And so it goes....
27 June 2008 | Falmouth, Antigua
We really are going to leave Antigua. I swear!!!
It's just that our social calender has been quite full.
Some of the activities that keep us occupied over the last couple of weeks.
I am not a good enough writer to describe what a magical time we have had in Antigua but I will try...here it goes....
Let's see, Thursday's are always family night at the yacht club. A couple of weeks ago, kids had running relays and a very competitive tug of war. I hung usually just hang out with Justine and Roo laughing like a school kid. The yacht club also supplies sailing dingies and a beautiful wooden Hershoff type boat for people to use for free on family night and we have been known to take the wooden boat out for a sail around the harbor. It is always a wonderful evening. The kids are occupied and supervised by three babysitters hired by the yacht club, so the adults can relax and hang out. Dinner served for the kids is usually a shepherds pie. Ben and Sam are usually running on empty by the end of the evening, which is 8:00 and drop into bed.
Going back a few weeks:
Last Friday was a boat day because it rained most of the day but that was ok because we got some much needed projects done and the kids seemed happy to just chill out.
Saturday morning Ben and I had school. I find that homeschooling is much more productive when we leave the boat. I have been taking Ben to a little coffee shop in the morning. I have ice coffee and he has a hot chocolate and we do school work. Ben has a lot more focus and believe it or not he is less distracted. Otis likes it because he does not have to create 'errands' to do with Sam. So whenever possible I will take Ben off the boat to school, I wish we had thought of it sooner.
After school we came back, ate lunch and went to the beach. The 'girls'(Justine and Roo and their five kids) were there so it was fun. We have a running date of 2:30 on the beach.
I feel as if I have known Justine and Roo my entire life there is a comfort and honesty level there that is usually reserved for old friends but which we have slipped nicely into. It is not unusual to laugh so hard when I am with them that I can barely breathe. Justine has wonderfully colorful, outrageous stories full of and eccentric cast of characters coupled with the fact that she is a vivid and descriptive storyteller. I will often think of something she said while I am making dinner or something a later in the day and start laughing again. Think low key, 'Ab Fab does the Tropics'. Justine's antics and facial expressions often remind me of Patsy. Sadly, they are both leaving next week for England which totally bums me out. However, the upside of their departure is that if they were staying we would probably never leave. There is nothing in the world like hanging out with your girlfriends. These women are so supportive that you just feel great after hanging out with them PLUS they are TRULY Hilarious!!! I may have only know them for a short while but I feel truly and profoundly blessed to have found them. They have given me a much needed rejuvenation.
Anyway, on the beach that afternoon we devised a plan to go to Half Moon Bay the following day.. Justine had just sold her 1988 Land Rover and was turning over possession Monday so we had to do a road trip, naturally. We loaded the car up on Sunday afternoon with kids, bbq stuff and bombed over. We built a fire on the beach and made hot dogs, chilled, played and relaxed. There is a little rock cliff on one side of the beach that has mud/clay which people use to exfoliate and moisturize their skin. I don't think it did much for me but I did have anxiety walking along the cliff with the waves crashing all around. I actually think it aged me. Anyway....
While we were lounging at Half Moon, Jus and Roo started talking about pulling the kids out of school the following day and doing the same thing on another beach. I suddenly had the idea to load up the boat and go to Green Island for the night. So the kids skipped school and we went for a little vacation on Green Island. It was GREAT fun. There were seven kids total ranging in age from 11-Sam and they all had a blast. We went to the beach, snorkeled, watched the kids play off the back of the boat and kicked back. Strangely enough when we first pulled into the Green island anchorage it was teaming with jellyfish and there was a shark swimming around the boat. The jellyfish were a little concerning, however people seemed to be swimming around us. That night we opted instead for a trip to the beach as opposed to swimming off the boat....nothing like seven children stung to bits by jellyfish to put a damper on the evening! We watched the sunset from the beach and just chatted away. Dinner was burgers, pot salad and green salad. Then kids then chilled out in front of Willy Wonka(old one).
We came back Wed and again had Thursday yacht club. All our friends were there and we are never for want of talking to people. It is a gregarious crowd and all the kids play really well. I will really miss these evenings.
However, that night at about two in the morning a nasty squall moved through. We knew that there was going to be some bad weather so we moved closer to the head of the harbor, but we NEVER expected the squall we had. Suddenly, we had 51kts of wind with HUGE bolts of lightening striking all around us. We started the engines just in case we dragged and waited out the storm. Incredibly enough the kids never woke up. I have never seen a storm like this before with lightening striking as often as and as close. We did anchor watch for the rest of the night as the winds continued to consistently blow 35. The following morning we were both exhausted. When Jol, the English Harbor radio announcer came over the radio for the 9:00am broadcast, he announced that 51 kts of wind had been logged and Sojanna, a large sailboat in English Harbor, had been struck by lightening. The boat that was directly behind us was also struck and incurred some serious damage done to their electrical system....incredible that we were unharmed. We had weather moving in calling for higher squalls that Sunday so rather than doing watch all night we paid for a mooring. I hate paying for moorings but anchor watch ain't all that much fun either!
While here we have run into many old friends and made many new ones. However, a friend from our past named Joe who is now married and has a daughter stopped dead in his tracks when he saw us. It has been fun catching up with him and sharing who is doing what stories. He invited us to his annual summer solstice party at his house. We had been looking forward to going. A plan was devised that we would stay with Jus and Roo who live just down the street from him, and hire a babyitter. That Saturday O was nervous about leaving the boat after all the powerful squalls. He decided to stay which bummed me out but I went with the girls and had a BLAST. Jus picked me up and had forgotten to mention the terrifying, take your life into your own hands, drive up. The drive was so steep I thought the car was going to flip backward. The road is narrow so that if another car is coming from the opposite direction you have to reverse back, one slip and you are crashing over the edge of a cliff! I could barely breath on the ride up and certainly could not look over the side
Once I got to their house the views over Falmouth, Montserrat and Guadalupe were just magnificent.
After getting everyone settled we made our way to Joe's. Joe's house is NOT TO BE BELIEVED! It is the type of home you would see on one of those 'fabulous getaways of the rich' shows. The party was catered, had a full bar and a really cool band called Itchy Feet played. Strangely enough, I knew a lot of people there plus Jus, Roo and I were always reconnecting to gab. I have not had that much fun at a party in I can't remember. We all danced, chatted and laughed. I woke up the next morning still laughing. It was kind of funny when we first arrived we were greeted by Joe's wife whom I had not met. As Jus and Roo were saying hello they made introductions, there was a little silence and Jus blurts out ' Don't worry, she was invited'. It was funny.....nothing like being totally put on the spot!
In anticipation of our departure Jus took me into St. John's Monday to provision. I hate provisioning but the store was really nice and Justine who is leaving Friday and did not need to shop was chatting away which made it more fun than the usual pile food into the cart while managing two kids. However, when I got back to the boat and was unpacking, I was surprised by the quantity of some of my items. I think I was talking and listening to Jus more than really shopping....will we really eat THAT much bologna or English sausages???
After the provision we treated ourselves to lunch at the Sticky Wicket which overlooks the cricket field(20/20 actually). I felt terribly/terribly posh looking out over the beautiful green lawn and stands. I don't understand the game at all and know that it does run on,but the fields look so civilized. Plus, I have just the hat to wear to such an event....they do wear hats to those don't they??!
On the downside, the kids have picked up nasty colds. Granted a cold has been going around but they couldn't kick theirs so Tuesday we took them to the Dr. Her nurse is an American woman that I had met at Joe's party. She looked over the kids medical records for me and advised me as to what they would need for shots.I thought Sam might be behind but he only needs one booster shot and that's it until he is five. I will get those done in Grenada.
Both of the kids are so happy here. They really do have a nice group of friends. Jus has three girls, Lolly(11), Izzy(7) and Tiger Lily(5) each with their own unique and vibrant personality. Roo has Chloe 6,(who Ben has a definite soft spot for) and Jaygo, 5. The kids have become their own little tribe. Ben is heartbroken to be leaving.
I think O is anxious to get back out there. He has enjoyed his time here but feels the need to move on. Ben actually asked me today why we can;t sell the boat and stay here. Those questions need to be directed at Dad for the moment.
Gotta run as we are going to a beach party for Jus and Roos departure. We are leaving on Saturday for points south.