Thursday, June 30, 2011

Life's a Beach

After complaining the first few days we were here about rain and little sunshine, the last two days have been amazing. We've spent our time sightseeing a little, exercising a little, eating a little, and lying on the beach a lot.

The waters in Antigua are the most beautiful I've seen. I've been to Hawaii...five islands in Hawaii and while the water is beautiful, it doesn't quite out do the water here. I've also seen the water in Cancun, Mexico, St. Maarten, Florida, and California. St. Maarten is a close second to the beauty of the water in Antigua.

We are staying in Jolly Harbour. The bay is tranquil. It's calm, relaxing, soothing, everything a beach should be in my opinion. The waters light up when the sun hits them, every shade of aqua blue you can imagine. It looks as if lights have been turned on under the water to create a vast pattern of sparkling beauty. I love hearing the small waves crash on the sand...it sounds like an outburst of applause the quickly comes and goes every time a wave hits the sand. It's a sound and sight that I shall never tire of. The best part is that I have my husband here with me to share the beauty of the beach with me. It may be cliche to say, but hey...life is a beach. :)

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Antigua, Days 3 and 4

Well, what can I say? We have visited Antigua right in the middle of a tiny rainy season I guess. It has rained, I kid you not, every day since we have arrived. Twice, middle of the night rains have been so torrential that they have awaken me from a dead sleep.
A local on the beach yesterday said to us that the rain is just liquid sunshine. Yeah right.
Eddie and I find ourselves saying, "Quick! The sun in out...let's get on the beach." to only find that in the five minutes it took us to gather up our things and get out there, another rain shower has moved in and taken our sunshine away. Yesterday after the 4th attempt at some beach time, I gave up, came inside and took a shower and put on regular clothes. Amazingly enough, it felt awesome to put a bra on. lol!
The forecast today said that we would have a 40% chance of rain in the AM. The sun in shining currently and it's the AM...perhaps I should get off blogger and get out in that sun.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Antigua, Days 1 and 2

So, we finally arrived in Antigua for our big 2011 summer vacation. We are missing Little Eddie, by the way. :( We had to circle the island for 30 minutes before finally getting to land because of major backups at the airport. Those major backups also translated to major backups in the immigration line. At times, it seemed as if the line wasn't even moving. They had two lines open for citizens of Antigua and 4 lines open for all the other visitors of Antigua. Seemed kind of lopsided to me. Anyway, because of this, we were forced to stand in line for over an hour before getting our bags, car, driver's license, and heading to the condo.

Upon first observation, we immediately found that the people of Antigua are not friendly...there is no ALOHA here! I find this to be strange because their economy on the island is directly dependent upon tourism. This was initially a turn off to me, but I've gotten over it. Hey...it's a chance to be rude, right? :)
So, our first day on the island was all about getting the things done that we needed to. We unpacked, went to the grocery to pick up fresh items to eat, explored the resort, then settled in for a good night's sleep.

Day 2 was more relaxing. Eddie talked me into a 40 minute run on the beach. He even wanted to go to the gym later on in the afternoon, but the gym is closed from 11 to 4 in the afternoon. Weird, right? After the run, we got hooked up with two beach chairs and spent the rest of the morning soaking in the sun. The sun's rays are intense here, which is to be expected I guess since we are closer to the equator here. After a tuna sandwich lunch, we went for a drive down to Shirley's Heights. This is the highest place on the island of Antigua and was used as a lookout for the English Military when they occupied the island. The old lookout is now converted into a restaurant and they have live steel music every Sunday. We did go on Sunday, but were too early for the music. It's a nice place...would like to go back.
After an hour or so at the pool, we ventured back to the room for some rum punch. Eddie has already perfected his concoction and I'm looking forward to having more rum punch tonight!

It looks as if we are going to be here when it rains...a lot. Cross your fingers that the forecast will change and we will be blessed with a lot of sunshine.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Downs After Dark

So, last night I went to Churchill Downs for the first time in over a year with my husband's aunt, Judy. I love the track..the horses, the walk to the paddock, the call to post...and all the wagering that goes on. Last night was Downs After Dark. It's horse racing with a lot of drinking and partying going on...much like what I envision the infield to be like when it's Derby time. I managed to bet away $25 that I didn't have to lose, but I did strike it rich on a show, winning a whopping $0.40. :)
Judy, on the other hand, bet fantastically on the last 3/4 races and won big...she celebrated with me by buying me two beers and a cheeseburger and fries for herself. I snuck 5 fries out of the basket that she didn't plan on eating. I must say, track food is pretty good.
Judy likes to go to the track and goes often. I should take lessons from her on how to bet since she is so experienced. I hope to go again with her...maybe during the fall meet later on this year.
The only thing that was missing from Friday night's racing was my husband. The Downs is always more fun when he's around.
Have you ever had a horse racing experience? Comment back and let me know!

Friday, June 17, 2011

My First Attempt at Blogging

Just got a wild hair and decided to create a blog spot for myself...I plan to blog about my career, my married life, what I like to do for fun, keeping physically fit, and a wealth of other things. Hopefully someone out there will take something from what I write. I'm excited to start this journey!