Monday, August 25, 2008

Everybody Needs a Little Holiday...

Especially Doug & I. Well, & our livers. After this weekend, I'm going to give the poor thing a break tonight, a la Lucy's plan. We had an awesome time both days, but now I'm very tired & I had a nice little nagging wine headache from last night. Nothing too bad, but it made for a very long day.

Note to self: For cryin' out loud, you're almost 40 years old... you can't hang, not like that, not on a Sunday. Oh, & since you're nagging at yourself, get your ass to the gym.

As incredible as the wine & the company were (& they were, truly ), I'm in no mood to write about it. I can't even think about wine right now, so instead, I'll distract my hungover little self with thoughts of vacations. We aren't taking one until Christmas, & Doug & I are both jonesing pretty hard for a trip. It ain't pretty. We want to go to Jamaica so bad right now, we'd sell our firstborn child, if we had one. Couples San Souci will have to wait...

Since I can't go anywhere right now, I figure we can all take a little virtual vacation in Jamaica by looking at a few pictures from some of my past vacations. Let's go, shall we?

Couples Negril...our first all-inclusive & our first time meeting a swim-up bar. This was also our first time at an adults only, couples only resort, & we were HOOKED. Just think about it...hanging out in a pool with no children. That means no one yelling "Mom! Mom! Look at me!", no one crying because they slipped & fell while running around the pool, no one doing a cannonball over your head... I really don't think I need to justify this experience any further! The couples only thing was great, too - no rowdy crowds of spring breakers & their woohoo-ing.

Pool at Couples, Negril

Catamaran at Couples, Negril

We had such a great time on this vacation that we booked another trip, to Couples Ocho Rios, as soon as we got home. Upon arriving, we knew we'd made the right choice - the place rocked! Couples Resorts are just awesome - they've got the whole childfree travel thing down & that's just what we need.

Couples Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Couples Ocho Rios, Jamaica


And now for the big "awwwww...." - we went horseback riding on the last full day that we were there. We hadn't planned to, but it was raining on & off, & the sea was too rough to do anything on the water. We look cute, don't we? Doug certainly does.

Horseback riding in Ocho Rios

Those horses were enormous, but very nice. Mine was named Bruce Willis, but I really wanted to change his name to George Clooney or Matthew McConaughey - I don't think I need to explain why. Anyway, I couldn't change his name because it was against the rules.

Riding Rules

Ok, so looking back on these trips was great, but it's also bummed me out a little. Doug just informed me that we have 4 more months to go. That's a really long time in our book - we spoiled ourselves last year with 4 trips, & we haven't been able to do that this year.

I know, I know....poor, poor me.

Tomorrow, we're jumping back into wine. We're going to a very special class/tasting led by our friend Mike. It's on choosing wines to cellar, & we're supposed to get to taste some rare juice. I'll be excited tomorrow, but I just can't be right now. I just want to sleep.

15 comments:

Thom said...

I am all about the adults only lodging. I ran my B&B that way and you wouldn't believe the crap I recieved on the phone from people with "well behaved children" - right.

I'm with you; I really need a vacation and at this point I would go ANYWHERE! Wait until you see how quickly four months go by...

LucyinStLou said...

Oh...vacation sounds SO nice right now. And we're stuck here until February!

Jenn said...

Ummm...my liver's on holiday until Friday :)

A vacay sounds so incredible right now, unfortunately, there's none on the horizon for me anytime soon :(

Claire Uncorked said...

Thom, if only there were more innkeepers/hotel owners that thought like you... I'm so sick of having to deal with "well behaved" children AND parents everywhere I go - can't I just have a few days where I'm free from that? And I hope you're right about how the time will fly, I really, really do.

Ok, Lucy, so I shouldn't whine - you're here longer than we are. But hey, at least we're all going to have fun in February!

Jenn...sorry to do that to you! Man, that was fun, though. If it makes you feel better, I think mine could use at least another day or 2, but we've already paid for this class, you see...so we have to go! =)

sarah said...

Mr. T and I are going to one of the Couples resorts for our honeymoon. We leave on the 15th and I can't wait! We don't know which resort we'll be at, but I'm glad to hear you've had good experiences at all the Couples resorts you've been to. An adult-only resort was a major requirement for us - nothing kills romance like a crying baby. *shudder*

Anonymous said...

Ugh, I hear ya on the wine hangover. I'm still super young, and I can't even hang like that.

But I'm loving the trip to Jamaica. Mind if I climb into your suitcase?

Stepher said...

Those pictures are VACATION PORN and I'm so into that. What a gorgeous resort and how cute are you two on the horses?!

Now those horses look as though they were actually well-maintained as opposed to the ones we recently saw in Acapulco. Were the animals there well looked after? Did you see (homeless) Beach Dogs? I only ask b/c seeing such animals reallllllllllly brings me down and that's why we'd probably not return to Acapulco. It was gorgeous but they just don't treat animals well at all.

Okay - end that subject.

December will be here before you know it and it will SO be worth the wait. I wasn't aware of Couples Resorts until I read about them on your blog. That sounds perfect for us as well. And the pictures -- well, that looks like a dream come true so I'd go in a heartbeat.

We've not been to Jamaica just yet. It's on our list for sure and now that I know you guys had such positive experiences, one of the Couples Resorts looks like the only way to do Jamaica.

Oh, I needed this today as the rains from Fay continue to sweep through our area for a second day. Sunny beaches and no kids? Take me away!!!

Claire Uncorked said...

Sarah, it sounds like you're doing the Secret Rendezvous...are you? We've been wanting to do that because you save a ton! I can honestly tell you that I've never heard anything bad about any of the Couples. The only one we haven't been to (or have booked) is Couples Swept Away, but that's probably next. You're going to have a great time, I can't wait to read about it!

Kristal, like I told Jenn, sorry we did that to you. It's really all Lucy's fault. =) Oh, & the next trip? Sure, if you don't mind missing Christmas with your family...we DON'T, which is why we're going!

Oh, Stepher...you simply MUST go to Couples. MUST. The horses? Yes, they were very well taken care of, & it was apparent that their caretakers had a relationship with each of them. It was really cute, actually. I've ridden horses in Mexico & Guatemala, & I can't say the same for them. (Guatemala was way worse.) Beach dogs are all over the Caribbean, sadly, but one kind of lives on 7-Mile Beach in Negril, & seemed very happy!

LucyinStLou said...

Lucy's fault?!?!? Let the record show that the Luce's only contributed 3 bottles. Anything above and beyond came from the Uncorkeds. But, yes, sorry guys. We're really pretty tame. Except for when we hang out with the Uncorkeds.

Blue Ice Dave said...

It'd be nice to even think about planning a vacation. Sometimes an change of scenery is enough to rejuvenate. Now if only I had the time.

Stepher said...

There's something on my blog for YOU!

http://s2dolife.blogspot.com/2008/08/clever-chicks.html

Claire Uncorked said...

Lucy...hehehehehe...

Dave, believe me, I do know the feeling. We didn't use to take trips every year, much less a few. You guys will get one, so hang in there.

Stepher - you're a peach. You really are.

Schneiderdoodle said...

Mark and I returned from our Couples Swept Away honeymoon on Thursday and 5 nights wasn't enough. We can't wait to try out the new Tower Isle in Ocho Rios!

Fifi Flowers said...

WOW... everyone needs this holiday! Great place... beautiful!

Nursedude said...

Claire, don't feel bad for the need for looking back at the ghosts of vacations past. The whole month of september, I found myself looking back at our family trip to France a year ago...it was SUCH a good time. Well, with money being tight in our house and the dollar/Euro exchange rate even worse than last year, I will have to wait awhile for another fun trip. Looks like Jamaica was fun as hell. I had a friend who did Hedonism in Jamaica few years ago-that would be the X rated version of the R rated adults only trip you took. I think my wife and I would prefer something like the trip you took.

I really need a trip badly...and going to Iowa for my college homecoming just does not count-we'll see, we found a bed and breakfast that at least looks promising.