D. Jacob Townsend, CPA, Manager

A couple of weeks ago Jacob got a promotion at work. He was promoted from a Senior staff accountant to a Manager. This is a big deal.. especially since he works for a small firm. He works really hard and it is so nice to be recognized for it! I'm so proud of him!

It's Irie Mon

Jacob and I just returned home from a trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica. We stayed at a Sandals resort from Sunday, July 11th - Friday, July 16th. I must say that those 6 days were absolutely wonderful. We learned a few things while in Jamaica, so throughout this entry I'll be filling you in on some of those things. Our trip started out a little rocky for a few reasons. I (being cheap, or frugal as I like to call it), was trying to save us money on the checked bags so we tried to fit everything into one large bag. Everything fit, that wasn't the problem, the problem was the bag weighed 60 lbs (10lbs over the limit). They would've charged us more for an overweight bag than they would have for 2 that were 50lbs or under... so at 4:15am on Sunday, I grab a smaller rolling bag to use as another carry on and fill it with stuff from the other suitcase... other stuff as in toiletries (not even thinking about the size limit of liquids for carry ons)... Well when we got to the airport, we realized that we were each allowed 2 FREE checked bags EACH since it was an international flight (UGH!). However, we still decided to carry on the smaller bag since we had packed a change of clothes (in case they lost our bag, we would have something to wear while waiting for it to arrive). I realized my mistake as soon as they scanned our bag in the security line. Oh well, it was too late to do anything but let the lady go through the bag and throw out everything that was too big (it wasn't much, but this process took a good 25min). (So, lesson #1: it's a good idea to pack a spare outfit in your carry on, just not all of your toiletries.. OH, and check with your airline because you get 2 free bags each with Delta on International flights..)We ended up having to walk VERY quickly to our gate in order to be on time.. we made it but didn't have time to get anything to eat.. no big deal, we'll grab something in Atlanta.. right? Wrong. We arrived in Atlanta at gate E and had to make it to A in 10 minutes (on complete opposite ends of the airport). Again, we had to move very quickly and had no time to get anything to eat.. If you know me, I am not a morning person, nor am I a very friendly person if I have not eaten... this was a very bad combination for me (and Jacob, since he had to sit by me). It was at this time I was very thankful that I had insisted the night before that we purchase snacks for our flight (hey, it was going to be 2 1/2 hours and they charge a fortune for snacks). Jacob, being diabtetic, was also thankful for our Gardettos and snickers bars. So, lesson #2: no matter what your husband says, ALWAYS pack snacks for the plane ride, he will thank you later.

Once we arrived in Jamaica and made it through customs (it only took us about an hour) we were escorted to the Sandals lounge while we waited for our shuttle to the resort. This wait was about 5 minutes. When we arrived to the resort, we were greeted with a cold towel and then taken to a room where they served us champagne while we filled out paperwork and waited on our room to be ready. After a quick lunch, it was time to see our room. They upgraded us to a honeymoon water's edge concierge room (everyone assumed we were on our honeymoon since we were a young couple, oh well, no complaints from us!). Since we were upgraded to a concierge room we had a fully stocked fridge that was restocked daily with beer, liquor, and sodas, however, snacks were not included and would cost you a pretty penny... by a pretty penny I mean $2 for a small bag of Cheetos (refer back to lesson #2 about buying snacks before the trip). The room was fabulous and the view was even better. We had a patio that opened up to a grassy area that overlooked the beautiful blue water. We also had a hot tub and small sun bathing area that we shared with a couple of other rooms. There was a mini rain storm shortly after we arrived, so we took a short nap before exploring the grounds and going to dinner. The first night we ate at the Bayside restaurant. The food was very good and we both loved the fact that we didn't have to 1.) find a place to eat or 2.) pay for dinner (well, you know what I mean). When we returned to our room we noticed an abundance of mosquitoes. We did not bring bugspray but decided that would be the first thing on our agenda the next morning. Lesson #3: BYOBS. Bring your own bug spray. They will charge you an arm and a leg (3x the USA price) for Off! And the mosquitoes LOVE American blood! 

On day two we took our time getting ready and eating breakfast (a full buffet, with an omelet bar and smoothie station). Then picked up some fruity drinks and headed to lay on the beach. We did that all day.. only stirring to get another drink or cool off in the water. My drinks of choice were strawberry daiquiri, Jamaican Smile (mixture of strawberry, bananan, coconut rum, milk, more rum, ice, and who knows what else), or a Miami vice (mixture of strawberry daiquiri and pina colada. Jacob mainly drank Red Strip Light (Red stripe was the only beer our resort served, the Jamaicans love it) or he would occasionally get a Jamaican Smile or Dirty Banana (like a Jamaican smile, but without the strawberry stuff). Let me take a moment to assure you that we did not get drunk at all while on our trip.. it seemed like we were sweating out more than we took in so it was practically impossible to drink enough to get drunk or even get a buzz (although some people did find a way to accomplish this, we are not big drinkers so we did not). That night they had a beach party with authentic Jamaican food and some vendors from a local market. We ate dinner and then browsed the tables for souvenirs. I was surprised at how pushy the vendors were.. a lady named Jenni tried to sell us all kinds of things (as did the others). We learned a few things this night. Lesson #4: Never touch anything at a Jamaican market/store unless you plan to pay for it (some places weren't like this, like the resort, but in the markets, they were). And lesson #5: never pay full price for anything they are selling. Jenni wanted to charge me $25 for an item I purchased, but I ended up getting it for only $5. You just have to be willing to bargain and stand your ground. We were also shocked at the fact that both vendors tried to give us the items before we paid them (our money was in the room and we told them we had to go get it). They both wrapped it up and tried to get us to take it and pay them later. We were uncomfortable taking the items without paying them so we just asked them to hold them until we came back. I guess this is a way to ensure you will actually buy something, but on the other hand, dishonest people would take it and not ever pay them. Either way, we found it odd. 

Day three started much like day 2 except we were woken up by the phone ringing around 9am. I didn't get to it in time so we didn't know who it was.. After laying in bed for another 15 minutes, it hit me that I might have planned our Dunns River Falls trip for Tuesday, not Wednesday.. so I jumped out of bed and went to check.. Sure enough, we were supposed to be in the lobby at 8:45 for the trip.. they were calling to remind us. I felt terrible that we had missed it and might not get to go..(my confirmation sheet said "No Refunds or no rescheduling!)  Lesson #6: just because you are on vacation, it does not mean your brain can also be on vacation.. keep up with your reservations! We got ready and went straight to the Islands Routes desk. Thankfully, the motto in Jamaica is "No Problem Mon!" and she rescheduled us for Wednesday. I felt much better and we could now continue on with our day of laying on the beach with fruit drinks in our hands. On Monday we had set up reservations for dinner the remainder of our trip. Tuesday night we were dining at Stewfish. This was a seafood restaurant that was literally on the beach. Our reservation was for 6:30, which meant the sun was setting.. and what a BEAUTIFUL sight this was.. just feet from the ocean and the sun reflecting on the water.. it was just.. Perfect.

Day four started bright and early since we were going on the Dunns River Falls trip that day. We were up with plenty of time to eat breakfast and then we even had about 20 mins. to spare. Whew! We didn't want to miss it! We looked awefully dorky in our bathing suits and water shoes, but that was the required dress code for climbing water falls in Jamaica. This was probably my favorite day (although I thoroughly enjoyed them all). We boarded the van with our driver Mickey, our tour guide Sharna, and 5 other couples. The drive to the falls was about an hour and 45 min. although it didn't feel that long since Sharna was telling us all about Jamaica and different places along the way. We passed through 3 of the 14 parishes in Jamaica to get there (St. James, Trelawney, and St. Ann). I loved hearing Sharna talk about the areas and the Jamaican way of life. However, I didn't love Mickey's driving.. I believe that road lines and traffic laws are MERELY SUGGESTIONS in Jamaica.. It was terrifying if you actually watched the road (which I had to since I get car sick). Lesson #7 (things I learned on the trip to/from the falls): a husband= a spoogie (spelling??), you are a virgin if it's your first time in Jamaica.. you are a Jamerican each time thereafter, if you are scared for your life because of Mickey's driving- you do not yell Oh My Gosh or anything like that.. you simply cover your eyes and say "No Problem Mon" and when you uncover them the problem will be sovled, if you say "yes" instead of "yeah mon" Sharna will make you sing to everyone, we had to introduce ourselves by saying: "me name ___, me from ___, me love ___, and open containers ARE allowed in Jamaica (as long as your not driving). Two of the stores we passed on the way were "On De Run" and "Tek It EZ" - I'm serious. Once we made it to Dunns River Falls we had to walk from the bus to the falls in our bathing suits and water shoes (yes, we were quite a sight). Sharna warned us of a few things before we left: 1. men will try to give you a 'free' necklace- it is not free, once you put it on, you have to pay for it. 2. people will ask your name, as soon as you tell them, they will begin carving it into a wooden statue, you then must pay for it. 3. the guide and videographer will expect tips and will follow you to the bus in order to get them (we were not allowed to tip any of the Sandals employees, but everyone else made it a point to let us know if they were not employed with Sandals and could therefore accept tips). These were all very helpful tips. We met our falls guide, Leroy Stewart, and began our journey. The view from the bottom of the falls was beautiful but we started climbing the falls and didn't look back. Leroy picked me to be at the front of the line (out of about 30 people).. I guess I looked qualified because along the way (more often than not) he would just motion for me to go on and lead the group while he took pictures for all the couples at different stops. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate him taking the pictures but I had NO clue how to climb water falls, so I did my best (and we all survived, so, I guess it was good enough). We spent about an hour climbing the falls... it was an experience I will never forget. Once during the climb we stopped to do a natural water slide.. it was a small slide but packed a big punch (I inhaled a good bit of water on this one, even after preparing for the slide). Another time Leroy had Jacob stand behind me and wrap his arms around me and we free falled backwards into the water.. very fun (poor Jacob, I felt his back slam against the bottom, I guess that's why he was behind me). I would definitely recommend this excursion to others. We were exhausted from climbing the falls (and my legs were def. feeling it the next day) but we hit the beach with some drinks until time to get ready for dinner. We dined at Cucina Romano that night (an italian restaurant upstairs, overlooking the water). It was delicious. Creme Brulee and Blue Mountain coffee were a perfect way to end that day.

Day five was spent on the beach with fruity drinks (are you seeing a trend here??). We were trying to soak up as much of the sun as we could. That night for dinner we went to Tokyo Joes. This is a Japanese restaurant that overlooks the water. They bring you your appetizer and soups and then you go to a bar to compile all of the veggies you want in your entree, then you watch them cook it in big woks. Dinner was very yummy.. but I must say the chocolate banana dessert was FINE.. hands down the tastiest dessert of the whole trip and maybe of my while life (okay, it wasn't better than a strawberry patch, but it was VERY close!). After dinner it was time to go back to our room and pack.. We had to leave the hotel at 5am on Friday.

Day 6 was a very sad day. We did not want to leave.. but I was looking forward to seeing our pups and sleeping in our own bed. Sometimes it just nice to be home. Our trip home was anything but smooth.. We encountered some delays on both flights for various reasons. After leaving the resort at 5am and not getting home til 9:30pm (we were scheduled to be home at 4), we were ready to crash. We brought with us many memories that we will cherish for a lifetime. I'm very thankful that we had the opportunity to take this trip together. Below I have posted a few pictures from the trip. You can view all of them on my facebook page.

Until next time...