The Twelfth Step

Day 10, our second to last full day here in Grand Cayman and boy was it windy! Thankfully the sun was out a lot more today, which made for a rather enjoyable pool/beach day.

It began with some sunbathing that I know I’ll miss quite a bit when I return to Toledo in a few days, as it seems to be cloudier more than not there during the winter season. Anyway, the ocean was extremely rough today with waves well over my head, but that didn’t stop me from spending some time out there bobbing up and down along with them. I actually did do some snorkeling today even in all that choppiness and was glad I did, as I saw a huge starfish that was at least a couple of feet around. Even better, I saw a pretty cool fish that had two long whiskers that it used to move the seafloor around as it looked for something to eat.

Later in the day, after taking a break from the sun and surf, I caved in and went across the street to the local tourist shop. I know I promised myself I wasn’t going to buy anything other than food on this trip, but I decided I wanted to remember this trip with at least a t-shirt. Thirty minutes later I had two of them, a shell necklace, and two Christmas ornaments for our tree next year. Man, I’m such a tourist. LOL.

After catching some more rays for a little while after that, the temperatures really started to drop. That’s when I hopped out of the ocean and jumped into the hot tub where my partner had spent most of his afternoon. There we met a nice couple from Roanoke, Virginia who were extremely nice and totally embraced our relationship like the couple had from last night’s dinner. I’m truly thankful that the world seems to be changing their views more and more for the better with same-sex relationships. But even more so, it’s a far cry from last year’s vacation when one of the couples we met ended up lecturing my partner and I about the sins of homosexuality and how God doesn’t approve of those types of relationships. Nevertheless, in spite of this past rejection and many others of our sexuality, we took a risk and asked this couple to join us for dinner at a restaurant named The Lighthouse and I’m definitely glad we did.

Not only was dinner amazing, but so was the company. We dined out on a long pier over the water and had plenty of enjoyable conversation, none of which frowned upon any aspect of our relationship. I must say that I was kind of surprised though when they told me how much they enjoyed watching Brokeback Mountain and had even visited a gay bar once just to have some fun doing something different. Man, I hope one day that everyone else will be a lot more like this couple from Roanoke.

So as my second to last full day here in Grand Cayman came to a close, I was left with a lot of gratitude to my Higher Power for meeting a wonderful couple from Roanoke, Virginia, who looked at my partner and I with love and acceptance and nothing less…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Thankfully, the rollercoaster ventured slightly upward today for me on Day 9 of vacation here in Grand Cayman.

It began with my sinus pain being considerably less than what it was for all of yesterday, of which I was exceptionally grateful. Unfortunately, we had our first full day of clouds, cool temperatures, and rain though. But that didn’t stop us from going outside, as we spent a good hour and a half sitting in two different hot tubs and socializing with other guests. I did attempt to swim in the ocean several different times in between my time in those hot tubs, except the waves and the riptide were so strong that I ended up getting hit by a piece of coral on my ankle pretty hard. That was enough to convince me to stay out of the ocean for at least today.

What most probably don’t know about cloudy and rainy days in the tropics is that it’s quite easy to get seriously burned during them. With the wind blowing as strong as it was today and feeling as cool it was, I wasn’t going to take any chances on getting a bad sunburn with only two full days remaining here. This is why we ended up taking a car ride along the coast instead of staying in those hot tubs any longer.

During our drive, our first stop was at The Shipwreck of the Twelve Sails, which was a monument for a number of ships that wrecked on the reef in front of it. Next we stopped by the blowholes again where the waves travelled up quite forcefully through the coral and with today’s rough seas, it set the ground for some pretty spectacular photos. Our last stop was at a local bird sanctuary. There, we walked out a short pier onto a pond where suddenly every living thing in the water from tropical birds to turtles came over to greet us, obviously hoping we had some food. It was rather funny to see this, almost like we had an audience. We also used our binoculars there to see some pretty large iguanas in stealth mode at the top of many of the trees that surrounded us there.

Later in the evening, after our drive around the island had ended, we went to the same Italian restaurant we had our first dinner at over a week ago, but this time ordering something other than pizza. My partner went for the traditional spaghetti and meatballs, while I opted for the chicken marsala. What was special about this dinner though was the couple who sat at the table directly next to us. They were from New Jersey and were very friendly and supportive of my partner and I, making mention that one of their own sons was gay. Being that Grand Cayman is a mostly conservative Christian-based island, it’s not very well-known for its support of gay couples. In fact, in 1998, a gay cruise filled with a few thousand gay men was actually turned away from the island by the government here. But it seems as if the times have really changed because my partner and I have found nothing but support of our same-sex relationship here.

So by the time Day 9 came to a close, I’m was exceptionally grateful to my Higher Power for feeling much better today, for feeling accepted instead of frowned upon, and for seeing a little more of this island’s beauty…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

It’s Day 8 in Grand Cayman and one that’s been overly frustrating for me again. My sinuses have been acting up all day pretty severely alongside some low grade depression and anxiety. But as always, I did what I could to make the best of my day, which was mostly spent at The Cayman Turtle Farm.

There my partner and I swam with sea turtles, actually got to hold them as well, and even be amongst them while they were fed along with hundreds of fish. Most were small to medium size and could be held easily in our arms. I was so surprised at how docile these turtles were and how they didn’t mind our presence at all. In fact, most of them just swam right on by, touching our arms and feet in the process. There was another pool of sea turtles in this park as well, but we could only observe them from behind a railing. What was interesting about them was their sheer size, some being over five feet around!

After our time with the turtles there, we took a dip in a very large pool that was adorned with a waterfall and a waterslide. We enjoyed both, taking a much needed break on the 90-degree day. Before we left the park, we also took a nice stroll through an aviary where we were treated to a small yellow bird jumping on our fingers who was hoping for a tasty snack.  And next door to it was a butterfly sanctuary with hundreds of them flying around, which I found a little serenity in.

A little later in the afternoon on our way back to our resort, we stopped by Spotts Beach where sea turtles are known to frequent. While I didn’t get into the ocean to snorkel and see them up close, given how late it was in the day, we did get to see one from the small dock there.

By the time we arrived back to the resort, my partner suggested that I get to another AA meeting. I agreed, as my attitude had been rather poor all day. While the recovery meeting I attended a little later only had six of us there, it was still a great meeting. The topic was on anger, and I definitely was harboring some of that towards myself and my Higher Power for how I felt today. After the meeting ended, some of that was lifted and I was glad I had gone.

I must say though that today was probably the most challenging day I’ve had so far on this vacation. As it came to a close, I decided that I’m not going to go on one again until my mind and body feel more at peace. As much as I’ve been enjoying the warm weather and ocean here, it’s been truly difficult to appreciate them for all their beauty with the pain I continue to go through even here. I had honestly hoped that this island trip would have catapulted me to the other side of this long health and healing journey I’ve been on. But alas, so far it hasn’t yet and I accept that.

I will at least say though as I end today’s entry that I’m grateful for two things. I’m grateful to have spent time today with more of God’s creations that came in the form of all those sea turtles and I’m grateful that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous always seems to be nearby when it’s needed the most…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson