Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

A quirky artist with a lot of talent. David Bowie also had one of the coolest band names around - "The Spiders From Mars." What an image that creates.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Just gonna have to be a different man

Time may change me

But I can't trace time

                                 -- Changes From the album Changes by David Bowie

Speaking of band names, that's something Dave Barry always keeps an ear out for too - although his choices usually are far different than mine.

This thread also brings to mind another song from the Way Back Machine - Buddy Miles and Carlos Santana doing My Mind's Been Going Through Them Changes. Ok. Enough wandering off topic. Especially since I haven't even started on the topic yet. On with the show.

Progress on the guesthouse is happening almost faster than I can keep up - which is a good thing. We also have changes occurring simultaneously beside the canal from our place all the way up to Doug and Twyla's.

Living Room/Kitchen Ceiling and Walls Done

With the picture above, you can see that the walls and ceiling in the living room and kitchen are finished with the plaster. You might be wondering, as was Dianna, when she asked me "Is there going to be another coat of plaster?" She asked that because it appears you can still see the individual blocks under the plaster coat. That's normal and is caused because the plaster coat dries as different rates on the block face or on the  mortar between each block. Once it all dries that image will go away and it will really look nice and smooth.

Plastering the Utility Room

 The last room of the guesthouse to be plastered is the utility room. This will also be where the pool toys and chemicals will be stored. Eventually, there will be a washing machine in there as well. The electrical panel is already in place and functioning. Soon to, will be the on-demand water heater.

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The next bit, going on at the same time as the plastering, is the grading of the vacant lots between us and Doug and Twyla's place.

As you can see below, the grader started up at their end and got it pretty well smoothed out. This morning, he showed up and started toward us, moving dirt away from the canal bank. Long overdue as the canal was dredged a little over three years ago.

The View from Doug and Twyla's

Spreading the spoils was part of that project and was supposed to have been completed shortly after the dredging. They had to wait some time for the spoils to leach out the excess moisture so that it could be spread. After three years, I'd say it was good to go.

 The Machine

Right about 8:00 AM, the machine was fired up and really made quite short work of the south half (toward us) of the job. The shot below shows the grader coming down our way. It's a nice 'before' shot to compare with the next following picture .

Grading the Spoils Pile

 By mid-morning, the grader was close to our place and by late this afternoon, I think they're ready to start in the morning on the far side of Elsie's lot.

The Canal From the Guesthouse Roof

 From this vantage point, the grading job almost looks like they've put in a road. Actually, it's just fill and will save the lot purchases some money as they begin filling their lots in preparation for building their version of paradise. Out lot, which is actually a half-lot, took about 52 dump truck loads of marl to get it to the desired level. Elsie's lot took, I think, about 57 or 58. Doug and Twyla, who have a full lot, took over 200 loads, so depending on what you want and need, you probably need to plan on bringing in significant loads of marl for fill.

On the other side of us, actually, on the other side of Elsie's lot, you can see they've done a lot of clearing there as well. The shot below gives you a good glimpse of the canal as it makes it's sharp left turn to head directly into Corozal Bay. So from our lot is not more than 150 yards, if that.

Ready For Grading on the Far Side

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Yesterday,  Doug and I went to Central Farm, near San Ignacio, to pick up some things Doug had had shipped down here by Sterling Freight (http://www.sterlingfreight.com/). We stopped off in Belmopan for gas and to visit Builder's Hardware (http://www.buildershardwarebelize.com/). I bought a huge jug of CLR cleaner. I also tried to get a replacement 5/64 bit with the Craftsman Speed-Lok quick-release end. Of course, they didn't have anything like that. I wasn't surprised they didn't have it. It's only one of the largest and best hardware stores in Belize. It was worth a shot. 

We also made a stop at the Mennonite-run Ultimate Herbal Health Food Store, where I bought a huge bottle of 1000-Mg vitamin C tablets. From there, we got back on the Western Highway heading south. We had a date at the Riverside Tavern with a couple of ice-cold mugs of Belikin Draft and the best burgers in Belize, bar-none.

After that, we headed home. Having left at 6:00 AM, we managed to travel almost 300 miles and still made it home by about 3:00 PM. After I hauled the booty up to the house, I looked for Dianna. Dianna, Yolanda (Cody's cousin) and Cody were all working hard, as you can tell by the photo below.

Cody, Yolanda and Dianna

Well, somebody has to supervise the guys doing the plastering, I guess. Well, might as well join them. I threw on my swimming suit and jumped in. Ahh, what a relief. It felt so refreshing.

Is It Worth the Ambience?

Yesterday, I went with Doug to Belize City. He needed to order a replacement battery for his solar setup, and I wanted to take a gander at Marab's housewares store. We both wanted to try lunch at the Riverside Tavern, which had been touted to us as having the best burger in Belize, beyond doubt.

After taking care of the battery business, we hunted up the Riverside.

So, Is it worth the ambience? Some would say yes, others would say no. Some couldn't decide to breathe if it wasn't set on automatic.

What I'm talking about is the vaunted burger at the Riverside Tavern in Belize City. We've been told by some folks that it's "the best burger in Belize - bar none!"

On the Riverside Tavern Deck

The place is immaculate. From the fenced, guarded and paved parking area, to the covered deck with a great view of the Belize River.

Looking Up- and Down- Stream At the Riverside

To the very nice looking and well-equipped bar area inside.

The Riverside's Bar

And their menu... What can you say? It's complete. Well, it has everything except for rice and beans.

Doug, Taking A Shot of the Riverside's Menu

The place is quite nice - exceptional by Belizean standards, in fact,it's the fanciest in my experience in Belize.

We got there a little after 11:00 AM. Their stated hours said they opened at 11:00, but they didn't till a smidge past 11:30. They were still in the throes of cleaning up from a party (halloween?) the night before that had over 300 guests. Must have been some bash.

The Riverside is the second place (Hailey's in Corozal being the other) in Belize that serves ice-cold draft Belikin. That was very refreshing.

Ahhhh - That Tastes Good!

Now to lunch. The Riverside burgers come in six, ten and sixteen oz sizes with all the trimming and fries too (we both opted for the habanero swiss cheese model with 6 oz. of prime beef). That made quite the meal. The burger and fries were $18.00 and beer was $5.00 a mug, GST goes on top of that. So, it's not a cheap lunch. But it was tasty and satisfying.

Would I eat at the Riverside again? Probably. Only for special occasions or if I was shopping at Marab's nearby. I certainly wouldn't drive all the way down to Belize City just for their burger. In fact, when I really analysed things, if you take away the ambience of the Riverside, what do you have? Hailey's.

Sure, the Riverside uses their own beef from their ranch down south, but when it's all said and done, a burger is a burger. Side by side, I'd have to say Hailey's and Riverside's burgers can pretty much go head to head.

The Riverside does have more options available for their burgers (cheeses, peppers, etc.), and the size options, whereas Hailey's has one size. Both come with fries, lettuce, and tomato. The Riverside includes dill pickle slices on the side. Size-wise, I'd say Hailey's is about par with the 6-oz bomber of the Riverside.

Both offer ice-cold draft Belikin.

Both offer off-street parking. The Riverside has it's lot guarded, Hailey's doesn't need that level of security.

Ease of access. For us, Hailey's wins hands-down. It's a two-hour drive to Belize City and then getting through all that congestion really bizarre and aggressive taxi drivers to the Riverside, makes you appreciate when you pull into their parking lot.

Hailey's loses on ambience. The Riverside has it in spades. It reminds me of an up-scale pub in the States. That's cool, but I'd rather have up-scale Caribbean/Belizean flavor than Red Robin/Outback/Kelsey's touches. On the other hand, Hailey's is right up there as far as Corozal ambience is concerned. It's clean, friendly, and natural feeling. I like that.

So, when you get right down to it, which one wins. I think the scales still have to tilt over to the Riverside for ambiance, selection, etc. But not much. On the other hand, I'm very glad that Hailey's is here in Corozal and within an easy walk's distance too, and, that their burger is as good as the six-oz. Riverside burger. I'm happy with that.

Just don't put too much head on that mug of Belikin, ok?