We are thankful

Our family alternates spending Thanksgiving holidays every 3 years between different relatives homes. Truly, this tradition started because of my Dad's lack of enthusiasm for the holidays (Aunt Ruth would say it was the lack of the Willhite family's enthusiasm- her story is similar with my Dad's twin Jim). The year after my Mom and Dad got married, Dad spent the entire Thanksgiving Day putting in kitchen cabnets at my neighbor's house (in Martin) and left my poor mother to celebrate the holiday alone--poor girl, as they had only been married only 6 weeks at that time! Can you imagine? The next year, my Mom invited every member of his entire family (around 20 people- give or take a few) to spend Thanksgiving in Martin! (I think I may have inherited some of my Mom's spunk- and party throwing). What started as our parents tradition is now being continued through us, the children, as we alternate between our house, my cousin Adelia's house, and her brother Edwin's house (children of Dad's twin Jim).

Yesterday, the Willhites spent Thanksgiving with us in Memphis and we had such a wonderful time. From the 20 pound bird to desserts galore, we had a feast! But, more than that we are thankful for such a wonderful family. When some families struggle for conversation or have stress during the holidays, I thrive on this time together. We could not have had a more perfect day. We are so blessed!

Halloween

Here are our spooky little ones- Harrison as a Clone Troper and Grayson as a mermaid princess. I have to throw away all the candy now since Lloyd and I can't keep from eating a piece every time we walk past the kitchen!

Fall is here!

Fall is my favorite season. In Memphis, it's still 80 plus degrees, but, there is something different about the gentle wind and the leaves that gives us hope that cooler weather is just around the corner. Lloyd and I spent the weekend at the lake, and as the kids and I returned home today we stopped off at the pumpkin patch just outside of Milan, TN. Harrison had saved $9 and he practiced his math skills as he decided based on price which to pick from the cream of the crop. Grayson couldn't quite grasp why her $2 wouldn't buy the biggest pumpkin in the yard, but, we were able to leave without too many tears.



Tomorrow is the first official day of fall. Enjoy my favorite season. Happy fall to all of you, and watch out, Grayson... don't fall!

Black Sand Beaches, White Sand Beaches, and Everything in Between

Our final class was today, and it was almost saddening to realize our time here has to come to an end. We’ve really become good friends with the other VPs and their families. Our hope is to have a reunion with this group (believe me, we’ve made it clear that we are willing to “sacrifice” and come down again next year for this course!) That is not up to us, however, and regardless, we’d say this was a terrific experience and yet another trip of a lifetime.

After class, we lounged by the pool and tried to reflect on what our favorite adventures have been. We’ve experienced so much in these short 10 days it’s incredibly hard to decide. From black sand beaches to white sand beaches, and everything in between-- it’s all been pretty spectacular. I’ve decided to post our favorite pictures of "us" from the trip and hope that they capture our expressions of the beauty of this place and give you a glimpse into our favorite memories (albeit vicariously).















As the sun sets tomorrow over the Caribbean, we will hopefully be back in the United States. This adventure will be over yet others will be beginning. We’ve loved keeping in touch with you as we were away. Thanks for your emails and blog comments! This will be treasured.

Island Exploration

Lloyd felt well enough to ride with us in a van around the island yesterday (Yeh! Recovery!), so we gladly embarked on a day long adventure. Grenada is from volcanic origin and has produced a topography that is fantastic to visit. One must dope up on all kinds of anti-nausea medications before leaving because the road system here gives “curvey” an entirely new dimension. In addition to unbelieveable Coastline views, there are several freshwater lakes as well. We overlooked one, Lake Antoine, that occupies a perfect crater of an extinct volcano.

The rainforest is a protected national park that is located in the middle part of the island. We had hoped to hike a little through the mountainous region, but, with Lloyd feeling badly and the kids being so young, we opted to slate this for future exploration. We did, however, hike a short distance to Annadale Falls, where cliff jumpers were awaiting. Upon donation, they perform a 50 foot jump, and it is definitely worth the tip.



We ate lunch at Belmont Estate, which is a 300 year old plantation that still practices by the original manufacturing techniques. Their main product is chocolate, and we toured from start to finish how the cocoa plant is transformed into my favorite dessert.


The process starts with farmers picking the cocoa pod off the trees, and cracking the pod to harvest the beans inside. When opened, the beans are covered in this yummy sweet pulp (kind of tastes like yogurt), but, if you bite into the bean, it will be very bitter. In order to make the chocolate taste more palatable, the bean is put through a fermentation process for 5 to 9 days and then, laid out to dry in the sun. Various types of cocoa exist, and the fermentation and drying of the beans affect the flavor of the final product (kind of like wine or tea). Several times daily, the ladies at the plantation take off their shoes and shuffle through the drying beans in order to maximize their exposure to sunshine and air. The kids and I enjoyed helping… It’s the least we could do.


The Belmont experience is not complete without a quick walk through the plantation gardens. They have horses, a donkey, sheep, goats, lamb, tortoises, parrots, and yes, MONKEYS!!!!!! We had bananas ready to call for them in the jungle, but, we didn’t end up hiking in the right location. In addition, Hurricane Ivan destroyed most of the island in 2004, and the monkey population in the jungle was diminished to a minimum because of the storm. Apparently, it’s mating season and this time of year is the least likely time to spy these interesting creatures. (they are in their caves up to monkey business. Oh well.) Having not expected to see them, you can’t even imagine the excitement when the kids saw the monkeys! Their touch was so gentle… I fell in love, too.

Our guide taught us about the various fruits grown on trees by stopping along side of the road as he drove. From what I can remember (too much to keep up with) we saw breadfruit, jackfruit, starfruit, mango, avocado, almond, banana, seagrape, coconut, cocoa, palm, and nutmeg trees. Remember that Grenada is the world’s second largest producer of nutmegs in the world (just behind Indonesia), accounting for 1/3 of the worlds supply. Nutmegs are used in everything from drinks and desserts (nutmeg icecream) to medications (Nutmed, a trademark pain medication here). The nutmeg pod opens to show the red mace that covers the nut when it is ready to be harvested. Nothing goes to waste as they manufacture the mace for lipstick, cosmetics, medications, and yes, even pepperspray (primarily exported to other countries)!




We finished the day with a visit to the Antoine Rum Distillery, whose processes have changed little since the 1800s. It is the oldest functioning water-powered distillery in the entire Caribbean. We all tasted the locally grown sugar cane, which is the primary ingredient in the rum making process.


Lloyd and I taught this morning, and will finish up with our teaching responsibilities by tomorrow afternoon. It’s hard to believe that nearly 2 weeks have passed! We’ll squeeze in as much excitement as we can during these next 48 hours.

Carib Crafts, Coconut, and Clinics

Lloyd has a severe headache, and so, we left him this morning with order to “rest” himself back to health. The kids and I had an interesting day exploring St. George’s (the University) and walking along the beach in Grand Anse and visiting the Beach craft mall.

The curls on my daughter’s head were calling out for some Caribbean braids, and, we responded to the call. She’s cute.


We also met Alvin, who was carving beautiful necklace pieces out of brown coral. (Alvin’s his name and making money is his game.) I admit, I succumbed to the pressure. But, we got some pretty neat take home gifts for some of you! Completely worth it.

Since we arrived, Harrison has commented on the fact that he wanted a coconut to eat. Today at the pool (yes, we went back for the 6th day in a row) a worker knocked down a coconut and shared it with the kids. They drank the milk and ate the pulp like experts.

We had to take Lloyd to clinic this afternoon. One thing is for certain, there are too many doctors here trying to treat him! Everyone at the University Club (the entire hotel) is a Visiting Professor, and all have thrown in their opinion. Lloyd is frustrated since he wanted so badly to enjoy this time with us. But, there are no complaints from the kids who get to eat “beef burgers” every day and swim at the fabulous pool. It’s a pretty darn good vacation! But, we do miss him.

A Natural Pharmacy

The island of Grenada is well known to herbalists. In fact, the traditional practices of herbal medicine are not only still practiced, but, “bush medicine” lore is written about in the tourist guide. One example of such legends is “Never pick herbs after 6:00PM. If you must because of an emergency, slap the bush three times to wake it up”. I find this all very amusing yet the culture is such that Grenadians believe in the mystery, mysticism, and magic of the herbs. And, there’s a medical school here? What?

I haven’t spent a tremendous amount of time researching the natural herbs, however, we have taken some time to inspect some of the local flora and fauna (in addition to the lizard caught by Grayson yesterday). Here are some pictures of just a few.










Yes, the Caribbean has critters! Including our own. Aren’t they adorable?



(not made in America)












Lloyd is still not well. I wish I could do something for him. We brought “our pharmacy” with us, and we’re surrounded by doctors, yet, illness sometimes must run its course. I wonder if that Indian saffron herb I saw growing on the side of the road might …. Or that bush tea……Hmmmm? There is an Alternative Medicine conference going on right now at the University and the Acupuncturist just made a house call.