Sunday, January 4, 2009

4 Days In...

Come on, 2009 -- show us what you've got. Better economy? Weird weather? The possibilities are endless.

But hey, it's too soon to talk about that, & I'm not going to join the throngs of bloggers that have shared their cheerleader-ish hopes & dreams for the year like they do every year. Frankly, the year is merely a period of time & it's going to be what it's going to be...& that's largely up to us & what we choose to do with it. Having said that, Happy New Year, & I hope that you make the best of it!

So, we've been back for a while, but let's talk about my trip to Jamaica, shall we?

Actually, there's not that much to tell. We went, hung out on a beautiful beach at an amazing resort, drank lots of rum at the swim-up bar, & got a tan. We had a killer massage in what had to be the coolest place to get a massage EVER. The food was great, the views incredible, & we neglected to take a lot of photos. Damn, damn, damn. In my defense, we didn't really go anywhere or do anything other than hang out...but here's what we took. (If you want to see more, check out the link - Couples does a great job!)

Our room upon arrival...I'm not a fan of the headboard & the bed was harder than I like (but I'm spoiled), but overall, the room was nice, roomy, & very blue & white.

Our room at Couples Sans Souci


Here's a couple of views from our terrace...sadly, neither photo does it justice, but as I said earlier, I just wasn't inclined to keep snapping. It really was outstanding, & at night, the lights were fabulous.

View from our room - Sans Souci

View from our room - Sans Souci

The only thing we didn't love about our room was the noise - we were just down from where most of the nightly entertainment was, which wasn't cool if we wanted to get to sleep before midnight. Oh well.

On our first night, there was a huge wedding. I'm guessing the bride & groom were natives because there were a lot of people! I'd hate to think how much money it cost to have a wedding at the resort, but I'm here to tell you, it was gorgeous. I was only able to get 1 shot, & it's not a very good one...

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Ok, not the best, but I figured it'd be a bit tacky for a stranger to run around taking pictures...but take my word for it - it was beautiful. I wish I could've taken photos of the tables, but it was really dark, & then there was the whole tacky thing I just mentioned, so sorry... I know some of you would have really enjoyed them. Everything was very well done - the flowers, the lighting, music, the colors... As pretty as it was, all I could think of was how much money was spent on 1 little day, a mere blip in a life. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20!

The lobby was decorated for Christmas.

Couples San Souci - lobby

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Eh, as usual, my photos don't do it justice. New camera, you know.

So yeah...great trip. It was over at just the right time - we were missing the dogs terribly. After a few delays at both the Montego Bay & Charlotte airports, we finally made it home. Talk about a major drag...but thank goodness there are decent bars in airports. There's even a wine bar that we discovered last year at the Charlotte airport that serves & sells North Carolina's Yadkin Valley wines, so obviously, we had to stop in again. Checking out wines from other states is a big hobby of ours, & I'm happy to report that North Carolina's wines are pretty damn good. Seriously - while they may not be of the same caliber as Napa or Willamette, I think they have real potential, therefore, I'm happy to support their efforts. Some day, we hope to take a trip to the Yadkin - I think it'd be cool (I'm certainly not going to go to a NASCAR race, which is huge in that area), one We bought a Bordeaux-style red blend from Raylen Vineyards, & I'm looking forward to sharing it with some of our fellow winos.

My dad had taken great care of the girls, as always...they certainly didn't starve. Within seconds of walking in our door, I was struck by how much bigger Piper had become! It was really remarkable. So much so that we're going to get her in to see the vet in the next week or so - the poor chunk has to get her thyroid checked & be put on a diet. Everyone ele was great, though, & Gordon said that they all had a wonderful time.

The second thing we noticed was that it had been very windy while we were gone. I'm so glad we bought a cover lifter for our hot tub's lid -- it was the only thing that held the lid on! We walked outside, heard this loud watery noise & then saw that the lid was halfway off! A lot of the water was gone, so we had to refill it. I hate to think of how much our electric bill is going to be...needless to say, Doug was not pleased.

So, what next? Other than a cruise to Mexico in February with the Luces, we're trying to figure out what our vacation plans are over the next year or so.

Tough problem to have, I know.

7 comments:

sarah said...

Yay, you're home! I mean, boo, you had to come home? Either way, I'm excited to get together and talk about Jamaica. You know, compare notes on San Souci. I hope you loved it!

Tell Doug and the girls hello. Good luck on your first day with the new gig!

LucyinStLou said...

Great pics! Poor Piper, I bet she won't like the diet. Annabelle loves her whatever her size though. Ah, Mexico. Can't get there soon enough.

Anonymous said...

I guess checking the hot tub cover regularly needs to go on Gordon's housesitting checklist. (I've actually come home to discover I'd forgotten to flip the cover back down from the night before) When I read about your airport delays and the wine bar I immediately thought of that show Airline because sometimes they won't let tipsy people on the plane....and so I'm always afraid to indulge between flights. The resort looks gorgeous. I'll try not to trash the cruiseship before you guys get there next month. And as for what's next after that...maybe we can finally end up on the same ship at the same time one of these days.....

Rhonda said...

Sooo Jealous of your trip. Jamaica is the best -- can't wait to hear more about the trip.

Mary said...

That wedding looked pretty amazing, even from that one picture. I'm glad you got to get away for some needed R&R. You're so lucky to already have another one lined up! I have nothing lined up for the entire year:( That's the price you pay for trying to buy a house, I guess!

joetalk said...

So, I'm so glad you had a great time and are back. But I'm still kinda hatin' on ya after seeing those beautiful photos!!!

Mo said...

Looks like a lovely trip!

We love to explore wines from other states as well. And it just so happens that I have a layover in the Charlotte airport next Monday. Will be checking it out!