Clouds and Cookouts

Monday, May 28, 2007
By Chelsea Young

It’s not always wild nights or an expensive dinner that creates a good time. Sometimes it’s the simpler things. Tired of spending money and wanting to savor the cool night after the sun had set, a few of us decided to have a cookout on the roof of Casa Alta Vista. Before class, Dawn, Angie, Jessica, and I made the 15-minute to the small grocery store in town. Stalking up on hot dogs, canned goods and chips we made our purchases and walked back, opening a Dorito’s bag along the way. After class we gathered up the food and took it to the roof. Kimberly and Haley met us there, and later, Kendal and Wes showed up with pizza.

A view of the Caribbean from the rooftop of Casa Alta Vista. This was taken before the night-time cookout.

The cooking got off to a slow start. For one, it was dark so we couldn’t see anything. Plus, we couldn’t get the grill to fire up. Finally we found candles and matches and got everything in order. With hot dogs and veggie burritos (idea courtesy of Angie), we all sat down to a table of chips and salsa and crackers and cheese to talk and relax after a day of travel and class. All was well; some ate hot dogs while Angie and I ate the burritos.

Sitting back I made a comment saying, “It’s raining” and Dawn said, “It’s just sprinkling.” Not a minute later the sprinkles because a downpour and in a frantic we all jumped up, grabbed what we could and ran downstairs. Moments later I went to the roof again to grab more, prepared to battle the storm, only to discover that the rain had stopped as soon as it had started. This was depressing because I’m sure we could have all stayed on the roof a lot longer.

Even though our time was short and sweet, it was nice to stay in and prepare our own dinner overlooking the waters of the Caribbean. Another plus? We all got to enjoy a Memorial Day cookout.