Happy Holidays from the Williams Family!

MBJ Flytographer Session

I love the idea of having our photos done while on a vacation.  Sometimes there just isn't time with a busy itinerary, but once I saw that Flytographer had a local photographer booking sessions in Montego Bay, Jamaica, I did not want to the miss our opportunity to get our holiday card photos taken in paradise.

I corresponded with our photographer, Raheem, leading up to our session on the Friday of our trip, mostly using WhatsApp, to coordinate meeting up.  He selected Doctor's Cave Bathing Club in downtown Montego Bay as our location.  It was a beautiful setting and, especially since we had to pay to get in to the beach club, I wish we'd brought bathing suits to enjoy more of our day in this beautiful club.  I loved seeing more of the area and listening to our taxi driver tell us that Fridays in Jamaica were no cook nights (KFC is a favorite option that night) and Mondays are for soup. 

Raheem was a fun and patient photographer (yes, I'm referring to you, Jonathan, when I say patient...the man apparently can't open his eyes even a crack if he sees the sun).  Raheem sounded like an extremely prolific photographer, mostly shooting weddings, and it was interesting to learn that he'd only ever visited Montana in the U.S.  I still wonder how he ended up there of all places.  We all enjoyed meeting Raheem and am thankful for the many beautiful photos he shared with us within just a few days from our 30-minute session at Doctor's Cave Beach.  Thanks you, Raheem!

My family definitely indulged me a bit on this one, taking time away from the resort to dress up and get our photos taken, but I think they're pretty happy with the results, too.

Jamaica: December 1

Last day of those views, last day of the sand in our toes, last day of unlimited piña coladas and bottomless mojitos, last day of the jerk hut, and time to head home.  Luckily we had a 3pm flight so we got to enjoy a good half day in the resort before heading home.  We took full advantage.  And, with access to the lounge in the airport and first class upgrades for Jonathan and me on the flight home, we were definitely living the high life on this vacation.  Ya mon! 

Jamaica: November 30

It's another day in paradise--this really doesn't get old.  This was our last full day in Jamaica and, now that we'd really found all of the best foods, drinks, and activities around the resort, we really knew how to make the most of the whole experience.  On our last night we enjoyed a fancy Italian dinner at their Luna di Mare, the only reason Jonathan and Jack had packed pants.

Jamaica: November 29

We made the most of our third day in Jamaica!  We ventured out of the resort around midday to head to downtown Montego Bay to meet local photographer Raheem, who I had booked through Flytographer, for a short family session.  I figured I would take advantage of having our big trip at Thanksgiving time to get photos for our holiday cards.  I'll post those pictures later, but there's plenty to look at from the rest of our day spent in the resort.  Some highlights include: that water (amazing how blue it looks and the many shades are just breathtaking), Ella and Jack making their way through the virgin daiquiri menu (although they both really eventually settled on piña coladas), discovering the amazing jerk chicken and pork (and festivals, fried dough) from the Jerk Hut (although we learned to forgo the spicy sauce because it was spicy enough without it), fresh juices all day from the juice hut, drinks from the bar any time you like (which we often mixed with the fresh juice), exploring the nearby aqueduct ruins, sunset views from our room, and (finally!) a dinner at one of the reservation restaurants, the Seaside Bar & Grille (definitely another favorite meal--loved the bouillabaisse). 

Jamaica: November 28

On Thanksgiving Day we were up bright and early, earlier than most of the resort, ready to explore the grounds and find some good lounge chairs for our home base for the day.  Jonathan and I hung out near the pier and bar (which also happened to be near the coffee/juice bar hut and jerk hut) while Jack and Ella explored the pools--lazy river, slides, and swim up bar (where they of course ordered piña coladas and daiquiris as soon as the bar opened).  At one point we hadn't seen Ella and Jack around for a while so Jonathan went to look for them and quickly found them eating lunch together at Mangoes Café.  It didn't take them long, apparently, to get comfortable with just being able to order food at any restaurant on the resort that's open.

While we were in Montego Bay the water was pretty choppy so we were unfortunately unable to book any snorkeling or boating excursions.  We were able to take short catamaran trips off of the resort's beach which was pretty fun, especially since the gentleman sailing the boat could make it tip really high as he turned the catamaran back towards the beach. 

As it was Thanksgiving, the resort had planned a big buffet on the patio and pool deck complete with all of the trimmings for traditional Thanksgiving plus many Jamaican specialties.  It was a very happy Thanksgiving!  ...and, I was very thankful to not spend all day cooking--we should travel for Thanksgiving more often!

Jamaica: November 27

After a big trip to the UK for Christmas last year which included being in London for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the family vote this year was to spend the Christmas holidays at home.  They also wanted to go somewhere to just relax on a beach.  As much as I love the historical sites and research, I was kind of looking forward to having a year off of the intense planning, coming off of the UK trip. 

We're really just a 3- or 4-hour flight from many Caribbean islands, so we thought a 5-day trip would really fit the bill.  And that made the Thanksgiving holiday the perfect timeframe (the kids have three days off and Jonathan only needed to take one day of vacation).  Other than Jonathan and my vacation in Aruba on an award trip with his company in September 2017, I had never been to the Caribbean and really had no experience planning trips to there.  It was kind of daunting exploring the many many options but not really knowing what would be the best fit for us.  So, embracing the concept of this trip involving just being along for the ride, without itineraries or much research outside of selecting the resort, I decided to go the easiest way possible for booking our trip--let Costco Travel handle it.  I booked our travel package online, complete with flights, airport transfers, and resort reservations, all through the Costco Travel website.  Of all of the islands available to us, Jamaica seemed like the easiest to access over the Thanksgiving dates we selected.  Our flights were direct and under 3 hours each way, the resort was a Hilton with good reviews so I had some confidence in its level of quality, and none of us would really have to lift a finger for the entire trip (including me) which is just what we wanted.

The day before Thanksgiving, we arrived in Montego Bay, Jamaica by about 3pm (and I have to note that Jonathan was sweet enough to let me enjoy the first class upgrade he was able to snag).  I look forward to one day seeing the other popular resort areas of Jamaica (Ocho Rios and Negril), but considering how short the drive was from the airport to our resort, I am glad we picked a Montego Bay resort for this trip.  By the time we got through customs, found our transport bus, made our way to the Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, and got to our room it was early evening.  The views from our room of the sun setting over the aqueduct ruins and the palms blowing in the wind along the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea were a stunning look at the paradise we would be enjoying over the next four days.

By the time we checked in the, the resort restaurant reservation desk was closed so we had to chose a restaurant for dinner that didn't require reservations. This actually worked out, though, because we timed it just right to get one of the first tables at Annie's Smokehouse BBQ (which is the pizza place and bar by day and only serves BBQ at night).  This was actually one of my favorite meals during our trip.  We sat on a patio right on the beach, listening to steel drums playing and the wind rustling through the palm trees.  I enjoyed shrimp and veggie grilled kebabs and Jonathan had grilled fish, both embracing the island fare, while Jack and Ella were perfectly happy to have wings and buttery noodles, respectively.  We had a little trouble adjusting to the idea that you each order something from each course and portions for appetizers are meant for one person, but it didn't take us long to catch on to the all-inclusive ways.

Instagrammin' in November

Looking at our November through phone pics and it feels like summer again!  I spent the beginning of the month having a fun weekend in Wild Dunes near Charleston with tennis friends at a tennis tournament called Racquet Wars.  My partner and I won our first two matches in the waterfall bracket and ended up in the top division.  We have an awesome match, losing 6-4 7-5 to the eventual winners.  We definitely earned our beers!  We also celebrated Jonathan's 44th birthday with a homemade cake that was light and fluffy, using all the tricks we've learned from watching The Great British Baking Show.  The weekend before Thanksgiving, my parents came to visit so we took them to our new favorite Charlotte walk that takes you through the fun sites of South End.  We also got to visit with my mom's sister, Aunt Cathy, who has now moved back to the Charlotte area--so excited to have her, and soon Uncle Doug once he retires, back in town!  And, to close out our November, we went on our big trip of the year.  The family vote this year was to be home for Christmas and to go somewhere in the Caribbean.  So, we booked a 5-day trip over the Thanksgiving holiday to a Hilton all-inclusive resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  We definitely did not miss the turkey this year...

racquet wars with wsrc tennis friends elaine, melissa, angie, teneika, and my partner suzy | suzy and enjoyed some post-match beers while we watched angie and teneika play a match. | it was an unseasonably cold weekend, but you couldn't beat the views and seafood dinners. | jack performed a zombie play with his honors drama class--he literally told us the day of that he would be performing after football practice, but ella and i managed to catch the play regardless. jack was pretty good. | happy birthday to jonathan! | we love nonni and papa! | we took them to some of our favorites--south end rail trail, ping pong table near futo buta, jenni's ice cream, hearts wall, and omb. | lunch and new house tour with aunt cathy | and jamaica!  our view from our hotel the first evening. | we took one day trip out of the resort to head down to downtown montego bay for a photo session with a local photographer (raheem) who we had booked through flytographer. | the last photo is his beautiful sneak peek that we received before we'd even left the island.