We’ve been home for a week already and that just seems crazy. Since purchasing our flights in October, I had been looking forward to this trip and now it’s over and it’s on to life as usual…cue vacation blues Pandora station, please. Yes, I’d like cheese with my whine and I would also prefer short fiddle, long bow.
😉
This was the first time the fellow and I have been this far south in the Caribbean and I think it made us both realize that we’d love to travel even farther {that, and we’ve been watching Departures on Netflix…anyone wanting to get a serious case of the travel bug should check it out!}. This particular trip include the fellow and myself, our good friends Andrew & Calie, the out-laws Jesse & Laurie and their good friends/neighbors Troy and Jennie. Ten days, eight awesome people, sunshine, boasting 365 beaches, relaxation and little to no technology?! Yes. Please. Antigua, take me away!
 
Actually getting there, however, proved to be a bit more challenging that we initially anticipated, so we decided to work with Linda at Bursch Travel Agency in Northfield. I can’t say enough great things about this place! She found us great flights and answered all our travel questions-very cool.
As it seems to be nearly impossible to fly to Antigua without some kind of serious layover, we opted to stay a day/night in Miami in lieu of an overnight stay in the airport. Once arriving in the sunshine state, we snagged our bags and headed to the Everglades for an airboat tour! Blackwater Airboat Tours was so fun and a perfect way to kick off the vacation! Captain Jason was incredibly knowagable and friendly-his wife even picked us up at the airport and brought us back to the hotel. Very sweet. Plus, when you tour with Capt. Jason you only ride with your party {no awkward ‘getting to know you’ scenarios} and everyone gets a chance to drive. Rockin’ fun.
Next stop…Antigua!!!
The house that we rented was walking distance to the beach…
Typical vacation breakfast of eggs, toast and SPAM. You can take the girl out of Minnesota, but you can’t take the Minnesotan out of the girl…!
😉
Our first full day at the beach include lots of sunshine and a Hobie Cat rental.
The view from Carmichael’s on Sugar Ridge. I highly recommend this restaurant if only for the view. Wow. The food was also delicious!
{Our house is in the center with the blue roof…oddly bookended by two unfinished homes? You can see how close we were to the ocean-upper left corner of the image!}
Troy and Jennie were so fun and easy to vacation with. Plus, Troy has mad fish batter/frying skills…!
Laurie and Jesse! I’m so lucky to have these two as my in-laws!!
One day, we went sailing. And it was possibly the best day of the trip. Absolutely beautiful skies and great company. Captain James and his wife, Sherrill, took great care of us as we sailed, snorkeled and relaxed on the ocean blue. I could not recommend the Cat Skills II enough; this is a must-do while in Antigua!!!
Random day of driving and checking out some of the beaches. Antigua claims to have 365 different beaches and even though we experienced about 6 of them, it’s not hard to believe that claim to be true. 
We tried our hands at deep sea fishing! Rough waters-good thing we all took a healthy dose of Dramamine prior to the trip!
Last day in Antigua. Too soon!!!
I got serenaded by the lead singer of the steel drum band we listened to one night. Hilarious and so, so, so fun…
Peace out, Antigua!!
This was such a great trip and I’m so glad we were fortunate enough to spend it with these amazing people. I love to talk all things travel, so if anyone wants more details, recommendations or information of places we’ve gone {or want to suggest any new places! I’m all ears!!}, just say the word!!