This summer I took out eldest grad daughter to Jamaica for
two weeks. It’s a part of our bucket
list; to take each of our grand children on an individual trip to Jamaica. So Desiree as the eldest was the first to
make this venture. It was fought with a
lot of apprehension and trepidations on my part. It has been a long time that I have had to
deal with a teenager for any length of time.
Further I had boys and never really had to deal with girls especially
teenage girls. So I had worked myself
into a frenzy of what ifs: What if she don’t like the food…. What if she wants to go home after the first
day…. What is we can’t get along…. What
is she wants to sleep all day…. These
were the thoughts going through my head constantly for the weeks and days
before the trip.
But there was the other side pushing me. I wanted her to
experience the Jamaica that I grew up in, feel the love of the people,
experience driving through the country roads and seeing the variety of scenery,
enjoying the fruits and yes enjoying the beach too. The opportunity to show her Jamaica, not the
hotels but the true Jamaica was a legacy I just wanted to leave her with.
So we ventured from Charlotte NC in middle June. Flew to
Montego Bay then drove to Ocho Rios. We
stayed on Ocho Rios a couple days doing mostly beach and visiting a couple of
relatives. Then we did an island tour;
Headed to Montego Bay, stayed in Negril two days, then on to Mandeville where I
got lost, can’t believe I could get lost in Jamaica. We stayed in Mandeville
only one night but was able to see some relatives I have not seen since I was a
child and some new ones I did not know I had.
From Mandeville we drove to Kingston via a toll road, a first for me in
Jamaica. We spent about two days in Kingston and was able to see both uptown
and down town as well as enjoy lunch a Port Royal. We were able to see my
favorite aunt as well. Then it was back to Ocho Rios for a week of low level
relaxation and enjoying each other.
Throughout the entire experience her performance was super
sensational. I did not hear a complaint
from her. She started out the first few
days not eating as much as we thought she should but once she started it was
like ‘where does she put it?’ We ate local every day and she was right there
with us hitting that rice and peas with curry or jerk and she was into the
fruits and the pastries just like us. It
was a joy to see how acclimated she made herself. By the end it was like she true Jamaican,
born and bred there.
I just hope she enjoyed the experience as much as I enjoyed
the experience of sharing it with her.
One down, two more to go.
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