Snorkeling in Jamaica

Here are some pics of Monte and I snorkeling in Jamaica. This was a complimentary service included at the resort, and we wished we had tried it earlier in our trip. We didn't try it until Sunday, and only got to go once, but it was a lot of fun.



After we survived our Canopy Tour, the rest of our vacation went by fast, but relaxed. I had a wonderful massage on Saturday morning, and Monte took advantage of my being gone to lay by the pool without sunscreen. We have this sunscreen battle at home every Summer, he hates it and doesn't think he needs it. So, by Friday evening Monte was completely fried, shins, face, and stomach! I had a dalmation style sunburn, each day I gained a new spot wherever I missed the sunscreen. First my right shin, then my left shoulder, then my hairline, which has just now finished peeling!
We had a lovely meal Sunday evening at the Italian restaurant at Sandals. Our meal at "Tokyo Joe's" was equally as good Friday. Monte was all ready to order the beef appetizer, until our server mentioned that the beef was served raw. "Are you OK, sir?" I heard her ask, and when I looked up at Monte his eyes were bulging at the thought of raw beef. With her Jamaican accent, it took Monte a few seconds to realize that he should order the "Vegetable Spring Roll" instead!

Tarzan & Jane - Sort Of

Day 3 of our trip to Jamaica finds us relaxing on the beach through the morning. We're finally starting to relax, but the thought of that Canopy Tour is hanging over us. Still not sure how it's going to go, we board the bus that will take us there at 12:30pm. There's a video link to the tour from the link above, but you need a super speed connection to view it!

Luckily, our fears were unwarranted. After an hour long drive through Montego Bay and into the jungle, finally through a 1700 acre orange grove, we arrived at the tour site. There were about 12 people in our group, and 2 other groups behind us. The guides made jokes and made everyone feel at ease, and even though every time I jumped from a platform, my stomach threatened to leap out my throat, I made it through in one piece. I didn't look anything like Jane on that zip line, but Monte was much more graceful.



Obviously, we made it back to the resort in one piece!

Jamaica, Part II

If you made it through my novel long post on our travel to Jamaica, I suppose you're wondering if it gets any better? Thankfully, the answer is yes!

Monte and I were awoken around 730pm by knocking on our door. "Housekeeping!" we hear, and when Monte stumbles over and opens the door, the housekeeper is there to "turn down our bed." Monte gives me a puzzled look, partly from sleep and partly because he never travels and has no idea what she's talking about at first. Then it clicks, and he turns to her and says, "Yeah, I think we're good."

Surprised to see we'd slept 4 hours, we hurriedly got up took a quick exploratory walk around the resort before dinner. The resort has 5 restaurants, and 2 require reservations, so we headed for the easiest one, "Bayside." It turned out to be a delicious dinner, ocean side under the stars. Still unsure and nervous that I probably misunderstood the whole "all-inclusive" thing, I half expected to receive a bill at the end of it, but no bill came.
Monte and I discussed canceling our Canopy Tour (for day 3) all evening, but we weren't sure we could get our money back, and the tours desk was constantly busy so we figured if all those other people were taking tours, we could handle it too.

On Day 2, we had scheduled appointments at the spa. Monte complained about having to get up early on "vacation," since our appointments were at 8am. However, even if he denies it now, I know he actually enjoyed it. He'll probably even deny that he was ever "wrapped," but he was, head to toe in the volcanic ash wrap, followed by a massage. I chose the coffee scrub and wrap, of course!
By the end of our spa treatments, we both were feeling a lot better. After covering ourselves in sunscreen, we hit the bar and then the beach. I'm not much of a drinker, but I still enjoyed the premium drinks, all-inclusive. The "Jamaican Smile," a blended drink of banana, Jamaican rum, and some other things (I think maybe margarita mix) was my favorite. Monte stuck to the "Red Stripe" most of the time, the Jamaican beer. Here he is, enjoying his first Red Stripe on the beach.
The rest of day 2 ended uneventfully. We had dinner at Bayside again, and made reservations for the rest of our dinners on other nights. I went to sleep anxious about the coming day's Canopy Tour.

And We're Off!

This is the first of several entries about our vacation to Jamaica. First, some background info: Monte and I have never attempted a vacation like this! Our usual "vacation" involves going no farther than 5 hours from home, by car, for less than 4 days, usually with kids in tow. This time, we were gone thousand of miles away, for 7 days, alone! We booked this trip last October, so we have been waiting what feels like forever to go.
We had friends who recommended the Sandals Montego Bay Resort, so after some looking we decided to go for it.
We left the evening of April 1, and for the two nights preceding it neither of us slept well. Tuesday, the 1st, I was so excited I couldn't hardly stop moving, let alone eat anything. By the time we made it to the Spokane airport, we were both starving. After checking in and feeling relieved that everything seemed to be in order, we ate a quick dinner of chef salad from the only airport restaurant open in our section. Of course, I followed this up with a Starbuck's iced mocha, and since I hadn't eaten all day I even ate a blueberry muffin with it. I finished just in time to board the plane at 7:40pm for Seattle.
The flight to Seattle was uneventful and fast, although I was cold. (I'm always cold, thus the tropical vacation). Inexperienced though we are, we even managed to figure out how to board the subway style train that would take us to our next gate in Seattle. We checked in there, received our boarding passes clear to Jamaica, and settled down for a short 1.5 hour wait for the next plane, scheduled at 11pm. Of course, Monte was hungry again, and proceeded to eat a second dinner, telling me I should do the same since our next flight was 5 hours to Charlotte, NC.
At 10:45, we hear the announcement that there is a problem with our plane. Something is broken and they're trying to locate the correct part. At 11:00, we hear that it may not leave until 11:30. And then, at 11:30, we find out that we are stuck waiting for the next available plane to arrive at 1:30am. This is a huge problem for the entire plane, since all of us are missing our connections in Charlotte. We proceed to stand in line at one of 3 counters in order to change our tickets out of Charlotte from 930am to 1130am. The girls in front of me are also going to Montego Bay, and I over hear them talking about how they put their swimsuits in their carry ons, in case their checked luggage ends up lost. Why didn't I think of that, I wonder, as visions of spending a week in my hotel room with no extra clothes fill my head.
After almost 2 hours in line, I have new tickets on the 1130am flight out of Charlotte. Now fully frozen and exhausted, Monte and I retire to our uncomfortable chairs to wait. By the time 130am rolls around, I feel as though my lips must be blue, despite the blanket that Monte so nicely bought for me at one of the airport shops. We board the plane to Charlotte, and before it even takes off I think I am asleep.
I awaken an unknown amount of time later, and immediately I know something is wrong. I feel sick, and not just a headache either. My head is pounding, I feel dizzy, and that Mocha and blueberry muffin suddenly don't seem like they were such a good idea. Monte is sleeping lightly beside me, and I nudge him awake to tell him I don't feel well. The bathrooms are all full, and I'm not even sure I would make it there anyways, so I stay in my seat. I'm unsure if I'll throw up or pass out first, and then I'm having a nice dream of flying, and Monte's shaking me and whispering, "Mindi, Mindi, are you ok??!!"
It turns out I passed out, scaring Monte to death. When we ask the flight attendant if she could hold the bathroom open, she finds out I'm feeling dizzy and insists I stay in my seat. And if I get sick, we ask? She hands me a white paper bag smaller than a lunch bag. I guess no one told her I ate a huge meal right before we left Spokane!
Thankfully, I make it to Charlotte without using the white bag by holding my head between my knees until we land. We're stuck in Charlotte for about 2 hours, during which I try to eat something. Monte, who thinks food is the cure for just about everything, insists that if I had only eaten something in Seattle, I would be fine. Actually, I think I would certainly have overfilled that white paper bag had I eaten in Seattle, but I'm too sick to tell him so.
The plane for Jamaica miraculously leaves on time at 11:30am, and we are in Jamaica by about 1:30pm Jamaican time. Thinking we finally made it, we are stopped in our tracks by the sight of the custom's line, which strings back and forth, filling the entire length of ribbon strung out in front of the counters. Monte looks at me and says, "We should have gone to Hawaii," and honestly, I'm thinking the same thing. We end up waiting an hour in this line, before we finally get to collect our luggage and find the Sandals desk.
After only a few minutes, it is clear this is going to be an interesting week. We can't understand half of what the Jamaicans say to us, making it difficult to find the right bus to our resort. As soon as we leave the airport, the road is lined with dilapidated concrete buildings, junk cars, and caved in houses. "We ARE NOT leaving the hotel," Monte says to me. Suddenly that Canopy Tour we signed up for is not sounding so great.
When we unload at the resort, which is only 5 minutes from the airport, and we are guided inside. As soon as we step off the bus, an airplane flies directly overhead as it leaves the airport, drowning out all sound for a few seconds. This is almost more than I can take. "What kind of a dive is this?" I wonder to myself, almost afraid to go inside. The hotel employees insist that it is OK to leave our luggage for them to bring in, but after the trip I've just had I'm not happy about leaving it out of my sight. They lead us to an air conditioned lounge, which is actually really nice. They offer us champagne and cool rags, but all I want is a shower and my toothbrush (my mouth feels like it might possibly have fur in it). Exhausted and unnerved, I am sure I am not the happiest guest they've ever seen, as I refuse the drink and towel and fight the urge to scream at them to book us on the next flight home. We are showed to our room about 15 minutes later, with our luggage safely following. The view from our room is beautiful: so maybe this won't be so bad, I think. Still, half of me is wishing I had stayed my butt home. Monte is excited to learn they've upgraded our room to one with a mini-bar. Still, after showering the only thing we want to do is sleep, and we both collapse and fall asleep immediately.

To be continued........

My To Do List This Week

My To Do List is looking rather scary these days. Here's how it looks so far:

1. Quilt Simplicity**Done**
2. Quilt Merry Go Round **Done**
3. Quilt my At Water's Edge quilt, "Geese On the Water" **Done**
4. Oh Yeah, Finish piecing "Geese Over the Water" **Done**
5. Plan Moda-University meeting for Thursday. **Done**
6. Mail out Moda U information to long distance members. **Done**
7. Finish outside quilts that I promised before April 1 (currently 2 quilts left)**Done**
8. Get Will's Hair Cut (Because if I leave without doing this, he'll look like a neglected, shaggy little kid and I'll look like the mother who was too intent on vacationing to notice her child's increasingly sloppy hair do)**Done**
9. Attend the Bee Bop Shop Hop Meeting in Coeurdalene Monday
10. Pack for Vacation
11. Work out every day (Because it's do or die time) **M-done T-done W Th-done F-done Sa Su M Tu**
12. Download printer driver to new computer **Done**
13. Find Printer Driver CD so I can download it to new computer. **Done**
14. Throw Will a Birthday Party (This one comes with it's own list of to-do's, like get cake and icecream, wrap presents, invite family, etc.)**Done**
15. Pick my sister up from the airport Wednesday (because she's the only one crazy enough (runs in the family, crazy does) to agree to watch my kids next week)**Done**
16. Write a "Quilting Product of the Month" blog entry **Done**
17. Cut kits for "Geese On the Water" **Done**
18. Get a Pedicure (because it's a criminal offense to let my feet see the daylight of Jamaica the way they look after a long north Idaho winter)**Done**

Phew, I have a lot to do, maybe I should get busy!