7/1/06
Today would be a day at the beach. We loaded all our beach goodies into the car and headed for Cinnamon Beach. We got there early and were one of the first on the beach. We headed down the beach and found what we expected to be shade most of the bay, spread out blanket and lathered on a generous layer of sunscreen. We were there only a few minutes before we decided to rent a kayak for a paddle out to the small island just off shore. The fellow told us if we wanted good snorkeling, we should paddle all the way to Whistling Cay. I’m not sure how far it is but it looked a long way. He said we could get there in less than an hour. We strapped down our cooler and snorkel gear and jumped in. We planned on staying along the coastline all the way past Little Cinnamon, Maho and Francis Bay. When we were at Mary Point, we would be the closest to the island. That turned out to be a long, long paddle so we simply headed straight for the island. My wife was in heaven because she loves kayaking. I myself find the position uncomfortable and my bad shoulder doesn’t like paddling but there our things we do for each other once in awhile. On the way out, while we were in the deepest part, I saw a rather large dorsal fin appear above the water coming straight toward us. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. I figure was either a shark (YIKES!) or a dolphin. I was glad to get to the island. We planned on kayaking around the island counterclockwise but the swells and wind helped us decide on a landing spot on the south side. We found a tiny gravel cove perfect for going in. We were soon snorkeling in some great water. We didn’t make it all the way around the map because my wife was having trouble with the mask leaking. Snorkeling isn’t he favorite thing to do but she did it with me. After 30 minutes of snorkeling, we headed back past Cinnamon Cay and to the beach. I was very glad to be back. After a rest, I decided to check out the snorkeling around the closest cay. The snorkel out was not too good for coral but seemed very good for fish. It was very shallow and there were large schools of various kinds all over the place. I proceeded all the way along and around the Cay and it was pretty good. I alarmed a small sea turtle in the rocks at the end and it quickly departed for deeper water. On the northeast side, there were huge schools of minnow like fish. There were so many that at times you could not see. It seemed weird that you could feel them touching you. Before we know it was 3:00 and we left the beach. I was hungry so we stopped at the snack bar at the Cinnamon Bay Campground. I ordered the BBQ Hotdog only to get the response – “You see a BBQ here anywhere?” I guess that meant that they were not offered that day. We both ordered plain hot dogs and waited a long time for them. The island clock sure runs slower than we are accustomed to. After we arrived at the resort, we headed to the pool for dip before showering for dinner. Rhumb Lines would be the place of choice that night. We had 30 minutes to kill so we had a drink on the balcony of Quiet Mon Pub. It was a great place to watch folks go by. There was a black truck coming down the hill with a red jeep right on its back bumper. They stopped right in front of me and the driver of the truck proceeded to yell something at the jeep. Before you knew it, the truck driver got a ball bat out of his truck and the jeep ripped away down the street with the bat wielding jeep drive in chase. He soon acme back and calmed down. The jeep guy was very lucky that traffic allowed him to escape. When we found it, we were quite surprised! I would have never gone there without knowing about it ahead of time. The whole front building is burned out for a year ago. I would have never guessed what was inside. I was great! Nice teak furniture and ceiling fans plus great service! After dinner we walked down to the carnival to see what was happening. There was a huge steel band set up. They were all kids and were terrific. They played a selection that seemed to go on forever and locals as well as tourists were dancing and smiling! It was a great thing to experience! I return the rental car tomorrow am so we will either stay at the resort for the last day or maybe take a Taxi to Hawksnest for a visit. Bedtime now!