aaaaahhhh..... back from caribbean island ofAntigua (pronounced An-tee'ga) and I'm sporting a sun kissed tan and a relaxed "island" attitude, (as in, no worries, slow paced, relaxed mind set) Well see how long it lasts!
Antigua is an island in the west indies. It's the largest of the English-speaking Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, is about 14 miles long and 11 miles wide. It has 365 beaches (yes! a beach for every day of the year!) and was once Great Britain's most important Caribbean base. They have a cricket team and stadium, tourists consist of 70 percent British, 25 American, and 5 everything else, oh... and Prince Charles and Camila honeymooned here.
The trip started out pretty hectic. Last minute repacking, getting the dogs to the kennel on time, then checking in at the airport (which I thought would be a breeze since we were flying out on a Friday instead of Saturday). The airport was a mad house. Seems as if US Air canceled several flights up north due to the crazy bad weather that came out of nowhere all of the sudden. Lines were out the door, Boo looked at me and said "be prepared, we might miss our flight." I was determined to get on that plane anyway possible! After an hour in line (and 45 minutes to get thru security and to our gate) we finally get to the ticket counter. There was a big sign saying international check ins were being taken at a different counter. I choked down a bunch of curse words and was prepared to have the ticket agent WALK me over to the, now riduculously long lines for check in. (Oh... and I tried to print out the tickets online before hand, but b/c it was international, US Air would not let me) She didn't make us switch lines :) However, there was a problem with the tickets. Seems as if when I purchased them, I put in our last names as our first and our first names as our last, so it didn't match our passports. Oops.... Ticket agent was able to fix Boo's, but had a problem with mine. He got his both of his boarding passes (we had a 2 hour layover in St. Martin) and she was only able to print out my boarding pass to St. Martin. I had to stand in line in St. Martin to get my boarding pass to Antigua. aaaarrrggg! I'll worry about it later... I'm officially on vacation.
The trip started out pretty hectic. Last minute repacking, getting the dogs to the kennel on time, then checking in at the airport (which I thought would be a breeze since we were flying out on a Friday instead of Saturday). The airport was a mad house. Seems as if US Air canceled several flights up north due to the crazy bad weather that came out of nowhere all of the sudden. Lines were out the door, Boo looked at me and said "be prepared, we might miss our flight." I was determined to get on that plane anyway possible! After an hour in line (and 45 minutes to get thru security and to our gate) we finally get to the ticket counter. There was a big sign saying international check ins were being taken at a different counter. I choked down a bunch of curse words and was prepared to have the ticket agent WALK me over to the, now riduculously long lines for check in. (Oh... and I tried to print out the tickets online before hand, but b/c it was international, US Air would not let me) She didn't make us switch lines :) However, there was a problem with the tickets. Seems as if when I purchased them, I put in our last names as our first and our first names as our last, so it didn't match our passports. Oops.... Ticket agent was able to fix Boo's, but had a problem with mine. He got his both of his boarding passes (we had a 2 hour layover in St. Martin) and she was only able to print out my boarding pass to St. Martin. I had to stand in line in St. Martin to get my boarding pass to Antigua. aaaarrrggg! I'll worry about it later... I'm officially on vacation.
Flight over to St. Martin was a breeze. The island itself looked pretty nice and the airport was really small, so as soon as we got off, checked through cu
stoms and security, off I went to get my boarding pass from Winn Air. Well, same issue. They could not print out the ticket b/c my name didn't match the passport. After 30 minutes, they just decided to let it go and print it off the way it was. We had 20 mins to board the plane so and it had been 7 hours since we had anything to eat, so we decided to split a small pizza and a couple of beers at the little restaruant in front of our gate. We ordered two "Presidente" beers and waited for our super small pizza to come out. Boo was like "what the hell." It literally looked like a bagel bite. So small that the four slices it was cut into could easily be one bite. I just laughed and promised him a 4 course dinner when we got to our resort in 40 minutes. Well, we checked in at the gate (no problem), were taken to the tarmac, (no problem), walk about 1/4 mile out to our plane (no problem), were boarded onto this tiny propeller plane that seats 12 (scary! I've never been on a plane so little, let alone one with propellers!!!) we get buckled in (no problem) oh... and I forgot to mention, when we left, it was around 35-40 degrees so I was in long pants and a sweater. St. Martin was a nice toasty 85 degrees so I was pouring sweating and the plane had no AC. (Here comes the problem) After 20 minutes, the pilot (whom I can see 5 feet away from me) gets on the intercom and tells us that St. Martin is not giving permission for Winn Air to fly out tonight and that we may need to fly out in the morning, or possibly, if they can talk to the air traffic controllers, get us out of here in 2 hours. (WHAAAATTT!!!!!!) They make us 
deplane, walk the hot tarmac the 1/4 mile back to the airport, and back to the waiting area. Boo and I decide if we have 2 hours, we'll just walk around the duty free shops and look for a better dinner place. Well as luck would have it, the shops were beginning to close up for the night (6pm). We were on the otherside of the airport (now granted the airport is small, we can see our gate from the other end) when we hear over the intercom that our flight has permission to fly out, but we must board immediately. Boo and I look at one another, I check my watch (it's only been 15 minutes) and take off running to the gate. We are the last people to check in, everyone is already loading on the plane while we are huffing it down the tarmac. Because we were the last ones, we weren't able to get a seat together on the plane. So Boo sits with this little Antiguan girl that falls asleep on him the entire 40 min flight. I got to sit up front (close enough to reach out and touch the pilot) next to a British dude that has nothing but snippy comments to make about the situation. (in my best British accent) "all this political unrest in St. Martin is just aaaaaawful. This bloody strike is becoming a sore...." and on and on he went. I wanted to tell him to stowe it and just relax, it's typical island stuff. But being the polite American that I am. I smile, say nothing, ignore him, and start flipping thru my Marie Claire Magazine I brought. Whatever, I am on vacation and damn if I'm going to let a little delay ruin my mood.
stoms and security, off I went to get my boarding pass from Winn Air. Well, same issue. They could not print out the ticket b/c my name didn't match the passport. After 30 minutes, they just decided to let it go and print it off the way it was. We had 20 mins to board the plane so and it had been 7 hours since we had anything to eat, so we decided to split a small pizza and a couple of beers at the little restaruant in front of our gate. We ordered two "Presidente" beers and waited for our super small pizza to come out. Boo was like "what the hell." It literally looked like a bagel bite. So small that the four slices it was cut into could easily be one bite. I just laughed and promised him a 4 course dinner when we got to our resort in 40 minutes. Well, we checked in at the gate (no problem), were taken to the tarmac, (no problem), walk about 1/4 mile out to our plane (no problem), were boarded onto this tiny propeller plane that seats 12 (scary! I've never been on a plane so little, let alone one with propellers!!!) we get buckled in (no problem) oh... and I forgot to mention, when we left, it was around 35-40 degrees so I was in long pants and a sweater. St. Martin was a nice toasty 85 degrees so I was pouring sweating and the plane had no AC. (Here comes the problem) After 20 minutes, the pilot (whom I can see 5 feet away from me) gets on the intercom and tells us that St. Martin is not giving permission for Winn Air to fly out tonight and that we may need to fly out in the morning, or possibly, if they can talk to the air traffic controllers, get us out of here in 2 hours. (WHAAAATTT!!!!!!) They make us 
deplane, walk the hot tarmac the 1/4 mile back to the airport, and back to the waiting area. Boo and I decide if we have 2 hours, we'll just walk around the duty free shops and look for a better dinner place. Well as luck would have it, the shops were beginning to close up for the night (6pm). We were on the otherside of the airport (now granted the airport is small, we can see our gate from the other end) when we hear over the intercom that our flight has permission to fly out, but we must board immediately. Boo and I look at one another, I check my watch (it's only been 15 minutes) and take off running to the gate. We are the last people to check in, everyone is already loading on the plane while we are huffing it down the tarmac. Because we were the last ones, we weren't able to get a seat together on the plane. So Boo sits with this little Antiguan girl that falls asleep on him the entire 40 min flight. I got to sit up front (close enough to reach out and touch the pilot) next to a British dude that has nothing but snippy comments to make about the situation. (in my best British accent) "all this political unrest in St. Martin is just aaaaaawful. This bloody strike is becoming a sore...." and on and on he went. I wanted to tell him to stowe it and just relax, it's typical island stuff. But being the polite American that I am. I smile, say nothing, ignore him, and start flipping thru my Marie Claire Magazine I brought. Whatever, I am on vacation and damn if I'm going to let a little delay ruin my mood. So the puddle jumper wasn't as bad as I had envisioned. No bouncing around in the sky, no loud wind whizzing through the plane, and the propellers didn't break d
own in mid air causing our plane to spiral dive into the caribbean sea. We made it to Antigua, go thru customs, and find our Sandals rep who whisks us away to our resort. We arrive 15 minutes later to a steel drum band greeting us at the entrance. The front desk rep hands us a chilled glass of champagne while the bell hop takes our luggage. Before I can finish my glass of bubbly, we are checked in and floating to the beat of the steel
drums down to our room. We find we have been "upgraded" in our room category and are excited to see our new (beachfront!!!!) room. After we check out our rooms, we decide to grab a late dinner at the British pub called Cricketers, on the resort. It's quick, easy, and lively. The pub is decorated in dark wood, green upholstery, and cricket memorabilia. Exactly as I would picture an English pub to look like. Boo gets a coke and I order a local Antiguan beer, Wadadli and a goat cheese and carmelized onion croquet appetizer. We sit back and enjoy the pub atmosphere. Lots of people are already tanned and having a great time. We gobble down our appetizer and order dinner. I had prime rib with yorkshire pudding (which I've never tried, but really liked). I wanted boo to try "bangers and mash" because the name sounded interesting, or the "fish and chips", but he got Tandoori Chicken which was really spicy! We were so wiped out, we decided to head back to the room and crash, but not before we dipped our toes in the ocean. We walked down to the beach, took off our shoes, and walked along the shore back to our room, letting the cool water lap around our ankles. Imagine our surprise when we discovered we had turn down service while we were out to dinner. Nice touch. More about our week in the next post.
own in mid air causing our plane to spiral dive into the caribbean sea. We made it to Antigua, go thru customs, and find our Sandals rep who whisks us away to our resort. We arrive 15 minutes later to a steel drum band greeting us at the entrance. The front desk rep hands us a chilled glass of champagne while the bell hop takes our luggage. Before I can finish my glass of bubbly, we are checked in and floating to the beat of the steel
drums down to our room. We find we have been "upgraded" in our room category and are excited to see our new (beachfront!!!!) room. After we check out our rooms, we decide to grab a late dinner at the British pub called Cricketers, on the resort. It's quick, easy, and lively. The pub is decorated in dark wood, green upholstery, and cricket memorabilia. Exactly as I would picture an English pub to look like. Boo gets a coke and I order a local Antiguan beer, Wadadli and a goat cheese and carmelized onion croquet appetizer. We sit back and enjoy the pub atmosphere. Lots of people are already tanned and having a great time. We gobble down our appetizer and order dinner. I had prime rib with yorkshire pudding (which I've never tried, but really liked). I wanted boo to try "bangers and mash" because the name sounded interesting, or the "fish and chips", but he got Tandoori Chicken which was really spicy! We were so wiped out, we decided to head back to the room and crash, but not before we dipped our toes in the ocean. We walked down to the beach, took off our shoes, and walked along the shore back to our room, letting the cool water lap around our ankles. Imagine our surprise when we discovered we had turn down service while we were out to dinner. Nice touch. More about our week in the next post. 
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