Second Babymoon

Jarrett's birthday (on the 22nd of June) included a trip on an airplane to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Our flight was slightly delayed due to some baggage that made its way aboard the plane even though its owners were on a different plane. So we had to wait for the baggage handlers to sift through all the luggage aboard the aircraft and find and remove the wayward suitcases. Once in the air, though, things were fine. And, really, we did not end up getting there too late in the end.

We were met immediately by a woman from Silver Sands who made sure everything was okay throughout the course of our stay, as well as our driver, Mikey, who ended up being our sole driver for all of our travel needs. We boarded the well-used blue minivan and were each given our welcome drink -- a Red Stripe for Jarrett and a Ting (Jamaican grapefruit soda) for me. The ride to Silver Sands from Montego Bay was a little more eventful than I was anticipating, as a man had died in the middle of the road as a result of crashing his motorcycle. Apparently they had seen the devastation on the way into the airport, but the man was still lying in the road (at least mostly covered by a tarp at this point) when we drove back by over an hour later. People were gathered all over the road and along the sides, crying, covering their mouths, hugging each other. It was total chaos, and very sad. Thankfully we had finished the jerk chicken we picked up from the roadside jerk establishment, Scotchies, prior to passing the accident (best jerk chicken EVER, I might add -- last time we were in Jamaica we got some from there).

It took probably about forty-five minutes to an hour to arrive at the resort, and we received a warm welcome upon arriving to our rental house from our fabulous cook/housekeeper, Rita. Rita made our stay at the house (Sea Spice) even that much more relaxing. In the midst of this trip, I realized that I do not think I have ever felt more completely relaxed than I have the two times I have stayed at Silver Sands. Sitting on the veranda, overlooking the beach, listening to the ocean waves, reading or chatting, and then having all meals totally taken care of by the cook -- how could it get any more relaxing?

Me and Rita

And good rest and relaxation is really what made up our four nights away from home. We did not deviate much from what I described above. We did take several swims in the Caribbean, which was fabulous. The beaches at Silver Sands are quite lovely and the water was nice and clear. And we did make one trip out of the resort to go rafting down the Martha Brae River on a bamboo raft, which aside from our guide losing one of his poles (thank goodness he had a spare!) in the first five minutes of the ride, was also nice and relaxing. There was also some more excitement on the road on our drive back to the house. It rained (and even rained on us some while on the raft), and apparently the driver of a van was going a little too fast around the corner and slid off the road, flipping the van onto its side, and careened into a rock embankment. Thankfully the driver (and only person in the vehicle) was okay, and Mikey (the guy in the gray shirt and khaki pants in the photo below) was able to help him out of the van. Prior to happening upon the accident, Mikey also took us to a local public beach to try to find some lunch. We walked a ways down the beach to a really cool little makeshift hut a guy (and his wife?) had set up there. Unfortunately they had only just started cooking their food by the time we got there, so the three of us just enjoyed a drink under their awning while the rain came down some more and walked back to the van.

Other than that, we read a lot. I think I read more than I have since the last time I was there. And we talked a lot. And listened to music. And ate a lot. It was absolutely wonderful. I will let the pictures and Jarrett's video tour of the house tell the rest of the story.

Our first dinner, and probably a tie for best meal with the jerk chicken and rice and peas Rita made the following night -- snapper escabeche

Our view from the veranda

Front of Sea Spice

Beach, looking to the east

Sunset on the beach, looking to the west, obviously

Baby Helms at 28-and-a-half weeks

One of our favorite activities -- being fairly nonactive

Again, our view

Enjoying some good Jamaican decaf

The gazebo at the end of the jetty -- the house we stayed at with friends the last time we were there, Rum Jetty, is just on the other side of this jetty and could be seen from our front porch

Jarrett, enjoying a dip in the sea

View of Sea Spice from the beach

Another dinner -- Jamaican beef (kind of tough, to be honest), yummy veggies, and roasted potatoes

From the sounds of it, Elsa had much fun with her Grandad and Grandma Susan here at the house. They experienced a number of storms while we were away, and three power outages, but they still seemed to manage to get out and do a number of things, including a trip to the zoo, outings to the park, and general fun in the yard with sand and water. And apparently Elsa did not ask about us once. I was so glad to hear she seemed at ease with them and had such a good time. She seems to greatly love all of her grandparents, for sure!

Our little island girl in the dress (and holding the matching purse) we brought back with us