So the background is that just about 2 weeks ago, a good friend recommended me to provide some consulting services to Crossroads Centre Antigua. Long story short, Joel and I are now in Antigua -- he is vacationing hard and I am working hard! This is the first blog to chronicle my 6 day trip.

First things first, getting here was extremely easy. Quick flight to Miami, short connection and straight to Antigua from there. Customs, immigration and baggage claim were uneventful. If you read my blog from Liberia, you will know why I mention this. As we walked to the rental car place, it hit me that I would be driving on the left side, rather than the right. Now, somewhere in my unconscious mind, I knew that even as I booked the rental car, but seeing the drivers on the right hand side of the car behind the wheel instead of the left brought it home. Joel, of course, turned, stared out the window and pretended to be invisible when they asked if I wanted to add an additional driver.

I saw the trip to the resort as an adventure. Joel saw it as a danger-filled, life-threatening experience. They gave us a map -- but since I believe it is accurate to say most streets in Antigua do not have street signs, we had to rely on landmarks. No less than 3 times, we thought we were lost, but then a landmark appeared to positively reinforce us. I only drove on the wrong side of the street once for about 30 seconds until Joel calmly said "you're on the wrong side of the street." We passed a cow so big, I thought it was a BISON (mental note to send him a Howard University sweatshirt), but Joel didn't have his camera out and I was concentrating on crashing so there are no pictures. We arrived safely at the Grand Pineapple resort -- Joel with both ankles intact and no actual hole in the floor of the car despite the fact that he'd spent the last 30 minutes jamming his foot on an imaginary brake.

The hotel is wonderful. Exceedingly friendly staff and very comfortable accommodations. After an easy check in, I went to a business dinner with the executive officer from Crossroads and my work week began.

After dinner, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean just outside our door was just what the doctor ordered. In my dreams, I prepared myself for the training I would be delivering the next morning.

There is only one picture from today, which you can see here: Day 1 Antigua Picture