Traveling to Antigua and Day 1

Looking out the window at the beautiful water and islands...can you see it?
Despite the circumstances of the passport I got a shot of us on the plane to Antigua
There it is!!!

We got through customs and are cleared! Big smiles!!!

Our Bathroom...notice no shower door or curtains...and it leads to our deck
Beautiful room...we really did need that mosquito net!

Our view from our place! I am standing on the side of plunge pool

On our beach! This was the only day it rained...beautiful clouds!

Trying to take it all in!

our beach from the water!

So warm and amazing!

Mike was in heaven!

Our beautiful sunset...there were so many awesome shells on the beach!

Our trip to Antigua started off an adventure. I was so prepared and anxious about getting Mike's passport in time for the trip that I didn't even think about mine. We got to the airport 2 hours early like we should and I was scanning my passport for my ticket. It displayed my name on the kiosk while it was finding the ticket and it read Elissa B Markin...yup my heart sank! Mike was very reassuring that everything was going to be ok somehow and it kept me from crying. The first lady to help us pretty much denied us, but the supervisor was incredible! There is so much more to this story, but if we hadn't gotten there early and seen this supervisor we wouldn't have been able to get on that plane. I was able to travel with my military ID and an affidavit saying I am who I am. We got to the terminal with about 20 minutes to spare. I knew I wasn't going to feel at ease until we were in Antigua and to on our way to our resort. I was also worried about the trip back because that is where we would have a hard time according to the AA supervisor! We travelled from 7:30 pm on wednesday till 3:00 pm on Thursday. We had a long layover in Chicago, but was able to stay at the USO. So as were were flying to Antigua it was amazing...seeing this water so blue and beautiful islands with colored water all around it! It was amazing! There was a customs sheet to fill out for Antigua and because they don't check US ID's or boarding passes I just marked my name as Markin and we were good! The moment we stepped out of the airport I gave mike a big smile, kiss and a hug!

Of course it started raining when we got there, but it was so warm and beautiful that we hardly noticed. Our taxi ride to the resort was good, we met another couple Jim and Brooke who are probably in their 50's and have travelled to the Caribbean many times. They ended up being our "Frank and Beans" of the trip (for those who watch the office!) The island wasn't what I expected but then again I really didn't know what to expect. Antigua is actually pronounce Ant-ee-ga and the main language is English...but very broken. It looked like poverty to me but of course I am comparing it too the US...for them it probably wasn't though! But like here there were nice parts and more run down parts of the island. St. John the capital is very touristy and had many little shops. We were in the southwest corner of the island and very secluded. We couldn't just walk to a town or nightlife...only taxi there which was expensive.

We got to the resort and was blown away. Over the time there I became more and more convinced that we had picked the best resort there! Perfect beach, incredible food, and the room was to die for. I can't believe that we didn't get a picture of the outside of our "cottage" but just imagine a country looking light blue house with the secret garden around it. So many flowers! Our deck had a hammock and then our own PRIVATE plunge pool. So cool!

After we got settled in our room (dropped our suitcases and ran) we went to the beach. I haven't ever been anywhere tropical so I was just blown away. So much beauty and warmth! I could care less if the water ran over my feet because it was so warm! It was 5 at night and we went swimming...i loved it!

We first chose to not do all inclusive because we wanted to explore the island and it's food, however, we learned quickly that evening that it was going to really cost us to do that every day. So all-inclusive it was and we were very grateful for that! Well, that is it for the first day or half day...can't wait to share about tomorrow!

(by the way, this song Forever became our theme for the trip. Ever since I heard it this summer and it was on the Office all I could think about was Antigua when I heard it and all the fun we would have! So I thought you should enjoy it all!)