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Here it is the start of September and my wife and I have yet to take a vacation. For us, that is unheard of and we would love to remedy the situation. I am going to take next week off, but, in all honesty, we have nowhere to go. Those words are very difficult to write.
If you have read some of my blogs, you probably know we love cruising and we love the islands. The cruise industry has been devastated by the COVID virus and we are fearful about getting on a plane and flying in this environment.
So, all I can do is reflect back on one of my very favorite vacation stories – our introduction to Antigua.
I ran into one of my graduate school fellow students at a Lafayette basketball game years ago. As we chatted, he mentioned that his family had a home in Antigua. I asked if he rented it out and he said they would be happy to rent it to me. I discussed it with my wife and friends whom we travel with and, after some research, we decided to go. It turned out to be quite the experience.
Upon arrival in Antigua, we were met by a driver who had been recommended to us. Our desire was to rent a car for the week so he told us it would take a while for me to get a license. He recommended dropping us off at the vehicle office for the car and the license. He would then take the wives to the home and unload the luggage. They could settle in before we arrived. That sounded like a good idea. It was not.
The car rental and licensing process took about 90 minutes. The driver came back so we could follow him to the house. We walked up the driveway, entered the front door, only to be met by two women who appeared frozen in time. The suitcases had not been touched and both our wives had barely stepped inside the house. Something was, obviously, wrong!
We were told that when they entered the house, hundreds of lizards ran up the curtains and the walls. They were petrified. Being men, we thought we could handle this dilemma. We, too, were wrong. Our friends were going to stay in the guest house, so we decided to check out their accommodations. As soon as we opened the door, hundreds of lizards scurried up the walls and the curtains. The ladies shrieked and we may have silently shrieked, too.
I suggested that we go look for a place to eat and discuss the situation. That caused even more consternation. In Antigua, you drive on the left side of the road. No problem. I could certainly handle that. What I had trouble handling was avoiding the chickens, horses, and cows that were in the middle of the road. Adding to my displeasure was the backseat screams warning me to watch out for the chickens, horses, and cows. I pulled over and suggested that I was not going to spend all week being yelled at while driving.
We found a place to eat and checked out the menu. The prices appeared to be outrageous. Almost every meal had a price in the 70’s or higher. After each price, were the letters EC. We did not know at that time that American dollars were about one-third EC dollars. A $90 EC meal would cost about $30 in our money. Our initial thought was that we could never afford to eat here for a week. I know – we should have done some research. We did not eat there.
In no uncertain terms, our wives told us they would not stay at the house. They insisted we find a resort. Luckily down the road from the house was the Rex Halcyon Resort. We walked onto the grounds just as they were having a welcoming party for the guests. Since we looked like guests, and they thought we were guests, we, of course, ate like guests (starving guests). Our plates of hors d’oeuvres were certainly larger than anyone who was actually staying there.
We went to the front office, asked to see a room, and decided to stay there for the week. We easily transferred the luggage, found a driver for the week, and returned our rental car. As the week progressed, we met a woman who wanted to sell her limited timeshare (12 years, not perpetuity) on the same property for $800 total. It had two bedrooms, two baths, two balconies, a living room, and a kitchen. Since we were having a wonderful week and despite my despising timeshares, we and our friends decided to buy 12 years of vacations for $400 apiece. It was a no-brainer.
We used the timeshare every year after the purchase, bought another week two years later for $500 and spent the next ten years vacationing for two weeks in Antigua for only a $900 investment and yearly maintenance fees which we also split. We had the most wonderful yearly vacations!
After we returned home that first year, I informed my classmate why we did not stay at his place. He informed me that had we opened the patio doors, moved around a little, all of the lizards would have left the place and we would have had a week of peace and serenity.
But for the next 11 years, our friends, my wife, and I were very happy we did not know that.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- Speaking of vacations, I noticed that the Tour de France started this week. My wife and I were invited to dine with the captain on a cruise ship one year. I wondered why he chose us. He discovered I was a sports broadcaster and he wanted to discuss the bike race and, more specifically, America’s top cyclist, Greg Lemond. I had virtually no knowledge of either, but I faked it and thoroughly enjoyed the escargots and lobster tail. I think I fooled the captain.
- Isn’t it perplexing when the Phillies and the Flyers games overlap one another? I want to watch both. Many of us do.
- Can someone explain to me why some support only the police and some others support only Black Lives Matter? I support both – good police officers who do their job every day the right way and peaceful BLM participants who recognize we desperately need changes made. They are not mutually exclusive.
- As of now, high school football will return to RCN TV Sports on October 2. It will be quite different. I have been informed that I will have to call the game from our studio, not at the stadium. I am very apprehensive about being able to do that. If you watch, be kind.
- No blog next week – Have a safe, happy, and healthy Labor Day!!
