Let’s see, where do I start. Okay, we picked up Randy and Darren up at the airport for a ten-day visit. Randy was here seven years ago with us, but that was back before we really knew anything about the area or even had property. And Darren has been here a few times recently. So mostly we just hung around and showed them our place, ran a few errands and of course went to all our favorite little spots around here.

Every so often friends here will have a get together at someone’s place and just have some fun. We thought it was about our turn and it would be a good way for Randy and Darren to meet some of our friends and neighbors. So we fired up the smoker for a pork shoulder to make some pulled pork sandwiches with homemade BBQ sauce, and as an extra treat, we also smoked some garlic parmesan wings. A friend of ours left for a year to Ireland so he loaned us his giant jungle Jenga game, so of course we had to give that a go. It was a great afternoon and the boys got to meet some great new people.

One of the days we booked a jungle cruise up on a lake near the Guatemalan border with 22 of our friends. They picked us up in vans and shuttled us up to the lake where there were two mostly wood pontoon boats tied together and waiting for us. The last mile drive down to the lake was pretty rough, so we had to come down four at a time in a 4×4, that was an adventure in itself. Once we were all there we headed out onto the jungle lake into the mist and heavy rain on what we called “The African Queen”.

It wasn’t long though before the rains let up and out came the clear blue skies, which lead to the calmest most beautiful lake you have ever seen. The lake is only about three miles long and is privately owned so there was not another soul on the lake. About the only other creatures we saw were a few howler monkeys up in the trees.

There were a couple of big waterfalls where our guide put the front of the boat right up into the falls for a very up close experience.

Next to the falls was a nice sandy beach where he beached the boats and everyone jumped in, cooled off and swam around for a while. While we were all in the water having a good time, they fired up the grill and made us a great lunch of grilled chicken and sausages. After that, we went over to a rope swing that was tied to a tree where a couple of people gave it a go, we thought it was better if we just stayed on the boat and watched.

Then it was a slow cruise down to the dam to check it out. The guide told me that it was over 200’ deep at the dam, so of course I had to ask about fishing. He said there are fish there but he didn’t really know too much about it. So there might be an overnight pontoon fishing trip in our future, that could be quite an adventure. Randy said to the guide that he had heard there were no crocodiles in the lake, and the guide’s response was “Who told you that?”. Anyway, it was a great day for everyone, we all made it back alive and nobody got hurt. We would definitely do this again and we think you should too if you ever get a chance. www.JungleSplashTours.com. Check them out.

About a mile from us as the crow flies there is Pactibun Mayan Site. We have been there before and it looked like someone excavated a small part of it years ago. So we took the boys up there since it is literally in our backyard just to check it out. Well, to our surprise there were about 20 people there excavating it.

We talked to the professor who was in charge, who gave us a full tour of the site where they had five different areas that they were working on. We told him that we had never seen anyone here before and he explained that every year they come for a couple of months and excavate a little more. According to the Belizean government after they dig and document everything they must backfill it all back in before they leave. So next year when they get here they have to dig it out and continue on where they left off. They come every year from May to June, so we will check back next year and see if they have made more discoveries.

By now it was time to head to San Pedro out on Ambergris for Lobsterfest. So a 2½ hour drive to the airport to catch our favorite Tropic Air for a quick 15-minute flight to the island.

There was a little confusion when everything got booked as to when Lobsterfest actually started and I guess the big parties didn’t start till the next weekend after we were gone. Lobster season did open while we were there and we did get a chance to enjoy some lobster tails and some lobster bombs, which were lobster, jalapeno and cheese wrapped in bacon. There was nothing wrong with those.

It wasn’t the big celebration we were expecting and I think we all were a little bummed about it. The good thing is that lobster is now available again until next February and I know Darren will be back before that and who knows, maybe Randy will be too.

We couldn’t let Lobsterfest get us down, so we loaded up our golf cart and cruised around the island at 5 mph, and when you are going that fast you are passing a beach bar every 10 seconds. Yes, there are a lot of places to get a cold drink on the island and we did our best to check them out. One of our favorites is the Truck Stop. It is all built out of shipping container and has different restaurants in each one. On the weekend they have a game night and the night we were there they had Family Feud going on, so of course, we had to get in on that.

We were on stage answering questions (they were all wrong) and actually we almost won the whole thing (not really we lost big time), but we sure did have a lot of fun. After that, we went onto another bar that Darren had been to last time he was on the island. Darren walked up to the bar and the bartender says “Hi Darren”. He was so impressed that he remembered his name, but it turns out he just still had his nametag on from playing Family Feud.

Another favorite place of ours is Secret Beach, where one of the places has permanent tables and umbrellas right out in the water. So we had to take the boys over there to check it out and have some water time. The waiter will bring food and drinks right out to your table in the water, not a bad way to spend the day.

Kelley and I have been here a couple of times and it is one of our favorite places to hang out in the water. It is on the lagoon side of the island so there is no wind, waves or seaweed. It is quite a drive to get there, but well worth it once you are there.

Our rental house this time was a three bedroom, right on the lagoon with plenty of room for all of us. The beach is only a few hundred feet away and it is very close to all the activities.

As we were getting ready to leave, Kelley spotted something in the water. At first, it looked like a log, but it was moving too fast for that. That’s right it was a crocodile, and he was a good 12 feet or so. This was the first one we have actually seen in the wild and it was right off our back porch, very cool!

There are a lot more stories about The Adventures of Randy & Darren, but that should do it for now.

Happy late Fathers Day to all you great dads out there.