Note from Calhoun: Honeymoon!

Troy and I are up in Calhoun this weekend visiting with Gwen and Kevin. We are enjoying catching up with them and sharing photos and telling them about our awesome honeymoon! Which I will proceed to do with you now, be prepared this is a really long post:

Troy and I left Sunday bright and early for Antigua which for those of you who don't know is a part of the West Indies but is independent from England. We had a pretty long layover in Miami but the actual flight time was not that bad except for the fact that I hate flying! It is a necessary evil. Our approach to the island..look at that water!

We arrived in Antigua at about 2:30 and made our way through customs and picked up our baggage and took our taxi ride to the Cocobay Resort. Our drive from the airport was interesting but weird because they drive on the other side of the road there.

Welcome sign from the airport

As we pulled up to the resort we were amazed at the beauty of our resort. There were tons of flowers shrubs and trees that were covered with tropical colors that greeted us as we pulled up. The lobby area was very nice and was all open to the outside. We received a cold washcloth and a glass of rum punch from the front desk which was nice because the taxi driver believed in the natural air conditioning of the windows down.

Once we were checked in the concierge took our baggage and us to our own little chalet (=hut). We hiked for quite a ways because we had the hut that was at the very end. This was nice for two reasons 1) We were able to see all of the grounds and the beautiful plants and wildlife 2)We had complete privacy from everyone else.

Our humble abode!

Us in front of our hut!

Here is a view of our resort and hte huts are on the left hnd side and ours is the one in the very front all the way to the left!

Once we entered the hut we were so excited by how perfectly romantic it was. We had an unbelieveable view and an awesome private plunge pool that was used often in our week there.

The view from our bed, or what we woke up to every morning
This is what heaven will look for me!

Our porch that overlooked the same view with an awesome hammock!

Our amazing bed!

So Troy pointed at the netting and said "This is cool and romantic!" I just laughed and said "Also, a very functional piece." There were tons of mosquitoes which I was eaten alive the first night we were there, unfortunately. That afternoon we just hit the pool and just relaxed after a busy and exhausting weekend.

After we had relaxed by the pool we got ready for dinner. Did I mention that Cocobay is an all inclusive resort which is how I am going to travel from now on. The food that night was really good and we loved how the restaurant was sitting on the cliff over looking the ocean and all open which provided a very romantic dinner setting all week!

Troy and I on our first night at dinner!

We slept really well that night and we actually woke up naturally at about 8 the next morning. We jumped out of bed excited for what the day held for us. After breakfast we went to the beach where we swam, snorkeled, lay out, and threw snorkels at me.

Troy and I by the beach

Troy wanted me to take his snorkel back to shore with me so he threw it to me, we are not talking a lob pass I mean a knife throw spinning fast at me. I reached out to catch it because I didn't want it to sink. It nailed my thumb just right to where it killed!! Bad words!! I shook it out and was like oh it will be fine but an hour later it was still throbbing so Troy ran and got me some ice and advil which alleviated my pain. What a kind husband!

My hurt hand wrapped in ice

Shortly fter my injury it started to rain so we ran up to the bar to wait for it to pass through. We decided we didn't want to wait for it to pass so we got into the pool and thanks to a waterproof camera this was possible.

The view from the pool

Me looking at the beautiful scenery

The rest of our days in Antigua were very similar to this except it didn't ran at all the rest of the week. So we hung out at the beach, the pool, and our room. We also ate A LOT! It was so good! We also enjoyed the bar that was included in our package deal. The bartenders were always really nice and had a good story for you anytime you sat down.

Troy and I at the bar

We went on several excursions that were all spectacular!

Monday we went into St. Johns, the capital, and did a little shopping. Their shopping wasn't all that special but we did manage to find a nice hand made plate for a souvenir.

Troy really wanted to try some local island food so he got some questionable looking food that ended up tasting really good.

British influence is evident!



Us having a ton of fun in St. Johns!

Tuesday we went with the island medicine man on a hike near our resort. We saw some really beautiful sites but what was even better is we got to eat all sorts of fresh fruit right off the tree. Troy thought he was going to wet his pants from excitement.

We were able to eat fresh pomegranate, mango, pineapple, cherries, and coconut! Yummy!

On Wednesday we went on a snorkeling trip to Bird Island. We spent the morning driving around the island and picking up each person at their perspective hotel's harbor. We were the first ones on the boat so we had the longest trip which was fun!

This is Hawks Bill Cay...kind of looks like a hawks beak right?

Troy was upset because I was reading my book! Notice my tremendously large bug bites on my left shoulder.

Us on our catamaran with beautiful scenery behind

We made it to Birds Island and got to snorkel into the beach where we saw some beautiful fish and coral.

Me getting ready for the plunge!

Pretty fishy..."just keep swimming, just keep swimming"

The snorkelers!!

Once we made it to the beach we had some wonderful bbq chicken lunch with some awesome mac and cheese and rice and beans. We then got to go on a little hike of Bird Island and saw why it is named such.

There are water droplets on the lens so that is why troys looks like he is being sucked into the 4th dimension.

Here we are on the way back! So much fun!

Saturday we went on a Safari ride to Stingray City! It was so fun! We loaded up into the safari truck at 8:30 am and started on the road through the island. It was like being in a washing machine where we were being sloshed around. Thankfully there was only one other couple on our safari truck! We were able to see some beautiful scenery and wildlife.
On the awesome safari truck!

The roads we were traveling on...

A beautiful beach on the drive

The view of St. John's from the hillside

Once we arrived at Stingray city we were provided with snorkel gear and were directed to boats that took us out to a reef that provided natural protection for the stingrays. Once we got in the water with them they would swim right up to you and brush against your legs. It was kind of a weird sensation at first but once we got used to it we were reaching out to touch them. We were able to feed them squid...disgusting and pet them as much as we wanted.

Troy learning how to feed the stingrays

The massive stingrays

Me holding the stingray

Hanging in the reef with the stingrays

Troy and I were innocently trying to take a picture of ourselves when a stingray decides he wants to give me a little "love bite" on my hip. A picture is worth a thousand words so you can see how I felt about that love bite.

Troy and I with the beautiful water as a backdrop

After stingray city we got back on the safari trucks and were rumbling through the rain forest of the island and we came out to this spot...Devils Bridge! Back a couple hundred years ago slaves of the island cam here to kill themselves. They would dive in and get slammed on the rocks by the Atlantic Ocean. While we were standing there at this spot it provided us with an awe inspiring sight. It was so beautiful but terrifyingly powerful at the same time.
This was the other couple that was on our truck with us. They were from Wales and were really fun to talk to on our excursion. I love this picture of Troy because it captured our feelings of standing there in just appreciation of this beautiful power the water demonstrated.

The rest of the trip like I said involved, swimming, snorkeling, hanging out on the beach and eating. Some of our favorite things! Here are a few pictures of those activities.
Hanging by the pool!

Some kayaking


Waiting for dinner

There was a little of this going on too :)

Doesn't this look like the Corona commercials??


Waiting for our taxi to the airport :(
Chilling in the hammock on our porch


We were jazzed about being in Antigua!

Hanging out on the beach with my straw hat. An essential on this trip!

This honeymoon was the best honeymoon Troy and I could have imagined. We absolutely adored everything about it and did not want to leave. We already are making plans to return for one of our anniversaries. It was everything we had hoped for and more. A perfect place for us to unwind after an awesome wedding!

And they lived...

Happily ever after!

Love,
Amanda and Troy