Central Florida Zoo

Tuesday July 3 was our first full day in the Orlando area.  Since family didn't arrive until late on the fifth there were a couple of days to fill with activities involving just the three of us.  Tuesday we decided to drive up to Sanford which was about an hour north of our hotel and visit the Central Florida Zoo. We had wanted to do some non-amusement park related activities during our trip and this was one we were all looking forward to.

Both Katie and I love zoos and never miss the opportunity to introduce Arianna to another zoo when we visit a new locale with her.  We didn't have to work very hard to get her to appreciate the opportunity as she wanted to get right in and interact with the animals.  Just as we entered the park there was a zoo worker with a snake and even though other little kids shied away, Arianna walked right up and wanted to touch it and play with it. 

It was a hot day but we were able to walk the full zoo and take in all the different animals and exhibits. At the end of the visit Arianna got to go on her first miniature train ride. It was a great start to the week and really got things off on the right foot.

Home From Orlando

We are back on island after a week in Central Florida with family.  We will have lots of posts on everything we did in the days to come as we get all the photos pulled off the camera.  It was great to see some relatives we hadn't seen in a while and a few that Arianna had never met.

Mango Festival

Hurricane season has a huge silver lining to it, the summer months bring some amazing tropical fruits into season.  These include red plumbs, gnips, starfruit and of course several different varieties of mangos.  The college has a mango tree and each year we wait patiently for them to get ripe.  I have already brought a few home but the really big ones will come in July and August.  Yesterday, down at the Agricultural Grounds in Lower Valley, a Mango Festival was held celebrating all things mango.  As a baby Arianna absolutely adored mango and that love has not gone away so we knew she would be more than happy to try the different dishes using mango.  Among the options were mango tarts, mango springrolls, mango cheesecake, mango bar-b-que, mango salad, mango ice cream, mango juices and of course lots of slices of regular old mango.

We also met up with Arianna's best friend Braden who she now calls "B".  There were suppossed to be pony rides but we never could find those.  We did find the bouncy castle though and Arianna who now can leave her feet when jumping happily joined in the fun.  It was a great morning and we knew Arianna had a good time because we barely made it onto the main road home before she fell fast asleep from being worn out.

Olympic Day 5K

The Cayman Islands Olympic Committee hosted an Olympic Day 5K this evening.  The run/walk began and ended at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex in George Town which includes the National Stadium.  Katie, Arianna and I joined well over a hundred runners and walkers for the event.  Katie's friend Christy and her son Tucker also came along so Arianna had a friend to talk to as well.  None of us ran and with me pushing Arianna in the stroller we didn't exactly push for a top finish but we crossed the line in 125th place at 56 minutes some 15 minutes behind Katie who finished in 102nd. After the race we ran into Governor Taylor the British Governor of the Island who had also done the run and got a shot of him with the two youngsters.

We also got a nice shot of us by the Olympic Flag.

Odds and Ends

It has been a while since we posted not because nothing has been happening but because we have been quite busy between some health scares, changes at our work and the end of the term as well as getting ready for the start of the summer term.  A new President has been appointed at the college and she will be starting next month so we know July will be eventful.  It has also been a bit dreary down here as rainy season is beginning to kick in.  In many ways the Cayman Islands are a paradise for eight months out of the year but we are in the four that aren't and with the mosquito's and the heat and the rain its hard to say this is living in paradise right now.  We have started tentatively our triathlon training for November and are beginning to set workout goals that will build up to what we need to be doing to finish a sprint triathlon of 800 meters swimming, 20km of biking and 5 km of running. 

Meanwhile, we have now rolled out the new National Health Policy and Strategic Plan.  Yesterday the final document was presented to government and a reception was held at the Governor's residence on Seven Mile Beach.  Here is a photo from our original planning meeting back in May of the full group that was a part of the development of this plan.

Official Finish Times and Places

The Flowers Sea Swim site has now posted the oficial finish list and finishing times.  My official time was 35:45 good for 201st overall and 98th amongst all males.  Katie finished in 43:04 which was 414th overall and 215th amongst females.  Officially 847 people are listed in the race with 831 finishing. 

Here is a great overhead shot taken of the whole field at the start.

Official Pictures of Race Start Group

Starting in a field of 838 swimmers is a pretty incredible experience.  Here are some shots from the official site of the start of yesterdays race.  Katie and I started way out by the boat at the outer edge of the start line.

Flowers Sea Swim

Known as the Cayman Mile this year was the 20th annual Flowers Sea Swim.  For the first time Katie and I participated in this great event that draws swimmers from around the world.  We had been training for almost three months and both felt that we were ready to do the race and not just finish but shoot for personal best times.  Over 900 people registered for the race and some 838 started it.  The race went from the Ritz Carlton south along the coast to Royal Palms.  Majestic Seven Mile Beach was our backdrop as we swam the course.  The start time was 2:30 p.m. though we had to get there at 1 p.m. to register.  It was extremely hot and the competitors were all under tents waiting for the time to get in the water.  We slathered ourselves in sunscreen and drank lots of water to try and stay hydrated.

With 838 competitors, not everyone could be up on the start line.  They put the elite swimmers up there with the rest of us entering areas based on our projected time finishes.  Katie and I got into the area for people finishing in 35-45 minutes.  The elite swimmers included several current and former Olympians headlined by USA Olympic gold medalists Ian Crocker (former Longhorn), Gary Hall Jr. (another former Longhorn) and Gary Hall Sr., Kaitlen Sandeno, Scott Goldblatt (yet another former Longhorn), Rada Owen and one of the top open water swimmers in the world from Australia, Codie Grimsley.  There was also a swimmer from Italy trying to break the world record for swimming with both his hands and feet handcuffed, Paolo Cerizzi.  As the picture below shows the start area was huge to accommodate that many swimmers.

Katie and I were C59 and C60 in the numbering.  There was a one hour and fifteen minute time limit to finish the race and when we first started training, my goal was just to finish within the time limit.  Two months plus of training though for both of us had us well within the time limit and shooting for personal goals.

When we entered the water we swam way out to the outer edge of the start area, a good 30-40 yards from shore, which turned out to be a great idea.  Even though we had to tread water for a couple of minutes as everyone got into the water, we didn't have to be a part of the scrum start that happened near the shore and actually got up almost to start line before the horn went off to begin.  Since most people stayed nearer to shore, we got a great start and could set our own pace without having to worry about being an obstacle to people passing us or being too slow in front of us.  The water was very warm and we were swimming against the current, both of which made it a harder swim than it might have been.  The course was marked by buoys every 200 meters and I had on the Garmin giving me 100 meter updates while Katie used her swimmers stop watch that gave her time updates. 

We had both set time goals based on our training, me at 40 minutes, her at 43 minutes.  It is hard to maintain focus for that long but we both had talked about doing various mental exercises during the swim to keep our pace going and not slow down.  I knew from the Garmin as I approached the finish that I was well under my goal time and wondered what that meant in terms of placing.  My big goal was time but I also knew that a sub 40 time probably put me into the top 400.  When I crossed the line, I stopped the watch and saw 35:48, over four minutes below my goal.  Then I got my finish card and it read 201.  The finish area was packed with swimmers and observers and it was difficult to watch for Katie but I caught her coming out of the check-in area and she had finished 414th.  She had forgotten to stop her watch but knew she finished somewhere between 43 and 44 minutes (we will get her and my official time when they post them later this week).  Just like marathons, every finisher got a medal and a t-shirt so we have the hardware and clothing to prove our swims.  Cerizzi came across the finish line about 45 minutes after we finished breaking the world record for distance swam handcuffed.

We stuck around afterward for the award ceremony, and to see if we won any of the random prizes (we didn't).  Codie Grimsley from Australia won the race as expected in 18:39 which was much slower than years past and during the awards ceremony the running joke was that with the current and warmer water, everyone was going slower.  The Governor, who swam the race too even joked on the podium that he wanted his time thrown out because we swam against the current instead of with it.  They set the course on Wednesday but the current shifted and they decided not to change the course because of all the logistics of it.  It is truly an amazing set up from the huge start area with tons of tents and sign in areas and stuff drop off locations to the finish area with more tents the swimmer finish area where you turn in your finish plate and get your goodie bag (t-shirt, water bottle, coffee mug, towel amongst other things) and the stage for the ceremony.  I can see how changing to the north course at the last minute would be a logistical nightmare.  Knowing we swam against the current made us feel even prouder of our times.  Here we are at the finish after getting changed.

Our next goal is the sprint triathlon in November.  An 800 meter swim, 20 kilometer bike and 5K run all within 2 and 1/2 hours.  Right now the goal will be just to finish but by November hopefully we will be looking at specific time goals.

Last Long Practice Swim

This morning I did 1800 meters open water from Cayman Beach Suites up to Seven Mile Public Beach as my final long practice swim for the Flowers Sea Swim on Saturday.  I finished in just under 49 minutes averaging about 2:43 per hundred meters.  That is three practice swims of at least a metric mile in the past week.  I will get in a short 800 meter swim tomorrow afternoon just to get in the water and then the big race is Saturday afternoon.  We don't know yet if it is a mile from the Ritz up to Tiki Beach or down to Royal Palms as that will depend on the current.  That shouldn't affect us, but we will see.

Katie has been doing here work in the pool at Camana and has been doing up to 2100 meters at a clip.  We both feel ready and while we wont be anywhere near the leaders we both have personal time goals of between 40 and 45 minutes for the race.  We are both interested in seeing which Olympic athletes, current and former have come for race this year.  With London just less than 2 months away we expect to see a lot of former Olympians but not many current ones.

Family Fun Day and Last Week of Training

This past weekend was a three day holiday in Cayman thanks to the official celebration of the Queen's 60th Jubilee on Monday.  Saturday morning I was able to do a mile swim from Cayman Beach Suites up to Seven Mile Public Beach in preparation for the Flowers Sea Swim on June 9th.  Then in the afternoon we went to a family fun day for the Shining Stars school that Arianna attends.  She was very impressed with the bouncy castles, even crashing a random birthday party so she could jump in more than one.  Of course no day is complete without a turn on the swings for our little thrill junkie.  Sunday afternoon Katie got in her open water swim and we are both now pointing to the race Saturday as the culmination of a couple of months of preparation.

Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Last night we attended the Cayman Islands celebration for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.  As a British territory, the Queen is the head of state and the celebration of her 60 years on the throne will go on for the next week plus including a national holiday on June 4th.  The celebration to start the festivities was held at Pedro Saint James Castle in Savannah.  As a part of the commemoration, a permanent cauldrn was lit in her honor.

Butterfield 800M Swim

Today Scott and I got to do our first open water race together, the Butterfield 800 Meter Swim off of Seven Mile Beach. We were worried that the race was going to be cancelled because of all of the bad weather this weekend. When we didn't hear anything we braced ourselves for a rough swim because storms tend to make the water rocky. Fortunately, that wasn't the case this time! Although it wasn't completely calm, the waves were very small and visibility was good.  The water was also cold which made it great for racing.  The race was in the same location as the Lime swim a few weeks ago and the CBAC swims we did back in March.

We left Arianna to play with Ms. Nadine and got to Governor's Beach early. After checking in and getting our numbers (S1 for Katie & I1 for Scott), we hopped in the water to warm up.  There were 100 swimmers who came out for the race including several Special Olympians participating from all over the Caribbean.

Scott sprinted too fast at the very beginning but managed to pace himself using one of the coaches from Curacao to get to the finish.  He finished in 42nd overall at 16:28 which is the best he has ever done at the 800 meter distance. Katie came in at 64th overall in a time of 19:46.

The biggest excitement was that Scott placed first in his age group (Male 40-44)! He got a medal!

Arianna and I are very proud of him!

Flooded Campus

The rain continues to come down in waves here in Cayman.  Yesterday we had to cancel classes as the campus was flooded and we didnt have parking for our students.  The flooding hasnt affected the buildings yet which are built up because we are in a low water area of the island.  We continue to get rain today and are worried about this evenings classes.  Here are some shots to give you an idea of the flooding at ICCI.

Front of Friends Hall

South Side of Friends Hall where worst flooding is

Rear of Friends Hall looking back to McLaughlin Hall

The view from McLaughlin Hall

Home from Atlanta

This past week while the island got inundated with rain I was in Atlanta for the spring term seminar.  I gave our students Thursday evening to work on their papers or go out on the town (which most of them chose) and I went out with Kevin to see a Braves game. I had never been to Turner Field before so it was great to check another ballpark off my list to visit.

As a part of the seminar we went to the World of Coca Cola, CNN Center and the Jimmy Carter Center/Library.  I also got a chance to drive up two of the mornings to Kennesaw National Battlefield and hike up the mountain for exercise.  It also reminded me of my old Civil War trips and how much I look forward to one day sharing my passion for history with Arianna.

As we flew in last night it was almost surreal looking down on the floods and seeing the literally hundreds of lakes that had sprung up. 

Shelter in the Storm

Today is the second day of pouring rain. Usually here in Cayman we don't get HUGE storms like this unless it is a Tropical Storm or Hurricane but this one must be big as it has rained straight since yesterday morning. Arianna has cabin fever but we are trying to keep her entertained. Thankfully Brayden brought over a new (to her, hand-me-down from someone leaving island) baby doll crib and stroller for her yesterday when they had their indoor playdate so having the new things has helped.

One moment of excitement was when a frog started to "sing" "in" the back room. I say "in" because it was LOUD! We went searching for it and saw it hiding right in the nook between the inner and outer sliding doors to the back yard. It was just looking for someplace dry to rest!

Mother's Day Training Update

This week both Katie and I achieved individual milestones in our training for the Flowers Sea Swim in June. Yesterday, I participated in the Lime 800 Meter Open Water race on the west coast of Cayman from Governor's Beach up to Seven Mile Public Beach.  I finished in 16:39 a personal best. There were 147 competitors in the race and I finished a respectable 74th, right smack in the middle of the huge field of competitors. This morning, Katie did a 1500 meter swim at the International School pool at Camana Bay in 34:22, a personal best for her. We are both doing another 800 meter race on the 26th of May ahead of the June 9 mile swim. This afternoon we have a special Mothers Day planned out at Rum Point. Arianna's gift to Mommy was delivered yesterday.

Here are Mommy and daughter from this morning.

Training for the Flowers Sea Swim

Katie and I are both training to do the Flowers Sea Swim on June 9.  That competition is a mile long swim in open water along Seven Mile Beach and it is one of the premiere open water events around the globe.  Each year it draws 800 swimmers including famous open water swimmers and Olympians.  You have to finish the mile in one hour and fifteen minutes.  Katie is already up to swimming a mile in open water and is now working on her time goal.  I am still working up to a mile and yesterday did a practice 800 meter swim doing freestyle the entire way with no stopping.  It was very calm and fantastic conditions for my first try at accomplishing that.  You may recall that when I did the CBAC 800 meter swim last month, I did it using a combination of freestyle, breaststroke and even some backstroke with just kicking.  I also was wiped out at the end of that swim.  So yesterday I wanted to see if I could do 800 meters without stopping, all freestyle and at a calm pace so that I would still have something in the tank at the end. 

I am happy to say I was able to do the swim yesterday in just about twenty minutes entirely freestyle and without stopping and without being so exhausted at the end that I was ready to pass out as had happened back in March.  I have two more practice swims this week followed by the Lime 800 meter open water swim race next weekend.  After that I will step it up to trying to swim a mile in open water without stopping and with any luck might actually be able to get to Katie's level and actually set a time goal for the Flowers Sea Swim and not just a goal of finishing within the allowable limit.

800 Meter Training Swim on May 5, 2012 

National Healthcare Strategic Plan and New Grant of Accreditation

As a part of my role as the Chairman of the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company I am often called upon to participate in any national initiatives dealing with health care.  This past week the Ministry of Health held a two day long meeting to develop a National Health Policy and Strategic Plan that I attended.  We are working on a national vision, values and strategic goals and had a great two day working process.  Working on things like this is what makes the CINICO position so interesting and the work so enjoyable.

We did get some very good news at the college as our new grant of accreditation arrived through December 31, 2014.  A lot of work went into that so we all were relieved to get the process completed.  Of course with it being a three year grant we start the process for the 2014 visit in early 2013 so just a year away from going through this all over again.