4 Fun and Delicious Things I Did on My Weekend

Blue Water Grill Restaurant

This first one was a Friday errand but it definitely counts as starting my weekend of fun. The delivery of the flight code donation for everyone that used Code for a Cause on their January flights. Thanks to you we raised $1350. In February, Blue Water Grill customers pitched in $3,042, Guests of The Phoenix gave $784, and customers of Wine de Vine, $84. All three businesses matched the donations to bring that total to $7,820, add CFC donation for a grand total of $9170. This resulted in faculty and staff of San Pedro High School receiving a cash bonus of $200 each for all the hard work they do in educating the youth of Ambergris Caye. Click on How Big is Ambergris Caye? to see January donation along with some great Ambergris aerial pictures by photographer L Kelly Jones. They give a good visual of length and just how narrow the island is in some spots.

March Flight Code For a Cause – horizon

A hematology analyzer for the Polyclinic was chosen as the March cause. This is a much-needed piece of machinery by the Poly Clinic in order decrease the time it takes to get blood testing completed. It will be of great benefit to the residents of the island. Hematology analyzers are used to run tests on blood samples such as for white blood cell counts, complete blood counts, and coagulation tests.  Currently, without the machine, it takes 2-3 days to get blood test results. The hematology analyzer will allow the clinic to give blood test results in 1-2 hours. The goal is $45,000. If the full amount is not raised in March, the effort will continue in April.A portion of all Tropic Air flights (click on the link for step by step instructions) booked with the flight code – horizon will go towards the all-important hematology analyzer as chosen by Blue Water Grill Community Effort. You can also visit BWG and donate in person while enjoying a delicious meal and the great view as seen above. Click through to read traveler reviews of Blue Water Grill Restaurant. If you want to know what’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner, visit Blue Water Menus page, you will also find desserts, cocktail and wine selection as well as daily specials.

Palapa Bar and Grill

As much as I wanted to attend the benefit concert and help the Sunshine Scholarship Foundation, I also wanted to see what the Palapa Bar looked like with fancy decor. My friend Lara had volunteered to decorate and got full permission to cover any signs and work her magic on turning the trademark graffiti signed tables into Broadway worthy seating. Eiden Salazar of Reef Radio and TV was MC for the night and he did a great job. Of course, the star of the show Sean McDermott kept the crowd entertained with his world-renowned Broadway-style singing. He gave a heartfelt tribute to his dad Corry McDermott, who was a great encouragement to Sean. Corry was well known in San Pedro not only in real estate, but he was also a philanthropist and a comedic writer. He always had a good story to tell. Thankfully Frank, who I was meeting at the show had snagged us a table. We got our raffle tickets and while we did not make a monthly pledge, still put a few dollars in the envelope then got put in a fancy white bird cage. Since the event was fairly early we decided to have dinner. He opted for fish and I had the pulled pork sandwich. It was so tasty that I devoured it before even thinking of taking a picture – you will just have to go taste test for yourself 🙂 Find out why travelers say Palapa Bar and Grill is a great place to put on your San Pedro weekend to do list. There is no shortage of fun there with float tubes a great hangout dock and regular live music.

Benefit Concert

The fundraiser was a success. The grand total is still to come when the silent auction tabulations are finished. The 50/50 draw grossed $390 as the winner, Annette Hall contributed her share to the cause. The lucky winner of the door prize American Airline tickets for two was Doug Boulay. The Sunshine Foundation would like to thank all the prize donors and people that came together to make this event happen. Prize Donors: Yolo/Island Dream Tours, Victoria House, Pink Boutique, Corona Del Mar, Ecologic Divers, Suya Tours, Oasis Spa, Amigos del Mar, San Pedro Fitness Club, Billy Bones Pool Bar, Tropic Air, Caye Coffee, Banyan Bay, Coco Beach Resort, Romantic Travel Belize, Palapa Bar, and Columbia University. People that helped: Scott and Jodie/Palapa Bar, Lara Goldman/Romantic Travel Belize, Teacher Addy and her staff at Isla Bonita Elementary School, Jack Burnett, Bill and Connee Law, and Reef Radio. To date, they have raised money for 14 school scholarships. Whatever the total is from this fundraiser (coming soon) will continue to help more kids in need, get an education – which is priceless.

Fine Dining atmosphere comes to the Palapa Bar for a few hours courtesy of Lara at Romantic Travel Belize. I did not get a picture of it but the only sign that did not get covered over was a Philadelphia Eagles Flag that was off to the side 😀

Rojo Lounge and Beach Bar

Looking for gourmet pizza with a view? Look no further. Rojo Lounge and Beach Bar have you covered. The garlic, bacon, shrimp, white pizza is so yummy. It is true for some size matters, especially when it comes to shrimp. We got big tasty nuggets and they did not skimp, I counted at least 11. My friends Cindy, Cherie, Karen and two half pints Tesla and Tinker and I had originally gone there for tacos (also delicious) and really this was a spin-off invitation from Vivian when I was tracking down info from both her and Matt (who also wanted us to come hear them play) for my March Events Calendar. Matt and his cousin DJ Roots from Montreal were laying down some great tracks and totally made us feel like we were away on vacation at a chic beach lounge. The half pints immediately took to the pool and the rest of us amused ourselves and enjoyed the music. We all thought it was well worth the drive north but don’t take our word for it. Rojo is a stylish beach lounge, with a swimming dock, snorkeling, plunge pool, cards games, darts, giant Jenga, beer pong and a pool table. Rojo Bar has specialty Belize rums on tap. From Traveller’s Distillery, Don Omario Royal and 5 Barrel as well as award-winning Tiburon Rum. In addition to their all the time yummy food menu, they also do a sushi kitchen on Saturdays.

The only thing missing was falling into a nice fresh resort bed after the experience. Taking home 3 slices of pizza, however, softened the blow 😀 After dropping the youngsters off at Mixed Martial Arts, Cindy and Cherie dropped Karen and I off at our places. For me it was it was back to the other side of the tracks and night number 2 of late night political parties at Louis Sylvester Stadium beside my apartment. You know you are getting old when late-night politics parties get too noisy. Giving away a couple of $100 bills as prizes and those $2 election beer specials really get the crowds hyped up.

Pier 366 Seafood House

Last but not least, on Sunday I was invited to breakfast at Pier 366 on the water (located at Banyan Bay) for a Ruta Maya 2018 logistics meeting. It was a gorgeous day so I opted to walk from town. It took me about 30 minutes on the road. I was secretly hoping to hitch a ride but not disappointed that I didn’t as the walk there and back gave me a good hour of exercise. By the time I arrived, I was more than ready for eggs over, with bacon, potatoes, and fried jacks. It came with watermelon and strawberry jam which was a nice change as I usually do butter and honey drizzled over my fried jacks. My breakfast also came with a lesson. As Tinker raced up to the table and saw the plate that was just set in front of me, I learned that I am in like Flynn as far as she is concerned, barely gave me a look as she reached over and pinched a piece of my bacon. This is a great spot to go if you want a reasonably priced breakfast away from it all but not too far. The staff was very accommodating. Find out what other foodies thought of their Pier 366 Seafood House experience.

*2024 update Pier 366 is now the Dock Restaurant.

Breakfast turned into a very leisurely event with lounge chair time, canoe practice and Hobie cat rides. Of course, I was definitely one of the loungers 😀