Our plane, which was scheduled to depart from Miami and 8:15 and land in St. Louis at 9:55 last night, did not leave until 11:40 and land until 1:15 am. So I am tired today. Really, really tired. I can barely form a coherent thought, so I leave you with a few photos. My pictures did not turn out quite like I hoped. I am a little disppointed at how fuzzy many of them turned out. I really need to take a photography course…
Here are a few of the images I managed to capture. I took about 150 pictures with my camera and equal that or more with my mom’s, so limiting this gallery to less than 25 shots was tough! Click on the picture to see the enlarged image.
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- I took so many pictures of the water, hoping to capture the beauty of the greens and blues. I don’t think I did it justice.
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- Dragon Cay in Middle Caicos. This was the view from our balcony. It was stunning.
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- Another picture of the amazing water.
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- Trinity Baptist Church in Bottle Creek, North Caicos. My granddad would take a boat from South Caicos to North and Middle Caicos, many times walking several miles across rocky terrain in order to disciple the people. This church began in 1962.
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- Trinity Baptist Church Steeple.
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- Trinity Baptist Church
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- Even the Islands now have a 7/11. But no slurpies, which makes you wonder if it can really be classified as a 7/11…
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- A scuplture on one of the bluffs overlooking Dragon Cay in Conch Bar, Middle Caicos.
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- Lorimers, Middle Caicos where my granddad conducted occasional outdoor Sunday services. They held a 4:00am, 9:00am, 3:00pm and 7:00pm service – outdoors, in the heat, with the mosquitos.
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- Nature’s Fury – the stretch of road that connects Middle and North Caicos was ravaged by hurricane Ivan last year. Many homes were still in desperate need of repair as well.
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- This cave led from the bluffs of Dragon Cay to the beach.
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- South Caicos, where my mom grew up. This is an old, old lighthouse near where we stayed. I have about bazillion pictures of this because I just thought it was so neat.
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- Um, hello awesome. South Caicos.
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- My mom’s childhood home. It was nearly destroyed in last year’s hurricane. It makes me wish I had a money tree so I could purchase and refurbish it because it’s a really neat little house. If any of you grow money trees, let me know…
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- The addition that my granddad built on front so my uncle would have his own room.
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- The old Commissioner’s house where my grandmother and her kids would go for afternoon tea on occasion. It’s also been nearly destroyed and it’s unfortunate because it’s a beautiful home.
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- Calvary Baptist Church, South Caicos. This was my grandfather’s baby. There were many sweet people who spoke of “Brother Jim” (my granddad) with tears in their eyes. “Those were good days,” they all said.
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- The bell – because they were told when they started the church that they could not be a church without a bell.
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- One of my mom’s friends, Lynette Bassett. We had old pictures from the day she and her husband were married and the day they were baptized. She is a sweet lady who fed us well while we were there!
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- This may be my favorite picture of the whole week.
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- Like I said, I took a lot of pictures of the lighthouse.
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- The outdoor open ovens that the islanders used to cook in.
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- Just one of the many spectacular sunsets.
BEAUTIFUL pictures, Kelli! What an incredible trip! I’m so glad that you got to experience it with your mom. We are SO excited to see y’all in a few days!
wow, I guess you are having MAJOR withdrawls being back in the states!! Makes you wonder why we choose to live in MISSOURI. Glad you are home safe. Can’t wait to hear all about your journey!
Hi Kelli! I don’t know you but I recognized several of your pics! Trinity Baptist Church!!!! I grew up in that church! In 1988 my parents moved to North Caicos on $300 a month as independent missionaries. My brother and I were only 18 months and 3 years respectively. My dad and granddad and other men from our sending church rebuilt your granddad’s church which had been almost burnt to the ground. I grew up in that church for almost 10 years until my dad was called to the Dominican Republic and another missionary took over… just thought it was cool! We heard a lot about your granddad from the older islanders when we moved there… The internet is amazing isn’t it???? Anyhow… hi!!!! 🙂
ps – my email on gmail is jessiperez10 please contact me! i would love to hear more about your family’s experience founding that church!!!! 🙂
Hello Kelli,
Just got back from South Caicos and of all the buildings the one that struck me most is of your Mom’s childhood home. What a beautiful old house! Does your Mom have any old photos of South Caicos. I’d love for you to post them. I read somewhere that this house used to be the police station. Do you know if this is true? I am doing South Caicos on my blog but haven’t finished it yet. The first little bit is up so just check http://www.myturksandcaicosblog.com.
Could you tell me your family name. Hope to hear from you, Marta