tT&tC Day 3

Day 3 we got up, scurried to breakfast. I ordered French Toast which, usually, is one of Adrienne’s favorites however their bread here is a raisin Brioche and raisins are strictly verboten. I ordered because I find nothing wrong with raisins and, interestingly enough, there were no raisins! It was served with a small glass of warmed syrup, a dollup of whipped cream, and a bit of mixed fruit compote – I ate it in alternating bites and it was the perfect start. Adrienne had the “American breakfast”: two eggs (scrambled), bacon, toast, and rosemary potatoes.

 

After breakfast, we dillydallied around and eventually made our way to the beach to go snorkeling. There is a large area right off of the beach. Part of this is roped and buoyed off – the tour when we arrived told us this was because there is fire coral within and that stinging jellyfish often reside on the ropes. I took my snorkel mask and GoPro and headed on out – it was great! Lots of interesting fish and I got a chance to dive and hang out with a sea turtle! When I get home, I’ll try to upload some video.

 

Afterwards, lunch was upon us! Swimming improves the appetite, and ribs were on the menu! <attached photo> Adrienne had nachos and a Cesar salad. The nachos came with salsa, sour cream, and green sour cream (guacamole). Quick aside – there are two kinds of guacamole – that which is fresh and a centerpiece, and stuff that comes preprepared – it often tastes like green sour cream, mild, cool, and useful for calming down too much capsaicin. There were enough jalapenos on these nachos to warrant both white and green sour cream. Lunch was provided in the main dining area instead of beachside because there were some threatening clouds. Behind us, in the main dining area, was a small area where the staff have constructed a hydroponics station to provide them with some of the fresh vegetables they often serve. Tomatoes is what I can see most prominently growing there.

 

There were scattered showers in the afternoon, so we lazily laid by the pool or outside our back porch and read most of the time. By the pool, Dewayne, who gave us our initial tour, stopped by, jokingly accused us of “working”, and then offered us a popsicle. I haven’t had a popsicle in ages! It dripped everywhere but it was absolutely perfect for the time and place!

 

Dinner was back at the same dining area, and this time we were seated at the same table as lunch, so we switched seats to “keep things interesting”. Adrienne had a blue margarita – at this point she has been working her way through the various colors of margaritas – which she described as “most delightful”. My drink was The Godfather which the menu described as “scoth and amaretto”. The scoth was sssmooth and sssatishfying. I ordered the beef and reef – a 6 oz filet with two oversized shrimp and Adrienne ordered the boring chicken. Except it was anything but boring. It was two pieces of breast meat chicken seasoned with typical Italian herbs and roasted atop a spicy pineapple risotto. The duality of the spice and the pineapple was perfectly matched and formed a trifecta with the creaminess of the risotto. This is a recipe I’m going to attempt to recreate when I get back home!

 

After dinner, we made our way back to the room (it is an arduous journey of about 20 steps) and settled in on the back porch reading. Adrienne finished reading Becoming, by Michelle Obama, which had been recommended by a number of people – family, friends, and even patients! (One patient recommended I buy her Girl, Wash Your Face, to which I asked, “can you imagine how well received that would be?). She then started (nearly immediately) reading A Gentleman in Moscow, which I am told is not an oxymoron.

 

We also Facetimed with Jo-eph (he has wooden letters in the nursery spelling his name, the S recently fell, birthing a new nickname)(not too long ago, the O and the S both fell, giving him the nickname Jeph). Jo-eph is currently with Grandma Kim and Grandpa Steve, and he showed us “Carrot Top”, a Fisher Price Little People that Jo-eph (which I think is the name of Superman’s uncle) has taking a liking to with orange hair.

 

Afterwards, I finished my book, Fascism: a Warning by Madeleine Albright; it comes very highly recommended from this recovering political science major. At which point, I started Tuck Everlasting. This is a book I’ve always been interested in, and I have a vague memory of our class reading it, but I think that I was sick at the time and missed it, or maybe I was just not paying attention? The two possibilities are about equally plausible.

 

At this point, weary, we tucked ourselves in and went to sleep.