Rina dies out but the rains continue

Yesterday we got some welcome news as Rina died out after brushing against the Yucatan and her projected turn east and then south never happened.  We continue though to get rain from the remnants of her as well as the remnants of 97L.   We were going to take Arianna to a Halloween trick or treat festival at Caymana but that got postponed because of the rain.  Instead we went to a party with the other babies in her baby group.  Ironically yesterday afternoon and evening were rain free and this morning the sun is shining.  Hopefully that helps some of the flooding on island to recede.  We did put up sand bags on the southern end of Friends Hall Friday as an emergency measure just in case we had massive rains over the weekend.  Turns out they weren't needed but we would rather be wrong and overreact then under react and flood half that building.  Here are some shots from yesterday of Arianna is her Ladybug costume.

Presents from Rina

Although now well to the west of us and menacing the Yucatan, Hurricane Rina continues to give us a ton of rain and now some incredible swells as the picture below, that I got off the web, of George Town Harbour shows.  She is the storm that keeps on giving and our campus is a virtual lake with islands of buildings and parking spaces.  It has gotten so bad that we are almost to the point of sand bags for the southern end of Friends Hall as the water is close to cresting the sidewalk.  There is no where for the water to go as the ground is so saturated so now we have almost a foot and a half of standing water surrounding the eastern, western and southern parts of Friends Hall.  Only the northern part is dry and that is because the building sits on a slight slope from north to south.  Rina will be turning back east tomorrow and then perhaps straight south this weekend so we are continuing to watch her closely.

Way too active late October

Hurricane Rina (which is to the south and west of us right now) is giving all of us stomach acid as it does a long slow semi circle around us.  One little move and we are in the cone and on alert so we have to watch each update closely.  And now invest 97 L in the eastern Caribbean is beginning to form and its track takes it toward us as well.  The first map below from NHC shows the two storms with Rina already formed and 97L the orange circular area.  Right now it has a 30% chance of forming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours.  The second map shows the semicircle track of Rina.  We are the island in the southern quadrant below Cuba with the 5 day uncertainty cone basically going across the tip of West Bay.  Whether we actually get hit or not we continue to get a ton of rain with nowhere for it to runoff.  Our parking lot has two large lakes though so far at least our parking spaces aren't being affected too much.  The house is 4-5 feet above the parking lot so it hasn't had any issues either.  The college is a lake with any area that isn't built up underwater.  The buildings are fine so far but other than the buildings and the raised sidewalks and parking lots everything else has at least a 1/2 foot to 1 foot of water and the field has a couple of feet.  Yesterday egrets and ducks took advantage of Lake ICCI as a temporary home.  Classes went on as normal last night but we are now day to day. Arianna is taking it in stride sleeping through a loud thunder and lightning storm late last night just doing her normal every three hours wake ups.  I still remember her mommy sleeping through the loudest parts of Dean and Gustav without an issue so hopefully she inherited that from her.

Update with new map that gives a good idea of distances:

Tropical Storm (now Hurricane) Rina floods Cayman

The depression to the south of us finally formed into a tropical storm and while its path takes it toward Cancun and the Yucatan, we are in the upper right quadrant from it which is the area that gets most of the rain.  It was a long rainy night and we awoke this morning to flooding all over the island.  TS Rina (which became a Hurricane Rina this afternoon) won't bring us anything more than the rain so the three year streak of leaving the hurricane shutters in the back is still safe but there were some anxious moments over the weekend as we waited to see what the path would be.  It looks like Rina will go around us in a half moon like track, starting below us as it heads west then turns north and finally then above us as it moves back east after an expected turn just before it hits the Yucatan.  Yesterday we attended the first birthday part of one of Arianna's baby buddies, Brayden.  The party started outside but had to head inside as the rain got going and never let up.  All the babies from the baby group were there and Arianna was definitely in her element.  She is very social and had to play or talk with everyone.  Her birthday is just a few weeks away and we are hosting her party the Sunday before over at Camana Bay so yesterday was a food day to take notes also on things to do.  Here are some pictures from before the rain drove us inside.

Wet and Rainy Late October

As we reach the final days of the month of October, rainy season and a cold front have made the past few days wet and cool.  That beats the heck out of wet and hot but means that there isn't much stuff that can be done outside.  It also means a wary eye to the south where possible late season hurricanes form.  This week we have a close watch on a system down by Nicaragua.  In 2008 we got hit by Paloma with only two days notice since it formed in the Caribbean to the south of us.  The problem with this weather is that Arianna gets bored easily when stuck in the house so we are always looking for opportunities to get out and this weather is making that tough.  Yesterday a trip to A.L. Thompson hardware store became her outing so she could wander up and down the aisles, stare at all the fans and make some future decisions about a new bathroom or kitchen.  It was also cool enough to put her in the Texas track suit my sister sent down and here are a few shots.

Guest Lecture by the Premier of the Cayman Islands

This week has been an eventful one on campus.  Yesterday we were visited by the local commission that is charged with doing a national survey on the relationship of the UK to its overseas territories in the greater Caribbean region.  They were in a number of classes to talk to the students and discuss the implications of the survey and the input desired.  This evening we received a visit from the Premier of the Cayman Islands, the Honorable McKeeva Bush, who came to do a guest lecture.  Under the new constitution, the Premier is the leader of the majority party in the legislative assembly and is the leader of the government.  Only the British Governor holds higher office.  He spoke to a combination of three classes out in the new classroom building for a good two hours doing both a lecture and a question and answer session on the current Cayman economy and the role Cayman plays in the greater world economy.  The college is apolitical and interestingly the instructor who invited the Premier, Joey Ebanks, is actually associated with the other political party but it is always good to get government officials out and on the campus.  A reminder of the role ICCI plays in the Cayman Islands.  The premier is the holder of an honorary degree from ICCI and he mentioned that during his lecture lauding the college for its role in helping the Cayman Islands over the years.

Greeting the Premier upon his arrival

Listening to the Lecture

With Premier Bush and Joey Ebanks

Happy Birthday Katie

On Friday we celebrated Katie's birthday by going out to dinner and then Saturday heading up for a morning at Rum Point.  We did another baby swap sitter for Friday night and that gave us an evening just the two of us.  We went to a new restaurant called the Blue Iguana Grill at the Ramada Grand Caymanian on the North Sound Side of Seven Mile.  We hadn't been to that resort before and Katie wanted to do something new for her birthday.  Saturday we got up early and drove the family up to Rum Point to spend some quality beach time together.  Arianna got to swim and spent some hammock time with mommy.  Saturday evening Katie had a girls night out with her Mommy group while I stayed home and watched Arianna.  This week we have the Premier of the country coming to the college to deliver a guest lecture along with a government committee on another of the nights to interview students for a UK government white paper.  Sadly we also have the funeral for Hank Bodden so it will be a busy week.  I have been doing Thursday baby sitting with Arianna which is giving quality daddy-daughter time though she still cries each time Mommy leaves.

At dinner Friday night

In the hammock at Rum Point

Tough Start to Week

This week has started with some very bad news.  An ICCI graduate and former Director of Admissions Hank Bodden was found dead on Monday.  He was only 43 years old.  It looks like natural causes but on a small island like this there are always a lot of rumors that often are quite mean.  We were all shocked to hear the news Monday afternoon and it has cast a pall over the campus as many current and former students as well as our staff and faculty knew him well.  It has given all of us a little pause to reflect on how no one is guaranteed time and that we should never forget to enjoy the little things in life and take nothing for granted.

World Cup Qualifier Cayman v. Suriname

The second home fixture of World Cup Qualifying was last night at the Truman Bodden National Stadium in George Town against Suriname.  A much smaller crowd than attended the El Salvador match was on hand to watch two teams that were a little more closely matched than what we saw in the first home game.  Once again a mostly defensive first half saw a nil-nil draw at halftime though Suriname hit the post and Cayman had a couple of good scoring chances.  In the second half a defensive breakdown by Cayman gave up an easy goal but Cayman pressed and created three or four really good chances to tie.  Unfortunately, none found the target and the match ended in an exciting but ultimately disappointing 1-0 loss for the home squad.  Cayman was officially eliminated from possible advancement though there are three matches remaining including one more home game with the Dominican Republic.  That game though is during our fall seminar so I will be unable to attend.  Today is Texas-OU so I will head over to the Dog House to watch and hope that the Horns can pull off the upset.

Slow October

Hasn't been much to blog about this month.  The term is going well, Katie is really enjoying teaching and generally we are marking time as we approach Katie's birthday in a week and Arianna's first birthday in just over a month.  The Longhorns are 4-0 so Saturdays have been enjoyable though Oklahoma looms this weekend.  This week is also World Cup Qualifiers and with Cayman hosting Suriname I am hoping to again get some tickets to the game and catch some futbol.  I am now on baby duty every Thursday evening giving Arianna and I some daddy-daughter time.  This past Sunday we got to spend some time together at Camana Bay as mommy did some work at the coffee shop preparing for her classes.  One of my students was out that day and took this shot of us and emailed it to me.