Elton John — Island Girl
This song can make anyone feel like they are an Island Girl.
Download the song by clicking the pic below:
Travel Music Tuesday–Elton John
Flashback to Jamaica
Ahhh, Jamaica! One of my favorite places in the world to visit. It is an island in the Caribbean and is part of the Greater Antilles. When you fly into Sangster Airport, you land right on the beach on the North Coast. So, as your plane descends, you feel like you are incredibly close to the water. I remember being overwhelmed with the stunning blue colors of the sea. I had never seen such beautiful hues.
This past winter, we headed down for a week of R and R. Since this wasn’t our first trip to Jamaica, or the second, or the third (have I mentioned it’s one of my favorite places?) we knew exactly what we did and didn’t want to do this time. For this trip, we wanted to stay in Montego Bay, close to the airport, so I found a sale for the RIU Montego Bay on Apple Vacations. If you’ve never shopped for a vacation on Apple Vacations, you’ve been missing out. It’s one of the travel sites I watch regularly and they run some great sales on trips. While we’d never stayed at this particular RIU resort before, I am a fan of the RIU brand, so this was an easy decision.
In Montego Bay, I knew we would be close enough to see our friend, Paul (see post Everyone Should Meet a Paul). I also wanted to take my husband Sonny to eat at Scotchie’s, which is known for their jerk chicken and pork. I also love breadfruit, which I was hoping was in season. Scotchie’s serves the majority of their dishes in tin foil or on paper plates, and with gravy (think hot sauce) made from scotch bonnet peppers. Also on the itinerary, was a trip to Luminous Lagoon, which I’ve wanted to check out for a while. The tour starts at sunset and takes you through the lagoon, which is home to phosphorescent micro-organisms that glow in the dark when agitated.
As the saying goes, ” the best-laid plans of mice and men, often go awry”, so did ours. We had some transportation issues and didn’t get to go to Scotchie’s for jerk and due to a small monsoon (flash-flooding, thunderstorm) our trip to the Luminous Lagoon was cancelled.
What we did get to do was hang out at our resort, meet new friends, and visit with old friends. Paul was able to come visit our resort on a day pass and he brought his wife, Tansia, and daughter, Talia, along. He also brought us a bottle of Sangster’s Chocolate Rum Cream. If you’ve never tried rum cream, you must–it’s what every good dirty banana is made from. I knew it came in flavors, but this was the first time I had had Chocolate. And since I can’t order it online back home, I was very grateful for Paul’s gift!
Paul, who is a jack-of-all-trades, entrepreneur, and a lifeguard, took us out for a quick sail around Mahee Bay in a small catamaran. We also walked up the beach to watch a wedding with Talia and our new friends Don and Stephanie. We sampled numerous frozen drinks “Jamaican style” compliments of a friend of Paul’s who was the bar supervisor. It was so nice to visit with Paul and his family for the day. Next time we hope to go visit the villa he is building just outside of the town of Lucea.
The following day we got to take a snorkeling excursion/sunset cruise. We loaded up on a big catamaran, cruised west down the coast a bit, went snorkeling, and ended up at Margaritaville in Montego Bay.
We did a little shopping on the Hip Strip before heading back for a cocktail at Margaritaville, and then headed back to the resort for dinner which was right on time.
I’ve never eaten so many seafood dinners as I have at RIU Resorts. It turned out this night was seafood night at the buffet restaurant and they had lobster tail available. My husband ate nothing but lobster and I think he topped out at 8 tails. I partook of the incredibly good lobster, but also enjoyed the shrimp and fish.
The next day was departure day. We got to the airport early, which is great because Sangster Airport has excellent duty-free shopping and we love to shop there. We picked up some souvenirs, and a little jewelry, and then finished waiting for our flight at Margaritaville with lunch and a beer!
Until next time Jamaica. Soon come back!
Where Should You Travel?
I frequently get asked the question of where should I go for my next vacation? That’s never an easy answer for me. Do you think you want to go where I’m going next? (I’m shooting for Barbados, but could end up anywhere.) Unless you do, you may want to take some things into consideration. Here’s how I decide.
*How much time do I have to devote to my next trip? If I have a week or more, I’ll venture further from home and keep in mind that I’ll need to budget for more. If I only have a few days, I’ll stay closer to home and seek out non-stop flights so I don’t waste an entire day getting there.
*What is my budget? If I have a lot to spend on vacay, I’ll upgrade to a nicer resort (there’s definitely a difference between a Sandals and others). If I have a limited budget, I’ll stick to a less inclusive or seek out a non-inclusive resort, villa, or studio to stay in.
*Regardless of anything else, I will search for what’s on sale. In the past, this has landed me in a completely different country than I originally intended, but I can’t pass up saving money when it’s able to be saved. I like to use Apple Vacations, Expedia
*What activities do I want to participate in? Do I want an active, sightseeing trip? Do I want to do volunteer work while I’m there? Do I just want to veg by the pool and sip fruity cocktails? Activities will come into play when deciding on the where.
*Do I want to go somewhere warm or cold? Or is the location more important than climate? If there’s a particular place I have on my list to visit, climate won’t really matter to me. But, if my goal is a restful, relaxing trip, you’ll find me by the pool or scuba diving in a warm, most likely Caribbean locale.
*What dates will I be traveling? Any travel around holidays, will tend to have a higher price tag. So, the trade off is usually pay more to travel when I have holiday days off, or save more on the trip, but use a vacation day to go during non-holiday times. And most trips during the summer months will tend to cost more.
*Who will I be going with? If it’s just me and hubby, we can easily determine where we are going. If others are going, or this will be a group trip, we’ll need to determine if they are bringing children, what their budget is, and what activities they would be interested in. Is it a girls weekend or family trip? That adds other needs to consider.
All in all, it’s a loaded question when you ask me where you should travel to, but at least now you know why and may have some ideas of your own. Regardless of where you decide to go, the important thing is to just go!
Travel Music Tuesday–Black Eyed Peas
Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
It’s the anthem about the suspense surrounding what a good time you are about to have!
Download the song by clicking the pic below:
Gorgeous Sunsets
In scrolling through pics I have saved over the years, apparently I snap a lot of sunrises and sunsets. Here are a few of my favorites:
Cozumel, Mexico Sunset
Captiva Island, Florida Sunset
Negril, Jamaica Sunset
Riviera Maya, Mexico Sunrise
Riviera Maya, Mexico Sunrise
Lake Ozark, Missouri Sunset
Rocheport, Missouri Sunset
Guanacaste, Costa Rica Sunset
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Sunrise
Negril, Jamaica Sunset
Grand Canyon, Arizona Sunset
Glacier Bay, Alaska Sunrise
Which one do you like best? Comment on your favorite, or share a pic of one you’ve seen.
Cozumel Mexico
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to Cozumel, Mexico. As a newly certified scuba diver, I was chomping at the bit to go because Cozumel is usually considered one of the top 10 places to dive. A small island, located just off the Yucatan Peninsula, Cozumel is a little more laid back than Riviera Maya. It has more of an island feel to it–a little smaller, and quieter.
To get to Cozumel from Missouri, we had two choices. We could fly non-stop to Cancun, then ride a bus for 45 minutes south, then catch a ferry for another 45 minute ride over to Cozumel or fly to Atlanta, have a quick layover, then take a second flight on to Cozumel. Since the idea of lugging our suitcases onto a ferry didn’t sound very appealing, we opted for the latter and flew into Cozumel.
We stayed at the Iberostar, which was a wonderful resort.
Our room was half of a circular-shaped bungalow. It was kind of different to stay in a room that was a semi circle–there were no corners in which to stick my suitcase. We were also located right in the middle of the resort, equal distance to the pool, dive shop, and beach and we could see all three from our porch (which had a hammock on it).
Although our accommodations were awesome and we had a lot of activities to do at the resort, we ventured into town one afternoon for a Pirate Dinner Cruise later that night, which still ranks up there as one of the funnest days ever!
We took a cab into town, which was maybe 10 minutes from our resort. We arrived at a small shopping area across the road from the pier, where we would be boarding the Jean Laffite. At the moment, we were really in search of free Wi-Fi (our resort charged in 10 minute increments), which we found at a small, unassuming restaurant named Polar. We ordered some Tecate Light beers, split some fish tacos (which hubby doused with an incredibly HOT hot sauce), and were able to access everything we needed. After sitting there for 2 and a half hours, I don’t think our total bill came up to $20US.
After leaving Polar, we did a little shopping and stocked up on souvenirs. We came across a Fat Tuesday which was a fun place to have a cocktail and people watch.
Then it was time to get to the Pier and board our pirate ship! The performers were a talented bunch of guys who had the obligation of plying you with quantity (not quality) drinks and getting you to participate in the games which were part of the show. We cruised up the coast of Cozumel with these pirates entertaining every one in the group and then our ship turned around and headed back down the coast so that we all had the most incredible view of sunset.
We were also served dinner at this time, which was your choice of steak, lobster tail, or surf and turf. I had the surf and turf and thought the dinner was unbelievably good considering it had all been prepared in the small galley of our ship. If you EVER get the chance to go on the Pirate Dinner Cruise in Cozumel, Mexico, GO! You will have really fun 3 hour tour!
Travel Music Tuesday–Bob Marley
Jammin’ by Bob Marley
When you hear this reggae song, you can’t help but start dancing, tapping your foot, bobbing your head, SOMETHING!
Download the song by clicking below:
Holiday Gifts For Your Traveling Friends
I used to just want a comfy outfit to wear on a plane and some Hollywood gossip magazines to read in flight. As I’ve grown up and traveled more, I’ve developed a list of items that the traveler on your list would LOVE to have!
1. Travel Passport Holder holds your passport, boarding passes, a couple of credit/debit cards and comes in different colors. I like this one in teal.
4. A Travel Blanket because it seems like every flight I’m ever on is cold!
5. A good, washable Travel Pillow that can be attached to your luggage.
6. A travel Eye Mask for when you are stuck on long flights during daylight and you’ve already been awake too many hours. These have ear plugs as well.
7. A set of personalized Luggage Tags the more unique they look, the easier your traveler will be able to spot their luggage from a distance.
8. A hand-held Luggage Scale, so your traveler doesn’t pack their bags too heavy that they get charged for over weight luggage.
9. My new latest favorites SOLID Travel Cologne or Perfume–no leaks or spills!
10. And for those on your list who are beach bound, you can never go wrong with a Bikini Bag so they can stay on the beach or in the pool right up until their flight time.
So, with holiday time right around the corner this is a list of my favorites. Everything listed above is an affiliate link, so if you click on or buy an item, I might make a buck.
Captiva Island, FL
A few years ago, we were invited to a destination wedding on Captiva Island. We try to keep destination weddings to a minimum–otherwise we end up spending all of our vacation days on weddings. But this one was for a dear friend of ours, so we couldn’t miss it. Besides, even though I’ve been to Captiva, hubby had not.
After flying into the Fort Myers airport and picking up our rental car, we headed off to find our way to our hotel. We cut through Fort Myers, crossed the toll bridge onto Sanibel Island, then continued up through the island until we reached Captiva and Tween Waters, which would be our home for the next 4 days.
We had an incredible view from our screened in porch. The resort was fairly small, yet cozy and adorable. There was an array of rooms to choose from–be it a single room or a 3 bedroom cottage.
For meals, there were two restaurants to choose from and the pool bar. We generally had breakfast each morning at the Captiva House. Lunch was usually a sandwich or a salad at the Oasis pool bar (who had time to dry off to go eat?), and most of our dinners were at the Crow’s Nest which doubled as a lounge and was the location for the crab races. If you’ve never been to crab races, I highly recommend you go. What a fun time! Our crab named Tiger came in 3rd.
Aside from the wedding festivities and spending time at the pool and beach, we spent a couple of days beachcombing and exploring the area. Low tide is the best time for shelling and we found lots of sand dollars on our beach.
We also took a ride over to the Bubble Room Restaurant which is a quirky little place. There were roomfuls of old toys, Christmas decorations, and moving trains. Even though they serve meals there, we just showed up for dessert from their on site bakery. I had a French Chocolate Torte that was to die for and hubby had the NY Style Cheesecake.
I’m pretty sure these snacks were actually dessert for our next 3 meals they were that HUGE!
Our last night in Captiva, we went out with the entire wedding group for a sunset dinner cruise. Talk about a perfect time! We went out on the Lady Chadwick who easily accommodated our party of 50ish.
We couldn’t have asked for a better evening, better food, better cocktails, or better company. We were even joined by a couple of additional guests who were showing off behind our boat.
Our evening was capped off by one of the most incredible, vivid sunsets I have ever seen. It was the perfect ending to a perfect wedding weekend for our dear friends and an amazing finish to our long weekend in Captiva, FL. If you’re ever looking for a cozy getaway where you don’t even have to leave the resort, this one should be on your list!
Travel Music Tuesday–Rihanna
Live Your Life – T.I. ft. Rihanna
Get where you want to be…
Download the song by clicking the pic below:
