Walk This Way

With so many new Helpers, we are shifting the project work into high gear.  This last week, we kicked off a new project called “Walk This Way.” 

Between the restaurant and the beach is a large grassy area, which I have described before -- there are a couple of large trees, our new bar and seating area, and the kayak parking lot.  A few cement stepping-stones extend part way across this lush green landscape.

We thought it would look nice to have a clear, clean path from the restaurant to the beach, and a second path from the main path to the bar.  So, that was the objective of “Walk this Way.”

Over the next several days, we toiled in the hot sun, digging up the grass and dirt, and hauling and spreading sand from the beach.  The four guys focused on this part of the project, taking turns at each position and with each tool.

The two women focused on gathering coral from the beach and lining the edges of the walkway with soft-ball sized chunks of coral.   They used a kayak to transport the coral from one end of the beach to the other.

We also redid the steps down to the beach from the grassy area.  The old steps were narrow and steep.  We doubled the width (using two cement stepping-stones for each step), and added another step to make the climb a bit easier and safer.

Between the bar area and walkways, we’ve moved a lot of dirt, grass, and sand.  The yard is really looking good.  I’m glad we made the bar area a bit larger.  The additional seating area will be fantastic once we install the long wooden table and put some colorful mats down in the sand. The walkways add a clean look to the yard, not to mention a safe way to get to/from the beach.  We have certainly seen snakes and other creatures lurking in the grass, so having the nice sandy path is a good idea.

One challenge will be to keep these areas clean and neat.  I’ve already seen monkeys and children playing in these would-be sandboxes.  And I’ve seen the local kitty take pleasure in what might be the largest litter box on the planet…

Breaking ground on the walkway to the beach!

A clever way to transport coral from one end of the beach to the other.

The walkway from the restaurant to the beach.  Sand, lined with coral.  This will be a lot better than trudging across the long grass which may hide snakes, frogs, centipedes, and other interesting characters...

Fork in the road.  The path between restaurant, beach, and bar.

We built new and improved steps down to the beach, too.  (In this picture, we aren't quite done, but close enough to give you the idea.)