...Boy, the SB server's a bit sluggish today. Anyway, Ron,
I don't remember seeing the Paradise, but that probably just means it's southeast of the dive shop. The Sunset Shores is Northwest along the shore and the beach at that stretch ended right past it.
As for dinner, as long as you're shelling out the bucks, you may want to take the minute and a half ferry ride to Young Island and dine in one of their outdoor thatched mini bungaloes. The food and the service are superb. Bill can help set you up.
Almost equally good, though, was a place called the Lime Pub, very close to the dive shop, just below the main road. Here's an entry from my trip journal, in what turns out to be August 2002, not 2001:
Sure enough, there's a road slanting down towards the Pub which I missed on the way, not having seen the sign yet. Once through the entrance breezeway, I'm met immediately by a lovely server who escorts me to my table and provides me with a menu. It looks just great, with a multitude of possibilities. She's very sweet as she explains the choices and offers suggestions. Soon, she's introduced herself as Ayasha, after asking me my name. We have a fairly lengthy conversation, broken up into each of her visits to serve or clear my Martini, Escargot with hazelnut and garlic butter, Pumpkin soup, and main course of Lime and Caper Kingfish. All are delicious, including the conversation, which ranges from Ayasha's goal of visiting her brother in Toronto, which apparently has a substantial Vincentian population, to the state of Vincentian education, to the rich foreigners who are buying up property in the Grenadines and then refusing entry to locals.
Ron, I'm sure you're gonna love SV. Especially if you have a macro lens on your vidcam! Say hello to the frog fish for me and to Bill Tewes (I see him fairly frequently at the Ft. Lauderdale dive shows).
Best,