Beachy Times and Lunch c/o The Beach House and Tippy's

Though the first two days were sad in their temperatures and level of sunniness, the days that followed were decidedly better. On this particular day I decided to head south towards Governour's Harbour. The day was anchored around my desire to have lunch and snacks at two different restaurants in close proximity to one another. The plan, which went off without a single hitch, was to spend my morning at the Coco di Mama Beach, which is called something different by locals...Travelers' Rest maybe? L. and I had enjoyed a portion of a day there last year, but the resort (Coco di Mama) was in service then so there were more folks on the beach. On this particular day it was me, a dude fishing, a little girl and her mother. That's it. Well, until a very loud party of middle aged Italians showed up later on in the day and ruined the so amazingly tranquil and quiet atmosphere.

The beach is on the Caribbean side of the island and when L. and I went last year it was much the same as far as being incredibly calm and incredibly shallow for a very, very, very long distance. I floated then sunned then floated and then sunned a good number of times. Not much going on as far as sea life but the shelling was pretty good.

My badass sunglasses can give you a bit of a sense of how there wasn't anyone else around.

The Italians ran me off with their complete gusto for life, speedos and general noisiness. But it was also about time for me to have a snack, so it wasn't all bad. I went to the Beach House first, which is where L. and I had our first lunch out last year. I had the grouper fingers and a beer. The bartender, a dude named Breeze, chatted me up, telling me about how he had lived in the States but that George W. Bush had kicked him out (not personally, I assume) and recommending I buy real estate on the island before suggesting we go out later to a club that was open late. After my earlier party with strangers experience, I demurely refused his offer...it really sounded like it would either be too much fun or a disaster.

The view above my head. The grouper fingers were great. Could have been just a tad crispier on the outside, but they were perfectly delightful and fresh on the inside.

I then went to Tippy's, which I had read about last year but we didn't actually make it to see it for ourselves. I've got to say the atmosphere and vibe of the place on the day I went was not quite as interesting as I might have expected. Everything was expensive and the folks eating certainly seemed on the well-off side, but there wasn't a real sense of fun. Maybe things get more fun later? Probably. In any case I had a momentary brain spasm and ordered conch fritters even though I know I don't really like conch fritters. So you won't be surprised that I only ate one of them. They were huge and hot and I enjoyed the chili lime dipping sauce, but it's just too starchy/bready for me. I like my conch free of such leaden constraints .

This was the restaurant's resident dog, Matilda. Since I was on vacation and she's not my pet, I did give her a few fritter scraps.

Which endeared her to me enough that when I walked out to the nearby beach, she came along.

This was on the Atlantic side and a bit more rough. I did see folks snorkeling but I wasn't feeling it.

I then drove back north, past Gregory Town and on back to Gaulding Key. Gaulding Key became my official 'end of the day beach.'

I swam a bit but mostly just soaked up the last of the sun while reading a book.

And then I returned to the cottage and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

I forget what I ate, but it may very well have been more pasta.