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.