Antigua 2017

Two years ago, our friends, the J's, invited us on a couples cruise. Three couples attended and we traveled to Excellence in Punta Cana. We had a really good time and promised  to so it again the following year.

Fast forward to 2017 -  still three couples. This time our good friends, the S's, joined us and the J's.
Our choice of all-inclusive, all-adult resorts was Sandals Grande Antigua. Ken and I have vacationed at  Sandals Negril. So, we were well aware of the excellent service and beautiful grounds. I must say, as nice as Sandals Negril was (is),  Sandals Grande Antigua was over the top awesome.

We were greeted with champagne and rum punch upon our arrival at the resort. I must say we felt welcome from the minute we stepped onto the resort.  I am a huge researcher of everything. I checked just about every site I could and all of the reviews mentioned the general manager, Mr. G. Guess who was one of the first people to greet us? Yep, Mr. G!  The super cool thing is that he managed the West Baden resort in French Lick, Indiana. How cool is that?

So, once we checked in- which really didn't seem like the typical check in at all - we went to our rooms to freshen up before dinner.  The rooms, the rooms! I love a Sandals resort room. We were all on the Mediterranean side of the resort in Grande Luxe Oceanview Rooms. For a full look at our room, check out my link on Instagram here.  Side note: I have an obsession with pens. These Sandals pens are amazing:

Photo Credit: Tyjuana Hill-Smith Photography

After a full day of travel, we were ready for some dinner. There are at least nine restaurants on the resort. Anxious to get our toes in the sand, we opted for Barefoot. Barefoot is right on the beach with sand underneath your feet. During the day, the menu is jerk chicken, hamburgers  and salads. By night, they serve salmon, mahi mahi, filet, etc. Both menus are delish!  I have to tell you this was the best food on a resort I have had. I mean everything was prepared to perfection.  The cool thing about all-inclusive resorts is that you can order as much as you want. We opted to all order a few different things and were more than eager to share. Believe me, nothing went to waste.

Once we finished dinner, we listened to a local band performing island songs. There are several areas with fire pits that were perfect for relaxing after dinner.  Final stop for the night? The Drunken Duck - an English style pub - with a pool room. Of course, we had to shoot a few - right?

The next day was beach day and boy was I ready! Be sure to follow the blog for more reviews and to detail our couples trip to Sandals. Included is our special sunset photo session with our great friend, Ty and Delmore,  the Sandals photographer.

Here's a glimpse of the beautiful Dickinson Bay until my next post……..

All photos unless noted are from my iPhone 7s.  Thanks to Tyjuana Hill- Smith Photography for taking the pen photo. Be sure to check back for more of her professional photos from our trip.

Stylin' Saturday - Island Vibes

Photo Credit: Tyjuana Hill-Smith Photography

Photo Credit: Tyjuana Hill-Smith Photography

If you are anything like me, you buy a lot of souvenirs when you travel. I mean A LOT.

I always buy fun t-shirts or island specific items for my family when we travel. Of course, if I buy one for them then I must buy one for me - right?

My favorites are island shell rings, sterling silver rings with the Larimar stone (more on this later) , anything made of coconut.



The problem was that I would buy the items and I'd love and wear them during our vacation, but then they sat in my jewelry drawer until the next vacation. Do you do that?

Well, this year I have decided that I am going to wear my island goodies during the spring/summer months, too.

The gorgeous cross body bag featured will be adorable with white linen pants and a fun colorful top. Not only is it adorable, it's a great conversation piece. I purchased this from a local vendor in Antigua. I also purchased an absolutely gorgeous small clutch made from coconut shells.


 I promised to tell you a little about the Larimar stone. The very first time I was in the Caribbean was on a RCCl cruise. There was a jewelry store on the ship that had the stone in rings, pendants, bracelets. It was simply beautiful. The color of the Caribbean ocean this stone is offered as a local Caribbean specialty. It's typically set in sterling silver, but she high grade pieces are often set in gold.

I purchased the piece in this picture while in Punta Cana a year ago. It's a huge stone, but was relatively inexpensive. I actually think this is my only piece of Larimar. I was always looking for the perfect setting - finally found it last year. You truly have to see the stone in person to appreciate the color.

What souvenirs to you busy when you go on vacation? Do you use them other than when on vacation?
I'd love to hear!

Photo Credit: Tyjuana Hill-Smith Photography

Photo Credit: Tyjuana Hill-Smith Photography