An Escape to Jamaica

Ryan and I were invited to go to Jamaica by some friends to help them celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary, so we "crashed" their trip!  We left on a Thursday morning and got back very late on a Sunday night, and we stayed at a couple's resort in Ochos Rios.  We had a wonderful time!  The only downside was that the weather was unusually rainy, but not so much that we couldn't enjoy the beach- just enough that it wasn't the typical tropical weather that we'd imagined.  The resort was very nice, though a bit hilly!  We definitely got our workout with all the stairs!  It was all-inclusive, so we enjoyed drinks at the bar and on the beach, and the different restaurants offered at the resort. 

A view from one of the cliffs, overlooking the small beach that was only occupied by our resort

I spent as much time here as I could- this is why I go on vacation- to sit on a beach and look at the water.  I was born for this!

 We felt honored to be invited on their trip so Ryan and I planned a surprise for our friends.  Before we left, we gathered notes from family members with memories from their wedding.  During lunch one day, I snuck away ("tummy issues," lol!) and I (literally) ran off to decorate their room with Christmas lights, leave their letters from family members,  and set up our phone playing music from their wedding.  I think it's safe to say they were pretty surprised when they finally made it back to their room!

Dinner the first night: an obligatory resort-wide outdoor buffet and entertainment show, and our friends Patrick and Allison who were celebrating their anniversary!

 One morning we went on an excursion to Dunn's River Falls, which included us climbing from the bottom of the river to the top of the water falls- which was no easy feat!  We formed a human chain of 30+ people and spent a couple of hours climbing the freezing cold river.  It was exhilarating!  Another afternoon we went out on our resort's boat with a guide and went snorkeling for about 45 minutes, over a reef not too far from the resort.  When we left the beach it was raining pretty hard, but by the time we got to the reef, there was a beautiful rainbow and clear skies, it was amazing!  I took an underwater camera with us to both the river and snorkeling, but I haven't developed the pictures yet!  I'll update this post once I have them.

The beautiful sunset, I think this is the only night we were actually able to see it.

Toes in the water. :-)

 These trips are so much fun and we feel so blessed to be able to travel together.  Ryan and I both love exploring new places and taking a break, though it always seems to short!  We hope to go to one of the French Carribean islands next, whenever we're able to go!

On our way out to leave the resort, one last photo!

We got back late on a Sunday night, and the next day was the first day in our kitchen renovation... More to come on that later!