I had a very restless night and didn't sleep well. Maybe too excited to be here?? Breakfast was simple-glazed donut I bought yesterday from Graceway IGA/Leeward Hwy. and coffee.
Drove to Cheshire Hall Plantation. Had stopped here yesterday but it was closed. Remains of an 18th century cotton plantation owned by Thomas Stubbs. He sided with Britain during the Revolutionary War so was given these acres to compensate for the loss of his property in the US. We had a short wait as the tour guide was just finishing up the tour with another person. Cost was $10.00 per person. Our guide was Joe from the TCI National Trust. Some informative signage. Joe told us so much about the history of this place. It was very interesting. We saw the original stone boundary wall. The common well. Replica of a slave house. Kitchen. Herb garden and here Joe picked basil, lemongrass, oregano, and mint for us to smell. He identified some trees and plants for us. Originally there were 3 cannon to protect the property from pirates but only 1 has been found. Administration building. Ruins of the plantation great house. Took about an hour. Glad we did this as I wanted to learn about some history of the islands.
We stop at Dive Provo to buy a long sleeve solar/rash guard shirt. This one is for Richard as I had already bought one for me. The sun is very hot here. Some jewelry catches my eye. It's by Wellington and I remember reading about hi. I buy a sand dollar necklace-made with sand from Grace Bay. Cost $89.90 Next we stop at Atelys' store in the Caicos Cafe Plaza. She shows me her progress on my necklace and I will e-mail her pictures of the other items I want. Right now she's only set up to accept cash or Pay Pal. Lots of lovely necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings for sale in her store.
On to the Conch Farm. I'm determined to learn all I can about the conch before I have my first taste of it! Admission is $12 per person and it's a guided tour. First we sit in a room with informative pictures and learn about the conch's development stages, etc. Our guide is Johnnie and she good at explaining....... We learn that this is the only conch farm in the world-that all the conch from here is exported to Miami! That sometimes a conch will make a pearl if sand or grit gets in-pink-very rare-1 in 10,000. There are cages and we can hold a conch. These are 2-4 yrs. old. Holding it the conch comes out and down. Fells smooth and slimy! Ugly looking. There are several tanks of fish as they have just started to farm them. It really is fascinating. At the end we're introduced to Sally and Jerry-both 14-15 yrs. old and both are Queen conch-one male, one female. They are big. We're told that Jerry's male appendage can grow/stretch out to 12" long-OMG!!! TMI for me. You can buy conch shells here as souvenirs. This tour takes around an hour. Lots of people here to learn about conch.
Back to our condo where we relax on the beach and watch parasailing, kayaking, the Club Med snorkel boat. The water is warm but still a bit too rough for me but it feels so refreshing to splash around.
Dinner is Le Bouchon located in the Regent Village Plaza. We have no reservation but it's early-around 5:30 pm. We are seated at a nice table on the outside patio. A few other tables are occupied. The appetizers and entrees/mains are written on a chalkboard. There is a menu for the list of wines. We have a lovely server who is very efficient. We decide to stick with bottled water. She brings us a basket filled with crusty pieces of baguette. I order the steak au poivre-medium. It is perfection-melt in your mouth goodness. The gravy with mushrooms it sits on is as good as my husband's gravy and he makes darn good gravy! Comes with shoestring frittes/fries and carrots/asparagus/zucchini. I will remember this steak for a long time. My husband orders the snapper in white sauce with potatoes au gratin and the same vegetables I have. He is happy with his choice. There is a 10% service charge added to the bill. Cost without extra tip $92.72 As we are leaving the place is filling up and most tables are now occupied.
We walk across to another store in the plaza-Melt. Read about this as being a good place for homemade ice cream. As you enter the store you can't help but notice the eclectic decor. Ordinary and not so ordinary items for sale. A few bistro style tables and chairs at the counter. There was one couple leaving as we arrived. We are the only ones here. The menu has several different concoctions-sundaes, etc. ranging around $12-15. They all look like a meal by themselves. DeeDee tells us we can order ice cream by the scoop. $5 for 1 scoop, $9 for 2 scoops. She tells us the few choices and I decide on 1 scoop of almond in a dish. Richard opts for the pistachio in a waffle cone but later will ask for a dish due to the ice cream dripping! He loves his pistachio filled with lots of the nuts. My almond not the best choice. It lacked any real flavor and no bits of almonds in it. DeeDee was so funny. Laughing, talking-a big personality to match her Irish roots I guess. As we are leisurely enjoying our ice cream in walks a group of maybe 8 adults. They are all ordering coffee drinks, tea, ice cream, baked goods. On the counter under glass domes are the homemade baked goods. Chocolate cake, lemonade cake, huge morning buns, and more. One guy orders a slice of the chocolate cake with hot fudge sauce and ice cream and an iced coffee drink. DeeDee is being kept very busy by this group. The next time I looked over at the guy his plate was almost perfectly clean. I swear you couldn't tell there was cake, ice cream, and fudge sauce ever on it!! He said every bite was delicious and better than the one before. Then another large group comes in so we decide to quickly finish and take our leave so they can sit down. Cost without tip $11.50 Wish I had taken more pictures-of the menu and the store itself.
Drove to Cheshire Hall Plantation. Had stopped here yesterday but it was closed. Remains of an 18th century cotton plantation owned by Thomas Stubbs. He sided with Britain during the Revolutionary War so was given these acres to compensate for the loss of his property in the US. We had a short wait as the tour guide was just finishing up the tour with another person. Cost was $10.00 per person. Our guide was Joe from the TCI National Trust. Some informative signage. Joe told us so much about the history of this place. It was very interesting. We saw the original stone boundary wall. The common well. Replica of a slave house. Kitchen. Herb garden and here Joe picked basil, lemongrass, oregano, and mint for us to smell. He identified some trees and plants for us. Originally there were 3 cannon to protect the property from pirates but only 1 has been found. Administration building. Ruins of the plantation great house. Took about an hour. Glad we did this as I wanted to learn about some history of the islands.
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| Entrance sign |
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| Admission tickets |
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| Our guide Joe |
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| Original stone wall-built without mortar |
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| Common well |
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| Replica slave house |
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| Main house ruins |
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| Original canon that was found |
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| Administration building with cut out shelves on the inside |
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| Sisal |
We stop at Dive Provo to buy a long sleeve solar/rash guard shirt. This one is for Richard as I had already bought one for me. The sun is very hot here. Some jewelry catches my eye. It's by Wellington and I remember reading about hi. I buy a sand dollar necklace-made with sand from Grace Bay. Cost $89.90 Next we stop at Atelys' store in the Caicos Cafe Plaza. She shows me her progress on my necklace and I will e-mail her pictures of the other items I want. Right now she's only set up to accept cash or Pay Pal. Lots of lovely necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings for sale in her store.
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| Jewelry by Wellington-necklace from Dive Provo and matching earrings from his stand at the local fish fry |
On to the Conch Farm. I'm determined to learn all I can about the conch before I have my first taste of it! Admission is $12 per person and it's a guided tour. First we sit in a room with informative pictures and learn about the conch's development stages, etc. Our guide is Johnnie and she good at explaining....... We learn that this is the only conch farm in the world-that all the conch from here is exported to Miami! That sometimes a conch will make a pearl if sand or grit gets in-pink-very rare-1 in 10,000. There are cages and we can hold a conch. These are 2-4 yrs. old. Holding it the conch comes out and down. Fells smooth and slimy! Ugly looking. There are several tanks of fish as they have just started to farm them. It really is fascinating. At the end we're introduced to Sally and Jerry-both 14-15 yrs. old and both are Queen conch-one male, one female. They are big. We're told that Jerry's male appendage can grow/stretch out to 12" long-OMG!!! TMI for me. You can buy conch shells here as souvenirs. This tour takes around an hour. Lots of people here to learn about conch.
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| Discussion/lecture room where we learned all about conch |
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| Such an ugly creature! |
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| One of the fish tanks |
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| Another fish tank |
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| Conch |
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| Fish inside one of the fish tanks |
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| Fish tanks in a row |
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| Being introduced to Sally and Jerry |
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| Entrance |
Back to our condo where we relax on the beach and watch parasailing, kayaking, the Club Med snorkel boat. The water is warm but still a bit too rough for me but it feels so refreshing to splash around.
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| OCW-Grace Bay beach |
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Dinner is Le Bouchon located in the Regent Village Plaza. We have no reservation but it's early-around 5:30 pm. We are seated at a nice table on the outside patio. A few other tables are occupied. The appetizers and entrees/mains are written on a chalkboard. There is a menu for the list of wines. We have a lovely server who is very efficient. We decide to stick with bottled water. She brings us a basket filled with crusty pieces of baguette. I order the steak au poivre-medium. It is perfection-melt in your mouth goodness. The gravy with mushrooms it sits on is as good as my husband's gravy and he makes darn good gravy! Comes with shoestring frittes/fries and carrots/asparagus/zucchini. I will remember this steak for a long time. My husband orders the snapper in white sauce with potatoes au gratin and the same vegetables I have. He is happy with his choice. There is a 10% service charge added to the bill. Cost without extra tip $92.72 As we are leaving the place is filling up and most tables are now occupied.
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| Wine menu |
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| Richard |
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| Me |
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| Our server |
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| Bread |
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| Snapper |
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| Steak au poivre |
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| Very busy now |
We walk across to another store in the plaza-Melt. Read about this as being a good place for homemade ice cream. As you enter the store you can't help but notice the eclectic decor. Ordinary and not so ordinary items for sale. A few bistro style tables and chairs at the counter. There was one couple leaving as we arrived. We are the only ones here. The menu has several different concoctions-sundaes, etc. ranging around $12-15. They all look like a meal by themselves. DeeDee tells us we can order ice cream by the scoop. $5 for 1 scoop, $9 for 2 scoops. She tells us the few choices and I decide on 1 scoop of almond in a dish. Richard opts for the pistachio in a waffle cone but later will ask for a dish due to the ice cream dripping! He loves his pistachio filled with lots of the nuts. My almond not the best choice. It lacked any real flavor and no bits of almonds in it. DeeDee was so funny. Laughing, talking-a big personality to match her Irish roots I guess. As we are leisurely enjoying our ice cream in walks a group of maybe 8 adults. They are all ordering coffee drinks, tea, ice cream, baked goods. On the counter under glass domes are the homemade baked goods. Chocolate cake, lemonade cake, huge morning buns, and more. One guy orders a slice of the chocolate cake with hot fudge sauce and ice cream and an iced coffee drink. DeeDee is being kept very busy by this group. The next time I looked over at the guy his plate was almost perfectly clean. I swear you couldn't tell there was cake, ice cream, and fudge sauce ever on it!! He said every bite was delicious and better than the one before. Then another large group comes in so we decide to quickly finish and take our leave so they can sit down. Cost without tip $11.50 Wish I had taken more pictures-of the menu and the store itself.
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| Pistachio ice cream |
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| Almond ice cream |
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| Eclectic store |
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| Homemade baked goods |
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