the sandy beaches and Tiki huts? The drive down to through the keys was wonderful, miles of bridges through ocean waters. Pelicans flying along keeping you company. Once we got down to  Key West…with the beach boys song blaring in my head…Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go… no sandy beaches…just rocking shores. Not what we had envisioned. Very much a party town. We hung out for the night and then headed back up. Stopping for lunch in Key Largo…Mark and I decided to try some local fare so bring on the tenderized alligator and dolphin…ok before you freak out…which I was doing when I saw it on the menu in a variety of dishes, our waitress came over to explain the difference between cute little Flipper (which is illegal to catch and holds a 12 year prison sentence) and the Mahi Mahi (as it is called in Hawaii)…not at all the same thing…phew! Ok give me the dolphin…still feeling somewhat apprehensive!...But yum! The Alligator wasn’t bad either…tasted like dark meat turkey…no not chicken!! But close! After a good lunch we headed for the Everglades to see if we could see any live alligators.

Alligator Anyone?

Driving the Keys

The Dolphin that is on the menu : } not Flipper!

On the Road Again

Tranquility

We said goodbye to the turquoise waters of the Turks and our good friends Will and Laura. I know you must be thinking we are crazy for not hanging there for the initially planned 3 months but to be honest, after almost 4 weeks, we were missing Olive and life on the road! Highlights though were the walks along the white sandy beaches, diving into the clear crystal water, saving a puffer fish that had got swept up on shore… that was neat seeing one so close up…and going to church…again being the only “crackers” , as they called us, in the whole church! Also, although the water and beaches are very beautiful, life in the Turks and Caicos is very expensive....Breakfast out was about $70….10$ for a small pot of coffee, $10 for a bottle of mineral water, $30 for a buffet type breakfast! And 21% tax. So you would think that buying groceries would be cheaper but it works out that you are spending about the same. They do not have any natural water source so all of the water is obtained through a de-salinization process, powered by diesel gas. There are only a few items that are grown on the island in hydroponics…such as cucumbers, mint and some lettuce. Otherwise all of the veggies and other food items come from the US. It is mostly dry brush and shrub islands. We are glad we were able to experience life there but are happy to be back in our bus! 

Reflections

As we are now stationary and visiting friends, we have time to reflect on our travels and what we have seen, the people we have met and how God has been guiding our steps and keeping us safe. We have discovered many things in the almost 6 months of being on the road with "Olive".

1. God is so very good...when we were without work God provided new clients

2. People, at the heart, are good and kind. We were given a full tank of gas by a complete stranger in Montana (get the flax next time), we have been invited do dinner and to share our story, we were taken in when the heat wave hit, by a wonderful man, we enjoyed a very yummy lunch with talented and inspiring individuals in the quaint garden of a Toronto brownstone, we were offered a place to stay and feast when hurricane Irene hit, we spent 6 days in the most beautiful spot in Cape Breton in exchange for our design services, we found kindness in a father and son of Nova Scotia when we needed to get Olive new "carbs",  we shared music and great company by a lighthouse in PEI...beautiful beautiful people are all across our countries.

3. We have had opportunities to pray with people all across Canada and the East coast of the US. To offer peace in God's love. We need to continue to do this and increase our boldness in stepping out. Also to the young girl who proved her Grandad wrong...you can live in a VW bus and be a traveling designer....hold on to your dreams. They are bigger than you think!

4. We have been Blessed and been a Blessing in God's Holy name.

5. We have increased our love for one another and found out even more how much alike we are.

6. We have learned how very clever God is putting us in a 72 VW bus because we have had line-ups asking about Olive and our story... God's story and His goodness to us. Usually the first question we are asked is"what year is it?"... to which Mark now responds "it's 2011 man, where have you been?"

7. It is possible to wash your whole body in 2 cups of water! Oh and BC has the best tasting water around!!

8. Stepping out of your comfort zone leads to wonderful adventures. You never know where you will end up when relying on God's plan for your life but it is always better than what you had planned!

9. Fear holds us back and faith erases fear. He will never leave you or forsake you!

10. We have shared precious moments in peoples lives that we would never of experienced had we stayed home.

Blessings and love to all!

The Turks and Where?

Island are bottom right...top left is Florida...below Cuba

view walking through the Gansevoort Lobby

Well if you are not sure where Turks and Caicos Islands are you are not alone. Mark and I didn't know where they were until our good friends Will and Laura located here for work. The Caicos island is home to Providenciales or Provo as it is referred to locally. They are touted to have the best beaches in the world and I think they are definitely in the top few.  What we did find strange though is that there are no farmers markets here. They do not grow any vegetables or fruits, all of the food is imported from the US which is a short hour and a half plane ride away but makes groceries really pricey! This is also costly for the locals as they only have a few choices in where to shop IGA being the main destination. One of the top hang outs is Hemingway's Restaurant... great food and service. Also they have a cool cat, who is a local not so wild cat... as he didn't have a name we called him "Oz" as he looks a bit like Haley's cat. Best place so far though is the Gansevoort  Resort...superb views....fantastic food...friendly service. I would image staying there is great too. I have checked out the local sports and have be going to Kung-Fu which is good...tried the karate but only a few kids in the class so not sure if I will keep going back....we'll see. We may not be hanging on the islands as long as originally planned but it is a great place to see.

OZ #2

Our current office space

Beautiful Beaches

Hmmm... a wee bit wet!

After Georgia...we headed further south to the land of oranges and apparently the tail end of Hurricane Phillipe. Spent the next two nights at the Holiday Inn Express...staying dry.

Georgia On My Mind

Web photo of the Hamilton-Turner Inn

As you can tell we are doing some catch up on the blogging here and we didn't see all of these places in one day! It was now Oct 4th and we were heading into Georgia... Savannah Georgia to be exact. Mark had decided that for my birthday we would spend the night in an old Southern B&B establishment The Hamilton Turner Inn...and oh my was it spectacular.  The home was restored to its original grandeur by the current owners Gay and Jim Dunlop.... it really is beautiful. The service was 4 star... the staff were very professional and friendly, the breakfast was scrumptious and we left feeling pampered and appreciated. They even let us borrow a movie in the evening "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" which is a bit of history of the scandalous parties that used to go on in the house. If you ever find yourself in Savannah Georgia we highly recommend taking the time to visit and spend a night in this historic Mansion. We also walked around and next door was the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist located in Lafayette square. Mark and I took a peak inside and Wow...amazing!

Web photo-of our room..doesn't show the 12ft ceilings.

web photo of the spectacular dining room

web photo of the wonderful yummy breakfast

Took this one for you Richard...Pipes

Beautiful Murals

stain glass art on every window

Next Stop.... Myrtle Beach

Upside down mansion at Myrtle Beach Amusement Park

Another beautiful vacation spot...long sandy beaches...and a great amusement centre. We spent a few nights in the parking lot of the Amusement park... had a great connection at the Starbucks there and met some young guys who were checking out the bus and life on the road. One was a photographer from New York, the other Guy rented mopeds in Costa Rica and third I believe was local...hey how's it going guys! We hung out talking to them for quite sometime and really enjoyed the conversation and sharing stories.

Giant Ferris Wheel at Sunset

Enjoying a sandwich on the cool evening beach

Olive hangin at Myrtle Beach