Travel Post - Vieques

One major highlight of the trip - seeing this sea turtle while snorkeling near Mosquito Pier.

Back in March I surprised Calvin with a very late and/or very early birthday trip to Vieques, Puerto Rico, a wonderfully undeveloped island off the main island's east coast. Below are some highlights of our trip, including some culinary delights.

Yautia fritters and bean salad at Conuco, Isabel II, Vieques, PR.

The first night we tried Conuco, a little place on the main strip of Isabel II, within walking distance from where we stayed. The fare is purported to be upscale Puerto Rican and we enjoyed it. However, compared to the other two places we tried, it was not our most favorite.

Delicious portion of fish with mashed purple potatoes.

Strawberry tart and chocolate cake.



Gorgeous sunset on our second night.



El Quenepo in Esperanza - Excellent, high quality food. This was our splurge meal for the trip!



The ceviche was tried was amazing!



Fried oysters - good, but not any better than some we get here!



Seafood special - delicious.



Brontosaurus beef rib - yes it really was huge! With yummy sticky rice and mango salsa - a bit spicy and delicious.



Goat cheesecake and a very rich chocolate dessert - both excellent.



One of the wonderful beaches we visited. Beach-hopping is one of the favored activities on Vieques.



Calvin thought I was kicking the trash bag, but then we discovered it was a hermit crab - a big one!

One the way to the beaches on the southeast side of the island we stopped at the Sol Food truck, which produces amazing sandwiches, salads and desserts - you really must try this when you go. The food from the truck is very affordable, too - unlike the restaurant food, which is, like on most islands, quite expensive.

The crab that was IN OUR TRASH!



Sushi pizza - tasty although the fish was not exceptional.

We also dined at Coconuts in Isabell II, the town where we stayed. They have wonderful homemade ice cream. The other dishes we tried were good, too, but nothing outstanding.

Fish entree with salsa - honestly I cannot remember what kind of fish!



Brownie sundae at Coconuts. Their ice cream selection = outstanding, especially the mint chocolate chip (homemade).



Calvin pretends to take the plunge!

We stayed at Casa de Amistad guesthouse, a lovely small hotel with beautiful courtyard and nice, small pool. You have access to a full kitchen so you can buy food and cook. We thoroughly enjoyed staying here and highly recommend it.

Casa de Amistad patio.



View from our prop-plane on the way back to San Juan.

On the way over we took a taxi and then a ferry boat. On the way back, we flew, which was fun - only about 7 passengers on the tiny plane - albeit it made me a little queasy!

UUCA Beach Trip Fun

The UUCA 20s/30s beach trip was so much fun! We went to Florida, midway between Destin and Panama City Beach, which is an area I had never been to before. It was hot, but we had a great time and we had some really great food, organized and executed by Phil, our gracious and wonderful organizer.

We stayed at Anna's Veranda, just across from the lovely beach.

The South Walton area beach - looks like the Caribbean, but it's the Florida panhandle!

We had cocktail hour on the roof deck, with cheese and crackers to snack on.

Beef and chicken for our fajitas.

It's Party Time! Who could forget this ice cream?

One morning we had blueberry pancakes - yummy!

I'm Crazy about Martha's Vineyard!

I was lucky enough to be invited to Martha's Vineyard last month to stay with my Uncle Phil, Aunt Lynn and cousin Amanda. They own this gorgeous house located in Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts. While I was there I was treated to many culinary delights - in fact it seemed as though we never stopped eating!! Highlights include the wonderful smoked shrimp and crab dip available at John's Fish Market where they also fry up some some delectable fish and chips, a wonderful dinner at Lambert's Cove Inn where I got to sample sea bass and lamb, fabulous pies sold in front of Eileen the pie lady's house by her husband, and several tasty meals cooked up right at the house by the talented Lynn Hallen.

John's Fish Market and Takeout Look at that lobster!!! We went through about 5 containers of the smoked crab and shrimp dip before it was all over and it was worth every penny. I wonder if they deliver!?















Lambert's Cove Inn was a delightful place for dinner and the lamb was really out of this world!

Eileen Blake bakes up some scrumptuous pies - we had Cherry Crumb and Triple Berry.








My cousin Amanda and I enjoyed some delicious ice cream in Vineyard Haven.


And, no trip to the Vineyard is complete without THE BIG CHEESE! This wheel is pure Vermont White Cheddar.