Guest Blogger, Laurie Meehan: Paradise Found

The first annual Meehan-Burich mother-daughter trip toAntigua to visit Chez Motes began a bit shakily. Megan christened the lovely deck and infinity pool by pooping in it/on it. My lovely daughter further endeared us to our hosts by puking up curdled milk and a Puerto Rican hot dog all over the guest bed linens. But Amanda, Preston and especially Madeline were forgiving towards the travel weary toddler and her even wearier mom. They treated us to fruit suprises, Wadadlis (local beer), and other libations, and a relaxing and peaceful daily schedule of beach, pool, crash a fancy resort to go to their bar/beach/pool. Rinse. Repeat. For four glorious days.

One caution to fellow hangers-on, oops, I mean, guests, leave the valuable jewelry at home. Evenings with Preston, Amanda and a deck of cards or a boggle board may seem like an innocent way to pass time, but I now have to turn over my first born (sorry, Christopher) to the Motes family as an indentured servant. . . Perhaps we'll get to keep Christopher if I drop the restraining order against the Mayor of Antigua (Madeline) for stalking Megan's every move . . . We can't wait to come back. Oooohkay. . .

Guest Blog: "Maura the Lizard Lover"

BEWARE!! They might try to entice you to Antigua with promises of great beaches and plenty of sunshine, but what they don't share with you is what I have affectionately called 'Wild Antigua'. My first night here Amanda seats me under the lizard perch and next to the mouse run. As I warily try to avoid the lizard staring down at me, Amanda casually mentions the mouse has been doing laps up and down the tree behind me. When suddenly, out of nowhere, a small plane sails over the pool and lands on the side of the house. With the second fly by, considerably closer, we determine it's a bat-wingspan easily 12 inches. So much for relaxing on the patio. Other wildlife mis-adventures include, Preston getting bitten by an ant(?)-his hand was swollen and erupted, a village boy clocking his donkey upside the head with a stick and a grasshopper as big as a bird trying to nest in my mouth. And as I sit typing, a malarial mosquito trying to give me one final going away gift. Aaaah, but these are the things stories are made of.

Who really wants to hear about the fantastic house, exceptional pool, magnificent beaches and kind and gracious hosts. Madeline is, as always, a true joy to be around. Up and down are great new words and dance, hide and seek and round and round the garden great things to occupy her with. Preston and Amanda, ever accomodating and entertaining. Ask Amanda how far she can drive on a flat tire and pray she doesn't try and show you! Shirley Heights, Nelson's Dockyard, English Harbour and a myriad of beaches to keep you entertained. If you can't find it there, ask the locals how they pass the nights!!! A fabulous trip, don't worry to much about the critters, apparently they're leaving with me!

Missing Ma Orr

My mom's ten day visit flew by faster than I thought it would, and I'm wishing now that we had planned for a longer trip. Madeline was thrilled to see her Nana, waiting patiently for her to get through the painfully long customs line (Antigua is the WORST in terms of long waits) and then greeting her with that loving smile. I was surprised that Madeline didn't even pretend that she was mad at Nana for a minute, given that she hadn't seen her for a month. They picked up right where they left off, playing Madeline's favorite game "bye bye" in the car on the ride home from the airport. Madeline liked to hide behind my mom's tiny purse -- it covers her eyes, so it's hard to find her ; - ) It was funny to hear my mom's first reactions to the island. They were the same reactions I had during my first visit over Thanksgiving. Driving through the capital of St. John's she said, "this isn't a third world country, it's a fourth world country." She had never been to a place like this before, where the hustling and bustling downtown is comprised of a lot of truly "ramshackle" buildings as she put it. I don't think she had ever seen a neighborhood of tin shacks, incredibly bumpy roads with abandoned rusted out cars lying on the edge of those roads, rastafarians with hair down to their waists selling fruit in the streets that looks quite unlike the perfectly shaped and colored fruit we see at home in Whole Foods. Then as pulled away from the town, she was equally surprised at how magnificent many of the sites were. It's an island of contrasts. We spent the week exploring the island's many beaches in the morning before the oppressive afternoon heat arrived, at which point we were off to explore the many wonderful resort restaurants for lunch. Our favorites turned out to be Indigo at Carlisle Bay and Harmony Hall. We treated ourselves to frozen cocktails at Curtain Bluff and Blue Waters (although we HATED the restaurant at the latter). Chez Pascal proved to be a favorite of my mom's too -- we visited them twice for lunch -- YUM.

We played Gin Rummy every night and my mom proved to be quite a card shark. And we made our way through two more books. Finally after a month, I no longer miss the tv, or even think about it at all, but I think my mom’s excited to get to her beloved Chris Matthews tonight. Nana's off to the airport now with a newfound appreciation of the island. "This isn't a fourth world country, Preston's right, it's really a two and a half world country." Now I just have to prepare for the Madeline meltdown when she realizes Nana has gone back to D.C.

Guest Blogger: Pat the Bunny

My first ever visit to the Caribbean – to a tropical island – proved to be a great deal of fun. I loved walking on the beach, visiting different parts of the island and seeing the beautiful vistas and sunsets.





I was amazed at the many resorts, the amount of new construction and the traffic on this small island. But mostly I enjoyed visiting Amanda, Preston and especially Madeline with her great welcoming smile. Their house is beautiful and comfortable with a great deck and beautiful views of the ocean. All in all a great visit.