Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Jamaica, Yeah Man!

What an incredible five days I have had! Have you had an experience that exceeded any expectation you've ever had? Well, I just did.

Back in June I reminded my darling husband that my 40th birthday was going to sneak up on him since the fall is an all consuming season for Chris. I have been told that I shouldn't hint at what I want, men need it spelled out. I told him I wanted to be celebrated.  Shortly after that conversation he told me to get my passport. (wow it's going to be a BIG deal) You see I haven't ever been out of the country, except just across the borders of Canada and Mexico before a passport was required. Good thing he gave me plenty of time because I had to order my birth certificate before I could fill out the government paperwork for a passport. Never fear, it all arrived with plenty of time to spare.

So even though I knew I was going out of the country my expectations were low since the budget was low. The other thing he told me was I would be going with a friend, an UNNAMED FRIEND...not my handsome husband. Oh I loved the suspense and surprise aspect of this gift. By the time mid October arrived and softball was over this "single mom" of three active children was in dire need of a get-away. This man that I love delivered. Wow!

I don't know that there is anything from my list of 101 in 1001 days that I can check off but none the less it was more than I expected. Here's a rundown of my most wonderful birthday trip...

Wednesday the 17th
-Fly to Orlando-there was a lengthy layover and delay in Chicago
-Chicago had a big storm that created a difficult landing.

Thursday the 18th
-Fly out of Orlando early in the morning with Danielle Kirgan, destination Montego Bay, Jamaica
-Check in at the 5-star Secrets St James, we were in the pool before noon
Our preferred club pool and the ocean just beyond
Our beautiful room
View from our balcony
Friday the 19th
-We had to get to the pool early since most of our day would be taken up by massages facial and hydrotherapy. As you can tell this was going to be a week of tough decisions.

Mel and Danielle 
Our beach
In our sitting room before going out for our French dinner
Sailing
 Saturday the 20th
-We hit the pool early.
-Sailing lessons when the wind picked up around 11am
-Lunch at one of the 9 restaurants on locations
-We took an expensive ride into the city for some shopping. I am glad we did it, otherwise I would have always wished I had but next time we won't waste the money.  Truly, the airport had everything the city shops had and we would have avoided the $60 taxi fare
-By 7 pm I was in bed with stomach cramps, etc. Still today I am suffering some issues. I hope I didn't bring home a friend from Jamaica in the form of a parasite.  EWWW!
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Snapshot of going into town 
Daisy our taxi driver...yep on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the street

Sunday the 21st
-I slept in while Danielle hit the gym.
-We had a quick breakfast
-Danielle got one more hour in the pool while I finally did some reading.
-Our shuttle left the resort at 9am and our international flight headed for the US at noon.
-Dinner at my favorite place: Season's 52


Monday the 22nd
-My last day of vacation.
-I ran and read before heading to the airport for a long day of traveling back to Omaha.

Was that more than you really wanted to know? It'll be a great reminder of my 40th birthday trip to Jamaica. Trust me I saved all the details for my scrapbook.


1 comment:

Vicki said...

I can tell by the photos just how much fun you had! Good job, Chris. Now what are you going to do for his 40th?!