For about a month or two before our trip I started tracking our flight online each morning and sending email updates to Beth. I was hoping this would help ease any anxiety she had about flying and in the end it did help...a lot.
Departure day draws near…..
It got harder and harder to sleep as our departure day drew near. On the night before we leave we decided to stop at our local watering hole for a couple of drinks. We spent the past year talking about our trip to our friends at this bar and none had been to Negril. Not even our Jamaican friends that hung out there could tell us anything much about Negril. On this night we see a past “regular” there and it turns out she had traveled to Negril many years ago. There was another lady there this night we knew who told us her son goes to Negril all of the time. She told us that he stays at the Blue Cave Castle! She had also stayed on the beach once. I have learned not to overindulge on the night before a trip so we head out early for a night of tossing and turning.
I don’t think either one of us got much sleep that night. We were both up before the crack of dawn. Soon our ride to the airport would arrive and we’d be on our way. We ended up at the airport much earlier than needed and I’m adding this as a reminder to myself that we don’t have to leave as early next time.
We printed our boarding passes, checked our bag, and proceeded through security in no time. We then exchanged a small amount at the airport so we would have some Jamaican on us when we arrived. As I was advised, the exchange rate was horrible but inconsequential considering the small amount we exchanged and the convenience. The next stop was our gate.
We sit down and to pass the time Beth decides to make some calls. A little while into one of her conversations I hear her say “OH MY GOD!” I immediately wondered what we forgot, thinking the worse. By the tone of her voice and the look on her face it didn't seem good. She eventually turns to me and says “my sister is pregnant!' That was certainly much better news than I thought I was going to hear.
As we boarded and take our seats I see Beth checking everything out on the plane. I pointed out the barf bag to bring a little humor to her stressful situation. After awhile the pilot gets on the PA and announces that we will be delayed for a short while so maintenance can fix an improperly secured door. Knowing this could frazzle Beth, I turned to her and said “this was probably why some of those flights we tracked online took off late.....they made it just fine”. She was handling the whole situation much better than the person I imaged having to drag on the plane.
A few moments after a loud “CLUNK”, the pilot advised we were ready to go. Soon we're at the runway and ready for takeoff. Just as we begin to move I look at Beth and say “Up until now I pushed every button except this one” as I pointed randomly at the controls above our head. “Go ahead Charlie.....push it.” This was an obvious reference to one of our favorite movies, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the final scene in the great glass elevator. I could tell she appreciated my moment of silliness and the next thing we knew the plane was off of the ground.
The rest of the flight was fairly uneventful. Beth would have moments of wanting to look out of the window and then not wanting to. I also would offer some reassuring words anytime there was the tiniest bump or change in engine noise. After a glass of wine she was all settled in though.
Before long we were over what we assumed had to be Cuba. We knew from tracking the flights online that we were about 30 minutes from landing or so. As we began our decent, the hills and coastline started to come into view. Both of us peered out the window like children. As we touched down things looked familiar because all of the YouTube videos we had watched of planes landings at Sangster. Then there was a smattering of applause and we speculated if people clapped because they were happy to be in Jamaica or because they were happy to have survived the flight.
