It’s hard to believe isn’t it? I mean, just hearing the name “Antigua” brings thoughts of palm trees, warm sunny days with cool ocean breezes, hundreds of beautiful beaches, blue skies and aqua water. Who in their right mind would be anxious to leave all that? Why would anyone be impatient with staying in a place that completely fits that description? Well, believe us. We are ready to go. We have places to get to and wanderlust has stricken. We need to get out of here, but the winds and waves have not cooperated over the last couple of weeks. They have held us captive to our Jolly Harbour Marina and we are getting antsy.

Colorful little beach shacks.Just another day at the beach.

Noi had her hair braided a couple of weeks ago and was ready to get rid of the braids and the extensions.  It turned into a three hour group project, but it kept us busy!Diane and Debbie working on the braids.Noi was frizzy when those braids came out, but it’s all back to normal now.We celebrated Larry’s birthday with a lobster bisque dinner followed by cake and ice cream.

We both suffered horrible colds when we arrived back from the states, so if there was good to be said about being here longer than we would have liked, at least we had lots of time to rest. We are feeling better now, thankfully, so to pass the time we have read, played around on the internet when the intermittent Wi-Fi was working, enjoyed happy hours with friends, had a couple of dinners out, traveled to town to buy lobsters and cooked them with our friends, celebrated Larry’s birthday, and, of course, spent time on the beach.

Betty’s Hope is an old sugar mill.  These are remnants of the master’s house.Enjoying our time together.  Left to right, Jack, Jean, Me, John, Carl, and AnnThe goats came to join the picnic area.Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.Eric Clapton’s Antigua home.From the same point as the previous photo, the view from Shirley Heights, the Caribbean Sea.  Large sunset parties are held here every Sunday night.  Cruisers tell us it is too crowded for comfort, but, obviously, it must be gorgeous.  The harbors here are English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour.These are the sail pillars at Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour.Nelson’s Dockyard has museums, shops, and lovely areas to see the mega-yachts docked there.Never beyond a little silliness!!

Yesterday, Tuesday the 17^th, just when we were really getting impatient I received a text from my brother, Jack. He and my sister-in-law, Jean, were traveling on a cruise with another couple.  Their ship was diverted from their planned stop in Montserrat to Antigua because the water was too rough at the anchorage. We were thrilled to be able to meet with them at the cruise dock and take an afternoon tour of the island, guided by our friendly taxi driver, Gene. We had a wonderful time seeing some of the sights we had not yet explored and being with Jack, Jean, Ann, and Carl.

It seems that Friday will finally be the day our little flotilla will pull out of the docks and continue on our northbound trek, and we are all busy stocking the cabinets and freezers again with supplies, completing projects such as oil changes, replenishing battery water, filling water tanks, and other endless tasks that need to be done before we leave. We can’t wait to get going again. Antigua, you were great, but it is time to leave!