July 14, 2016 -

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 18 DAYS

Good day to you!

I need to start this blog off today with a rant!

Did you ever have so much going on in your life in a DOZEN different directions that you felt like you were either going to go insane or just completely stop functioning?

Well, that's where I am presently.  I can't even go into detail, but let me just say that switching hats is an understatement!

What I will say is, how in the hell do we accumulate so much crap over the course of the years?!?

When I moved into my house there was so much open space and hardly any accessories.  Today, 18-1/2 years later, I can't walk an inch without bumping into something! Ugh.  My goal is to be a minimalist - wide open space, empty shelves, no more dust collectors!!!

​Ok - rant over!

Today, the girls are out at the barn riding.  We carpooled with another mom.  And she is so sweet, telling me to enjoy my day.  Well, if organizing clothes for the poor, decreasing the number of books I've collected through the years and organizing all my photo albums and scrapbooks is enjoyment, then I will have the most amazing day! lol

The funny thing is that in "organizing," I came across a few old scrapbooks that I had forgotten I had!!  I found some great old photos!

One scrapbook in particular was from a trip I took in February of 1997 to Antigua in the Caribbean.  

The island of Antigua is in the West Indies. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. (credit: worldatlas.com)

In my youth, I used to love traveling at least once a year to the Caribbean and managed to visit many of these beautiful islands!

Antigua is one that I visited twice.  The first time with my sissy in 19XX and the second time with my ex-husband, in 1997.

Here are some throwback pictures which I hope give you a good laugh!!

Antigua - circa Feb. 1997 (c)travelincousins.com

After a little snorkeling (c)travelincousins.com

Funky Island Hair (c)travelincousins.com

Most people think of the Caribbean as a "winter" only place to visit since it's warm and relaxing.  But, visiting in the Summer can be just as enjoyable - lovely beaches and island music are great year round!

Also, it's possible to get even better deals in the Summer months.  Just be sure to book with hurricane season in mind so you don't spent your entire vacation in the rain!

16 FUN FACTS ABOUT THE ISLANDS OF ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

1. Antigua (/ænˈtiːɡə/ an-TEE-ga), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the West Indies.

2. Located in the continent of the Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda covers 443 square kilometers of land.

3. Antigua is the 205th largest nation in terms of land area.

4. Antigua is 9 by 12 miles across with a coastline peppered with numerous coves and bays, many with beautiful white sand beaches.

5. The first people that are known to have lived in Antigua are the SIBONEY or ‘stone people’ who were here in 1775 B.C. . They had stone and shell tools, and lived on whatever natural resources they could find. Traces of them are found at Jolly Beach, Deep Bay and North Sound.

6. Sugar became the main crop from about 1674, when Christopher Codrington resettled at Betty’s Hope Estate. Betty’s Hope, Antigua’s first full-scale sugar plantation, was so successful that other planters turned from tobacco to sugar.

7. The island’s carnival in July is always over the long Whit weekend and is five days full of pageantry, dance, calypso and fun.

8. Great Bird Island is a small island which lies just off the coast of Antigua. It is home to the Antiguan Racer, a non-venomous snake.

Antigua (c)travelincousins.com

9. With 73.02% of Antigua And Barbuda using the internet, Antigua And Barbuda is 45.61% ahead of the global average. This means that there are approximately 65,000 Antiguan, Barbudan internet users.

10. The words ‘hammock’, ‘hurricane’, ‘tobacco’, ‘barbecue’ and ‘canoe’ all are derived from the Taino language, spoken by people in the Caribbeans, of which Antigua and Barbuda are also a part.

11. ​ The little green apples, fruit of the ‘manchineel’ tree, are poisonous, as is the sap from these trees, which can cause blisters on your skin, so it is not wise to stand under these trees.

12.“Aunty” and “Uncle” are sometimes used as terms of respect in addressing anyone older than the person speaking. A woman may be addressed with “Mistress” before her last name. A handshake is a customary greeting among business associates.

13. Among the more established creole specialties of Antigua and Barbuda are rice pudding, salt fish and antrobers (eggplant; the national breakfast), bull foot soup, souse, maw, goat water, cockle (clam) water, conch water, and Dukuna. The salted cod used in making the national breakfast is not a local fish.

14. One of the few musical instruments invented in the 20th century, steel bands consist of a number of “pans”—base pans, tenor pans, etc. They are made by pounding the basic notes out of the surface of steel drums used to transport oil.

15. he game of Cricket in Antigua is more of a religion than a mere sport. A day of cricket is a brilliant way to view Antigua culture first hand 

16.  The tiny black sea urchins on the beach, tend to hide in sea grass. The spines of these creatures can prick you and at times can even enter your skin.

Well folks, back to my chores.

See ya back here tomorrow!!

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 2 DAYS

Let's review...

HEY hey Hey!

It's you, it's me, and we meet again here at Travelin' Cousins.

I was looking at the calendar yesterday (trying to fit more into an extremely full schedule) and realizing that we are already in mid July really hit me!

We are in week 28 of 52 and the countdown to Christmas is at 164 days until the big day!!

So I'd say that it's a good time to start shopping...
But then again, when wouldn't I say that it's a good time to go shopping?! LOL 

Well since it's Throwback Thursday, I figured that I would do a look back at this year so far:

Jan - I spent 22 days traveling in the first month of the year, and I went to Death Valley National Park for the very first time and to Colorado on our first ski trip of the season!

Death Valley NP (c)travelincousins.com

Colorado (c)travelincousins.com

Feb - In the second month of the year we spent 21 days traveling and went to Quebec for our favorite Winter Carnaval, visited NYC, and went skiing in Lake Tahoe.

Quebec City (c)travelincousins.com

NYC (c)travelincousins.com

Lake Tahoe (c)travelincousins.com

Mar - We were only gone for a week in March, and spent it skiing in Park City, Utah!

Park City, Utah (c)travelincousins.com

Apr - Moab, UT and Monterey, CA is where I traveled to in April.​

Moab, UT (c)travelincousins.com

Monterey, CA (c)travelincousins.com

May - We were off for an amazing trip to Europe - touring Portugal, France, Spain, Andorra, and the Azores! ​

France (c)travelincousins.com

Spain (c)travelincousins.com

Jun - We were still in Europe!

Azores (c)travelincousins.com

Jul - And finally, in July we so far went to Portland & did a stay-cation-ish trip to San Diego. Still 2 more trips to go for this month!!

Oregon (c)travelincousins.com

San Diego, CA (c)travelincousins.com

I can hardly believe that we were in all of these places in the first 7 months of the year.

We've had soooooooo much fun and I do so hope that you've been following along...if not then please subscribe to our page so that you won't miss a beat.

Well, I'm off - I need to get my booty into the gym, then take Cosette to the stables, and this afternoon I have an acupuncture appointment!
​This evening Dominic has class and I should be able to get some choir work done that is a must before our board meeting on Monday - I gotta remember that I'm the president this year...

Have a good one!
​-T