Potcake Place and Grace Bay Beach

Friday, Day 50

I slept SO good last night!  I mean once the adrenaline wore off and I actually got in bed. ;)  And no alarm this morning!  I woke up around 7:30 on my own, and laid in bed another 30 minutes or so.  Felt a little more like vacation than the last couple of days have... ;)

I had some breakfast (dry cereal that I bought yesterday), read the news online, and all of a sudden it was almost 9:30!  I wanted to be at The Hotcake Place around that time!  So I rushed around, threw some stuff in a bag, put on my suit, and tried to call Calvin - my taxi driver from yesterday.  Even though it's $2.50/minute, I did it.  I had to get down town!  He answered, but his car was in the shop getting serviced.  With no other option, I decided to just try my hand (or thumb?) at hitchhiking.

I literally didn't even walk a block before this guy pulled over for me!  Sometimes, being a girl traveling solo has its perks. ;)

He wasn't exactly sure where I needed to go, but I had the address in my phone, and knew where it was from memory anyways.  There really are only two main roads here, and I knew which one I needed.  Plus it's basically a straight shot from Ashley's place, about 2.5 miles away.   He dropped me off right in from of Potcake place at 9:38.  That was quick!

{A little background:  The locals call stray dogs "potcakes" because of what they feed them: peas and potatoes that are caked on the bottom of the pots after they cook.  They would scrape that out to fee the strays!}

I was there plenty early - they don't open until 10 - but I wasn't the only one there!  I really didn't think this would be a big deal.  I mean how many people want to walk a dog on their vacation?  Apparently a lot of people do! 

The line was getting long, and it was getting hot out, when they opened the doors at 10am.  People came in and puppies went out!

They had 9 puppies that could go out today, and they're expecting to get 8 more next week.  Two of them got adopted today!  

I saw a sign on the wall for a courier, so I filled out that form, too.  Maybe I'll be lucky enough to get to fly home with one of these cuties on Sunday!  (I mean not for me to keep!  To deliver to someone else who has adopted!)

 

I walked out with Toby, a 10 week old mut, probably with some German Shephard in him.  He was so scared and timid, I felt so bad for him! But he was oooohhhh so CUTE!

He wasn't  skinny little thing, and he wouldn't walk one step on the leash.  Of course I didn't object to carrying him, but man, it got hot and he got heavy quick.  We stopped in a shaded parking lot on our way to the beach.  I got out the toys and treats, neither of which he was interested in.  All Toby wanted to do was lay in the dirt under the bushes!

Isn't he just adorable!?  Someone will adopt him quickly, for sure.

We walked the rest of the way to Grace Bay beach.  And by "we walked" I mean I walked and carried Toby.

He wasn't a fan of the water at all.  In fact I'm not sure what Toby is a fan of, besides sleeping, haha.  He just laid in the sand, dug a hole, and tried to shut his eyes!

I carried him down to the water a couple of times.  First just to get his paws wet, and then to get his whole body in to cool him off.  He's black and it's HOT out.  The water cooled him off, but he did NOT like it one bit!  He clawed and shook the whole time. And as soon as I put him down, he ran right back to his hiding spot under a beach chair in the shade - where he stayed most of the day!

Our beach day got cut a little short by the weather.  The clouds started moving in, so we packed up and I returned him back to Potcake Place that afternoon.

I hitched a ride back home (took about 30 seconds to catch a ride this time), and got back to Ashley's apartment just in time to beat the rain.  

Around 4, I realized I hadn't eaten yet (that never happens), so I walked across the parking lot to Green Bean and ordered a veggie burger to go.  It was the worst veggie burger I've ever had!  Thank goodness I wasn't too hungry, because it was so bad I couldn't even finish it!

The weather cleared up so I went for a walk around sunset.  It didn't do anything much.  Too many clouds.

Ashley and Anna both got home around 7 and made dinner - spaghetti.  I was pretty tired for some reason.  I think the sun really takes it out of me!  So I went to my room and stared watching the Making A Murderer documentary on Netflix.  Everyone has been talking about it for so long, and I had some down time to see it.  So yeah, Friday night in Turks & Caicos, and I was in bed watching Netflix at like 8:30. Lame, I know.

The plan is to go to yoga with Anna tomorrow morning and then if the weather is nice, the snorkel boat tour with Ashley in the afternoon.  Scuba diving got ruled out.  Partially because I'm scared of "the wall" here, partially because the weather is supposed to be bad, and partially because I don't want to do an hour boat ride each way to West Caicos.  So, yeah, plan B:  yoga and snorkeling.