Mount Gay Rum Beach Party - Friday, 25 Apr 08

Every year during Sail Week here in Antigua Mount Gay Rum (from Barbados) sponsors a huge beach party. So...of course I had to go! After all, its a) a party, b) live music, c) at the beach and d) complimentary rum!!!!
A quick shot of myself, Mary and Justin shortly after arriving.
As we arrived there was a steel drum band playing. A couple of hours later our dance music for the night was performed by a band called Itchy Feet.
Alcohol abuse is not tolerated under any circumstances!!! Therefore, when Dara spilled her drink down my arm it was imperative that she capture as much of it as possible by licking it off.
We even had a group of Pirates come to the party. Arrrggghhh!! After taking their picture they offered both Mary and I a string of beads - seen in the next picture.
As you can see, we did manage to have just a little bit of fun! Ok, a lot of fun!!!

Fort James At Sunset - Tuesday, 22 Apr 08

The ruins of Fort James sit on the northern point of land that creates the harbor at the city of St. John's. It was a very small fort and not very much of it remains.
A lone cannon remains at its vigilant stance along the sea wall as the sun hides behind a neighboring palm.
Only one of two old wooden doors barely remains in place at one of the entrances. The original block work was covered with plaster at one time during upgrades to the facility, but over time without care the plaster has broken away to expose the bricks once again.
An old stone & concrete stairway gathers dried leaves from a nearby tree.
The same silouhetted cannon is a reminder of what was once a very important protective fortification many years ago.
As the day comes to an end a golden sun continues to fall toward the sea as the skies around it are painted in pastel hues of lavendar and orange.

Aircraft Ops At Sunrise - Wednesday, 2 Apr 08

Every week we have an aircraft that arrives early in the morning; which provides an opportunity to experience beautiful sunrises like this!
As the sun began to light up the sky it reached out and touched the high clouds and gave them a beautiful pink hue against the blue sky behind them. The lower, dark rain clouds were quickly approaching in the foreground.
Our Telemetry dish stands tall on the distant horizon as the skies change from pink and blue to lavender and orange.
Once on the ground our plane faces the morning sun as it awaits the arrival of airport ground crew. Such a nice way to be greeted by Mother Nature!

Final Antiguan Sunset for The Zeratskys! - Thursday, 10 Apr 08

As their vacation came to a close Mother Nature decided to send them off with one more beautiful sunset as seen from our lounge chairs at Jolly Beach.
Light wisps of high clouds shown bright against the blue sky as the once again golden sun casted its glow across the water and wet sand as it made its way to the horizon.
So many different types of clouds collected together for this shot. The distant clouds hid the sun much earlier than we would have liked, while the darker clouds stayed away long enough to allow a view of the sun. The white clouds lingering high in the sky added to the depth of the overall scene.

View From Reed's Point - Thursday, 10 Apr 08

Reed's Point is a fairly steep hill at the end of Jolly Beach that is being developed for homes to be built. It was one of Rob & Romelle's favorite places to go for their daily walk because the views were spectacular and the incline was great exercise.
This view looks toward the outer part of the Jolly Harbour. The colors of the water were so much more vibrant that this picture captured.
Here is a shot of Jolly Beach. The tallest point on the island (Boggy Peak) can be seen at the left of the pic where the tower is.

Another Golden Sunset At Jolly Beach! - Monday, 7 Apr 08

Empty lounge chairs and umbrella sit peacefully on the sand as the sun gradually lowers itself closer and closer to the horizon.
The vibrant sun peeks between two tree trunks and casts its glow toward the camera.
As the waves approach the sun continues to set lower. We couldn't see St. Kitts at all throughout the day and then it appeared for just a short time as the sun sank behind it as seen in this pic.

A Few Random Pics - Monday, 7 Apr 08

On our way to the grocery we passed under this amazing ceiling that is part of the outside cover at the entrance of the casino at Jolly Harbour. It was all wooden timbers spanning out with a raised center circle. Beautiful!
A golden Carib beer immediately begins to sweat in its frosted glass on a casual afternoon at Castaway's Beach Bar. Viewed with the blue sky and white cloud background enhanced this simple drink into a colorful photo.
A brightly colored Bird of Paradise stands tall in the sunlight outside the front of the villa.

A Beautiful Jolly Beach Sunset! - Saturday, 5 Apr 08

A golden sun dips low in the sky to give us a beautiful sunset from Jolly Beach.
More clouds on the horizon interrupted our view of seeing the sun actually disappear into the ocean, but still provided us with a wonderful sunset.

Afternoon At The Villa - Jolly Harbour - Saturday, 5 Apr 08

Spending some relaxation time on the back patio of the villa was part of each day. It was a quiet place for reading, chatting or just watching the clouds go by.
The view from the patio looking out to the hills beyond the harbor on the northern side.
Even though the "catch of the day" was small, I think what was most important to Rob was that he was able to have a pole in his hand and relax with a bit of fishing. (yes, he thru the little guy back without hurting him)

An Evening At Shirley Heights - Thursday, 3 Apr 08

Steel drum band, rum punch, beautiful view of the harbors, sunset beyond the island outcroppings - - - all part of an evening at Shirley Heights.
Rob & Romelle sit on the rocks near the bluff that overseas English Harbor and beyond.
A little bit of sun made its way through the clouds to cast a nice sheen on the water for this almost black n white appearing shot.
As the sun made it down even further the color started to show. We didn't think we were going to see a sunset at all, but we were able to catch a few minutes of it before going behind another cloud. Patience paid off here.
This beautifully shaped yucca plant stands out in the light as the evening lights speckle the landscape near the harbors below.
With a slow exposure setting the lights of the harbor pop out as well as a bit more brightness in the sky.

A Blustery Day At Devil's Bridge! - Thursday, 3 Apr 08

The stormy weather wasn't a negative thing everywhere. The unusually large waves at Devil's bridge were amazing!!
You can see how high the walls of water are as they crash against the shore.
The blow-hole on the left side of this shot usually has a very light mist (if anything) coming from it. Today it was shooting streams of water high into the air.
With every wave massive amounts of water were deposited on the rocks. These "rivers" would barely finish returning the water to the ocean before another wave would replenish them.

Rob & Romelle's First Full Day Of Vacation! - Tuesday, 1 Apr 08

Even though their stay began with rainy/overcast days we were still able to get out and see a few spots of interest on the island.
Romelle snaps a photo of the Curtain Bluff Resort and beach as the waves roll in and scallop the sand. This resort was named "best in the Caribbean" in 2007.
The towering center of a yucca plant stands alone against a brightly lit sky of drifting clouds.
More bright, high clouds adorn the sky as the sun lowers and is hidden behind some of the darker storm clouds that repeatedly sprinkled, rained or poured on us throughout the day.