Grand Caymans

Over Easter weekend, Ryan and I went down and met the Bessey family in the Grand Caymans for a fabulous vacation. Thank you so much Dad & Mom Bessey for such a great vacation, we are really grateful!! It was a blast and we wish we could still be down there... Everyone took a ton of fun pictures so it is hard to choose which ones to post, but I tried to pick just a few. We ate so much good food, I am still craving it. Too bad I don't have any pictures of the food! I ate a ton of seafood while we were there and Ryan is hoping that means I got my fill for awhile so I don't drag him to a seafood restaurant (he is not a fan). We did a lot of really fun activities while were there so here are a few highlights.

Sailing
The first night we went on a sunset sail and it was really fun. I got my turn at the wheel and that boat really did turn on a dime!

Snorkeling/Diving
We got to go snorkeling and diving for conch shells and starfish. It was very cool. Star fish feel a lot different than I expected and conch shells have a really stinky and weird looking creature inside it. All new things I learned!

Swimming with the Stingrays
Okay, this was by far the creepiest thing ever. I really don't like stingrays, they freak me out. We got off the boat into waist deep water and stood there as about 20 stingrays swam around us and through us...eek! I held onto Ryan the whole time I was in the water and I am not sure if my heart rate is back to normal quite yet... It was a pretty cool experience though, even though I choose to stay away from them :)

This is me freaking out as they swim around me...
And this can be noted as a reason they freak me out...

Hell
Yep, there really is a town called Hell in the Grand Caymans. It seriously felt 20 degrees hotter there too, it was kind of funny. Kylie and McKenlie kept getting mad at everyone for saying "Hell" even though we tried to explain that it was just the name of the place. We ended up just trying to not say it so we didn't get in trouble...

Rum Point
Rum Point is a fun part of the island with a fun beach. We just swam and saw some cool tropical fish and then went for a walk on the beach. I love how clear and warm the water is, you can see all sorts of things, good and bad, while you are in the water.

No, I did not steal a baby while down there, but if I did, it would be a cute one like Cami & Jesse's little boy Zach :). Don't worry, I gave him back after they finished snorkeling.

Turtle Farm
The Turtle Farm was very cool and my favorite part was that we got to hold the smaller turtles. They have them in these huge pools and you can go and catch them and hold them for a minute then put them back in. Some lady told us that if the turtle is a little crazy then you stroke their chin and neck and they calm down...just like a kitty. It worked and it cracked me up!

Facials

On Sunday night (Easter) all of the girls did facials. Cami brought the stuff for all of us and it was fun to relax after the day of church and the Turtle Farm. Kylie and McKenlie even put masks on, it was fun!

Helmet Diving

This was also a very fun part of the trip. You may be wondering what helmet diving is...I didn't know before this trip either. But, they put this space looking helmet on your shoulders that covers your whole head. It weighs 80 lbs and they attach a hose to the helmet that pumps oxygen into the helmet. Once you are under water, it only weighs 15 lbs and it acts like a cup turned upside down in water, it leaves air at the top. So you can stick your hands up into the helmet (which was good for me because my helmet kept fogging up so I had to wipe it every few minutes). You walk down a long ladder from the boat and you step onto the ocean floor about 25-30 feet below the surface. You get to walk around and the fish just swim around you. The guide that went down with us gave us fish food a few times while we were down there and the fish come and eat out of your hands. I liked the fish MUCH better than the stingrays :)

George Town

This is the capital of the Grand Caymans and it is the "shopping" part of the island. They have a bunch of the souvenir shops there and a lot of fun restaurants. We walked around on our last afternoon there after we went on the helmet dive. Ryan threw me in a fountain and then got Kylie and McKenlie too, it was fun to play in it. Right after we got out of the fountain it started pouring rain so we walked and played in the rain for awhile. It is nice to get stuck in a rainstorm when you are already in a swimming suit!
So that was our trip. It was really such a fun trip! Thank you so much Mom and Dad Bessey!