Tuesday, March 19, 2024

ANTIGUA

On Tuesday February 27th we packed up at the beautiful St. Maarten home and headed to the airport.  Our next destination was Antigua!  We got to fly on Winn Air, and it was a short thirty minute flight over.  


We landed in Antigua mid afternoon and got our cars and headed to dinner in St. John's.  We were all hungry, and even though it was the opposite way to our rental, we decided to get some food.  We ate at Hemingways Restaurant overlooking the busy street and enjoyed getting filled up after a day of traveling.  We then traveled to the other side of the island to our rental for the next week.  We rented another beautiful house with a pool.  This one was not as big as the other but was still really nice.  The whole back wall consisted of sliding glass doors that opened up into right out to the pool, patio, table, and Brad and Ruth's room.  It brought in a nice breeze with the trade winds so we always left them open during the day.  We had a nice view of the infinity pool looking over the inlet from the Caribbean Sea.

There were not many restaurants close to the home, unlike St. Maarten, but we sure enjoyed the emptiness of the area coming from a really busy place in comparison.  It was on a quiet and beautiful street with other, (mostly empty) homes.  We enjoyed some time in the pool even though it was a little chilly.



On Wednesday the 28th, our second night, we drove about twenty minutes to a beach bar at supposedly one of the nicest beaches in the world.  It had a lot of seaweed and some pretty rough waves.  I, for sure didn't think it was one of the nicest beaches in the world, but it was pretty.  We got some food from a seemingly limited menu and then went out to the beach with Darla and DeeAnn while Brad and Ruth went back to the house.

We enjoyed some time in the water for about an hour and then went back to the house, as well.
Here's DeeAnn getting some sun.


                                                     Rick and I enjoying the beach!


On Thursday February 29th, with Darla and DeeAnn, we drove over to Willikies to the natural bridge built by the ominous sea waves.  We walked around there for a while and enjoyed the beautiful crashing waves.

Brad and Ruth came a little after us.  Afterwards, we found a really nice beach about five minutes away (called Long Bay Beach) and enjoyed an afternoon of swimming and sunning. (no pictures of that:( 








After staying a while at the pretty beach, we decided to meet Brad and Ruth in St. John's and had some local cuisine at Alligators Restaurant.  They had delicious drinks along with tasty food.



Friday March 1st,  Rick and I had scheduled a snorkel trip on a catamaran.  It was a beautiful day to be on the water and we really enjoyed our day.


We got to pass the big cruise ships on the pier.


It is always so nice being on a catamaran.  There were a lot of people on this boat but that's ok.  I'll take it if it means I get to be on the water.  Every time we go on a boat ride I think about getting our own boat to enjoy.
Maybe someday......





We got to stop at Deep Bay Beach and swim for awhile.
We enjoyed the water!😉






After our boat ride we got back to the house in time to get showered up for a nice dinner at Rokuni Restaurant not too far from our hotel.  It had some great asian food, and we enjoyed our time there.  One bad thing that happened while we were there...  Ruth fell off a step and landed right on the floor.  What a blessing it was that she did not get hurt too badly.  The restaurant called and checked up on her the next day, which was very nice of them.
This was one of our more expensive meals, but Darla paid for us so that was ok. HAHA!  
Just kidding.  That was super nice of her!


 Saturday, March 2nd Rick and I went on a shopping excursion to St. John's.  I bought a white dress and a new white skirt plus a bell and an anklet.  Rick met up with a member of the Church who owns a shop where we were shopping.  He started talking with her because we heard the hymn, "I Need Thee Every Hour" coming from her phone.  I went off and continued my shopping spree, so we got separated but eventually found each other.  

We stopped and got some fries and rested our feet before driving over to English Harbor where the others had eaten lunch.

We met up at the Yacht Club and had an al fresco dinner overlooking the big beautiful yachts.


Afterwards, Rick and I drove a little further around the harbor and found this cute beach.  We watched the sun set and got our feet wet.  It was a nice ending to a nice day.  We went back to the house and everyone watched "What's Up Doc" while I read my book in our room.




Sunday March 3rd

Sunday was nice.  We met up with Gloria, the the lady that Rick had met in the marketplace.
We had to get a picture with her.


We came right home and got started on our Sunday meal.
We had spaghetti, salad, bread, and veggies.
It was delish!


Monday, March 4th was our last full day on the island.  We went to the Betty's Hope Plantation, a self guided walk around the plantation ruins.  Inside the little museum there was a diorama of how the plantation looked in slave days.  It was very interesting.





After the plantation we decided to go back to Willikies for lunch.  We ordered hot dogs/burgers and of course, had to top it off with ice cream.  We then headed back to the Long Bay beach for one last hurrah!


After the beach we went back to St. John's for our last dinner at Hemingway's Restaurant.
It was a very nice evening!

Tuesday, March 5th was the day that we packed up all of our stuff from our two week long vacation and got ready to leave.  We got a few pictures of us in front of the house and out by the pool.
We loved our stay here.  The Caribbean is so beautiful and is always a good choice for vacationing.




We flew back into Atlanta for an overnighter and then got up early for our flight back home.  What a wonderful time we all had together.  It is so nice to spend time with those you love, especially when we are all in such a beautiful place!  Until next time.....

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