JAMAICA!!

On May 22-29 Chad, Reba and I went to Jamaica to visit Joel, where he is doing SALT with MCC (his term is almost over). It was the perfect graduation present to myself and a lot of fun. (although I am sad I missed Abby and Robb's Ohio reception - would have been nice to see everyone!) Anyways, the trip was amazing. I think what I liked the most was that we got the non-touristy experience. Joel lives in Kingston, where we spent a few days (although the capital city, not

a place for tourists - no beaches close enough). We also spent 3 nights at a resort called "Strawberry Fields Together" which was an hour and a half bus ride (through the mountains) from Kingston. It was a secluded resort and barely anyone was there (and also pretty cheap - the four of us shared a small cabin with a small kitchen so we could cook for ourselves). So, we basically had these gorgeous beaches to ourselves which was AMAZING. Joel also took us on a hike one day where we went to a waterfall (where surprisingly there were some people, but they soon left) and another deserted beach with rock formations you could climb on. It was a great day. Unfortunately, some lack of planning meant we hiked the last of it in the pitch black with no flashlights, but it was fun (in the scary kind of way - I almost had a heart attack when suddenly there was a donkey in front of me). I celebrated my 25th birthday in Jamaica and had the beach to myself all day - can't think of a more perfect birthday really! So in summary, the trip was fabulous and I wish I could go back!