This has been such a eye opening year for me. I started a blog, I went on 5 trips, I went to Los Angeles on my first solo trip, and I went on my dream vacation to Jamaica. I guess I felt like I better start enjoying life and seeing what all it had to offer. The thing is, we often talk about the great things we want to do, but somehow they never happen for whatever reason. I figured that I needed to stop being one of those people and enjoy life to the fullest. Yesterday, I arrived back in the States from the trip I’ve always wanted to go on. I know most people dream of London, Africa, or Dubai, but it has always been Jamaica for me. I used to say that I was going there for my honeymoon, but after no proposals so far, I decided that I needed to stop waiting for whoever Mr. Right is and go for it. So with my travel buddy cousin and 2 friends, I was off to paradise on October 5th on a new adventure. I’m going to break it down by day to describe my wonderful time.
Day 1: The Arrival
I woke up at 12:30 am to get myself together for an early flight. I had to pick up my friends, then we whisked off to my cousin’s house to ride to the airport together. We were dead to the world, but we dragged our bodies and bags into the building. We got some eye candy in the airport, and I actually wanted to get frisked. But that’s neither here nor there. After making it to Charlotte, NC, we began talking about the resort and how I thought it would be an all adult resort. Clearly, I didn’t see that there were 3 sections to the resort and we were staying at Iberostar Beach, not the all adult section. Upon arrival from a seemingly ALL day venture, we finally landed and we were in awe of Montego Bay. The ride to the resort was something else, as we were on the left side of the road.
As we approached the Iberostar resort, we began snapping it up. How could we not? The beachfront aspect of it all was beautiful and no one would believe us without pictures. Although we weren’t greeted with libations, we were greeted by a friendly staff who encouraged us to stop by the lunch buffet and grab some drinks while they were getting our room ready. We also made dinner reservations and checked out the excursions. When you have 4 ladies, you can only imagine how long it took to actually finalize the excursions. As we chatted with the staff, we were Amazed to see none other than Steve Harvey walking through for a seminar. Wow, a star on the same resort as us! We ended the night with a drum line band performance, a slew of beverages, and playing pool in the sport’s bar area.
Day 2: ATV’s & Snorkeling
After sleeping like an angel on a cloud (assuming angels snore), we woke up refreshed and ready to see what Jamaica had to offer. After raiding the breakfast buffet with mimosas, we were off to our first excursion with Chukka for fun in the sun. We started with the ATV’s and boy did we get muddy with each puddle splash and bend around the many acres of land. We passed children asking for dollars, as well as brown cows grazing the land. It was very exhilarating for all 4 of us. After scarfing down some great jerk chicken and festival (the bread for funnel cakes), we were off yet again for more splashes, but this time in the ocean. Our nerves were building up as we began to sail out for snorkeling.
As the crew dropped the anchor into the water, I tried to calm our nerves by telling them that it wasn’t going to be so bad. The guide gave the instructions and we listened intently, making sure not to miss a single detail and end up lost at sea. Totally exaggerating! After the short guide on the how to of snorkeling, we went down the steps into the water. I actually fell down the last two steps and went crashing into the water with a laugh. After the guide kept yelling at everyone to calm down, we finally got the hang of things. We had to use a motorized guide that allowed us to go fast through the tour of the coral reef. One of my friends got her swimsuit caught in the motor and her whole swimsuit string had to be cut off. There went that brand new swimsuit, but she continued to brave through the water and we ended up having a good experience. When we got back aboard the boat, the party began. We went from snorkeling and seeing the exotic fish to booty shaking music and heavy poured rum punch. Great way to end the tour of Chukka.
After traveling what seemed to be a long way back to our resort, we were dead to the world. Adventure had called, and we surely answered. But now it was time to get dolled up and go to dinner. We chose to have the hibachi and it did not disappoint. I even did the dinner trick where the chef threw the carrot into my mouth from his spatula. Of course being the foodie that I am, I wasn’t about to drop any food. Normally, you get to choose 2 meats with your hibachi dinner, but the chef cooked so much extra that we had all 4 meats. This included chicken, steak, shrimp, and squid. It was so good that I was busting at the seams after tasting all of the food. I even indulged in some champagne because life is a celebration and I was on my dream trip. We hit the bed extra hard so we could be ready for our next adventure the next morning.
Day 3: Dunn’s River Falls
After another morning of the breakfast buffet filled with omelets, fruit, and other tasty treats, we headed off to Dunn’s River Falls Park. Because I had done snorkeling so many times before, that didn’t really scare me the day before. But I was actually worried about hiking the falls for the first time. The stories and pictures did not do it any justice to say the least. We lined up and the guide explained how we had to hold hands and make sure to watch our steps the entire way up. As we began, the rushing water was very chilly and we helped each other up the slippery rocks along the way. It was very strenuous and we really had to climb at times, but the exercise was well worth it. After trekking upwards, we took many pictures and got extremely soaked, but we made it to the top without any mishaps. It wasn’t as bad as we thought. On the way back to the bus, we were bombarded by a slew of salespeople trying to make a dollar off of their items. We were even offered marijuana along the way, but that wasn’t our vice.
Already wet from the falls, we headed over to the beach. The water was very dirty from the people stirring up the seaweed before we got there, so we laid out like beach bums. That was until the resort staff came around asking who wanted to play volleyball. Being the competitive girl I am, we went and played with other fun loving people. Afterwards, we went to the pool for drinks and grilled goodies. The sun went down on our funny conversations, so we showered and got dressed for the nightly show. Excited to see the Michael Jackson show, we went to the Iberostar Suites section of the resort and sang and danced the night away. It was very realistic as I pondered where they found a light skin Michael Jackson impersonator. Unable to bare the karaoke after party, we had girl talk at the lobby bar until we were tired from the long day.
Day 4: Sailing & Chilling
Almost sad from it being our next to last day, we had no idea what we were going to do. So being the girls that we are, we headed to the beach for a photo shoot. You couldn’t tell us we weren’t models that day! We even played a frisbee game with other friendly people to win a bottle of Jamaican Appleton rum. My throw was off for some reason so I didn’t win…or even place for that matter. After a few fruity drinks and laughs with the bartender, we decided to go sailing. We took 2 boats out with guides and were able to get some great pictures of the resort as a whole. We even got to get off on a sand dune to take a group picture in the middle of the ocean. The wind blew through our hair as we enjoyed the breath-taking views and each other’s company. When we were finished, we went back to shots to celebrate a successful girls trip by the poolside.
We got all dolled up after the chill day and were off to dinner at the jambalaya restaurant. Looking like celebrities in our all black, we enjoyed more champagne and fruity drinks at the fancy dinner. We had ribeye steaks cooked to perfection and a buffet of goodies to accompany the dish. It was time for yet another photo shoot because we couldn’t pass up a great last night in the lovely dresses and high heels. I even recorded a video for my Be Sweet Facebook page to encourage people to do the things they have always wanted to do. We wanted to go to Margaritaville, but the free shuttle never came, so we went to the sports bar for more strong drinks until we decided to call it a night. We were in awe of the good time we had and were planning our next trip back. Jamaica did not owe me a single thing and my dream trip had come to wonderful reality. The next morning we were off to the States.
The Take Away Message
Being the blogger that I am, I had a few epiphanies and philosophical moments along my Jamaica girls trip. From day 1, I got the message that we had to make the best of the trip. After doing so, we landed amongst the stars. Day 2, I took away that it’s always best to drive yourself and not wait for others to do so. You also have to not be afraid to swim out to the deep water because that’s where the good view is located. The party boat made s celebrate the fact that we were alive and sometimes you just have to appreciate that wonderful fact. On day 3, the Dunn’s park encouraged me to keep going upward and don’t be afraid to fall. Life can be an uphill journey, but the top can be very rewarding. Overall, you can’t wait to live your life. I was trying to wait for marriage, but who’s to say that I will get married? I have learned that I have to go after the things I want in life so that I can enjoy the amazing experiences. As the Jamaican song simply put it, “don’t worry about a thing because every little thing is going to be alright.” Next stop, create a life where I don’t need to take as many vacations from! STAY TUNED & BE SWEET.
Be Sweet 