What a great time!
Our daughter, Juli, and her friend, Lauren Winter, arrived here a week ago Friday to spend their Spring Break with us, escaping thankfully from cold and damp Boston. As usual, the weather here was perfect, making for a great week of shopping, swimming, sunning and touring. Oh and how could I forget, sailing.
We spent the first day shopping at the market in St. George which has been in existence for decades. I remember it from my first trip here in 1984! Colorful is a word that probably does not do it justice. We bought lots of fruit and vegetables, some that we had never seen before, all from interesting, helpful, knowledgeable vendors. I guess Farmers Markets are the same everywhere.

That night we went to BANANAS, a college scene bar that caters to the Medical College here. I went with the girls for protection and was far out of my comfort zone. I held up quite well until about 11 PM when they took my bar stool away...seems they do that to make more room at the bar. At that point, the place was really filling up, the music was getting intolerable, so I went to hang out with the bouncers until Juli and Lauren were ready to leave. I managed to strike up a conversation with a wayward local boy standing OUTSIDE the entrance, not allowed in, whom I advised to start acting responsibly, stop drinking and smoking weed or expect to wake up at 40 years old still nowhere. Always the Mom, I guess.

Sunday night Lauren's parents arrived and we set sail on Monday to explore the South Coast here. Only sailing a few hours each day, we tacked out and back in different harbors, each with a different feel. A Jump Up at Hog Island, snorkeling at Clarks Court and swimming at Old Harbor, with a great island tour in between where we saw a nutmeg factory, a rum factory, monkeys, a waterfall and every type of plant you could imagine. Our tour guide, Cutty, also known as "Masta Plan", knew so much about everything. He really made the tour.

As expected, the local boys were enamored with the girls and Juli collected a few unwanted phone numbers. I think the people feel that any outside connection holds possibilities. After all, there are 300,000 Grenadians, but only 100,000 live here. With the devastation of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 that destroyed so much of the housing and wiped out the spice industry followed by a hurricane the next year and now the downturn in the tourist industry, earning a living is a struggle. Most of the big resort developments are idle, not even providing construction jobs. It seems the only healthy industry here is the Medical School, the second biggest employer on the island.

Mi Hacienda, a mountaintop home owned by Merle, a Grenadian interior designer and antique dealer, was the incredible setting for our last night's dinner on Friday. We had a family style tasting of several local foods with a view of Grand Anse twinkling in the moonlight far below. Saturday, our crew of Winters and Juli left for the States.

We had a great time and the only thing I could ask for is to have my beautiful daughter here longer...I miss her already.