Diversions and Celebrations; or, Where I Went and What I Ate (and drank)

Before I talk about the freakish spike in my social life the last few weeks, I must address one issue: CHEESE.

I've moaned and bitched and cried about the lack of cheese here (I refuse to count Kraft Singles as cheese, sorry folks).

Guess what I found for the second time in a year at our commissary?

Cheese, Grommit!!

Beautiful blocks of Havarti, Gouda, and pepper jack cheese. I am a happy, cheese eating fool. There will probably be a purchase of Metamucil in my future, but I DON'T CARE! I can eat an entire block of Gouda if I want BECAUSE I CAN!!!!

(Yes, I am shouting. Cheese makes me that excited).

Cheese at the commissary was just a prequel to the crazy week that was last week.

Some highlights:

Moonlight cruise on the Bay

The marina rents out pontoon boats that are perfect for Bay cruising. Two boats full of some of my favorite Gitmo folks went out for fun, food, and drinks one evening right before sunset. My favorite part was stopping in the middle of the Bay to pass wine and food between the boats. We shared a lot of laughs, and it was a great way to start a new school year.

Dinner: baked Brie (yes! I found Brie at the end of summer and hoarded it for such an occasion!) and some tasty Moscato


Cupcake Wars competition

Until I saw advertisements for a contest and other cupcake-related events, I had never heard of the television show "Cupcake Wars" or its host.

Earlier in the day, "Miss Holly" had spent time in every classroom at the elementary school, talking to kids about how she makes cupcakes, showing them her tools of the trade, and giving them each a cupcake to sample. In fact, her team flew 18,000 cupcakes (!!!) to the island for virtually anyone who wanted one to sample. She was very gracious and related really well to the kids, and in turn they LOVED her---H raved about how sweet she was and how much he enjoyed her visit---so I was more than happy to come out and join an event where she judged cupcakes. One of my creative colleagues coordinated a cupcake team for the competition (the Sampson Pirates), and we even had our own mascot show up to cheer us on (the school mascot, a pirate, naturally) .

We had 30 minutes to create a scene from a stack of cupcakes, bags of various colors of icing, and piles of decorative candies, and a huge baking pan.  Our final product was really cute---it was a beach scene from GTMO, of course, complete with a huge, killer iguana. The judges must have been impressed---or maybe suffering delusions from sugar narcosis?---but either way, we won second prize, and I chose a signed cookbook as my prize.

Dinner: a Corona and way, way too many cupcakes


Surprise Birthday Party/Bay Boat cruise, part deux

A surprise birthday party, a spooky, abandoned fort, some John Denver and Lady Gaga. What else do you want?

A group of us took a boat out to celebrate the surprise birthday party of a lady who really epitomizes what I think of as Gitmo living. She hikes, she gardens, she does pottery, she runs, she snorkels, she kayaks. She participates in races, she does painting classes, and she is always up for an adventure. I am perplexed by people who never leave their houses and hate living here---even if you hate the heat, you can do enough indoor activities to keep you relatively entertained. I like hanging out with folks who accept that life isn't perfect here, but are willing to do as much as they can with what we've got.

A large group of us drove around the Bay, sharing laughs and mimosas and really good cupcakes (again!) and appetizers, before we headed to Fort Conde, an abandoned fort from the early 1900s that seems to grow right out of the jungle and is covered with graffiti. I felt like I was walking into a scene from the show Lost. The area around the fort has been cleared, but it's not the easiest place to find or hike to. I'm glad our hostesses knew where they were going and how to get there---which is only by boat. The old fort was creepy and mysterious all at the same time. The bats hanging around added to the ambiance, and I found a hutia skull on top of a concrete wall:

It is, so far, my favorite souvenir from my time here. We also went snorkeling near Glass Beach and I saw the absolutely largest sea turtle I've ever seen. I thought a coral reef was moving, when I looked again and realized it was a turtle hovering over the top and then swimming away. Overall, I had a great day of exploring unknown places and meeting new people.

We ended the day with tans, full bellies of sushi, cupcakes, and mimosas, and jammed out to a little Lady Gaga AND John Denver. I know a seriously eclectic and fun group of folks here. 

Brunch: included mimosas and sushi

The husband and I also went to a goodbye party for a few folks, including a great guy he knows from diving and I know from work. Goodbyes are a constant here. Sometimes you are sad to see the good guys leave. 

The party was catered by a Thai chef and included one of my new favorite dishes, Laab (or Larb, depending on whom you ask). There was also some Pad Thai and Filipino Lumpia and Pancit---no big party goes without some Lumpia and Pancit here at Gitmo. 

We also hung out with friends until way past our bedtimes, said goodbye to a neighbor, and enjoyed time at the movies (cheap popcorn and hotdogs). It's been a hectic last two weeks, and I'm kind of glad to see it slowing down a little. I don't mind having only a few events over a month instead of over a week. It seems like we do more in a week here than we used to in an entire month (or two or three or six months). 

Time to do some gardening and laundry---I really don't mind chilling out around the house on Saturdays, because I know there are always things to do right around the corner, if I so choose to do them.