Friday, June 13, 2014. Our 4th wedding anniversary. It's funny that we are leaving this morning and taking our kids as our first trip together to Jamaica was a second honeymoon. We have to leave really early this morning. At 4 am, we get in the van to head to the airport. Our kids have gotten us an anniversary card that they all signed and put it on the seat of the van so that we see it when we get in. I cry. We have really great kids.
When we arrive in Indianapolis, we feel like we are the only ones in the airport. It’s a very long trip through Houston. We will remember not to go that way again. We get to Montego Bay, get through security, and walk through the doors into Jamaica. The heat and the smells are so familiar. A man looks me right in the eye and says, “Welcome home, ma’am.” I feel this deep in my soul. Thank you. I'm so happy to be here.
We pick up our van. We rented an 8 passenger, but it turns out that it really is a 12 passenger van but some of the seats fold up. They rent them that way so that there is room for luggage. Good thing because we have a lot of luggage! Everyone has one large suitcase one carry on and one personal bag, plus we have two extra large suitcases along for a total of 26 suitcases plus our purses, laptop bags, etc. Oh brother. We somehow managed to fit it all in the car. Just barely.
Our first stop is to Pork Pit to eat. It’s one of our favorite places and we really want the trip to start out right. Everybody gets their fill and we head a few blocks back down the street to the Caribic Hotel. It’s a cute, quaint little hole in the wall. If I wouldn’t have called to book the hotel and gotten landmarks, we most certainly would have missed the front door. There is no parking lot. Just exactly one made-up spot in front of the door. Our big van just barely fits. Perfect.
We find our rooms and lug our suitcases up the slanty stairs and through the narrow hallway; mom and dad in one room; three in three single beds in one room; three in single beds in another. The kids notice something interesting...there is a step down into their room and another step down into their bathroom. The window in the bathroom does not have a curtain and looks out to the hallway, which is two steps higher. It has a screen but no glass and ends up being eye-level to the hallway And so this becomes a temporary joke among the sibs, peeking in to the bathroom window. Eventually, towels go up.
We put swimsuits on and walk across the street, through a local bar, and down the stairs to the beach. In order to use this beach we probably are supposed to buy something, but the place is quiet on a late Sunday afternoon and no body says anything to us. We play in the ocean, build sandcastles, swim and play games for at least an hour an a half. Not another soul around. We have our own private beach.
We head back to the hotel to shower and then plan to find some dinner. But everyone is exhausted from the long day, the sun and the water, and zonks out. We gather later and head off to shop, but most of the shops are closed by this point. We find a grocery store to get something for breakfast for the next day. The kids have a good time picking out juice and muffins. Just as I am start to pay, my purse breaks. Really? I can’t go through a 10 day trip with no purse! So, we walk the kids back to the hotel and Bruce and I head off to buy a new purse. Everyone is sleeping when we get back. It’s been a long but good first day.
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