Grand Caymans SCUBA vacation

On May 22, 2008 the Girardin family flew down to the Caribbean for a SCUBA diving vacation on the Grand Caymans. Please join us as we review our memories of this special family vacation.



This is a picture that was located in our room - beautiful...a perfect display of the Grand Caymans.

We arrived in Charlotte, NC airport and learned that Dad's tooth hurt. As a SCUBA diver this is *not* a good way to begin a trip. Dad found the contact information for a dentist on island. As soon as we walked off the plane into the warm tropical breeze, we headed for the dentist... BUT this is not easy since the drive on the left hand street on the Grand Caymans. Dad had to think each time he made a turn, "I am driving on the LEFT side of the street."


Here is Dad outside the SMILES dentist office - emergencies welcome. *smiles* That was us that day!

The dentist explained to my dad that they could schedule an appointment for him to have a root canal. For those of you who know my Dad well, he isn't fond of dentists. But between then and the appointment if he wanted to dive he would need to be on some medication. As it ended up, Dad and Mum discussed it and prayed about it. They decided since the meds were working well, they would hold off for the root canal until we got back to the states. We are thankful that Dad's tooth didn't prevent him from diving.


A family shot the first day on the dive boat. We are still fairly white, but the Caribbean sun changed that!

We dove a total of nine times. Eight of the dive sights were usual island sites filled with amazing animal and coral life. One of them was the famous "Sting Ray City." "String Ray City" is a dive site where you kneel in about 10 feet of water while the the rays get fed squid. The sting rays will comes so close. You are allowed to touch them. The best description of their underside is like a wet mushroom. You know when you take a mushroom out of a can it feels smooth-like? It's like that. The top part of a ray is almost like sand paper. It was definitely a special experience!



We dove with an awesome diving business called, "Ocean Frontiers." Our favorite dive guide was an Aussie named, Brad. He took us through some amazing swim throughs and helped us find some turtles and other interesting fish. "Ocean Frontiers" had four boats. Only three are shown in the picture above. This is taken from our room... it was so beautiful!!



Above is Mum and DJ after a dive. As we have previously done it, Mum and DJ are dive partners, while Dad and I (Emily) are buddies.



The Blow Holes is a very interesting attraction. The coral on the beach has a hole in it. When the waves hit the beach, they spurt up through the hole shooting about 15 feet up.



Above is Mum and Dad at the Blow Holes. The following is a display of what exactly happens at the Blow Holes:





Above is DJ enjoying the beach. It was so beautiful to live right on the beach. The first night our AC didn't work. The staff was very sorry about the inconvenience. But we remembered our times on Guam and simply opened the windows. It was so beautiful to go to sleep with the smell of the salt water and the cool ocean breeze coming into the room.



Here I stand on the dock enjoying the last day in the Caymans. On this dock was the four dive boats. Each morning we would come down to the dock, get onto our boat, and go to our first dive destination.



Here DJ says goodbye to the beach, as we prepare to leave. This vacation was such a blessing for our family. We are going in different directions this fall, so this vacation served as some beneficial family time. As we approach some crazy times now, I remember back to our time there and thank God for the time together.



The future we are trusting to God...
Thanks for joining us in reviewing our Grand Caymans adventure! :)