Essentials
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All Posts | Andros | Andros | Bahamas | Caribbean | Caribbean Travel Blog | Essentials
Sewing a Madras Patchwork Skirt with Androsia Batik
I love the handmade madras fabrics from Androsia Batik, Andros Bahamas. For some behind-the-scenes at the workshop, check out our post from our visit back in 2016: A Visit to Androsia Batik. After collecting the different patterns over the years, I decided to make a patchwork fabric and sew a skirt. I love madras patchwork,…
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Packing for Travel: How Many Cameras Should I Take?
This question rolls through my brain as I pack for every trip. The obvious answer should be, “as many as I need.” However, I often find myself packing a lot of stuff I want to play with but will never have a reasonable chance to use. So here it goes – my effort to cut…
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Welcome 2025!
We arrived home after a long weekend in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve, exhausted from a day of travel, but I had to stay awake for midnight. I wanted to see 2024 finally come to an end. It was a rough year. I went for my regular mammogram in January, and in February, was…
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Flying Direct to Anguilla: MIA to AXA on American
This was our 7th trip to Anguilla (AXA), but our first time flying direct to Anguilla from the US. Typically, we would fly to either Charlotte (CLT) or Miami (MIA) and then on to St. Martin (SXM). From there, we would take a charter over to Anguilla. I loved to have a rum punch on…
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Planning Travel During the Pandemic
I recently read an article from a fellow travel writer about how she had not traveled in two years, and regretted having missed a window to travel before the recent spike in COVID cases. I have to admit that I was hesitant to return to international travel given all the additional rules, and rules which…
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Hurricane Season in the Caribbean
June 1 marks the official beginning of hurricane season in the Caribbean, and we’ve already seen one tropical depression, Alberto. June 1 shouldn’t mean the end of Caribbean travel. The odds that a hurricane will interrupt your trip are still pretty slim. Let the old rhyme about hurricane season be your guide: June too soon July…
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Travel Photography: Why I Shoot Film
I am oftentimes asked why I shoot film. In 2007, I went from a film SLR, a Canon Elan 7n, to a digital SLR, the Canon 40D. I held out for quite a while. I was comfortable shooting film, but at that time, it looked as if film was in its last days, and it…
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Sewing Neoprene Tripod Leg Covers
I was listening to a podcast recently and heard that some of the most expensive repairs are the result of sand getting into your gear. Traveling to the Caribbean, I am familiar with the fact that sand gets everywhere. I have learned not to change lenses at the beach, and am careful in cleaning lenses…
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Come Fly With Me: Blood Clots & Travel
I was out of breath. Carrying an empty suitcase up one flight of stairs, and I was out of breath. I commented to my husband that we are really out of shape and have to get back to the gym regularly. I didn’t think it was anything more than being 51 and letting myself go….
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All Posts | Caribbean | Essentials | Family Travel | Review | Travel | Travel Planning
Travel to the Caribbean During Hurricane Season
Many people rule out a Caribbean vacation during the summer because they don’t want to travel during hurricane season. Hurricane season officially begins June 1 and runs through November 30. Every trip featured here on My Irie Time was taken either the beginning or end of hurricane season, and you would never know it by…
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All Posts | Antigua | Barbuda | Caribbean | Essentials | Gear | Photography | Review | Travel Photography
Shooting the Milky Way
Knowing that we were traveling to Barbuda, where I expected a beautiful night sky, I planned to try to shoot the Milky Way. I had never done it before, but why not? So I did a bit of research and here’s how I planned for shooting the Milky Way and the results. Step 1:…
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#FilmRoadTrip: Packing for Anguilla
I had a lot of trouble deciding what to pack for this trip. I knew I wanted to shoot some film. In fact, I was more excited to shoot film than digital. This would be our fourth trip to Anguilla in seven years, and in my mind, I kept thinking, “done that.” I wanted a…
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All Posts | Caribbean | Essentials | Gear | Photography | Travel | Travel Photography
Travel Photography Gear
It’s time to start reviewing what photography gear I need to pack for this year’s trip. For travel, it’s important to keep things light, but you do want to make sure you have the gear to get the images you want. I have started keeping track of what I pack and what I use, and…
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Accomodations | All Posts | Anguilla | Caribbean | Essentials | Other Islands | Review | Special Needs | St. Martin / Ste. Maarten | Travel | Travel Photography | Travel with Kids
Traveling With Your Special Needs Child
Our family loves to travel, but there was a time when we wondered if it was something that we could do. Our son has been diagnosed with expressive-receptive disorder, which impairs his ability to communicate and understand language. Because of this, verbal control wasn’t always an available option. You might physically have to demonstrate something…
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All Posts | Caribbean | Essentials | Nevis | Travel | Travel Photography
Crime in the Caribbean
All over the news today was the story about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer being robbed at knife-point in his vacation home in Nevis. Immediately, there were commentaries questioning the safety of travel to the Caribbean. Having recently returned from nine days on Nevis, I have to say that I never feared for my…
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All Posts | Anguilla | Caribbean | Essentials | Nevis | St. Kitts | Travel | Travel Photography
$1US = $2.70EC Eastern Caribbean and US Dollars
The Eastern Caribbean Dollar is the official currency of eight of the nine members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States. Those countries include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The exception is the British Virgin Islands, whose official currency is the…
