3-22-20 to 4-4-20 - Paradise Found

English poet John Milton, who wrote the epic poem “Paradise Lost,” may have lost paradise but we have surely found it here in Antigua. Kyle is considering naming our pending book about the trip “Paradise Found.”

The days blend together here on our island paradise.  We have a calm here we perhaps never have had before. The line Lazy Days and Sundays is particularly apropos as every day feels like a lazy day and we literally have no clue what day of the week it is on any given day.

We extended our stay here with the Airbnb owner for another three and half weeks taking us to the end of April.  We are well stocked with food and are fully confident we can survive the impending Zombie Apocalypse without going hungry.

We have fallen into a strong exercise routine with the whole family walking or running around the gated community roads that form a rectangle and act as a natural outdoor track. Kyle and Corey get up to 6 miles running / walking.  Leanne and Justin tackle one and half hour walks. 

We ventured out to check out Long Bay Beach, the nearby public beach, which is shut down and almost always deserted in the early morning. That beach has iconic beautiful turquoise, Tiffany blue and baby blue waters over the white sand that is so characteristic of the Caribbean thus drawing clusters of islanders there. We did make the mistake of walking there on a Sunday afternoon only to find ourselves in the middle of a beach party and had to high tail it out of there.

Our cove also functions as a natural outdoor pool.  Kyle has been swimming across the bay and back every other day or so. Leanne and Justin continue to explore the bay on the paddleboard. We’ve seen a sea turtle, seal, crabs and fish in the bay but no sharks yet.  Kyle is still looking for them. 

The backyard pool is a little more challenging as a workout facility as Kyle can make it across in two strokes before flip turning.  The constant flip turns throws him into a state of vertigo. Leanne fairs better using the pool for water aerobics and laps sans the flip turns. 

Recognizing we could be in for the long haul here (and certainly longer than our other average stays of 3 nights per location), Leanne and Kyle sit down with each teen to develop individualized educational plans while we are here.  It is a rare moment in time to delve back into academics full force – the WiFi isn’t great, there’s no video game consoles here, we don’t know anyone here, and its quiet as could be.   It’s a perfect formula for some good ole’ book learning.  

John will continue to focus on researching and writing about cultures and history of some countries we visited while taking more online college classes. Corey will focus on his online Pre-Calc class, SAT prep and researching in environmental practices and policies. Justin and Ashlynn will continue with their online Math Classes, PSAT prep and writing essays on inspiring aspects of our trip.  

Ashley will continue to work on her 6th grade curriculum.  The shelter in place has been a blessing from that perspective.  During the first 9 months, it was often difficult to find sufficient time or the right environment for her schoolwork; this break allows us to speed ahead on that front. Now we have four teenagers empowered to teach and tutor Ashley in each of their favorite subjects too with ample time on their hands. 

Kyle turned the outdoor upper deck table into his home office writing the blogs turned book and continually trying to wrangle refunds for cancelled plans and managing any household affairs from abroad. 

Leanne keeps the household in order, maintains schedules, keeps everyone on their academic game and the train running on the tracks. She zips around the house being the same incredible wife and mother that she has been the whole trip. And she's taken up newfound passions in podcasts, paddle boarding, swimming, birdwatching and cooking. 

The weather is perfect being warm but not too hot and not humid.  Flies occasionally bother us but there are no mosquitos and only an occasional bug bite.  We get occasional 15 minute bursts of rain that quickly dissipates leaving brilliant rainbows over the cove.  In our short stay, we have already seen 4 rainbows here - all in the same spot.  One day, we even saw a double rainbow with the brightest colors we have ever seen.

We watch some TV but limit it to later in the day after the educational work has been completed. The kids have been self-motivated rock stars perhaps missing the structure of intense structured learning while traveling.  We’ve watched Harper’s Island, Amazing Race and Jurassic Park series. We’ve played card games such as Monopoly Deal and Uno and board games such as Scrabble and Code Names. 

Ashley built a birdhouse out of cardboard boxes with bread that has become quite the neighborhood hot spot for the birds in the cove. 

To add some structure to the days end, we host a daily 5pm pool party and watch sunset from the pool at 6:30pm.  Justin conducts a star gazing show with his laser pointer on the nights that are free from clouds. 

Leanne and Justin have turned into our master dinner chefs with Ashlynn serving as the master desert chef.  Dinners have run a wide array from Justin’s crunch wrap supremes and steaks to Leanne’s pot roast, chicken pot pie, lasagna and Kyle casserole. Ashlynn has mastered her specialty of frozen Oreo chocolate balls and trying out other new desserts.

Yes, life in Paradise is blissful most of the time — that is when we are not worrying about and watching the Coronavirus pandemic wreak havoc across the globe. It is the weird balance of calm and sadness; relaxation and worry; sure of today versus uncertain for tomorrow — these are real feelings we balance each day.   We continue to pray for our friends, family, loved ones and all those impacted by the Coronavirus and wish for good health for all.