After reading our story, be sure to check out the photos of our trip.

Monday, July 19th, 2004

This morning we got to O'Hare Airport for our Air Jamaica flight, waited in the wrong line for 25 minutes, got to the correct line, and they would not let us board the plane. We did not realize that a certified birth certificate was required for people who did not have a passport. This was obviously our first trip out of the country. We panicked a little bit and wondered if we would miss the flight and have to come back tomorrow. Luckily our great friend Ann went to our apartment, got copies of our birth certificates out of our file box, went to the local grocery store, and faxed them to the airport for us. What a relief...we were the last two people on the plane, but we made it. It was a "champaign flight" with an in-air movie...

We were slightly nervous, yet very excited to land at Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay, Jamaica. If you have not been to this airport, it is very cool. The runway lights extend out into the water. The first thing we noticed when we exited the plane was the extreme heat and humidity. After we made it to customs, we were instructed to leave our bags sit. Soon after a man grabbed our bags and said "follow me." He walked us out to a taxi-van and boarded with several other Sandals guests. It was a short drive to our resort, but we saw a lot on the way there. I was very suprised to see the amount of trash and rusting steel sitting in the fields. I guess I always had a naive vision of what paradise looked like, and while the water and mountains were beautiful, you couldn't help but notice the trash and poverty.

We were staying at Sandals Montego Bay, which was a very nice, all-inclusive resort. When we arrived, they directed us into a "welcome" room, where all of the newly arrived guests got a brief introduction to the resort, as well as some steamed towels and a glass of champaign. After that we changed into our bathing suits and headed out to the water.

It was the first time we had seen such beautiful water in person. I couldn't wait to put some goggles on and see what was under it. We walked down to the wedding pier and setup the camera to take our first picture together in the Caribbean.

Eventually we got to our room. Apparently the guy across the hall from us was in a hurry to light up some weed, because the entire hallway already smelled. Our room was very nice, with a beautiful dark hardwood 4-post bed, and a window overlooking the outdoor eating area and the Caribbean Sea.

For dinner, we ate outside on the patio and listened to a steel drum band. The sunset that evening was breathtaking, and the pictures we took were amazingly beautiful. Since the airport was nearby, the planes would occasionally interupt everyone. The tradition at Sandals Montego Bay is to stop what you are doing, and wave at the plane as it goes by.

Tuesday, July 20th, 2004

Sandals has its own snorkeling boat, so we were able to go out as many times each day as we wanted to. The first day we went out, I was unsure of what it would be like. A second after my face hit the water, I knew I was hooked...hooked for life. After getting off the snorkel boat, the equipment dropoff point was conveniently located next to the beach bar. It was here, after several group shots and too many Green Rock beers and Red White & Blue's, that we met our friends James and Autumn. They got married the same day as us and were also on their honeymoon. Later in the afternoon we ended up at the pool bar. The bartenders were giving out way too much rum, so the rest of the afternoon was a bit hazy. After retiring to our room for a nap, we woke up around sunset and made our dinner at the Italian restaurant.

After dinner we headed back to the pool bar where they were again pouring too much rum and taking too many shots. We had a great time and stayed out late partying.

Wednesday, July 21st, 2004

Today Tiffany and I got up and went to the photo room to buy some of the photos that the staff took of us the past two days. We also stopped by the church. It was a beautiful little church, and the grounds were maintained very nicely. We decided to go to the Sandals Royal Caribbean for the day. Unfortunately it started to rain, and the sun wasn't out for the rest of the day. By dinner time we headed back to our resort. The sunset was hazy, but very beautiful.

Thursday, July 22nd, 2004

Today was another great day of snorkeling, sunning on the beach, and hitting up the beach bar. We went on a catamaran snorkel and booz cruise with James & Autumn. We hung out with them quite a bit today. The snorkling on the resort's beach wasn't too great, but I did find a small (2ft) nurse shark, some urchins, fairy basslets, and some blue headed wrasses.

Friday, July 23rd, 2004

This evening we went with James and Autumn and another couple to the Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest 2004 in downtown Montego Bay. Our taxi driver gave us his second cell phone and told us to call him when we were ready to leave. The festival grounds were surrounded by makeshift bars made of sheet metal, logs, and tarps. Red Stripe was everywhere. We walked around for a while and ended up on top of one of the bars drinking beer and listening to reggae music. It seemed like the crowd was mainly locals, but occasionally we would see a few tourists. The bathrooms ran out of water, and the women were "issued" one piece of toilet paper each. There were many little shops where the keepers would try to sell drugs and souvenieers. The ground was still muddy from the day's rain, so we decided to head back and party at the resort for the rest of our final night on the island.

Saturday, July 24th, 2004

Today was our last day in Jamaica. We spent most of it hanging out at one of the outdoor bars with our friends. Finally we headed back to the airport and boarded our flight home. Tiff slept most of the way, but I was awake. Our flight went through a large thunderstorm and the plane was bouncing around like crazy. That was probably a good one for Tiff to sleep through.

Our honeymoon, and first trip to the Caribbean was over. Little did we know how great an impact those 6 days would have on us for the rest of our lives.