The New Year

We made it through the holiday's for the most part. Tonight is New Year's Eve and we have neglected to make plans. That is okay as drinking and staying up late are not in the works for me anyways. Christmas in Bermuda was a blast. It may have been because of good food and family (see how the pregnant lady mentions food before family!?), but the weather held out and we enjoyed ourselves.

Breaks of sun made Bermuda seem like a tropical paradise for my family from chilly Minnesota, but the rain held off Christmas day and we were able to go to Elbow Beach for the typical Christmas party on the beach. My parents popped the bottle of Champagne and we had lots of Christmas cookies to share. It felt great yet slightly odd to be on the beach over Christmas. I am not sure anyone missed the snow.

Most stores, tourist attractions, and even restaurants were closed over the holiday, so we spent some good time exploring the beaches and hiking around the island. Most things were even closed on Saturday as Boxing Day was celebrated. I have heard of Boxing Day, but knew nothing about it other than the fact that it is a British celebrated holiday. Through some research I have found that Boxing Day is always celebrated on December 26th. To me it just seems like another day to give off of work, but according to a website by Woodlands Junior School in the UK, "During the Age of Exploration, when great sailing ships were setting off to discover new land, A Christmas Box was used as a good luck device. It was a small container placed on each ship while it was still in port. It was put there by a priest, and those crewmen who wanted to ensure a safe return would drop money into the box. It was then sealed up and kept on board for the entire voyage. If the ship came home safely, the box was handed over to the priest in the exchange for the saying of a Mass of thanks for the success of the voyage. The Priest would keep the box sealed until Christmas when he would open it to share the contents with the poor." Current day families, schools, and churches still collect money and gifts to distribute to the poor the day after Christmas. Okay so maybe people do get off of work another day in Britain, but it seems like a lovely holiday to help others and spend time with family, so maybe the US should adopt this tradition.

Until next time...

It's Christmas Time in the City...

Christmas is rapidly approaching and I can tell. It is cold here. I say that after the whole Northern portion of the USA got blasted with snow, ice, and cold temperatures, but I must admit 55 degrees and windy at night makes for some cool nights with down comforters and maybe, possibly our space heater. We don't have a heating unit in our house, and I think it will be cold this winter.

As I prepare for my family to visit for this Christmas, I am trying to decide if I should give into the Bermuda traditions or stick with the, "Steck family favorites." When the Bermuda traditions are cassava pie and minced meat pies, I think I will stick to what I am used to. Cassava pie is a Bermudian tradition which includes the ingredients of:

• 12 lbs. grated cassava
• 2 lbs. sugar
• 8 oz. condensed milk
• 27 eggs, unbeaten
• 2 pounds melted butter
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• Brandy - to taste
• 5 lbs. chicken
• 2.5 lbs. cubed pork

This recipe makes enough for 50 people! Now what the heck is cassava? Cassava is also called yuca and is a root. Past that I am not sure, but you can buy it in frozen bags already shredded. I tried this Bermuda tradition and it wasn't bad. It reminded me of a sweet corn bread with meat on the bottom. The meat threw me off, so maybe this sweet bread would be better enjoyed vegetarian style. While mince pies are a British festive sweet pastry, they have found their way to Bermuda through the English influence on this island. I have to say I have never tried it, but any thing with the word meat in my pie just isn't quite right. Once again that may be why I wasn't crazy about the Cassava pie. Actually mince pies do not contain meat but a variety of dried fruits such as raisins. The one Christmas tradition that we will partake in is going to the beach with some champagne on Christmas morning. If anyone in our party is daring enough (and I nominate my father), they just might take a dip in the ocean. Last I heard, the water was 70 degrees which may be warmer then the air temperature. I will be excited to spend my first Christmas out of the USA! I just hope Santa will be able to find me!

Until next time...

The Holiday's

We had a successful Thanksgiving/early Christmas with Ryan's family in Pittsburgh. We are back on the island and we were excited to get back after a few weeks away. We thoroughly enjoyed the luxuries of America such as Walmart, shopping malls, fast food, and good cheap everything. I missed America, but we came back to an island decorated for Christmas with 72 degree temperatures. I am enjoying the warm weather and don't miss the cool temps of Northwestern PA. I may not this winter. We are preparing for Christmas in paradise as my parents, sister, and brother-in-law will come to Bermuda for the holiday! I have decorated our house to the best of my ability as we have absolutely no room for a Christmas tree and no outside outlets for Christmas lights. This season I am thankful for loving, supportive family, and for the additions to our family. Ryan and I will be bringing a baby into this world on May 16th, 2010! My sister will also be adding a new addition to the family as she is due with her first child on June 6th, 2010! It has been amazing sharing the pregnancy journey with my sister!

The first question I get is will you have the baby in Bermuda? Yes, we will deliver the baby in Bermuda. I have been going to my doctor here since week 6 of this pregnancy and we will see it through in Bermuda. I have asked many people about the health care here and have been assured that Bermuda offers everything that the US can offer, well I guess on a smaller scale. There are only 3 OBGYN's and 3 Pediatricians on the whole island. I have asked my doctor what happens if she is in surgery or with another patient when I go into labor, she told me that scenario is very unlikely as there just aren't that many pregnant women here. I find that hard to believe as I see cute pregnant women every where on this island! Many women are like me in the fact that their husband's work and they are unable to secure a job, so starting a family sounds like a good idea. It sure was for us, and we feel blessed that the pregnancy is progressing nicely!

The other question is whether or not our baby will be Bermudian. The answer is, "NO." Babies even if born in Bermuda need to be born to a Bermudian citizen in order to gain Bermudian status. As soon as we obtain the birth certificate from the hospital, we will have to apply for US citizenship, then a social security card will be issued, and lastly, we will get a baby passport in order to take our child in and out of the country. Bermuda keeps its rules and regulations strict and it is impossible for us to gain Bermudian status or to live here for more then 6 years (more than 6 year permits are granted if an individual has a "key" role in a company, such as a CEO type position). The government watches the ex-patriot population very closely and in some ways makes us feel transient. They would like to keep Bermuda to its own citizens which is okay for us as we have no plans to stay here for an extended period of time. We have no idea where our Bermuda journey will take us, so we are enjoying the perks while me can!

Until next time...

*The picture is a beautiful fall tree in Boston from our last visit to the states. We were in Boston for an actuarial conference for Ryan. I missed fall here, so had to capture this tree!

Bermuda, Cows, Boating, and Friends

I looked at my last post and can't believe it was on October 30th...it has been awhile. We actually went boating on November 1st, what made me think about it was the fact that Bermuda was beautiful in November and we were actually able to go out and swim, boat, and water ski. I do vow that it will be the last time until May or June as the water temperature is now in the low 70's. We were able to catch some sand dollars on the boat that day. They were beautiful, but I threw them back for safekeeping. I should have saved them for Christmas tree ornaments!

This past weekend we attended the Bermuda Rugby Classic. It is a week long event where teams from all across the world come to play rugby. We bundled up that day as it was 68 degrees with a nice wind. We sat on the cold bleachers and watched a game I knew nothing about. It seemed as violent as American football as there was tackling, tripping, and general throwing of the body, but these guys weren't messing around as they wear nothing other than tee-shirts and shorts. No full padding and helmets. We tried to wait to see the USA play, but rain sent us inside for some soup and hot chocolate. I actually felt like it was a cool fall day in the US!

I just took what I would call a pleasant walk at Spittle Pond, that is until I let Limerick off her lease to chase some chickens. It is one of her favorite past times, and since she is too slow to catch them, I let her harass them a bit before continuing our walk. Today turned into more then chasing chickens. I lost track of her for a bit and ending up finding her in the cow pasture. Bermuda packages it's own milk on the island and you tend to see cow farms here and there. This particular cow farm is near the walking path and had about 10 cows milling around. Limerick found the biggest cow and was chasing it around. She also found a giant cow pie and to my relief wasn't rolling in it as expected. She did decide it was a tasty afternoon treat which may have been even grosser then rolling in it. This cow was huge and I was so worried that she was going to get kicked by it. She was trying to pounce on the cow which was 10 times her size and she was obsessively barking at it. The worst part was that fact that the pasture was surrounded by a barbed wire fence and what I thought was an electric fence. Yelling seemed to make her more obsessed and I had to shimmy under the fence to chase her through the pasture and back out to the path. The rest of the trip was uneventful but boring as Limerick was restrained on a short lease! Oh the trials of having a dog.

We will be in the USA on Sunday through Thanksgiving. This may give me an excuse to not write for a few weeks. Check back in December as I am sure we will be up to something new.

Until next time...

Scuba

Things have been slow in Bermuda and one friend mentioned that I should get certified in scuba. Funny she should have mentioned that, because Ryan has been spending his past 10+ weeks getting certified. Ryan decided to look into the BSAC which is the Bermuda Sub-Aqua Club. It is affiliated with the British Sub-Aqua Club. I guess the Brits take this certification very seriously because it has been quite the process. This process is not like going into your neighborhood pool and becoming certified the next day. The classes consisted of in-class sessions learning safety techniques, rules for scuba, and the basics. After about 10 classes, Ryan took a written exam. He then started diving with experienced volunteers. They had three sheltered dives and then five open water dives. Ryan will dive for his last time this Sunday and then will be a Certified Ocean Diver. He has loved the experience and hopes to continue with friends. He has experienced many parts of Bermuda that we had never considered going to. While he loves it, I prefer to stay floating on the top of the water staring down at the fish as opposed to entered into their world.

The water is getting chilly (75 degrees surface temperature), so Ryan is now wearing a wetsuit. I am sure it will help as the waters will continue to dip down into the 60's as winter is approaching. It is still beautiful in Bermuda with the high's this week in the mid-70's. I cant complain, it has been a beautiful October. As October comes to a close, we are looking forward to some trips to the USA. I hope the snow holds off as I guess I forgot to bring a warm winter jacket with me to Bermuda. I may have to pick one up while shopping at the much anticipated USA malls. We cant wait!

Until next time...

One Nation Under God

Today I went to the school that I have been tutoring at, and there was an assembly scheduled. Instead of going home (since I pulled myself out of bed at 7:30am to get there), I decided to stay and watch. The P6 students which means ages 10-11 were putting on a skit about how to stay germ free. People are worried about the swine flu, I mean excuse me H1N1 in Bermuda, yet no H1N1 vaccinations have made it to the island. There have been under 5 cases since the spring, so hopefully the island will stay swine flu free. Tourists are still arriving in droves from the USA, so hopefully only healthy people are touring the country.

Anyways back to my original story. Before the skit began, the principal led a morning prayer. I had heard the students reciting the lords prayer previously, but this session was much more than I expected. At a public primary school in Bermuda, the students were required to bow their heads in prayer, sing a rendition of the Lord's Prayer, and then the students had to stand and clap and sing to two Christian songs. Some of the P5 students were "too cool" to sing and dance along, and were reprimanded by being called out and forced to sing along. While Bermuda is mainly a country practicing Christianity, a 2000 census noted that 21% of inhabitants were unspecified or nonparticipating and 12% practiced religions other then those of the Christian faith. While I am a Christian and wouldn't mind singing along, I found it unbelievable that the public schools were participating in church practices. I feel it would have been extremely uncomfortable for both students and their parents if their households didn't practice or believe in the Christian principals. I maybe found it so hard to believe since students in the US aren't even required to say the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning since it says, "Under God."

Until next time...

It's Fall

Man have I been neglecting my blog. Not for any particular reason, mainly because not too much is new in Bermuda. We had guests this past week and had a wonderful time with Kim and Christian our Erie friends. They are beach bums, so we spent some quality time beaching it and snorkeling some new areas. We explored John Smith Bay which we had never been to. On a Thursday afternoon we were the only people on the beach! The waves were rough on the south shore, but we still enjoyed seeing some great parrot fish. It was parrot fish central with abut 10-15 parrot fish combing the reefs. We have friends for Philadelphia visiting next week and have enjoyed the comradery of good friends. We are also looking forward to November when we are going to Boston for Ryan's actuarial conference where he will get his diploma for becoming a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society. We will also be spending Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh with Ryan's family. I am excited for our upcoming trips.

While we have heard that Halloween and Trick or Treating is popular here, I have yet to see any pumpkins. I love carving pumpkins and am not sure I will have that opportunity here. Every holiday and event is a surprise in Bermuda as many times the traditions are very different. I will have to keep you posted. We live in the last house at the top of a steep hill, so I cant imagine we will have very many goblins and ghouls stopping by Halloween night!

Until next time...

English Tea

This past week I had my mom and aunt in town to visit. Ryan went for a guys weekend to State College and had a grand old time taking advantage of the conveniences of the states. It was fun to have guests again. We did some of the same things we have done before such as the Gibbs Lighthouse, Tobacco Bay snorkeling, and the zoo (we did witness two mating giant tortoises, which was well....unique). We did do one thing that I had been wanting to do. We had afternoon English tea at the Elbow Beach resort. We all tried a different kind of tea while sharing plates of quick breads, scones, and tea sandwiches. I loved it! While it is still too hot outside for tea, I still enjoyed my cup in the air conditioned resort!

I have been very busy planning a big event at the Centre on Philanthropy where I volunteer two days a week. The event is tomorrow and is called the Give Back Games. Nine re-insurance companies will compete in beach games. Nine charities were chosen to run the games and be recipients to the charity donations. Over the course of the day $54,000 will be awarded! I have really enjoyed event planning and have seen how generous Bermudian companies and people can be. I have enjoyed learning more about the charity sector here and hope to continue to give my efforts to charities on the island. Volunteer work can be just as rewarding as a paying job, so for now my time is wisely used!

Until next time....

Fall is here and I must admit that I miss jean/sweatshirt weather already. I think my favorite time of the year is fall in Pennsylvania or Minnesota. I love the changing colors of the trees, warm apple cider, pumpkins, and being comfortable in your favorite pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. It will be hard for me as September and October still bring in the 80 degree temperatures. We are excited that it will still be warm for our fall guests as we have three sets of visitors coming starting this week. We had about 2 months off from visitors and I am excited to share Bermuda with guests again as Ryan and I now know the island like the back of our hand. It isn't too hard when the island is only 21 square miles! Bermuda is actually one of the smallest territories in the world. Monaco and Gibraltar are the only notable islands smaller in size. Through all of the excitement we have had over the past 7 months, we realized this weekend that Bermuda can be boring. While we still enjoy doing touristy things, it is easy to try it all and feel lost for new ideas. I think that may happen anywhere you live, but on a rainy weekend such as this past one it was particularity true. I feel that Bermuda is focused on the family and Sunday is a day to attend church and relax/eat with relatives. Almost everything on Sunday is closed or open limited hours. The grocery store is only open from 12pm-5pm, and many cafe's and restaurants are closed. Most coffee shops aren't open so you can't even grab a cup of coffee. On weekdays boutiques, hardware stores, and cafe's are only open until 5pm or 6pm. While I think this is a good thing, it is hard to adjust when I am used to 24 hour supermarkets and shopping malls being open until 9:00pm.

Ryan kept busy this weekend by diving with his scuba club, the BSAC. Ryan has been taking classes for the past two weeks, but was finally able to go out and try diving. Right now lessons are focusing on safety techniques, but Ryan said being underwater is amazing. For some reason, it doesn't sound appealing to me, and I will continue to be happy floating on top with my mask and snorkel!

Until next time...

PS the picture is an old picture I took of a cemetery in Bermuda.

We're Driving Now

Our new Daihatsu Terios has been wonderful. Thanks to Jack we have been cruising around Bermuda listening to some old Grateful Dead cassettes. Life is good. Life is good for Limerick too as our car has allowed us to take her more places on the island. We even discovered a great underground dog park. The Botanical Gardens in Bermuda are a wonderful area to walk your dog. You can walk the dogs through paths of flowers, wildlife, and wonderful gardens. This week we even discover a secret society of dog lovers! There is a ring in the garden which I have been told is for horses, but Monday-Thursday people bring their dogs to this fenced in ring for a romp session at 6:30pm. The reason this is shady is due to the large sign that says, "NO DOGS ALLOWED!" We are all respectful dog owners and pick up poo, but still the off-leashing of dogs in this area is not encouraged. Limerick had an initiation Wednesday, but passed with flying colors. The other owners don't want aggressive dogs to join this play session.

Last night we went out for a curry buffet at the Elbow Beach Resort with some friends. Curry is big here as there is a strong influence from the English. I didn't know that the Brit's enjoyed their curry, but I guess that is true and there are many places on the island that have extensive curry menus. Bermuda's expanding Indian population is also a reason for curry being added to many menus. Good old Erie, PA didn't have that cultural influence, so Ryan and I are now discovering this new food. A buffet was the way to go, as you could try many different dishes. The buffet was $18 and beer/wine was $6 a glass. It was quite a reasonable meal for Bermuda.

We are excited for a long Labor Day weekend! I hope you enjoy yours.

Until next time...

Lionfish

This weekend was full of fun. The surface temperature of the water is still 86 degrees and it still has been in the high 80's during the day. Perfect weather for some good boating. We went out on a friends boat this weekend and we were able to water ski. I finally got up this time after about 7 attempts previously. I had water skied when I was younger, but there is something about trying it again in adulthood. It is so fun skiing in the ocean as the water is so warm and clear!

We also went to a Lionfish Tournament at Dockyard on Sunday. Lionfish are extremely poisonous if you are punctured by their fins on their back or tail. The photo above was a previously caught fish that had been frozen. The man dissecting the fish said that since the fish was frozen, if he were to be punctured by the fin it would less intense then a bee sting. Accroding to a Royal Gazette article published on August 12th, 2009, "Lionfish are a growing menace in Bermuda. The invasive species has already decimated fish populations across the Caribbean. Indigenous to the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea, they are expanding rapidly in the Atlantic. In the Bahamas they first appeared in 2002 but are now the most dominant fish in the waters of Nassau." While we did not go out to spear, hook, or net these fish, it was still fun to see what the 50+ boats that went out in search of this creature brought back. We were told that a similar tournament held last month in the Bahamas produced over 1,000 captured lionfish. The issue is so severe there that Bermuda is taking precautions now to prevent the fish from taking over the reefs in Bermuda. They are beautiful fish and we have heard they are quite tasty. They were frying the fish up, but so somehow missed out on the tasting.

Until next time...

We're Back...

We are back from our trip to the states. We had a great time eating at Dairy Queen, driving on Super Highways, and shopping at a real shopping mall! We had a wonderful visit with my family and I even got to see some high school/college friends. While we enjoyed our visit, we also watched the weather channel to make sure that Bermuda was safe and sound. From what I have heard, the storm was minor. When we got home, all of our outdoor furniture was inside the house. We spent some time putting the patio back together, but everything was in one piece. We also had a trail of ants about a half inch think coming from our wall socket to our kitchen cupboard. They were snacking on a bag of potato chips that was left open over the weekend. All of our friends here have complained about the ants, and we have been so lucky to not have an ant problem in our house. All of that changed over the weekend. I spent about an hour killing and cleaning up the ants in our kitchen. About 15 minutes after the first clean-up, the ants were back in full force. We had to spray pesticide outside and even inside our house. I have thoroughly cleaned up the counters since and we have not had ants in two days. I have heard that August is the worst month for ant issues. I can handle a few ants, cockroaches are a whole different story.

We are back in paradise, but haven't been up to much since our arrival back. I will update you again soon.

Until next time...

Bill

I must preface that I am safely in Minneapolis as Hurricane Bill approaches Bermuda. We have had this trip to Minnesota planned and it just happened to fall upon our first hurricane while living in Bermuda. While Bill is currently a category 4, it is not projected to directly hit Bermuda. It will pass close enough that high winds and surf will affect the island. Our house sitters are currently at our house and have been given the instructions on securing our things. While we don't have shutters (which many houses do), we were told to put masking tap in X patterns on the glass to prevent shattering. Our house sitters may fly out on Friday as lack of power/Internet/cell phone service could be debilitating to someone not familiar with the island.

I must also say that we left the island with a looming hurricane to arrive in Newark, New Jersey to be told that our flight into Minneapolis was four hours delayed due to tornado's touching downs in the city. Today was a day that we couldn't get away from natural disasters.

I will write again once we find out about the damage and impact on Bermuda.

Until next time...

Our car

I have been waiting for weeks to write this post as I wanted to post a picture of us in our new car with Limerick happily in the back, but we have yet to acquire our car. Since I was on vacation in North Carolina last week and will be going to Minnesota on Wednesday, I thought I better blog now to keep my readership up :) Obtaining a car in Bermuda is not easy. The logistics of driving, buying, and passing a drivers tests all lead to stress. Let me tell you our story!

After 5 full months of only driving a scooter, I was ready for a car. Ryan agreed at about the same time that an opportunity fell in our lap. Cars in Bermuda are EXPENSIVE. What in Bermuda isn't expensive, but cars are at a premium. I know it has something to do with importing cars overseas, but I think that the dealers must not make as many cars with the steering wheel on the right hand side, and that may relate to elevated costs. Not sure, but a new Honda Fit in Bermuda costs $30,000. I could buy the same car in the USA for under $15,000. So we knew that used was the way to go! People sell used cars, scooter, chairs, rugs, anything you can imagine on a site called Emoo. While it is a great site to get quality used goods, things go fast. There are many things that you cannot even buy in Bermuda that are found on this site, but if you want an item you have to call within minutes and set up an appointment within an hour to see the item. The people that lived in our house before we moved here said that their car sold in 2 hours! So we knew if we were to look at emoo and find a good car, we would have to put a deposit on it immediately without researching the price, quality of the car, or its condition. Ryan's boss was selling his Daihatsu Terios which is a 2001 model. It is a little SUV with 4 wheel drive and a cassette player. Both very important in Bermuda. I have recently purchased some quality cassette tapes and we can't wait to pop our car into all wheel drive during the next Bermuda snow storm! Since his boss was selling the car, we were asked first if we wanted the car before they posted it on emoo. We were excited that we didn't have to deal with making a snap decision on a car. The planned exchange should happen on Monday. While the car is not cute, and as Ryan says, "I would never be caught dead driving this car in the US," we are thrilled we got a good deal and can't wait to take Limerick for rides and go to the grocery store for a full load of food!

Now onto getting our drivers license. Even though I have a US drivers license, I had to take another driving test in Bermuda. While I feel this is a good idea because the roads are narrow here and the whole driving on the left can be confusing, that hassle to get your license is amazing. If you have a car already or if you can borrow a car from someone else, then you can sign up online to take your driving test. If you sign up online, you usually have to wait 4-5 weeks to get in. So the alternative is to pay a driving instructor to teach you how to drive and then he/she signs you up for your driving test which usually happens within 2-3 days of your lessons. So you are basically bribing the driving instructors with $50 a lesson to get you a quick exam. So Ryan and I each took one lesson and were both encouraged to take another. Once we got our test date, we took another lesson the night before the exam so that it was fresh in our mind. We were then able to take the lesson on the driving instructors car. The most difficult part was the parallel parking. I have never lived in a city where I needed to perfect my parking skills, so I am terrible. Really truly bad! The spot for the driving exam is so small and I know that if I was in the city, I would never pick the same sized spot! I was really nervous for my exam which is crazy because I have been driving for 11 years, but still I really wanted to pass because I knew if I failed I would be paying the instructor another $50 for lesson number 3. We both ended up passing, and now we are legal to drive both scooters and an automatic car in Bermuda. Crazy thing is if I ever get a manual car, there is another test for that! So now when guests come we can pick them up at the airport! We are excited for this next chapter in our lives. Ahh how the little things make you so happy.

Until next time...

PS the picture posted is not our car, but the same model. I will take pictures when we get the car next week. Our car is not that shiny and it is all silver.

Cup Match 2009

This weekend was Cup Match in Bermuda. Cup Match is a holiday full of cricket matches, but also means that the whole island gets Thursday and Friday off of work to enjoy the beaches, ocean, family and friends. We loved our first Cup Match. Thursday we went to Horseshoe Bay to check out the party scene. There were hundreds of people on the beach enjoying the DJ, the warm sun, and lots of cocktails. We also went snorkeling on Thursday and laid low at home. On Friday we were invited on a friends boat to head out to St. Georges for the cricket match. It cost $15 a person to get into the game and there was a huge crowd of people. People buy plots in the stadium to build what they call their camp. Huge scaffolding is built so that people can bring chairs and sit up high to watch the game. The scaffolding looked solid, but also scary as so many people were standing in these camps. It was so hot at the game that we focused on eating lunch, having some drinks, and playing a few rounds of crown and anchor before heading back out to the boat. Unfortunately, I didn't watch much of the game and still have no idea how you play cricket. Crown and anchor on the other hand was a crazy game. Gambling in Bermuda is usually not allowed. There are no casinos on the island, but during the two days of Cup Match people lose thousands of dollars betting on this dice game. The minimum bid is $5 and with all of the craziness you lose your money before you even see that the dice are rolled. They keep people at these tables by placing coolers of beer underneath the tables. If you are playing at the table, you can drink all of the free beer you want. Individual families provide the crown and anchor tables. These families buy in and get to place their table at the Cup Match for a fee of $10,000. So you know that over the course of the two days, these families are making tons of money to compensate for the buy in and then to make more money on top of that!

On Saturday, we were roped into a sandcastle building contest at Horseshoe Bay. There were about 30 plots and all types of people were making sandcastles, alligators, mermaids, and for us a Happy Birthday Bermuda cake. There were even 4 professional sandcastle builders entered into the contest, one of which had the plot next ours. Let's just say, his creation made our final product look quite sad! We made a 5 tier Birthday cake for Bermuda's 400th year celebration. We spent 5 hours building and in the end didn't win a prize. I have posted other pictures of our weekend and the sandcastle building contest on my slide show. The professionals are truly amazing!

Until next time...

This week was a quiet week in Bermuda. The weather has been warm and the water temperature is up to 84 degrees. It is the perfect time to visit Bermuda if you like the sweltering hot/humid weather and enjoy a nice dip in the ocean.

We played a lot of beach volleyball this week. Well, I should say I did since Ryan is on the sidelines with a hurt shoulder. Ryan dislocated his shoulder last week at volleyball. It sounds worse then it really is. This was the third time his shoulder has popped out, so all it took was an educated physical therapist from Canada to pop it back in. While it is painful, the muscles are weakened, so it was easily put back in place. A nice woman from Canada that was playing on another volleyball net was experienced enough to help out in a time of crisis. Ryan is fine, but he no longer plays in fear that it may pop out again!

We also went snorkeling at Church Bay on Sunday. We have been meaning to go there for awhile, as it is mentioned to be the best off shore snorkel sight on the island. We were quite disappointed as the waters were very rough and there was mass amounts of seaweed in the water and on the beach. The seaweed collects all along the beach and smells tangy in the hot sun. We also noticed a few jellyfish in the water and chose to leave the water as soon as possible. While we did see some good fish, the seaweed and choppy waves deterred us from calling Church Bay a snorkel hot spot!

We are excited as this is the week for Cup Match. Cup Match is a two day Bermuda holiday where the whole island shuts down on Thursday and Friday for some good fun, some games of cricket, a gambling game called Crown and Anchor, and I can assume lots of drinking. We have been told that Thursday is spent swimming, boating, and heading to the beach. Friday is then spent at the cricket games cheering for your favorite team. I am excited to see a game or two of cricket as I have no idea what the game involves. Bermudians have told me that it is their favorite holiday. I will write next week to let you know more about the festivities of Cup Match!

Until next time...

Rat for Dinner!

We of course had guests in town this weekend. We are slightly sad, yet feeling okay that we don't have another set if guests until September. While I am sick of running a bed and breakfast (mainly washing sheets and organizing meals), we have really enjoyed having people visit us. We have explored so much of the island and it has given me a purpose for the past 2 months. We have so many great family and friends, and people are always welcome to visit in the future. Part of the allure of moving to Bermuda was the idea that people could come visit us in a wonderful location...not that Erie, PA wasn't appealing, but Bermuda has so much more attraction.

This weekend was full of fun and surprises. Sarah and Amy from Erie visited us for four days. We took them around the island, got some good beach time in, and almost served them a rat for dinner! Yes....I had been noticing some odd droppings in our grill, but after cleaning them out and not knowing exactly what they were, we continued to grill away. Grilling came to a screeching halt on Thursday when Ryan discover the source of the dropping was a giant rat making a home on the burners of our grill. I was at volleyball during this fiasco and came home at 9pm without dinner on the table. The rat had to be chased out of the grill with a broom. Once out, the grill was completely torn apart and cleaned. Our guests weren't grossed out and actually said that the heat would burn off anything offensive. Ryan still did a great job cleaning it out and may have spent a few extra minutes pre-heating the grill on Thursday. Ahhh...what do you do! Tropical islands breed big rats and big bugs, it is just one of the adjustments.

Speaking of rats, Bermuda doesn't have a large amount of wildlife. Bermuda actually has no native mammals. There are no squirrels, deer, snakes, chipmunks, etc... There are many feral cats and the rats have become quite active this summer. I am not sure why rats and mice are here, but I am guessing they came in on shipping boats many years ago. According to Wikipedia, "Over 360 species of bird have been recorded on Bermuda. The majority of these are migrants or vagrants from North America or elsewhere. Only 24 species breed; 13 of these are thought to be native." One bird you will see often in the summer is the Longtail which arrives in Bermuda in the spring and means that spring and summer in Bermuda has arrived. The longtails are beautiful birds and have way more appeal than a seagull which is what they remind me off.

We went out to eat this weekend at The Pickled Onion. While finishing our dinner, a camera crew came over to our table. They were from The Travel Channel and were filming a new series titled, "Castaway." They videotaped us finishing our drinks and we may be on TV. If you happen to tune into The Travel Channel and see a clip about Bermuda, look for our smiling faces!

Until next time...

Tame Fish...

My sister was in town this week and we had a great time. The first thing we decided to do was the Harley's Helmet Diving. We thought the concept was quite crazy, but we actually had a great time! The helmet you wear works like a glass turned upside down in water, no water enters the helmet as you submerge yourself 10 feet down to the ocean floor. They put the heavy helmet on your head right before you enter the water. There is continuous air flow to your helmet while you walk along the ocean floor. The crazy thing is that your head stays completely dry and you can actually put your hand up into the mask and touch your face. There were 30 people on the boat, but they took your down in groups of 8. Each group got at least 25 minutes underwater. You learn about sea life and get to actually touch the fish. Mr. Hartley has a stick with words on it and points to things like coral, sea anemone, and fish. They craziest thing about it is that the fish are trained. Now you may think I am crazy for saying that, but seriously, they know when you are down there and come up right to you. One swam through my legs and another giant hog fish actually tried to take a chomp out of my pink painted finger nails. Mr. Hartley can actually pass a fish to each person and you have the opportunity to hold it for a few seconds. He then rewards the fish with some food just like you would a dog for good behavior. I am sure they have just learned to be tame based on a food reward, but it was still crazy how close the fish were. We loved it and would recommend it to others!

We also went snorkeling off the beach at Tobacco Bay which is in St. George's Parish. We hadn't been there yet because it is about a 30 minute drive from our house. Okay that sounds crazy, 30 minutes, but on a scooter we sometimes don't like to drive that far. Tobacco Bay was great. I think it was the best off shore snorkeling I have seen in Bermuda. Ryan still like Snorkel Park in Dockyard, but I saw many varieties of fish at Tobacco Bay that I have never seen.

This Sunday we also decided to finally go to one of the giant Sunday Brunches in Bermuda. It is $40 a person, but worth the price. Brunches in Bermuda don't start until 11:30am, but that means they have sushi, fresh fish that they grill in front of you, and the best dessert bar I have seen in a long time. We decided to go to Four Ways Inn and enjoyed ourselves...maybe too much!

Another set of guests next weekend then we have some breaks while we leave the island for a few trips to the US.

Until next time...

The Bermuda 4th

We had friends in town this past weekend. It was fun to have guests again, especially since they were our age and wanted to go out on the town (no offense to the old folks that just visited...we love you too).

The weekend was especially fun because it was the fourth of July. Ryan and I volunteered a few hours at the American Society of Bermuda and the US Consulates 4th of July bash and got free tickets for the event. There was a huge BBQ dinner and beer and mojitos. The fireworks were set off right from the beach and were actually pretty good. We felt just like we were living in the US as the DJ was playing, "God Bless the USA." It was actually a little weird to be out of the USA and still be attending such a huge 4th of July bash. There were over 6,000 people in attendance and I heard it is the biggest 4th celebration outside of the USA. I am not sure if that is true, but it was pretty spectacular.

We continue to play volleyball two nights a week and have a great time meeting people and getting out to the beach more then I would have ever imagined. We go to the beach at least once a weekend and twice a week for volleyball. The water is warm now and it is just too beautiful to pass up. Yesterday we went to the beach with two scooters and were able to get 4 beach towels, 1 beach mat, 1 beach chair, a small cooler, and 2 beach umbrellas! We sure have a hang of this scooter riding thing.

My sister Amanda comes Wednesday, so I am sure we will have more stories to come.

Until next time...

If you like pina coladas...

This weekend we had Ryan's dad and step-mom in town. We finally had some decent weather and were able to get out and about. June has been an extremely rainy month for us, which is good for our water tank, but bad for visiting guests! Our water tank is so full that at its highest, we had only two inches before it would overflow into the yard. Ryan and I took the longest showers after we found that out!

On Thursday, I found a coconut on the beach and decided to take it home. Ryan wanted nothing to do with this coconut, but I decided that I would break it open survivor style and drink the coconut milk. Ryan's dad Gary was also all about this coconut and we got some tools out to attempt to cut it open. When I was washing off the coconut, I thought it smelled a little funky, but that didn't deter us from cutting it open. When we finally cut it open, what came out was the most rotten smelling milk you could ever imagine. It was so smelly that it immediately induced a gag reflex! This coconut was a learning experience....only eat the coconuts that you have directly pulled from the tree. A coconut that has been laying on the beach in the salt water and blazing sun is NOT an afternoon treat!

When Gary and Kathy were here, we also decided to rent a boat for the day. It was $260 for a 10-12 person pontoon boat for eight hours! We had it all to ourselves. It was great to take the boat out in the ocean and we were able to stop where ever we wanted. We snorkeled, stopped to look at a sunken ship, and just lounged in the ocean. It was a great way to see Bermuda.

We also went out to eat at one of our new favorite restaurants. Bistro J is located in Chancery Lane in Hamilton. It is a small restaurant and has different menu items every night. The dishes are listed on a big chalk board on the wall. I have enjoyed eating fresh Bermuda fish such as Wahoo.

Ryan found out on Thursday that he passed his final actuarial exam! He is now considered a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society. This is huge news as he has been studying for these 9 exams for the past 8 years of his life. We are excited that he is done and we can enjoy Bermuda without the burden of study season. We are both thrilled....what an accomplishment!

I can't believe it is already July this week. Time flies when you are having fun.

Until next time...

Filled Milk

Today I have decided to talk about milk. Ryan and I love milk and while living in the states, we would buy 3 gallons at a time just for the two of us. Since coming to Bermuda we have been shocked by a few things. There is only one distributor of milk for the whole island. Milk only comes in half gallons and a half gallon costs between $3.50-$4.50 (Yes that equals at least $7 a gallon....if of course we were so lucky to be able to by them in gallons). Also milk only comes in paper cartons, not plastic. Plastic prolongs the shelf life of milk, so since we have to buy the paper cartons, we are forced to drink the milk quickly before it expires. Since we don't want to buy too many half-gallons at a time, we end up going to the store to buy milk at least 2-3 times a week.

The subject matter that inspired this post was actually the concept of "filled milk." I have never heard of filled milk before here and for good reason, filled milk was banned by the US Congress in 1923. The Filled Milk Act was incorporated in response to intense lobbying by the dairy industry. According to Wikipedia, "Filled milk is skim milk that has been reconstituted with fats, usually vegetable oils, from sources other than dairy cows and only exists as evaporated milk. Like pure evaporated milk, filled milk is generally considered unsuitable for drinking because of its particular flavor, but is equivalent to evaporated milk for baking and cooking purposes. Other filled milk products with substituted fat are used to make ice cream, sour cream, whipping cream, and half-and-half substitutes among other dairy products." What I can't figure out is that the filled milk on the shelves in Bermuda is a liquid in a half gallon unlike evaporated milk. Ryan actually had filled milk in a milk shake yesterday and it tasted quite good. I am not really sure what to think, but the concept of vegetable oils in my milk makes me want to stick with the good old skim milk we are used to.

Until next time...

Bermuda in the News...

Today in the city of Hamilton there was a huge protest on the capital's lawn. Signs were being held that said, "Out with Brown." Dr. Ewart Brown is the Premier [President] of Bermuda. According to the article, Protesters demand Bermuda premier's resignation, Dr. Brown made the decision (without consulting Britain) to allow 4 detainees into Bermuda to live and work. These Chinese Muslims were released from Guantanamo Bay prison and were declared innocent of any wrong doing or terrorist activities by the U.S. Still many Bermudians are upset that these 4 men are living in Bermuda without the consultation of Britain, since Bermuda is a British territory.

Two other articles on foxnews.com discuss the issue:

Article 1: Detainees Freed in Bermuda Say China Worse Than Gitmo

Article 2: British Government Raises Concerns Over Detainee Transfer to Bermuda

Bermuda is catching international news with this story, so I thought I would share.

Until next time...

The heat of summer

Summer is here to stay. We have been officially running our air conditioners to at least try and pull out the humidity. Some days it has been as high as 90% humidity. Even though it is hot and humid, we have been busy enjoying Bermuda. We started our volleyball leagues this week. Ryan and I are on a C league on Monday nights and I am on a B league on Thursday nights. The league sets up at least 12 nets a night out at Horseshoe Bay. It is really laid back and it has been great so far. We have also completed 2 of our 4 sailing lessons. We are having fun on the J24, but lack of wind has been creating a problem for getting back to the dock. We have been towed in both nights. Sailing has been fun, but I think I need many more lessons in order to feel comfortable in the boat.

This week, Ryan's mom and step-dad came for a visit. We of course took them to see the glow worms last Wednesday night (read my last posting if you haven't heard about the glow worms). The worms were not as impressive as we had hoped. They did come out about 56 minutes after the sun set. We saw about five female worms and the blue color they produced was very vibrant. We were hoping for hundreds of these worms and were somewhat disappointed in only seeing five worms. We at least know the worms exist and may try and see them again after the next full moon.

We went to see Gibbs Hill light house. It is the world's oldest cast iron light house. We walked the 185 steps to the top and could see almost all of the island from its views. The picture in my post is of the flags attached to the lighthouse.

We also went to see Crystal Cave. According to the Crystal & Fantasy Caves website, "When the Wilkinson family, owners of the property [Crystal Caves] since 1884, learned of this discovery, they immediately set about exploring the cave. Mr. Percy Wilkinson lowered his fourteen-year-old son Bernard with a bicycle lamp into the cave on 140 feet of strong rope tied to a tree! What Bernard saw was “Crystal Caves” a silent world of delicate splendor - magnificent crystal stalactites and stalagmites surrounding a clear lake of 55 feet deep - an exquisite world that Mother Nature began over 30 million years ago." We found the water to be especially clear in the caves since there is no light, there are no fish, wildlife, or any plant material. The saltwater is covered with 2-3 inches of freshwater and looks very deceiving from the surface. It looks like the water is shallow although most areas are over 55 feet deep.

Ryan and I feel that we have explored many parts of Bermuda and have now been all of the way across the island. We do hope to continue exploring with our next guests who are coming to visit in a week and a half.

Until next time...

The Bermuda Glow Worm

Most people don't find the mating activities of an organism such as a worm to be intriguing, but if you live in Bermuda you may find yourself seeking out this mating ritual. While we haven't seem it yet, we have been told that it is a must see! The Glow Worms that live in Bermuda mate only in the months of June, July, August, and September and oddly enough they only mate 2-3 days after a full moon and exactly 56 minutes after the sunsets! This ritual last about 10 minutes, so you must come early not to miss it. It is so exciting that the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (B.U.E.I.) offers a $50 boat cruise to see this event. You can also go to any dock or inlet on the island to see this display. Now you may be asking this is great Emily, but why the heck would you go see worms mate. Well, these worms are no ordinary worms, glow worms produce bioluminescent displays during their activities. The females come to the surface and swim in circles while emitting their eggs. The male worms then streak towards the females producing sperm that explodes in what is called marine fireworks! Weird I know, but I guess it is amazing. These activities were first recorded in 1492 by Christopher Columbus! Our plan is to go see these worms this Wednesday while Chuck and Crystal are in town. What a better way to entertain our guests then by taking them to a giant worm orgy. Hmmmm....I will have to report back on our experience.

Until next time...

Our First Guests

My parents came this past week for a vacation and we kept them busy. We were so worried about the weather as it was slated to rain/thunderstorm the whole time they were here. (As a side note, for the month of May Bermuda was down over 3 inches of rain from previous years. We really needed the rain as water tanks are going dry and we have heard that it sometimes takes up to two weeks to get water delivered.) The weather actually turned out great and we were able to do a lot. We found out that scooter riding with guests is difficult. It doesn't make me want to get a car quite yet, but carrying towels, snorkel equipment, backpacks, and helmets isn't exactly easy on three scooters. My dad ended up riding his own, but commented that it was difficult riding on the left hand side, dealing with traffic, and learning all of the road signs and streets. My mom liked to ride on the back as she was able to look at all of the scenery.

A high priority is snorkeling for my family and we concluded that the snorkeling was good, but not great. We went to two locations and feel that we should try more places to see where the true hot spots are. We went to snorkel park which is in Dockyard. It is nice because there is free entry and then you can rent chairs, noodles, jet skis, really what ever beach related item you want. We also took a glass bottom boat out to two ship wrecks and snorkeled over the wrecks. The ship wrecks were really cool. We saw the boats of the Constellation and the Montana. According to a website titled skin-diver, "The Constellation was a four-masted, wooden hulled schooner originally built in 1918 and measuring 192 feet in length. During World War ll, she was pressed into service and used as a cargo vessel. In July 1943, she was bound for Venezuela, carrying a general cargo of building materials, medicinal drugs and 700 cases of Scotch whiskey. Today, her hull lies broken apart on a coral and sand bottom in 30 feet of water, exposing sacks of petrified cement, cups, nail polish bottles and a vast assortment of small items. The Constellation was one of the key shipwrecks in Peter Benchley's book, THE DEEP and later, the movie of the same name." The story on the Montana is this, "The Montana was an elusive ship of multiple identities, often operating under the name of Nola, Gloria, Paramount and Montana. She was a highly successful Civil War blockade runner that made frequent trips between England, Bermuda and North Carolina. Built in Glasgow, Scotland, this sleek 236 foot paddlewheel steamer could run at 15 knots. The shallow reefs of Bermuda accomplished what no Union gun boat could do and she sank in December 1863. She now lies in 30 feet of water, still partially intact. The wreck is marked by a huge steam boiler and two paddlewheel frames lying on their sides. Adorned with a heavy coating of hard corals, soft corals and all sorts of marine life, she is a beautiful sight."

Yesterday, we took a ride to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo. The zoo is $10 for adults and is really worthwhile. Some of the highlights include the harbor seals, a huge flamingo exhibit, the giant tortoises, and the alligator. The zoo highlights Bermuda's history and wildlife, and I actually learned some great things about Bermuda agriculture, animals, and the history of its settlement. My dad took a lot of great pictures, and I will post most of them on the slide show on my blog. The picture I have included in this entry is from Spanish Point. According to Wikipedia, "Spanish Point is a prominent headland in Bermuda located in Pembroke Parish five kilometres to the northwest of the capital Hamilton. It forms the eastern coast at the entrance to the Great Sound." It was really beautiful out there, especially on a sunny, warm Bermuda day.

My parents trip to Bermuda may not have been complete without the sighting of the giant Bermuda Cane Toad. We saw a giant toad out for a late night snack. He was by far the largest toad I have ever seen. I think he does great things by eating many of the large bugs on the island. We also read that the Cane Toads come out at night and warm themselves on the asphalt of the street. This can prove dangerous many are run over by cars. We know this to be true as we saw one quite smashed on one of our walks this week!

I have more to write about as we have been busy touring the island. We have also been taking advantage of the warming Bermuda waters as last we heard the water was 75 degrees. Once it gets up to 80 degrees we will really love it! I will write more again later this week.

Until next time...

Life is getting busy

So it has been awhile since I have sat down and really wrote about our lives in Bermuda. Since Ryan's exam is over, we have been doing more and signing up for some new classes and leagues. First of all, we went out for an excellent dinner for my birthday and the end of hopefully never taking any more actuarial exams (the results for Ryan's exam will come out early July). We wanted a nice dinner and ended up at The Waterlot Inn. The restaurant has one of the most extensive wine menus I have ever seem and all I wanted was a glass of white wine. I ended up with a half bottle for $40 since they didn't offer wine by the glass. We ended up with a great dinner and I would recommend it to anyone that wants a good steak.

For both of our birthday's we have decided to take sailing lessons. The beginner classes start on June 2nd and last for four weeks. We will be on a J/24 with just the two of us and our instructor. If we enjoy it we may take more lessons in the future. A quote from my mother, "If you sail, please do not get lost in the Bermuda Triangle." What a perfect time for a lesson on the Bermuda Triangle. No one in Bermuda talks about the Bermuda Triangle. What I do know is that the triangle is made up of the points of Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Miami. An article by Brian Schmidt quotes, "A fact that is unexplained about the Bermuda Triangle is that electro-magnetic compasses that normally point to the magnetic north pole, point to the true north pole when used inside the area of the Bermuda Triangle. This phenomena happens in only one place other than the Bermuda Triangle – the Devil’s Sea off the east coast of Asia. Another fact about the Bermuda Triangle that is undeniable is that the area has claimed over 1,000 lives in the past 100 years. Some of these are a result of “human error” in navigating the area. However there are always suspicious or unexplained disappearances happening in the Bermuda Triangle." I may not be a true believer in the paranormal or supernatural, but I do know we won't be taking our sail boat far enough away where I can't see land!

Ryan and I are also playing in a volleyball league starting in June. A group of co-workers and Irish friends started this team. I say Irish friends as the team name is the Irish Mafia. I am also playing in another league on Thursday nights through the church we have attended. June will be a busy month for us as our families are starting to visit as well. We can't wait to have them come so we have an excuse to do all of the touristy things such as snorkeling excursions, boat cruises, parasailing, etc...

Bermuda is getting busy as tourist season is in full force. The attached picture is from a hill we took on our bikes. You can see all the way out to Dockyard where the cruise ships port.

I am really getting acclimated to Bermuda and this different style of living life. Patience is key as things just happen when they get around to doing them. This has been difficult for my job search, but after a couple of positive interviews this month, I do feel that I may end up with a job at some point in our Bermuda journey.

Until next time...

The true Bermuda shorts...

I have failed to mention anything about Bermuda shorts. This is such an important topic. While I love Bermuda shorts for women (they cover-up just enough thigh), Bermuda shorts for men in Bermuda mean such a different thing. Business men actually wear Bermuda shorts to work with tall socks up to their knees, a blazer, tie, and loafers. Usually they are so perfectly color matched with the same color socks as the jacket or the shorts. I actually saw a guy in matching red socks to his red Bermuda shorts yesterday. While it is not the norm to wear this garb, I would say about 20% of the business men here have pulled this outfit off sometime during their career. Of course, I have no solid research to back up this theory, but I do take note as I walk around downtown. I have often thought that if Ryan ever chose to wear this outfit I would deport him off the island, but then I remember that he is the one with the work permit, without him I would be deported!

Until next time...

My first cockroach...

Luckily for me, the first live cockroach sighting was outside on our patio. I thought he was dead, but it turns out that a little sniff from a dog brings a cockroach back to life. Through this process Limerick also got bit or snapped at. We are not sure, but either way she was freaked out. It is not as if I haven't seen a cockroach before, but usually in Pennsylvania or Minnesota they a.) don't get this big or b.) are not anywhere near my house!

I just wanted to share a new picture of our little friend. Enjoy!

Our spoiled dog

I decided to dedicate this blog to Limerick. While it doesn't involve Bermuda, I thought people must know what has progressed with our dog.

Limerick has become completely spoiled and I think it may be because I am home with her all day. While I didn't think little scraps of food (she licks out my yogurt container every morning) or daily long walks would make much of a difference, something has changed.

Limerick has refused to drink out of her dog bowl. She whines at the door to go out and then begs to drink water out of my plastic watering can. For the past two weeks she hasn't touched her water bowl in the house! When I go out to water my plants, she gets extremely excited. Limerick has also decided to become a finicky eater and sometimes doesn't touch her food all day. When this happens, she usually goes out to eat some grass and then throws it all up. Ryan's new plan has been to put shredded cheddar cheese in her food dish so she of course will eat every last bit of her food. So now we have to feed her cheese in her dog bowl and water out of a watering can!

Now this last story is the best. Please picture it as I write. Last night Ryan decided to cut Limerick's nails. It turned into a mini-pedicure. Limerick's nails were breaking off and had rough edges so Ryan used my nail file to smooth out every last nail! Next we will be using lotions and nail polish...what have we turned into!

Anyways, our dog is happy and we are glad for a great companion. I have thought that maybe Ceasar Millan, "The Dog Whisperer" might need to come in and get us back on track.

Until next time...

Giant Toads, Ants & Lizards

Bermuda is getting significantly warmer this week. I can tell summer is on its way! Since the weather is changing, we feel the creatures may be getting more active. Last night Ryan saw his first giant Bermuda toad (also know as the cane toad). He had to go back outside after bringing the dog in to see it again with a flashlight. They get huge and were brought to the island to eat cockroaches. Luckily for me, I haven't seen a live cockroach yet! We sprayed the perimeter of our house today for ants, spiders, and cockroaches. Hopefully that will keep the little pests out. Actually I shouldn't say little, the cockroaches get HUGE here!

The tree frogs are also out and noisy and we hear them "whistle" all night long. It is actually a pleasant noise and we don't mind at all. We are also starting to see more lizards also called anoles. They change colors and have been brown and green when we have seen them.

I have attached a funny picture of our bedroom over the weekend. We have ordered curtains, but they are back ordered, so Ryan made a make-shift sun shade for us over the weekend. The umbrella works nicely to keep the morning sun out of our eyes. We were getting sick of waking up every morning by 7am when the sun beat down right on our faces. Hopefully in the future we will only use the umbrella for some shade at the beach.

We went out for lunch yesterday at Mickey's at Elbow Beach Resort. It is right on the beach. It was so nice to sit outside and eat lunch. We felt like tourists! The food was decent but of course expensive. We spent $40 on a burger, a tuna sandwich, and two glasses of tap water! Of course food in general is expensive here. After charting our grocery and restaurant expenses, I found out that we spent $1,000 on food in the month of April! That is crazy for two people!

I loved my cardio boot camp classes this week. The class is an hour 3 days a week and we workout at the Arboretum. The Arboretum is a beautiful area for picnics, walking your dog, or just hanging out. I love that we can workout outside almost everyday. It hasn't rained hard here in days which is good for scooter riding, but I can tell the grass is getting very dry!

Ryan takes his actuary exam on May 12th! After that is over, hopefully we will get out more and sight see around the island. More to come soon!

Until next time...

I feel the need to write

I have neglected the blog for over a week now. I do have a good excuse as I was in Minneapolis visiting family and friends. I decided to surprise my parents and arrived in Minnesota on Wednesday of last week. We had a great time shopping, eating, and relaxing.

I did enjoy the luxury of taking long showers and using a dish washer. Meanwhile, Ryan ran out of water and had to call a water truck. We had to get 3 loads of water costing us a whopping $210! We do know that we won't have to get water every month or even every other month, so we can handle the cost.

Unfortunately, I don't have an update on anything new in Bermuda. Hopefully there will be more to come this week. I did start a 3 night a week boot camp exercise class this week and am volunteering at the Centre on Philanthropy. Hopefully these activities will keep me busy and will allow me to meet some new people.

Until next time...

Crazy Ducks

I have included the first video on my blog. Today Ryan and I went to Paget Marsh which is a 25 acre nature reserve. There wasn't too much to see, but there were some crazy ducks. After some research, I think they were Muscovy Ducks. We brought some bread and as soon as the ducks heard the crinkle of the bag, they were right at our feet. We couldn't get rid of them. They followed us all along the bridge into the nature reserve.

You can watch the video to see Ryan feeding these crazy ducks.

Until next time...

The Waving Bermuda Man..

I have been meaning to tell you all about the waving Bermuda man. When I used to take Ryan to work every day, I would see the same man at the roundabout on the way into town. Through the thick rush hour traffic you could see a happy Bermudian man waving and kissing to everyone that rode by. At first Ryan and I thought this man was crazy. After some research, we have found that Johnny Barnes is famous. Yes, you are famous if you have your own Wikipedia page.

He is so famous that he even has his own statue. The statue is life size and looks just like Johnny waving at all the people. He is out at the same roundabout every Monday-Friday from 3:45am-10:00am. He is retired and has found joy in sending some morning cheer to people on their way to work. If only I could find something so fulfilling!

Until next time...

Summer is on its way...

Ryan and I had a good Easter weekend. We went to Horseshoe Bay on Good Friday to see the kites. People make intricate kites out of tissue paper. There was of course the typical plastic kites as well. The weather was beautiful, but there wasn't much of a breeze, so it was difficult to get the kites real high. The beach was busy and it was fun to see so many people out. The posted picture is from the beach on Friday.

I found out that it is a Good Friday tradition to eat Hot Cross Buns. I guess I thought Hot Cross Buns was a song I used to play on my recorder during elementary school. Anyone else remember the song? Anyways, people eat these buns with fish cakes. It seems weird because Hot Cross Buns have raisins or currants and sometimes icing. Sweet buns with fish doesn't seem like a great combo. Ryan decided to relate it to putting meat in jello. You just don't do it!

Limerick officially has the darkest suntan of the family. She has been laying outside almost every day and loves laying directly in the sun. Her belly is now brown and tan. We decided to google this to see if it was truly a suntan, and an interesting yahoo post came up. It recommended that we use dog sunscreen. I am not sold on that yet.

Tourist season is fast approaching Bermuda. There was a cruise ship in the bay over the weekend. It was neat to see such a huge ship so close to town. The resorts and restaurants are also starting to open up their outdoor seating on the beaches. It will be just as much fun for us as it will for the tourists to see what Bermuda is like in full tourism season. Summer will be fun.

Until next time...

Easter is For Kite Flying...

This weekend we went to a hat party. The party was a fundraiser for the Mariners Rugby Club. While we both decided that we would not be joining the rugby club, we did meet some nice people that gave us other ideas of what is fun on the island.

We went for a stroll on Warwick Long Bay this weekend. The sand was pink. While I had been told that the sand is pink in Bermuda, Warwick Long Bay Beach was the first beach where I could really see the pink in the sand. According to an article by Keith Archibald Forbes, "Beaches begin with tiny single-celled animals, Foraminifera, in particular, homotrema rubrum - or forams - dark red skeletal animals that grow profusely on the underside of Bermuda's coral reefs. When the red forms die, the skeletons plummet to the ocean floor. Wave action erodes the forams. They become mixed with other debris on the seabed such as the white shells of clams, snails and sea urchins. It is at that time that Bermuda's white sand takes on its characteristic pink hue." The beach was beautiful and I am told that many locals go there and it doesn't get crazy busy in the summer like some of the other beaches. The attached picture was from the beach.

Limerick and I have been continuing our walks. Today the roosters and hens were out in full force. While Limerick has always been intrigued by them, today was quite the spectacle. The birds usually hang out in a field below the trail. Since someone was mowing the grass in the field, they were hanging out on the railway trail. Well if you can picture this, I was trying to take pictures of the hens and their babies. They had at least 10-12 babies each and they were so cute. In my effort for a photo opportunity, Limerick stuck her nose a little to close and the hen was not happy. She ballooned up twice her size and chased us a good ways down the trail. We will be staying away. For anyone that went to Iowa State, it reminded me of being chased by Sir Lancelot and Elaine!

Everyone around Bermuda has been making their kites for Good Friday. It is tradition to fly kites at Horseshoe Bay in the afternoon of Good Friday. People make intricate kites or you can buy them at about any store in town. Yesterday we even saw someone selling kites with Obama's face painted on them. While I was tempted, this year Ryan and I will not be the two white Americans flying Obama kites on the beach. We actually haven't bought a kite yet, but will go down to the beach to see it all.

I am still staining our patio table and six chairs. We bought high quality marine stain and have given it three coats in order to protect it from the salt, wind, and rain on the island. What a pain it has been, but it looks great and will hopefully hold up through the elements.

Until next time...

Another day in paradise

I have been continuing to keep busy. As I told someone today, retiring at 26 years old isn't as great as one may think. I am still searching for jobs on the island, but counseling jobs currently aren't lining up in the classifieds. If I was a mason, landscaper, or in the financial/insurance industry, I would be golden!


Ryan and I had a fun weekend going on walks and out to dinner. We went to North Rock Brewing Co. for dinner. The food wasn't very good (actually is was terrible), but the beer tasted good. We also went to Ryan's supervisor's house for dinner Saturday. His house is right on the ocean, and it was so relaxing sitting outside.



We enjoy walking to Elbow Beach and through the Elbow Beach resort. The beach is about 1.5 miles from our house. It is a gorgeous resort and is considered one of the best on the island. The photo attached is from our last Elbow beach walk. Limerick loves going for morning walks, and is lazy the rest of the day after our walk. I have been taking her to the railway trail or the beach for about an hour walk every morning. It is keeping me and her in good shape.



I have been looking into opportunities to meet people here and found a neat organization called The Walking Club of Bermuda. Every Sunday the club meets at a different location on the island for a 6-7 mile walk. People go to keep in shape, meet others, and to explore areas of the island that they may never have seen before. 6-7 miles seems a little daunting, but I may give it a try next Sunday.

I keep wondering when this permanent vacation is going to wear off. When you walk to the ocean and are still in awe of the sand and beautiful blue water, I think it will never seem permanent. I will keep going as if this is a 3-5 year vacation. That way I will never take it for granted. It is truly beautiful here.

And to those that read my blog and are getting sick of the sunny pictures, it should only be an incentive to book your trip soon! The Crawford Villa is currently taking summer and fall reservations.

Until next time...