Spring 2015, after a long winter, I had a case of spring fever. Yes, I know some people love all four seasons and insist that they love experiencing each one. I am not one of those people. I love the warmth and sun of summer and the outdoor activities. I like fall, seeing the beautiful colors of the changing leaves and the cool, crisp weather that comes in. And I enjoy spring, seeing all of nature re-emerging and the days growing longer. Winter? I’m not a fan. I actually despise it. Shorter days, with darkness coming early, send me into hibernation mode. Those are the days that since it’s dark when I get home from work, it’s all I can do not to just crawl in bed and wait for brighter days to return. Literally, winter saps me and makes me a lazier human. I could easily skip winter, every year. Sure, snow is pretty, but only if I don’t have to get out in it and can stay in my bed all day. Summer? I’m up early and can’t wait to get outside in the sun. I know I really should have moved somewhere warmer, years ago. But, I digress.
Spring fever, 2015, I was longing for a touch of sun to re-energize me. Luckily, I stumbled across a sale going on by Sandals Resorts. Up until our honeymoon at Sandals Grande St. Lucia the year before, I had been a skeptic of the price tag Sandals carries. However, that trip converted me into a fan–see my post Honeymooning in St. Lucia. So, you can imagine my excitement of finding a Sandals sale. It was called a fill-the-rooms sale. This equated to a lower price on less popular days of Sunday through Thursday.
As they say in Jamaica, no problem mon! We flew out on a Sunday planning to stay until Friday. There are no non-stops from Missouri to Grenada, so with a lay-over in Atlanta, it took most of the day to get there. We arrived around 10:00 pm. One of the best things about Sandals La Source Grenada? The resort is just around the corner from the airport, so it took us all of 10 minutes to get there after a long day of airports and flying.
You’d think after such a long day, it would be time for something to eat, and bed. However, stepping off the plane into such warm weather had just the opposite effect. The karaoke show was in full swing by the time we got there after grabbing a sandwich on the way down from our room. We don’t do karaoke (in public anymore) but we had a very fun time relaxing in cocoon swings and watching.
Usually, on vacation, I can’t wait to get up and tackle whatever I can’t do at home, but this trip was different. I was still trying to emerge from winter hibernation, so I didn’t have that itch to do much. We slept in, and never left our resort on this trip, but that’s ok, we had everything we needed right there.
Sandals La Source Grenada is one of their smaller, more intimate resorts. All rooms are close to the pool and beach, although from our village of rooms, it was all down a steep, short hill. We lounged in the pool a lot. Each morning started with pool aerobics, led by a trainer who was incredibly fit, challenging us to use water weights, and who had us sweating in the pool! I wrapped up each work out with a cocktail afterwards just to cool back off.
We took turns experiencing the restaurants on property. One of my favorite things about Sandals is that you never have to make reservations for dinner, there are no “buffets”, and if you’re completely zapped by dinner time, you can order room service. Our first morning there, we discovered there was a Creperie, which served incredible crepes and omelets. 
This was our favorite and became our morning routine. We also enjoyed that we had a sushi bar, “Soy” that was open early for dinner, and we frequently treated ourselves to “late lunch” there. We also had a beachside restaurant that served sandwiches and light dinners in a casual, outdoor environment, and our favorite was Butch’s Chophouse, which had a double meaning. It was named for the creator and owner of Sandals, Butch Stewart (more about him in a sec) and we also joked that it was named after my Dad. Butch’s Chophouse served lobster in addition to steaks, which demanded more than one visit by us,
After our first full day there, we found ourselves at the poolside, open air bar for some live music after dinner. Keep in mind, we usually didn’t finish dinner until late evening, so we were right on time for the show. As we were sitting there people-watching, I saw a man I thought looked familiar flanked by a number of people dressed very professionally. I told my husband I thought that it was Butch Stewart, the owner. After our first Sandals experience I had researched the creation of Sandals. If you enjoy biographies, you should read the story of Butch Stewart, “All That’s Good: The Story of Butch Stewart, the Man Behind Sandals Resorts“. What a fascinating story! My husband joked that there was no way that was the guy I had seen a couple of pictures of. Challenge accepted, I went over and asked him if he was Butch. To my shock, he said yes. (OMG! It’s him!). I told him I was a fan and admired his story and his resorts. I asked if he would mind if we took our picture together, and I will never forget his answer, “My dear, this is Sandals, you can have anything your heart desires”. He had one of the guys with him take our picture with my phone. (Please don’t faint, please don’t faint.) it’s one of my favorite pics ever!
The rest of our vacay was very laid-back and relaxing. We talked about going for some dives–Sandals includes diving for free, and Grenada has an underwater sculpture park. But, we never got around to it. We decided that we would save that for our next trip to Sandals La Source Grenada, which would be a longer trip. So, this post is to be continued…
My First International Trip
Once upon a time there were two 30-somethings who were ready to take a vacation. A REAL vacation, like for a whole week instead of a few days. Even better, they decided to go out of the US for this vacation. After researching several destinations, they decided to go to Jamaica because 1) English is spoken there, 2) they could get there non-stop and 3) there were All Inclusive resorts there, which sounded really appealing.
Before they booked their trip, they needed to get US passports issued.
Anytime you travel to a foreign country, including Canada or Mexico you will need a passport. The easiest way to acquire one, is to work with your nearest post office or visit www.usps.com/international/passports.htm. Tips to remember:
- Apply early–it can take 6-8 weeks to receive your passport
- you can get expedited service which gets your passport delivered in 2-3 weeks
- if you are traveling within 2 weeks, you will want to make an appointment with a passport agency
- Prepare your application
- you can print a passport application online
- you can pick up an application from your local post office that has passport acceptance
- Get a passport photo taken at your post office, Walgreen’s, or any other photo service shop
- Send the appropriate payment with your application
- Track your application until you receive your passport in the mail
They were all set to book their trip. After shopping around on the various websites, and with a travel agent, they went with the best price they found for the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton resort, which was available through Apple Vacations. (Apple Vacations is still one of my favorite travel websites.) Apple included flights, hotel, AND transportation between the airport and resort, which set it at a better price point.
Things they learned about traveling internationally:
- take smaller bills for tipping at an all-inclusive resort or shopping
- take photo copies of your passport along so you can leave your actual passport in your room safe, yet still have ID with you
- always take along insect repellant, band-aids, and tennis shoes (you never know when you will need them)
- apply for a credit card that charges no international fees (just in case)
- you do not have to exchange your money, but Jamaican dollars will go a little farther
- you do not need to bring your own beach towel to an AI resort
- sign up for US Embassy alerts here so you are aware of any dangers in the country you are traveling to
What they experienced on the trip:
- what a banana tree looks like
- some drinks are not meant to be drank
- make new friends
- play the crazy pool games
- go on excursions
- don’t be afraid to zipline
- do the water aerobics in the mornings
- the (coconut) water is fine to drink
- stop and smell the hibiscus
- experience the culture
They made sure to save some of their souvenir cash for duty free shopping at The Sangster Airport at the end of their trip which was a good call. There were shops for perfume/cologne, booze, including Jamaican Rum Cream which cannot be purchased on US soil, jewelry, t-shirts, and other souvenirs, all sold duty and tax free. I bought some Australian Opal jewelry that was the same color blue as the sea in Jamaica which has been one of my best bargains ever and will always remind me of this trip.
The trip home was topped off by a beautiful sunset flight and that was the first bite of the travel bug. I couldn’t wait to start planning my next trip.
Honeymooning in St. Lucia
Sonny and I were married on the beach in Jamaica. 6 months later, we honeymooned in St. Lucia. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime! We tossed around the idea of different places and different resorts and settled on St. Lucia, staying at Sandals Grande St. Lucian. St. Lucia is a Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles, just north of South America. We liked that 1) we’d never been there before, 2) it’s in the Caribbean, and 3) it looked like an exotic place to visit. Why Sandals? We had never stayed at a Sandals and we were curious if it could live up to the reputation. Sandals also includes scuba diving in its “all inclusiveness”, and we decided we would dive, A LOT. These decisions led to a very memorable trip.
Disclaimer: this is not an advertisement, it’s my personal opinion. If you’re a fan of all-inclusive resorts, and have never been to a Sandals, all I can say is GO! If all-inclusive resorts aren’t your thing, GO ANYWAY! It is worth the higher cost. They run an incredible operation of making you the happiest person on vacay–whatever your heart desires. Their rooms were excellently decorated, beds were the comfiest, and you could even get 24/7 butler service if you wanted. The food was of a higher standard, you never had to make a reservation, and if you wanted to have a lobster dinner at the steakhouse and then a little sushi later, you could. Late night chocolate bar or mimosas with breakfast? You got it!
Beyond the basics, we had a romantic candlelight dinner on the beach. One evening we were treated to a performance by Teddyson John, who is a very talented soca singer. You tube his videos, he’s incredible.
We went scuba diving nearly every day. Thanks to the patience and diligence of our dive instructor, Marcus Joseph, Sonny completed his advanced open-water certification and I acquired my digital underwater photographer specialty.
And we toured the island. The island of St. Lucia was indeed exotic, lush, and beautiful. It’s a volcanic island, so think lots of hills, that can get nerve-wracking when driving in small vehicle. We took a catamaran ride to see the Pitons (our guide called them “big boob and little boob”) which was followed by a grilled chicken and rice lunch.
We also went shopping in St. Vincent and took a mud bath at the sulphur springs of La Soufriere, which is a live volcano. The mud bath left our skin feeling silky soft, but due to the rotten egg “scent” of the springs, I do not recommend going after drinking an entire bottle of champagne at the Sandals beach party the night before. Lesson learned.
Sandals and St. Lucia were certainly the honeymoon of a lifetime. If you ever get the chance, take the trip to St. Lucia. And if you don’t go to St. Lucia, at least check out a Sandals resort, you won’t regret it!
Everyone Should Meet a Paul
Everyone should be so lucky as to meet a Paul. I originally met Paul a few years ago in Jamaica. He was the lifeguard manager at a resort. I was there with my friend Sara and Paul had told us that if we needed a driver to take us anywhere, we could hire him. From past experience, I knew that having a friend to drive us in Jamaica is really the way to go. With a driver, you get to experience a little more authentic interaction of the culture, you don’t pay exorbitant rates just to run to the craft market, you have someone who will help keep you safe, and if you’re lucky, you end up with a Paul!
We hired Paul to take us over to Rick’s Café to watch the divers and catch the sunset. If you’ve never been to Rick’s Café you HAVE to go. It’s one of my favorite places in the world and the best place to view sunset in Jamaica and enjoy a cocktail.
Paul advised us not to order dinner there. He said since it’s a tourist attraction, they charge high prices for the food and he would take us somewhere else for dinner. After the sun set over the sea, we left Rick’s and Paul took us to a local restaurant called Sweet Spice.
Talk about one of the best meals I have ever had! I had a bowl of seafood (fish and shrimp) in broth with a side of rice and peas. It was a huge amount of food for the $10 US I think it cost. If you stick with the local foods in Jamaica instead of stuff that has to be imported, the prices are very reasonable. After leaving Jamaica that trip, I kept in touch with Paul via WhatsApp which is a free way to text, talk, and video talk for free. Actually, it’s more fair to say Paul kept in touch with me. I’m a little slow on some of the technology. But, all you need is an internet connection and you can forget about paying those international fees ever again.
My next trip to Jamaica was a year later with my hubby, who was still my boyfriend at the time. We stayed at the Grand Palladium again (I do love this resort and highly recommend it) where we got to see Paul a little bit while he was at work.
Later, I asked Paul to take us over to Rick’s for the evening and he said he was nervous about meeting my boyfriend. What if he didn’t like Paul? Well, what if he did? AND HE DID. Those two guys hit it off and we had a blast at Rick’s Café. We partook in a few Red Stripes (I prefer Light) and watched the divers followed by another incredible sunset. Paul got us back to the Palladium just in time to get to the beach party and he headed for home which is right next to a small town called Lucea.
Fast forward a couple of years and my boyfriend was now my fiancé. We had decided that we wanted to get married on the beach in Jamaica. Since Paul is not supposed to fraternize at the Grand Palladium because he works there, we decided the wedding would be at the RIU Negril so Paul could join us. Upon our arrival, Paul was waiting for us at the RIU Negril lobby. He had brought gifts for some of the wedding party and knew I had some shopping errands to run. He drove us all over Negril to get the local items that I still needed for the guest’s gift bags and even negotiated a good price on some pints of Appleton Rum for us. Paul was able to take off work for 3 days to attend the wedding and stay at the resort with us.
He also arranged for a bus to take our entire group of 30 to where else? Rick’s Café. Have I mentioned that I really like that place?
On one afternoon that it rained, Paul drove us over to see his house. We were amazed at his house–it looks just like a Jamaican beach house should. Paul was also building a villa across the road and wanted us to see. It’s going to be beautiful when it’s complete! Of course, building anything in Jamaica takes a lot longer than here, so it will be a while. It will have 4 suites that Paul hopes to rent out to vacationers.
Fast forward a couple more years to this past winter and Paul got to come visit us for a few days! In Missouri, right in the middle of the US, right after Thanksgiving while it was drab, dreary, and cold. Paul’s not used to this kind of cold and thankfully, he had a big, winter coat with him.
We picked him up from the airport, and went straight to the St. Louis Galleria so he could do some black friday shopping. From there we headed out to the Trainwreck Saloon where a number of our friends from the wedding trip came out for a welcoming Happy Hour. We stayed in St. Louis overnight, and left for our home in Columbia, Mo, the next morning. That afternoon we had fun hanging in the kitchen with Paul and our neighbors and friends. He made a delicious curry shrimp dish to go along with the turkey our neighbor had deep-fried, and we had a huge meal and excellent conversation. It was real eye-opener to hear about all the hoops Paul had to jump through to get his passport and visa to come visit and how much of his salary he had to save for his travels. Our process and travel from here are so much easier I think we take our options for granted. After dinner, the conversation turned to Jamaican music, patois, and politics. Carlie learned some patois words and thought that was really cool! She can now ask you Wah Gwaan (What’s going on)? But you’d better answer Mi deh yah (I’m here)!
The next morning, Paul got to have two new experiences of his own. It began snowing here which is the first time he’s ever seen snow other than in movies. He said that the snow is much colder than it looks in the movies. Later, my husband took him out to the shooting range where he and Paul had some fun shooting targets.
Being able to share experiences and friendship with Paul have been life changing. He’s planning to come visit us again in November if we don’t get to Jamaica first. He’s better than our friend now. We consider him family.
To AI or not AI? That is the question
I’m a huge fan of all-inclusive vacations, which are common if you travel to a non-US locale. Even more specifically, I love all-inclusive resorts! I know there’s a large segment of dissenters who would argue that all-inclusive vacations aren’t “authentic”. Don’t get me wrong–I have vacationed a la carte as well as the rest. But I do think the all-inclusive vacation has created a niche that simplifies vacationing and make it more relaxing. As far as “authenticity” goes, any trip can be as “authentic” as you want. It’s your own opinion that matters anyway.
Here’s what I like about the AI vacation:
- You can make all of your arrangements–airfare, resort, transportation between airport and resort–in advance, usually in one place if you’re using a travel agent or booking yourself with AppleVacations, FunJet, Cheap Caribbean,etc., and for one price.
- You can choose flights that accommodate your time frames.
- I like to fly non-stop when possible (I don’t want to waste vacation time on travelling), so I shop for charters and typically have to fly certain days.
- I prefer non red-eye flights since our nearest international airport is 2 hours away.
- You can shop your resort.
- Do you prefer a 5 star with a view of the ocean, gourmet meals, and decked out rooms or are you just looking for a place to lay your head for a few hours at the end of the day?
- Do you have to have your usual top-shelf drink or can you make do with the local beverages?
- Do you want to vacation with children (or without, and don’t want to share the pool with any)?
- You can choose your transportation between the resort and airport.
- Do you need a quiet limo ride for only your group?
- Do you have a small group who all want to share a van or mini-bus?
- Do you want a fun-filled bus ride that you share with all others going to your resort and others nearby?
- Once at your resort, your AI includes:
- your room–always ask for the upgrade at check-in.
- all food, beverages, and cocktails while you are there.
- non-motorized sports like kayaking, snorkeling, tennis, gym facilities.
- daily and evening entertainment which can be anything from games, sports, aerobics/yoga classes poolside to fun-filled evening shows that may be audience participated or musical/dance shows.
- If you choose a Super Inclusive, or Luxury Inclusive you may even get:
- gourmet dinners, 24-hour room service
- American beverages and top shelf cocktails
- Scuba diving, golf, jet-skis
- evening performances by local celebrities
- sunset catamaran cruises, candlelight dinners on the beach
- The AI eliminates the needs for:
- carrying cash on the resort.
- trying to compute the resort’s foreign conversion rate when paying for anything.
- accruing foreign transaction fees later after charging everything on your credit card.
- tipping. Be aware, some resorts don’t allow it.
- leaving the resort while you are there.
- Things that cost extra:
- you can book any extra sight-seeing trips or excursions as you wish through your resort.
- most resorts have a spa that will offer massage packages.
- tipping–if you choose to.
- gaming in the casino and souvenir shopping
Basically, you can schedule a ton of activities (free and otherwise) if you want, or you can schedule nothing and sit at the swim-up bar all day. At an AI resort, it’s your vacation, your choice to do as much or little as you’d like.