Well, we finally got the big bbq grill up and going just in time for the 4th of July weekend.  The 4th of July isn’t really celebrated here since that is the day America got its independence from the British.  However people here still do celebrate it and will wish you a happy 4th of July. For us, it was a chance to take a long four day weekend and just chill out a little.

Since we picked up the grill used before we came down here, it obviously needed a good tune-up. The big solid steel burners were clogged up pretty good and needed a thorough cleaning from the inside out. I took them over to a butane specialty store and they went to work on them and had them working great in no time. So now the question was, what will be our first meal on this kick-ass grill. Since it was a long holiday weekend, we thought cheeseburgers would be great. So we picked up a couple of fresh buns from the little bakery, got out some of our homemade bacon, grilled up some garden fresh green chilies and made the best cheeseburgers we have had in quite awhile.

The next night we used it again for some rib-eye steaks and portabello mushrooms. Our little grill on the porch that we had been using for the past year just wouldn’t get hot enough to cook things properly, but the big one sure does the job nicely. As soon as the steaks went on you could hear the sizzle, and when I flipped them, there were grill marks, we have not seen grill marks on a piece of meat in a long time. Then the next night we cooked a pizza on it that turned out great too, we are still having the pizza oven built, but this will work in the meantime. This new grill is working out great, and it’s so nice to be cooking on a real one once again. Next up is to test out the rotisserie.

Over the long weekend, we decided to invite a few friends over for a cool refreshing dip up at Pinol Sands and then back to our place for some jerked chicken on the bar-b. Pinol Sands was great as always and of course, there was no one there but us.

Kelley had the chicken all cut up and jerked before we left so once we got back from the water it was time for me to fire up the grill and get it going. While the chicken was cooking we were all kept busy with the ring game we’d set up. In case you have never seen it… it is a metal ring on a rope that you swing and try to get it onto a hook that is mounted to the wall. It can be very frustrating or very satisfying, depending on how good you are.

The season seems to have changed here, the days are not as warm as they were and there are now partially cloudy days with some rain mixed in. Which means it’s time to get some seeds into the ground and let mother nature take care of them. So we planted some zucchini, yellow squash, okra, corn, more green peppers, and artichokes. In the next month, we will also be starting some more types of peppers such as pablano, cayenne, and ghost. Ruben has also offered to bring us some peanuts for us to grow.

We are constantly cutting and trimming plants and trees. Last week our cell service was getting a little sketchy and I believe that the trees in front of our antenna were getting too big. So three trees there had to come down. There were also a couple of trees near the house that swayed pretty good in the wind and we thought we should just get them out of there before they fall on the house or the truck. I’ve gotten really good at falling trees exactly where I want them and sometimes they are even in some pretty tight spots.

Of course, when we take plants out we usually replace them with other plants. The other day we hit the nursery and picked up another 30 plants. We grabbed 4 more coffee plants and the rest were all colorful landscape plants that will form a nice hedge along the driveway. Once all the plants get established and start blooming it should look pretty good and colorful around here.

I thought I’d throw in a few fun facts that you might not have known about Belize, so here we go.

1. Belize is still a commonwealth nation of the British and the head of state is her majesty, the queen of Buckingham Palace.

2. More than 80% of the rain forests in Belize are protected by the government and are inaccessible.

3. Belize is among the top 5 least populated countries with only 15 people per sq. km.

4. More than 90% of the population can read and most can speak at least three languages. English, Spanish and Creole.

5. The island of Ambergris was sold to a Mr. James Blake in 1869 for $625. Now that was a deal.

6. Pop singer Madonna’s famous song “La Isla Bonita” was written for the town of San Pedro out on  Ambergris Caye.

7. Belize is the only Central American country without a Pacific coastline.

8. The Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary is the only Jaguar preserve in the world.

9. Belizean money is also called a dollar and is pegged to the U.S. dollar. One U.S. dollar always equals two Belizean dollars, making it very easy to convert prices. Plus U.S. currency is accepted everywhere.

10. Belize is the only country that has people represented on their flag.

Belikin, the national beer of Belize, just celebrated their 50th anniversary. To commemorative this, they printed 50th-anniversary labels for their beers and had special yellow caps put on them. They also made a few golden bottles which were very hard to come by. I don’t know if there was a special promotion if you found one or not, but it sort of reminded me of the golden ticket from Willy Wonka. Anyway, we managed to get one and when I told my friend at the distributor about it he said we were very lucky. So now we have a golden bottle of beer sitting on a shelf in the garage with some other ones.

Here’s your chance for a golden ticket. We will be in the Phoenix area next week, and the first ten people to respond to this will receive a one week stay, free of charge at the Iguana Getaway located inside the Toucan Hideaway property in beautiful Belize. Accommodations include your own private house, private bath with hot and cold running water, air conditioning, color TV, a refrigerator to keep all your alcoholic beverages cold and a king size bed for once all that alcohol really kicks in. Also, the first three people to take advantage of this offer will also receive a gourmet dinner for two, well really for four because we will be joining you. This offer does not expire and it is not limited to the first ten people to respond. Airfare, transportation, food, alcohol and pretty much everything else are not included, just the room. So don’t delay, take advantage of this offer before it’s too late, you won’t regret it! Not valid in British Honduras, Yugoslavia, Prussia, The Republic of Texas or any other country that no longer exists.