Jamaica

Jamaica is everything that you picture it to be, until you actually set foot on land. Pulling up to Ocho Rios was breathtaking. The mountains there are green and luscious with spectacular waterfalls, the ocean is a crystal clear blue, the beaches are covered in white sand, even the sugar factories spanning the hillsides add to the beauty. Towering walnut trees are weighted down with their bearings. There are turtles living wildly among the people. Yep, turtles, how cool is that. They just stack on top of one another at the base of jungle trees and absorb the sun. But, once off of the ship you find that Jamaica is dirty and dangerous.

The drug dealers swarm the tourists as they come into the city, Ocho Rios has put up chain linked fences to keep the tourist on the sidewalks that lead to their shops but, hands fit through the fence and the dealers are literally pushing the drugs out at the tourists in hopes of making a sale. We have all been taught to "Just Say NO" and walk away, what a comforting thought, until you try it and dealers become maddened and even more forceful. If you try to ignore the dozens of people calling to you and asking you to follow them around the corner or onto the beach they become rude and truly make it uncomfortable to continue walking by.

I mentioned the beaches with the warm clear water and the sparkling white sand but what I didn't mention was that to get onto any of the beaches, just to walk in the sand or even cross to another beach you are expected to pay. Once you finally give in and realize that no matter what you do or where you go you will eventually have to pay just to be able to but your toes in the warm Jamaican ocean you might find yourself feeling just a little flustered. Finally on the beach you realize that although there are dozens of open chairs and big shade throwing umbrellas those too can only be used for a price. So lets say you pay the price, rent a chair and sit down to relax, aah tilt your head back and get ready to soak up the sun.

Oh but wait... who are all of these people? They have suddenly surrounded you. Salesmen, more druggies and oh my favorite the weirdos without goods. Do you want to buy a necklace, a bracelet, some junk some junkie made? Or maybe some drugs, because although you didn't buy before you know that you want to, this "stuff" is the best, not like in America where your from, it's the "real thing", strong and lasting! No you don't want any of this? Why not? The salesmen know that you are rich, sailing on your big snotty ship to country after country while they are stuck in Jamaica on the shimmering beaches selling handmade junk, the druggies know you want to use you just don't realize it is okay in Jamaica, it is legal. The signs saying otherwise are just to scare rich Americans. Wow, all of this "relaxing" sure takes up a big chunk of your time in Jamaica. Finally the "sellers" have realized that you are a cheap beepity beep and move on. WONDERFUL,  it has been awhile so you better put some sunscreen on, tilt your head back and soak up some... weird there is a man doing flips and handstands right in your hum, would you call that your line of vision or is that what we call our face. Anyway, what ever it is he is all that you can see, he has made sure of it. He begs for praise and conversation. Okay, go ahead appease him say hello, tell him it was a well formed somersault for a grown man. Actually, maybe you should have just closed your eyes and kept your mouth shut, because now he wants cash for entertaining you. Have you given up on relaxing? I sure have, should we try some shopping? Great!

Shopping in Jamaica was fun, yep I said it, fun. There were some gorgeous wooden masks, wooden jewelry, wooden jewelry boxes, wooden... I had to buy one (or two) of everything! Out side of the shops there was a life size statue of the countries hero, Bob Marley! Dave and I had a few laughs, a few pretend hits on our pretend joints and bought a bunch or rasta colored gifts for all of our fun loving hippie relatives back in the states. Once we had covered all the shops in the touristy part of town we braved walking to the Hard Rock Cafe for the oh so necessary guitar pin that Dave must own. (by the way, I didn't say that sarcastically, he truly must own them. I must travel the world and he must buy guitar pins as we go. It is just part of life!) As we walked the 3 blocks to Hard Rock it felt as if each step was a little bit scarier. The armed police men that encompassed the tourist attractions were few and far between here in town. It was sad to see how many disabled people lined the streets begging. They truly needed help, they were not "disabled" like the people we see on the streets here in Utah, people who have been helped with their medical needs. These poor people by all appearances were born and apparently raised but needed medical attention. Clubbed feet were not straightened, infected eyes were blinding and not treated, wounds were oozing and sobs and pleas emanated the street. It was heart wrenching, it is easy to forget how thankful we should be for what we have until you realize what others are going through.

Although in reading this it probably felt as if I did not enjoy my experience in Jamaica, that is far from the truth. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to experience a country that so many people long to visit. I loved the educational experience, the sun, the sand and the shopping, and is there any better way to finish off a trip than to learn how grateful you are to have what you have waiting for you at home.

Grand Turk

Has anyone ever heard of Grand Turk? We sure hadn't! We had no idea what to expect other than warm weather and beaches, and that is exactly what we got.

When we arrived in Grand Turk, we docked next to the Carnival Legend, it was pretty cool to walk down the dock right between two HUGE ships. The water around the ships was such a clear blue that we could see the dozens of needle fish that slithered through the water.

When we got to Governors Beach we were surprised to see the beach lined with police officers. It  was called Governor's Beach because it was literally on the Governor's property. We were in the back yard of the Governor! We spent hours snorkeling in the ocean with all of the different varieties of fish. The water was warm and clear. It was wonderful.

When we put on our sunscreen, we covered our faces and shoulders well, but didn't think about how much our legs would be out of the water while snorkeling. I have NEVER had a worse sunburn than the one that I got in Grand Turk. Ouch!

After a great day in the water, we relaxed on the beach with my Grandpa and shopped the small main street on our way back to the ship. We got some great island souvenirs and Dave just couldn't go without getting something from Margaritaville. He bought one of the ugliest hats I had ever seen. Little did I know this would be the start of a terrible tradition.

The Bahamas

In  September of 2007, Dave and I took our first cruise. We went with my dad and grandpa on the Carnival Valor. I was 6 months pregnant and let me tell you there is no place like a cruise ship for a pregnant woman. The food was spectacular and best of all it was never ending.

 

Growing up in California I had been to Tijuana many times but other than that quick jaunt over the border I had never been out of the country. So for me this trip was a big deal. Our cruise was scheduled to go to Honduras, Cozumel, Belize and Grand Cayman but, Hurricane Dean took our exact cruise route that very same week and our ship was rerouted to go to the Bahamas, Grand Turk and Jamaica. Most of the other passengers on the ship seemed to be pretty upset at the cruise company but, our little group of four was more than happy to avoid any and all hurricanes. We decided that it was a good thing that these were our stops because we would not have chosen  to visit these places on our own and we loved all three countries.

I have always loved to vacation (who doesn't) but, I think that this trip was what taught me how interesting traveling can be. Not only is it relaxing but, it is educational, and I love learning. Dave and I were eating breakfast in the dining room when our ship pulled up to Nassau, Bahamas. The view out the window was spectacular. The houses on the coast were amazing, they were jagged little shapes of extraordinary colors lining the hillside. Of all of the places that I have been, pulling up to Nassau was definitely the most exciting. It really did look like a fairy tale. (From the ship that is)

We all got off of the ship together, Perry "a tour guide" found us and offered us a good deal for a tour of the island. He was licensed by his government and we decided that take him up on it. Our first stop was an outside market where there was amazing handmade jewelry, I only bought a couple of pieces, assuming that there would be lots of jewelry to buy at our different stops. (I was wrong.) If we ever go back to Nassau I will be buying all the jewelry I can afford.

Next we visited the Fort Fincastle which was the fort that the British built to protect the island while the Bahamas were under British rule. It was a little fort that only had a few cannons an armory with a couple of cells.  (Picture above)

Driving on the left side of the road was a scary thing for me. We were in a big blue van that seem to swing way out into the other lane with each turn. I had never experienced this before and those left hand turns at red lights were quite an adrenaline rush. We drove past the old prison (picture above) and through the city into the suburbs to see the houses that the middle class people there live in. There was quite a bit of graffiti but, Perry insisted that the gangs problem there was minimal. LOL. Funny, Perry didn't realize who he had in the van with him and that he could not fool Dave.

Perry took us over a long  bridge and into the city of Atlantis where America's celebrities like to vacation. In Atlantis there was a huge (and I mean huge) casino where the slot machines would take anything from pennies to thousand dollar tokens. I wish now that we had stopped and thrown the dice at the craps table or put a few coins in the slot machines. The chandeliers there were spectacular, some of them cost over a million dollars. There was a salt water aquarium in the casino, we saw a lot of big big fish, stingrays, sharks and other creatures of the sea. The people of Nassau are very proud of the sea animals that they have, their favorite are called conch. A Conch is a medium to large size snail, their shells have a lot of pink to them and they generally have a spire. Conch is believed to be the cure for just about everything including sexual dis-function. The Conch is used as a remedy to illness and also as a main course on the dinner table. Perry said that he eats it cooked and raw. (Yucky!)

After all of the exploring on the island I was exhausted. Being so pregnant I could not stay awake for another minute. I really wanted to spend every last minute that I had available on the island but I just couldn't, I had to go back to the ship and take a nap. Dave of course wanted to utilize every last second so he wandered the shops until he had to get back on the ship or be left behind.

California With Friends

 When Dave and I met, I already had two kids, so dating involved a lot of trips to Chucky Cheese Playland and we didn't have much of a honeymoon. So, in February of 2007 we used our tax return and took our first Adults Only trip. We invited our friends Josh and Karly to come with us. This was the trip that made Dave and I realize that we REALLY needed and enjoyed alone time. We have taken at least one Adults Only trip every year since. It is amazing how little stress there is in life when your on a vacation with the love of your life, and without children.    

    

Dave @ Fort MacArthur

Tonja @ March Air Force Base

   

With our friends connections we were able to stay at Air Force Bases in Southern California. We stayed at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro California for a few nights and then at March Air Force Base in Riverside California for the rest of the trip. I was really, really excited to stay at March A.F.B, because that is where my grandparents met. Also, Riverside California is where I grew up and I was very close to home. 

               

Dave had not ever been to Disneyland so, we DEFINITELY had to take him there and show him a good time (even though he is not a big fan of roller-coasters). We spent two full days at Disneyland, one in the original park and one in California Disney. It was a bit chilly and it rained at night but the lines were not too long and we had a great time. Space Mountain is still my favorite ride but, the big roller coaster in California Disney was a lot of fun, Dave liked Indiana Jones and the Rodger Rabbit rides.  I think he had enough fun there that he would even go back to take the kids.

 We spent an afternoon in Hollywood, wandering around the Chinese Theater, shopping for souvenirs and finding the names of our favorite stars immortalized on the sidewalks. We finished our day at the Universal Studios Stores.

 One of our best days was spent at the Santa Monica beach. We rented tandem bikes and rode up the beach to have lunch at Bubba Gumps on the pier. This was another first for Dave. Being an inland mountain kid, he had never been on a big pier. He spent a couple of hours just watching the waves and taking in the entertainment from the buskers. I was pretty sad that it was too cold to swim although I did love just being near the ocean, breathing in the air and tasting the salt.

    

For Karly's birthday we had dinner at Medieval Times. Our knight didn't win but, he was a hottie and we had a lot of fun!

 I have to say that one of the things that I most looked forward to was going to Vince's Spaghetti House and having a Full Size plate of spaghetti, garlic bread and a root-beer. Vince's is a restaurant that my grandparents have been going to for over 50 years. When we lived in California the whole family would pile in my grandpa's truck. Dad would drive, mom would ride in the passenger seat, Pop, Gram and 5 of us kids would ride in the bed of the truck and play "my bug" (which is slug bug without the slugging). We would drive the hour to Vince's and stuff ourselves. Grandma would always bring pennies and give them to us kids to put into the M&M machine. We would fill little brown paper bags with the colorful candy and eat them the whole way home. 

I knew that my family back home would be jealous so Dave and I bought $100 worth of Vince's spaghetti sauce, put it in our cooler and took it to all the Vince's lovers in Utah.



 Bond Street House



Shaker Drive House



 



 





One morning at the end of our trip Dave and I got up early to drive by the houses that I grew up in. I showed him the school I went to and some of the places that I loved to hang out. (Like the Canyon Crest Golf Course).  We drove by the Bond St. house which is where I lived until 1st grade. The house on Shaker Dr. is by far my favorite place of all the houses I've lived in. I was there longer than I have ever lived anywhere. We also stopped to take pictures of the house on Timberlane, where my grandparents lived until they moved to Utah to be with us.



Timberlane House

2nd Mexican Cruise

"totally amazing"