See the umbrella in the background of this photo? It is completely collapsed and the guy is basically hiding behind it. He was so frustrated and angry that he just plopped down into his beach chair and threw a towel over his head...We saw this numerous times....This would have been us, but our good friends Curt and Lorrie filled us in on their canopy secret. Curt took a few tries to get it right. We didn't have to go through all of that, so thank GOD for them!
Sometimes the winds are too much for an umbrella. Caribbean traveling isn't always like your all-inclusive resort that provides chairs and shade, or like Florida where you can rent one for the day. Brad and I want to get off the beaten path and visit beaches less populated, so we opted for the packable canopy that fits perfectly in a checked bag.
I saw many individuals downright ANGRY about their umbrellas collapsing under the wind. You can't use the palms either. It doesn't matter whether they are on the ground or not. In fact, signs are posted to leave the flora and fauna alone. This rule may be different on other islands, but to be honest, who wants to f$%k with something that's already a bad situation because of us??? Polluting our Earth is a separate rant...We will leave that one alone...
Items needed for a canopy:
4 expandable painting poles
4 pieces of pvc pipe cut into 2 foot long sections
1 king sheet
4 pillow cases
4 golf balls
4 bungee cords
Buy 50 feet of cord
***We made sure we had extra bungees and cord just in case
Instructions:
*After cutting the pvc pipe to 2 ft. sections, drill a hole in the middle portion of the pvc pipe and put a screw through with a bolt to stop the paint pole from going to the bottom. Your pvc pipe is for the sand, the paint pole is for the canopy legs and to give the canopy height.
*I recommend sewing the golf balls into the corners of the sheet. One of our golf balls fell out in the wind and almost cracked me in the skull!
*Tie Dye your sheets and pillow cases for a fun and beachy feel! I started a tradition where we wrote the date, where we were, and our names. Hopefully we get to fill it up with places!
Instructions for set-up:
*Put the pvc pipe deep into the sand.
*Put the paint poles into the pvc pipe and expand.
*Connect the sheet by way of bungee to the paint pole by wrapping the bungee around the pole and the golf ball.
*Tie some cord to the top of the pole and attach it to a pillow case that has been filled with sand.
It only takes a few minutes to set up and it keeps the beer in the cooler cold!
I'm a woman, and I'm sure my instructions aren't that great...but you can zoom in on the pictures and get a better idea :) We got this canopy idea from Curt and Lorrie who write the blog "After the Mortgage" so kudos to the canopy master! Go to his blog and check his canopy out...I'm positive its much better than our set up!
XOXO...Becky
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