On the boat, De De and Madison were together as were Pop Pop and Nicholas.
Madison got into the water with Pop Pop to see the big sting Rays.
Madison's reaction was, "It was exciting to touch the sting rays (especially underneath where they are smooth) but it was even more exciting when they bumped into me."
Nicholas was brave enough to touch a biggie, and get a gentle slap on his cheek.
This was a really fun boat ride, especially touching sting rays and feeding them squid.
Meanwhile, Steve and Valentine were feeling good:
And Susie and the (not so little) Bear opted for the little pool:
One of the day's highlights was a trip to Camana Bay Shopping Mall (and fountains):
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But that did not, of course, supplant the daily walk to Rum Point and ice cream refreshments:
Our friendly neighbor, Angela, from Detroit,showed Madison and Pop Pop a star that could move on her hand:
Closing out the day, the sun set quietly over the west end of Grand Cayman.
Even on Island Time,the week is moving way too fast.
Meanwhile, Steve, Jess and Valentine had a spot under the palm trees:
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Pop Pop and De De were watching Ella.
In the afternoon, we traveled to Star Point to see Patrick, Sam and other stars. We did not see Sponge Bob.
Back at the ranch, time for some hugs:
And a view of the ocean as the sun goes down.
All this while we heard that Philly had another storm alert and 3" more of snow. We picked a good week to head to the Caymans.
Here he is a few seconds later:
Finally, his response, "What sand?"
The girls posed together for a picture:
And last, but not least, Nick was enjoying the beach also;
And just to give an idea of our digs for the week (pretty nice) here is the view from the door facing the beach:
... From our trip to Turkey are scenes from Cappadocia, and Fethiye.
... From our trip to Antarctica and South Georgia, the "invasion" of South Georgia.
... And locally, barns in our area and the garden.
... And certainly not least, pics of Madison and Nicholas a few years ago.
We started in Chicago, stopped at nine parks (plus Napa Valley) along the way, and now end in San Francisco. The day was spent in the AM in Chinatown (just below our hotel on Nob Hill), and in the PM on Telegraph Hill and down near the wharves - closing, of course at the Ghirardelli Square chocolate factory!
Pictures today include scenes from Chinatown, and a view of Alcatraz, out in the bay. We would have loved to have shown the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was unusually warm today for SF, and the bridge created its own fog, enveloping the bridge except for the tips of the bridge support towers.
We'll likely "recap" our trip in the next week, but as Bugs Bunny used to say signing off a Looney Tunes cartoon, "That's all folks!"
We then drove to the Mariposa Grove, a stand of over 200 giant sequoias. The walk was less than two miles, but fairly steep. One of the giant trees was over 96' in circumfrance and 1,800 years old, and another you could walk right through. They are huge.
We then drove to Glacier Point - 3,500' above the Valley floor. What views!
As we were driving down the mountain from the Point, we were reminded that this is still a wilderness area.
Further down the Glacier Point road we had one last chance to see up the Valley, but this time in full daylight.
And finally, as we turned into the Valley for the last time to head back to our hotel, we could see the sheer 3,500' vertical face of El Capitan one last time, but this time in the sun.
What a privilege it is to have the National Park System. This trip has been long, and we are ready to return home, but we are full of wonder and awe at what we have seen.
