Anguilla 2008

I hope the two girls in bikinis got your attention!! This is Debbie and Angie. We met them for the first time 2 years ago in Anguilla. It was a nice surprise to see them again this year. They are from MN and are alot of fun. They are also dangerous. I don't remember the last time (if ever), I did a shot of Tequila at 1:30 in the afternoon! Bad, bad girls!!!!!

Yes, the sand and water are really that beautiful.

This is Jimmy. He's from Boston and we've known him and his wife for several years. His wife just looked at me and said, "Jimmy must be drunk if he's taking his drink in the water!" That can happen in Anguilla at 2:00 in the afternoon.

This is a beach bar called Elvis's. Diane is talking to an old friend of ours named Rollin. He owns a catamaran called Chocolat. He makes his living taking people out for cruises.

My beer of choice on the island. Almost all the Heineken bottles are 9 ounces.

Running on the beach.
I think Diane has it figured out for the day!

The Pumphouse: Diane, Sarah, me, Deb, and Shani. I didn't know that Debbie was grabbing Sarah's boob until after I downloaded the pictures onto the computer!Diane, Mary Ann, myself and Mike. Mike and I are having our traditional shot of Patron.

Diane, Shani, Donna, and Debbie. Donna used to work at the Pumphouse years ago.

The lady in white and the guy in the back are from London. Angie and Deb found them on the beach and brought them down to the Pumphouse! Very nice people. That's Deb next to me.

Dangerous group: George, Diane, me, and Laurie. Laurie owns the Pumphouse. George is Armenian and has lived on the island since the 70's. He builds houses and drinks Johnny Walker Black on the rocks with a bottle of Perrier on the side.


This is Logan. We met him our 2nd night on the island. He's 24 and from North Carolina. He's been sailing since he got out of high school, literally left home at 17 and sailed his own boat to the Bahamas. He's been working on sailboats ever since, crewing and doing charters. He is currently on a boat called the Blue Whale. They were laying over in Anguilla and he came into the Pumphouse to have a couple beers. He said this was going to be his last cruise, and that he was going to start college so he could get a "real job." He was a lot of fun to talk to. Here is the link to the Blue Whale website that he operates:

http://web.mac.com/thebluewhale/Site/Blog/Blog.html

Shani is a new employee at the Pumphouse. She is a very sweet girl and always gave Diane and I hugs when we came in at night! Terrific smile!

And then of course, this is Sarah, manager of the Pumphouse. You can see that she has a whole row of glasses set up that she is pouring into. This is one of my favorite photos. I take so many while I'm down there, always hoping to get that one good one. Our new camera has both a sepia and B&W settings. The sepia was nice for indoor shooting and gives a softer effect.This is Lyn. We've known him for many years, as he eats at the Pumphouse several nights per week. He's a Canadian who has lived in Anguilla for over 20 years. He's telling the ladies a joke about being an OB/GYN preparing for an exam.

Diane at the Dune Preserve, owned by Bankie Banx. Bankie is a musician from Anguilla. It used to be a bunch of driftwood made into a bar. It's a lot more formal now, and he has a concert there every year in March under a full moon, called Moonsplash. His music is reggae influenced, but not in the traditional sense. It's very nice music to listen to. Here's a link to his site:

http://www.bankiebanx.net/

These are ribs and chicken at Gwen's Reggae Grill near where we stay. Look good, don't they? I sat down after this shot and ordered up a plate.

This is Charlie. Charlie and his wife Trudy have been coming to Anguilla for many, many years. We used to see them on the beach. Several years ago, we saw them laying over at an airport on the way to Anguilla. We'd never spoke to them, so I went up and introduced myself. Found out they are from Lake City, MN. This is an unusual picture of Charlie, he usually has a beer in the hand that's not holding his cigar! He's now retired from 3M, and they spend 3 months a year on the island.

This is my bride of nearly 25 years, enjoying her daily walk on the beach! Can't wait till next year. Unfortunatly, we will no longer be able to stay on the beach itself. It has gotten too expensive. We'll be about 8 minutes away by car. It's too bad, but we knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Our place next year is twice as big with a great view.