Rest and Recreation in TCI

After a busy three weeks in Chester, Texas we returned to our home base at the RVICS Village in Smithville on Friday, February 28. The next day, March 1, we were expecting the arrival of Jeff and Dana Guidi, our longtime friends from Santa Rosa, CA, flying into the Austin International to spend some time with us on a vacation together. Two years ago we traveled to Cozumel, Mexico and had a great time and last summer they joined us in Alaska and rented a RV for two weeks. We decided to do another trip together in March 2025, so we picked them up at the airport and drove back to the Village for a couple of days, showing them around our basecamp and some of the local hangouts.

Sunday morning, we took them to the Colorado River Cowboy Church for a uniquely Texas experience. This is where the service ends with a hearty singing of "Happy Trails to you until we meet again" Yee Haw!

On Monday, March 3 Jeff helped me install fiberglass insulation in the storage shed on our lot in preparation for the hot summer heat. Got the walls done in about three hours with his help. Now I just need to insulate the ceiling before we leave Texas and the job will be totally completed.

Our vacation to the Caribbean officially began in the early morning hours of Tuesday March 4 when we left to drive to Houston Hobby Airport to fly together for a two week relaxing stay in the Turk and Caicos Islands (TCI). The two hour drive started at 2:30 AM so we could make a 6:00 AM flight to Orlando, Florida then after a four hour layover, it was off to Howard Hamilton International Airport (PLS) in Providenciales, TCI.

Our first AirBnB in the Long Bay area of Providenciales, TCI during week one.

We arrived on the island around 3:00 PM. None of us checked any bags, so we went straight to their customs/immigration line and waited for about 30 minutes. From there we got a rental car and proceeded to our first AirBnB in the Long Bay area of the island. It is nice accommodations for two couples; two bedrooms, one bathroom, gated property with a pool. We would stay here for seven days then move to a different AirBnB for the second week in the Blue Hills area.

Before we wrapped up the first day we drove to a local grocery store for some needed provisions. Everything was expensive, but we figured preparing some of our own food and meals in house would be less expensive than eating out all the time. One of the adventures of getting around the island is driving a car with the steering wheel on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the road.

Sapodilla Beach where you can walk out 100 yards and still not have water over your head!

Beach time was a high priority for all of us; we made our way to the main resort area and checked out the beaches there first. We looked for some familiar sights from our 2018 dive trip to TCI. Visited Da Conch Shack, Chalk Sound, Sapodilla Beach, Taylor Bay Beach and South Dock. On other days we would go to the north side of the island to Grace Bay.

On the beach at the Seven Stars on Grace Bay on the north side of the island.

When we were not on the beach we were exploring the island's eateries enjoying Conch Fritters, Grouper Tacos, or a Grouper Reuben at Hemmingway's, Omar's, and SharkBite restaurants to name a few. Another great find was the Turks Head Brewery where we had some awesome brick-oven pizzas and some unique beers with local names like; "I-AIN-GA-LIE" Lager, "I-SOON-REACH" Light Lager, "GON-TA-NORT" Amber Ale, "DOWN-DA-ROAD" IPA and "GON-TA-SOUT" Stout.

Week two was spent at Sandy's place, our second AirBnB in the Blue Hills area not far from Da Couch Shack Restaurant and the airport.

On Thursday, March 13 we were invited, by our AirBnB host's son DeAngelo to be his guests on a sunset cruise on the catamaran "Lady Grace" . He is a professional musician who works for the Ritz Carlson Resort playing the alto sax solo on their 48 foot reception cruising catamaran every Tuesday and Sunday evenings. We were entertained for an hour and a half, enjoying on-board champagne, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as DeAngelo played soft jazz. It was a wonderful gift that DeAngelo offered to us at no charge and he even chauffeured us to the harbor in his limousine service.

On Friday, March 14 Karen and I booked a day of scuba diving with Dive Provo on one of their three boats. We drove to the same harbor where we met the Turks and Caicos Explorer II back in 2018 and boarded the Provo Challenger for a trip out to West Caicos. We didn't bring our own equipment, so we rented theirs for the day. It was good to get in under the water, but honestly after Raja Ampat, Indonesia in January this year, the diving here was pretty unremarkable.

It's been a great two weeks here, relaxing and spending time with our traveling buddies. The weather here has been amazing the entire time we've been on the island with highs in the 70's to mid 80's, relatively mild humidity with a gentle, cooling Caribbean breeze to keep us comfortable.

Today, Tuesday, March 18 is our last day here and we have a 4 PM departure flight back to the states. So I'll wrap this post up so I can shower and pack. One last stop for a pizza and beer at the Turks Head Brewery before we return the rental car at the airport. "I-AIN-GA-LIE".