Hurricane Irma - September 11, 2017

Today was our final day in the Bahamas and we were determined to have fun! Please note all the closed businesses behind me. This is next to where the cruise ships park but they weren't due to arrive for two more days.

Fortunately, John Watling's distillery was open. Felix was pouring us some wonderful drinks and we were feeling quite good. But we were also hungry and there's no food at the distillery.

Down the hill was the Hark Rock Café and thankfully were open. The place was quite empty but we didn't mind. I enjoyed my cheese burger with a Kalik.

After lunch, we wandered back to John Watlings because everyone was still closed. After enjoying a good time with our Bahamian friends, we found that Subway was open (finally!) and had a small dinner before heading to bed.

There's one final day to recap of the trip but the hurricane part was definitely over for us.

Hurricane Irma - September 10, 2017

Mr. Delancy agreed to pick us up and take us to the Hilton. He had been so helpful and accommodating the entire time. He was running late for church but he did let us take this photo really quickly. The first room we had was not agreeable. The window was too small and it was right next to the elevator. I talked my way to a much nicer room on the executive floor and an obstructed view of the ocean. Now that's a decent room!

We walk around looking for lunch and things to do but all the businesses are boarded up. It was Sunday and nobody was in a rush to get back to business. The cruise ships weren't going to come until later this week. We even tried Subway but they were closed. I brought some snacks from our hurricane food shopping trip but not lunch. We had sandwiches from the café at the hotel.

With a lot of facebooking, I found one bar open around us. We obviously had to go.

There were about 30 people there, which was probably all the tourists in the area as most had already evacuated.

These are $8 Guinness pints. Bahamian beer is modestly priced and we quickly switched. The rest of the night was more yahtzee and weather watching. Irma was hitting Florida this night and there were plenty of angles to watch the carnage.

The ocean was much calmer on this side of New Providence.

Hurricane Irma - September 8, 2017

The morning before the storm, the ocean was calm. We did some walking today. We forgot salsa and dish soap, which prompted us to walk to the nearest food store. Several people stopped to see if we needed a ride and in the store we needed help finding salsa. Bahamians don't love salsa like I do. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Once again, the store had plenty of supplies and the salsa was tucked away in a corner.

We found lots of coral and chatted with Mr. Delancy as he was making preparations for all of his properties. The talk was all about the storm. Hurricane Matthew hit this area around the same time in 2016. Thirty foot Austrian pines were pulled from the ground but there was no flooding. We thought that was odd because the property is right up to a canal and the ocean is just across the street. Mr. Delancy said there were no flooding concerns and being on the second floor was not nearly as safe. The storm could have hit at any time after 6pm. It wasn't until 1 am the following morning that the storm made landfall.

Hurricane Irma - September 6, 2017

We got our last use of the kayak today and Noel picked us up for lunch. When we arrived at Max's Conch Bar, we finally had access to wifi. Our phones were blowing up from our friends. They were trying to reach us regarding Irma. The storm was quite large at this point and it was headed towards the Bahamas. At this point, I was trying to find a place for us to stay Thursday night. I called several hotels but there was no availability. I called the owner of the island, William Delancy, and he said that he does have a place for us to stay.

Sad. It was our last day on the island and our trip was cut short. When we got back to the island, we enjoyed the rest of the fish and as much beer as we could drink. We also got started on packing. The next morning was coming early because we had to be at the airport by 8am.

Hurricane Irma - September 3, 2017

The views from Little Deadmans Cay to Long Island are stunning when the sun is out. Today, we had a kayak on rent and it was delivered. We enjoyed a short kayak to hunt for shells on another island. At this point, we still didn't realize the hurricane was on its way.



Hurricane Irma - September 2, 2017

Our flight to Deadman's Cay, Long Island was originally scheduled for 7 am. We got to the airport and discovered that the flight was cancelled. The airline sent us an email to notify us but we didn't read the fine print. Sigh. It was so tiny and the picture looked like the original confirmation email. Fortunately, I still had the hotel room key. I weaseled $60 out of the representative and we taxied back to the hotel, leaving our checked bags.

We watched some tv and then went down to Fat Tuesday for a drink. Finally, it was time to leave for the airport and get to our island vacation. We always go to Max's Conch Bar for conch fritters (above), cracked conch, beer and wifi. This is our only place to connect to the internet. At this point, the hurricane started to turn towards the Bahamas. We were blissfully unaware.



After going to the food store, fisherman, and liquor store it was time to load up the boat and get to Little Deadman's Cay. These supplies should suffice for the week on the cay (pronounced key in Bahamian.) It was sunny and steamy hot.

The view of Long Island from Little Deadmans Cay. This is one of many beaches on the cay.

The sun sets over the back deck of the house and it is stunning!

I was trying to capture the full beauty of the sunset. Photos never do it justice.

Hurricane Irma - September 1, 2017

We left Oklahoma City early in the morning and headed for Nassau, Bahamas. We had no issues with our flights and arrived on time. This was our first time checking in at the British Colonial Hilton and it did not disappoint. Right on ocean, next to where all the cruise ships park. We had Senor Frogs around the corner, Fat Tuesday down the street and John Watlings distillery up the hill. All within walking distance. There was no concern regarding hurricanes.

I love the John Watlings distillery. There's so much history and rum! Felix does the best job mixing up the drinks for us. After 3 years of visiting with Felix, each trip, we became Facebook friends.

We enjoyed a Sands and ate Mcdonalds for dinner. It was right across the street from the hotel. Talk about convenient!

The port is constantly full of cruise ships and it is the lifeblood of Nassau. The port can hold 5 ships and on some days, that's how many are there. This part of town is full of tourists and its a fun part of the Bahamas.

Red Earth Brewers

As I headed to the Red Earth Brewers club meeting, I seat belted my beer in for safety reasons. When I was pouring it, there was quite the mess. 

The current theory is that my pumpkin may have over carbonated the beer with its sugars. Still, the flavor profile was spot on.

We weren't the best at snacks this time but there was plenty of beer to try. Some of it was commercial and some were home crafted. We then had elections for our board. The member at large had 4 candidates. 

I can't remember who won, even though I stuck around for the announcement.

I gave this buddy a bottle to enjoy. I also asked about my next plans to brew. I've got cider plans and I wanted to make a lager. The lager will most definitely have to wait, as a fridge is necessary. I'll be making the cider this week because I hope it will be ready in time for a beer festival. 

The meeting was great and I look forward to next month!

Running and weekending

Started #Sunday with a #kickass #run! I couldn't find my ankle brace so I #ran without it, which felt fine. A little slow on the pace but I went up and down through heritage hills. #runner #runnergirl #womenrunning #runnerproblems #injuredrunner #okc #ok #okwb #myoklahoma #runokc #runok #nike #nikerunner #run

We went to The Wedge in Deep Duece after a bunch of beers at Tapwerks yesterday. It was a good decision and there were leftovers. The best! 

Dead Guy Ale is back in Oklahoma City! We had it at The Root and at Tapwerks! The beer distributor gave us a t-shirt too, which was super cool. 

Ryan's art is up at The Root this month and next month, we'll have it at another gallery. If you haven't gotten his book, you should! It's called "A Man Between Sunset and Wisteria" and it's an adventure/mystery/love book. 

Rogue beer dinner at Republic Gastropub

We came prepared with our Rogue tshirts and I had my Rogue nation card too. (Just in case I was carded but it never happened.) We got a taster of Rogue Dead Guy Ale to start. 

The menu, which was family style. I don't like sharing, so that wasn't my favorite. But I guess, sharing is caring. 

Amuse was a pub style deviled egg. It was full of mayo, yolk, pickles and probably some mustard. I ate two, which was the allotted amount. 

Next was the Beard beer and SriachanStout. The Beard is a wild American ale and I just love the flavor!

Shrimp cocktail. 

Pigs in a blanket with Gouda sauce. I hair loved these appetizers and the cocktail sauce paired perfectly with the stout. 

Next was the Hazelnut Nectar Brown Ale and the 7 Hop IPA. 

Paired with the beef stroganoff...

...and meatloaf. It was a fabulous combination. 

Here's how I plated my dinner. Yum and not too much. 

Last was the Honey Kolsch and Cold Brew IPA. I love both but the Honey Kolsch has my taste buds. This was dessert, which we wisely split in half. 

We all cheered for a great dinner!

Then we home with bags of pint glasses. #awesomesauce

#esthereats #food #foodie #myfitnesspal #eatinghealthy #okc #ok #okwb #myoklahoma #craftbeer #instabeer #instadrink #esthereats #okc #ok #okwb #myoklahoma #drinkoklahoma