By Grace Schneider (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - 12:38 am: |
I wrote above about being first time visitors to paradise and am looking forward to staying with Louise and Mel at HHH, I have heard nothing but lovely things about them and Louise has been very helpful with all must first-timer questions. I'm looking for anyone with advice for activities and fun things to do with 4 1/2 and 6 1/2 year old in and out of the water. We have kids set up in aquakids program at plaze--anyone with experience with that program??? ALso wondering about a glass bottom more or less boat I read about. How are the beaches--I understand this is an iron shore, but there are a few yes, which are best with kids?? I've heard hotels will let you use their pools even if not staying with them--is this true??? Any advice for a newbie on what to bring that may not be readily available in Bonaire--I've heard tissues are good to bring--silly or not?? Any advice for where to eat--love to hear anything,
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By Carole Baker (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2929) on Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - 12:52 am: |
Hi, Grace! I don't think the hotels encourage non-registered guests to use their swimming pools, but some of them let you access the beach areas but do ask that you don't utilize the resort chairs and other beach amenities without permission or sometimes a small fee.
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By Grace Schneider (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - 2:00 am: |
Carole,
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By Ruth van Tilburg (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #110) on Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - 9:10 am: |
We have tissues here, most of the time.
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By gregg brewer (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #395) on Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - 9:56 am: |
Grace,
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By Susan Taft (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #257) on Tuesday, December 9, 2003 - 11:44 am: |
Grace, although I have not traveled to Bonaire with children as young as yours I have seen many families at "Donkey Beach" which is the Windsock dive site, directly at the end of the runway. It is very easy access. Are you taking along "water shoes" for the kids? It will make even access at that beach easier for them. Your children might enjoy a visit to the Donkey Sanctuary as well.
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By Grace Schneider (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 12:27 am: |
Dear Susan,
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By Grace Schneider (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 12:34 am: |
Gregg,
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By michael gaynor (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1702) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 9:58 am: |
Actually, Greg is a pussy-cat and I am sure he certainly did not mean to offend rather to make a point that many find difficult to make in gentle way. True, there are times when kids get rowdy but on the whole, the resorts do "police" the activities.
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By gregg brewer (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #399) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 11:16 am: |
Grace,
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By Belinda Z (BonaireTalker - Post #60) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 12:44 pm: |
Gregg,
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By Cynde (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #9729) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 2:29 pm: |
Grace, do take the kids to the donkey sanctuary. You can take apples and the kids can feed the donkeys. Marina runs the sanctuary, and will appreciate the visit! Here is the website for the Santuary:
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By Dave Flook (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #164) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 2:35 pm: |
Grace:
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By Robert M. Schmon (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 2:59 pm: |
Grace, The issue of whether hotels/resorts encourage or discourage “outsiders” to use their facilities is almost always a case of supply and demand. I spend part of my year in the Greek Islands, and most facilities love—if not actually advertise—free use of their pool and facilities for the reason you stated: the revenue it brings in for their bar and restaurant. Contrarily, it costs a king’s ransom ($$30-$50 per person) to get a day pass for the facilities of some luxury resorts on the coast near Athens, for the exact reasons Greg poses. At the time of year you are going to Bonaire, as I think you’ve discovered, it will be very busy. Management may tolerate "visitors" for the business, but paying guests may be hostile—which isn’t great fun for anyone. I suggest you simply check in with the front desk of the hotel resorts themselves—either by e-mail/fax/call from here or when you get there, ask their policy, and go from their. It sounds as if you should pass on the Divi, but there might well be some places that fit into the first category I mention above. Hope this helps. Cheers, Bob.
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By gregg brewer (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #400) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 7:23 pm: |
Bob,
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By Cynde (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #9744) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 7:51 pm: |
Gregg, I think we knew what you meant
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By Carole Baker (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2933) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 11:26 pm: |
Grace, try the Sand Dollar as Cynde mentioned. As far as I know they encourage folks to sit and dine and use the pool, too. The food at Mangos is fabulous, too! Have fun! Carole
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By David Frank (BonaireTalker - Post #22) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 12:42 am: |
Grace,
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By Grace Schneider (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #8) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 12:43 am: |
Thnaks for the e-mails, I don't usually get so irritated, but I did and I'm sorry. I really was trying to search out the truth because we don't want to be rude. It is our first time to Bonaire and I just don't know the customs well. As someone else stated, it is customary at a lot of resorts to want non-guests to visit and spend their dough, others are exclusive. When we stay at the Four Seasons in Tahoe, almost everyone in the bars and in the tubs are non-guests--that's the way the time-share/resort earns extra dough. The hotel my friends told me about was the Plaza Resort where we were originally booked until we heard about HHH being more quiet and subdued. They have stayed their the last 8 years at Christmas time or spring breakish, and they said this about the hotel as well as two people I've talked to over the phone. So with three different sources, you could see why I thought I should check out the info. Also, we were told by the Plaza staff that it's not a problem to bring the kids to the pool if we wanted to because we were still going to keep the kids in the aquakids program. Anyway, water under the bridge and I'm sorry I let it steam under my collar--call it cold weather I've got to get out of here blues. Gregg, I formally apologize, I'm sure you are a pussy cat and I'm not usually a grumpy old had either. I know I get very frustrated too with adults that have children then try to dump them off on others to take care of.
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By Grace Schneider (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #9) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 1:32 am: |
Sorry to continue, Hit send when didn't mean too--us rookies--I swear. I don't think I explained well either time that the people who told me about the pool thing were guests of both the plaza and HHH and another--Harbor something I think it was which I'm not sure if that is condo or resort--sorry my inexperience again. So this is why I thought I'd ask. In reality, it was always just something I looked at as a back-up plan if the kids were to scared to swim in the ocean or something. I can't imagine with all that calm water I've heard about the a pool will really be necessary--my husband and I were also wondering just for us when we wanted to go out without the kids if it was a problem to hang out at the pool bars, which I assume their are pool bars. To bare my total ignorance, this is really our first trip to the Caribbean. We have done cruise ships in the past, then had kids, and they are finally old enough and mature enough to travel now, however we thought a cruise a bit confining at this age. We loved to scuba prek---pre kids, and thought what a good combo it would make--warm weather, scuba and kids snorkeling, lets give it a try. So, maybe this will help explain the question too now that you see where I'm coming from--which is 7+ years without a real vacation.!!!)))(They bake for 9 months first))
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By Ruth van Tilburg (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #111) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 8:02 am: |
Use of pool included w/lunch at Mango's (at lunch time, 12-2), tables poolside, sun or shade, & bar (sounds like a pina colada'd suit you just fine asap), all w/in sight of half-size fresh water pool. If you're in the water w/them (that young) at dinner time, then that's ok too, but it can't get louder than dinner/bar guests...(it is dark by 6:30 though).
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By Linda Richter - NetTech (Moderator - Post #1583) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 8:10 am: |
My kids (6 and 8) love going to Mango's for the soul purpose of swimming in between bites of food. We grab a table on the wooden deck part so the kids are not tracking water over the tiled area. Plastic chairs, chicken nuggets and mac'n cheese make it super kid friendly.
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By joe brannan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #107) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 8:38 am: |
MAC AND CHEESE
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By Linda Richter - NetTech (Moderator - Post #1588) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 8:46 am: |
Ruth and I had a discussion when she opened Mango's about which kind of Mac N'Cheese. We are talking the orange kind from the box which my kids love. Not that icky white stuff made from real cheese that my mom always made. My kids looked at me crossed-eyed the one time I tried to serve them the homemade stuff.
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By Dave Flook (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #165) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 1:17 pm: |
Gregg:
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By Kelly Lott (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #713) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 1:45 pm: |
Oh boy, I was not aware that Mangos served Kraft Mac n Cheese. I'll be there for sure! LOL
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By Cynde (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #9745) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 3:01 pm: |
Kelly, Kraft Mac n Cheese AND a Salitos (unless Ruth has finished them all)...we will have to make it there for lunch one day this time...for sure!
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By Kelly Lott (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #714) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 3:30 pm: |
I love this thread, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. People were mature, talked it all out, and then we all held hands and lit a unity candle. I love it. AND mac-n-cheese. Life is good.
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By Jan Klos (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #218) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 4:27 pm: |
Grace,
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By joe brannan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #108) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 5:02 pm: |
Mac and cheese is clear evidence of a supreme being.
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By Ruth van Tilburg (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #113) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 5:03 pm: |
uhhhh, uummmm, errr ahem: okay, hoping Christmas spirit is all with you when I tell you we're out of mac & cheese and salitos. I loved our M&C, and those who had it did too (at least I thought they did), but we sold sooo little (as in, one case lasted 4 months...that's like one lasagna pan size a month, with lots of waste), I didn't re-order. Sorry guys. Next freezer container I'll reconsider & give it one more chance.
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By Grace Schneider (BonaireTalker - Post #15) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 5:54 pm: |
Thanks for the e-mails and input--
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By joe brannan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #109) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 6:11 pm: |
Ruth
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By joe brannan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #110) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 6:17 pm: |
Ruth
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By seb schulherr (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1109) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 6:30 pm: |
Maybe you could just make real mac and cheese and add a great deal of food coloring, or a few cheetos
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By seb schulherr (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1110) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 6:31 pm: |
Joe, I think they carry that peanut sauce in Cultimara.
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By Cynde (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #9754) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 6:37 pm: |
Joe, I like the idea of mac and cheese night...hey, when my stepkids were little...mac and cheese was the "other" white meat! LOL!
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By Robert M. Schmon (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 6:45 pm: |
Here here Grace. I’m happy to hear that you will be hanging out with Greg. Actually, I was thinking of starting a fund whose purpose would be to pick up a dinner tab for both of your families—to meet, bond, and plan mutual outings. And I don’t mean to be trite: irony is ripping through the thread. I just read your question in the Trip Report section of BN, indicating that you are disabled, and asking about wheelchair access and dive operations that perhaps specialize in helping disabled divers. As the immediate replies all steered you to the Divi as the best place to handle disabled divers, it looks like you and Greg really will be close by!
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By joe brannan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #112) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 6:58 pm: |
Seb Seb Seb
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By seb schulherr (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1114) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 9:20 pm: |
I dunno Joe, Cynde, seems like cheetos would be perfect crumbled on top for that crispy oven taste. Then again, I am not big on mac and cheese, in fact I refused to eat it as a child,I had to sit at the table until I finished. I lay down on the kitchen chairs and took a nap. I think my dad thought he would win that one; he didn't.
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By Cynde (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #9760) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 9:26 pm: |
seb, my stepdaughter hated mac n cheese too...i think it was because for the 8 years she lived with us, she had to eat a LOT of it! When she was about 8 (I think) she was throwing a fit about eating it...making all the faces...sighing...lying down on the chairs...quite a big show...it's the only time I ever heard Michael threaten to "get out the wooden spoon"...He did get it out but didn't have to use it, as she managed to get it down...she refused to eat it for years after that day! LOL!
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By joe brannan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #113) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 9:35 pm: |
not THE SPOON.....NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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By Cynde (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #9761) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 9:40 pm: |
Joe, I'm bummed I won't be there to taste test
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By seb schulherr (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1118) on Thursday, December 11, 2003 - 11:00 pm: |
Never eat anything that doesn't smell good unless someone will actually break your arm, that's my rule.
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By Ruth van Tilburg (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #114) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 8:18 am: |
First of all, anyone talking about me cooking obviously is long overdue for meeting me...I can do every other part necessary to own/run a restaurant, from building it (not that I built that 'barn' with the bar for amazons--it came that way; Mango's seaside will be much better), to decorating it, but cooking? Ha, that's what the chef is for! Lest you forget, I'm the one who loved Salitos, not only for its fantastic taste, but also because it is the ultimate lazy drinkers drink-having the tequila, lime, salt AND bottle opener included in each bottle.
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By Susan Taft (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #267) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 9:05 am: |
Being a "Vermontah" I can't even think of mac and cheese any other way than with extra sharp white cheddar. I grew up on it as did my kids -- made the mistake one time of trying the box kind on a camping trip and the kids refused to eat it! When my oldest moved to Minnesota i had to send her "real cheddar" as she could not face the orange cheese of the midwest. Now that she lives in CA she can get VT cheddar but somehow still likes it when we take it to her or she carries it back after a visit. Jake and Linda --- we have your VT cheddar ready to bring next week!
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By joe brannan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #114) on Friday, December 12, 2003 - 9:15 am: |
I knew it would happen.........Cheese debate. While I respect the challenges faced by our friends in Vermont and the other cold states (cold is NOT our friend), this recovering Texan understands that the national standard for Mac and Cheese is pure unadulterated??? VELVEETA (processed cheese like stuff for the uninformed). I believe that the President established a Commission on Correctness for Food (the CCF, which as actually run by Tom Ridge but that's a secret) setting forth food standards for M & C, Chicken Fried Steak, Gravy, and other necessary Amurkan dishes. The CCF has stated that the ONLY Mac and Cheese is that made with Velveeta.
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By Chet Wood (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #417) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 9:23 am: |
Susan,
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By Susan Taft (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #273) on Saturday, December 13, 2003 - 6:57 pm: |
Chet, to quote Mark "Sounds like a plan!!"
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By Chet Wood (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #420) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 8:07 am: |
GREAT!
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By James T. McPeak (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #167) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 9:08 am: |
Just hold the phone. Being a recovering Roman Catholic, who was forced to eat many non-meat entries while growing up, I can speak to m&c. I can also speak of m&c with Mrs. Paul's fishsticks. What we are all forgetting is how you really come of age in this culinary experience. When you graduate to mixing stewed tomatoes with your m&c, you have taken the big step in your life to adulthood. The contamination of the blandness of m&c with something red is huge. Furthermore, if you use DelMonte Italian stewed tomatoes, with oregano and basil, you are showing the world the cosmopolitan being you really are. So, all this talk of white cheddar vs. Velveeta is truly irrelevent. When you mix all that other stuff, it does not matter. Dr. Atkins, eat your heart out!!
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By joe brannan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #116) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 11:25 am: |
McPeak..........with all due deference to your religious upbringing, I have to take umbrage to the idea of the combination of "anything" with Mac and Cheese. The plate should be, at least in one's mind, divided into quadrants, each of which is to completely contain the food item as intended....with food items NOT to mix. Even migration of the magic gravy from Chicken fried steak (yes I am a southerner) would mark trespass upon the inviolate Mac and Cheese. I suppose we all reflect our upbringing, but the "southern" version of "cosmopolitan" would likely involve having one's gravy "on the side".
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By Chet Wood (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #421) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 3:29 pm: |
I fully agree with Mr. McPeak! And, I definately prefer the tomatoes to be cut into strips, not diced or crushed. Also, I'll agree with Joe about not wanting any gravy to mix with the m&c; but, an occasional green bean can wander over the line.
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By James T. McPeak (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #168) on Sunday, December 14, 2003 - 9:53 pm: |
Joe, what exactly is chicken fried steak? Also, here is a great example of how we can take a thread about kids swimming at resorts, and change it into macaroni and cheese and chicken fried steak. It just goes to show what nitrogen narcosis can do to a few good people. LOL
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