Early in the morning

My friend GB, recently wrote of a view that he will never tire of seeing, well here is my view........my view that I will NEVER tire of seeing.
The first thing I see when I open my door early in the morning.......

the moon about to go to sleep......but yet still bright in the sky.

The island about to wake up......

to another HOTT and steamy day.

Brazen and Brownie AGAIN!!

Brazen has done it again!!!
Saturday afternoon, that freakingggg monkey and his mate (yes, he has a mate) had a tag team royal rumble going, and teased Brownie mercilessly by jumping from limb to limb in the Japanese fern tree, making poor Brownie run all around, and jump up and down barking in a frenzy, until alas, he fell on his left hind leg.
My daughter heard when he yelped out in excruciating pain.  I ran out to him where he laid on the grass not able to move.
Brazen's  mate ran off, but that freakkkkingggg monkey sat in the tree and regarded me with a look of, "There take that, you and your barking dog," on his face.
My gosh, Brownie had just started to get the hang of walking on his healed right hind leg again, and now this...
The other neighbours are complaining too.  They actually have it worse, because they have four dogs, so he teases them one after the other in a circle over and over again.

Brazen and mate running away.

They had already plundered poor Mama Sparrow Bird's nest.

Yes, they ate all the eggs and then threw it on the ground.

Look at all the work that went into building that nest, grass clippings, mango leaves, small tree limbs, feathers and bits of material. The time and patience and dedication that went into it is not lost however, I have placed it in another safer area, and I hope she finds it soon.

Did not want to post any photos of my poor boy in pain, but he will be okay. He has had some painkillers, and his leg has been bandaged in some reliable old time remedies to aid the healing of the sprain. 

Girls Day out

I look forward to my weekends so much...I love meeting up with my girlfriends on Saturdays to hang out and have fun.
We went plant hunting on Saturday.....visiting our many plant friends who had babies to share and lots of cuttings to get rid of.
I did not drive Beast, but instead was picked up by my girlfriend at the appointed meet-up time, and off we went.
Of course we had to pay a visit to Caribbean Plants as well, where I became the proud owner (thanks to Patrick) of a triangle leaf ficus, a plant I had wanted to add to my collection for some time now.
It was a hot steamy day (what else is new with the weather these days), very HOTT for October, we were drained.
Traveling on the west coast back towards the city, we spotted a welcome sight....a wayside coconut vendor.   Pulling over, we climbed out like thirsty tourists and asked the price of the coconuts.
"Two dollars and fifty cents," came the reply.
 "What???  We live here, is that the local price????"
"Yes, that is the price, this is the west coast," came back the friendly reply.

Now my coconut vendor charges two dollars per coconut, but as this friendly guy explained, these coconuts were big and sweet.
We could not find any more ideas to barter the price down, so we bought three BIGG lovely tasting coconuts from John.

His stand and surroundings were clean  - see the container of water with the spigot? He used it to wash his hands off between handling the coconuts.

Overlook the mess of discarded shells, he cleans it all up when he is finished selling for the day.

John the friendly coconut vendor

Not everyone can be a coconut vendor...it demands  very skilful handling of the machete to "top off" the coconuts.

All ready to drink the cool refreshing water inside - a great way to beat the heat on a steamy day.

Have to give the ladies a straw

When we were finished drinking, he obliged us by cutting the empty coconut in half with the machete, so that we could eat the jelly (flesh) inside.

Boy were those coconuts tasty.  I brought mine home so I could share my jelly with you know who.
See you next time John.

Homeward Bound

The morning of my departure dawned bright and sunny.
Having a 5.30am airport arrival time was no problem, since I am an early riser.
The usual stuff, checking in, weighing baggage, TSA officials shouting instructions, cold feet on the ground after removing shoes, being scanned, oh the hardships of travel these days....quite annoying really, but a necessary evil.
On boarding, I was happy to find the same flight crew that I had traveled to NY with from Barbados.
Captain Ken in control once again, I can sit back and relax...he did  a great job the first time around.

 Leaving JFK and taxiing down the runway

Passing our other "family" members

Testing those wing flaps....A-OK

Smooth liftoff.

Leaving it all behind.

Climbing higher and higher..........

.........Until we leveled out at 35,000 feet

Floating above the clouds once again.

Passed this island in the island chain on the way.
(May have been Guadeloupe, a French island)

This is a sight I will NEVER get tired of...the first glimpse of my island home (you need to be sitting on the left side of the plane in a window seat to capture the following views)

My heart ALWAYS skips a beat when I see my island down below.....then tears of happiness follow....maybe I'm emotional or patriotic, who cares?   I'm HAPPY when I see this view......

I am so thankful that I live on this island.

Cruising up the south coast

Many hotels hug the coastline

Lovely crystal blue water....pristine sandy beaches

Coming down slowly..........

Clear view of houses, means we are about to land.

Safe smooth touchdown to loads of cheers and clapping...Captain Ken had done it again

Back on familiar ground

Grantley Adams International Airport Arrivals area.

It's so good to be back home.

My last days

Back in NYC for my last days before heading back home, I spent  my time wandering around the various shopping areas that surround the neighbourhood.
It was a West Indian neighbourhood, and therefore many of the stores were operated by Caribbean immigrants.
Even though I was in NY, I was still immersed in a Caribbean setting with the island dialect, familiar foods and styles.

One Trini (short for Trinidadian) store-owner, even teased me whether I came into his store to buy flying fish (don't get me started on that story *)...I laughed and gave him a playful punch and left, since his store prices were not suited to my pocket anyway.

My friends had told me that they purchase their "home away from home" staples from the Paro store. Now at home, "paro" refers to a crack head, someone who is addicted to drugs. I thought they were pulling my leg about the Paro store, but here it is...
(not a very good photo I admit, but you believe me, don't you?)
The store is named after the owner, whose surname happens to be Paro.

The Paro West Indian Market

Since both of my friends were on call with work that weekend, we had to cancel our plans to visit Atlantic City.....what a bummer.
However,  I headed out to Jersey with my good friend Carl to collect some packages I had pre-ordered/shipped to his apartment.
We took the bus from the Port Authority station, and traveled the short scenic ride over to West New York,  New Jersey.
The scenery took my breath away...The NYC skyline was fantastic.

 

Even at night, the skyline was beautiful in the rain.... 

taken from the moving bus heading back  over to NYC.

Driving back to NYC through the tunnel at night.....from inside the bus.

New Jersey home with a welcoming floral display.

Entered a minimart to purchase a few eats....only my friend would frequent a minimart that sells these.......Naked juices.

After an enjoyable day, we headed back  to my home away from home....situated on a shady tree-lined street......

......where there is a Veteran's Home across the street with everyday comical activity......the "stories" and "threats" that those guys loudly voiced to each other will never leave me......I have been scarred for life.

Halloween is on its way........ pumpkin photos are in order

Very CUTE painted Halloween pumpkins I saw on the street.

Marijuana at-home drug test

 
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this.....only in NYC.

Time sure does go by fast when you're having fun doesn't it?
It was time to get my packing done, and have one last celebratory dinner with my friends. There's nothing like having a fun-filled evening staying in, chowing down and watching a good movie.
What an incredible visit it had been.
Last time I was labelled a "Celebrity" because I passed through NY on my way to visit friends out west. This time was no different, the time spent could have been longer.   I was still being hailed as a "Celebrity", since the visit was so short in everyone's eyes.  Can't please 'em all, can we?


(*) Read the details here and here and here.