I am back from Jamaica. My Family LOVED Negril!

[Clarity]

Thanks Marley, Tizzy, Coco!!

Jamerican – I bet the hardest part is getting all the supplies together when traveling with children, but it’s good to know that once you get there everything falls into place. I think my biggest concern is the amount of time it takes to get to JA from California.

And Yes, I have more pics that I’ll be posting soon

Irieworld – I agree that the weather did smile on us despite the storm. I’m grateful it just passed over and gave us a brilliant show… it wasn’t anything too serious that put a real damper on anything. Thank goodness. The only downside was that it interrupted some of our family reunion plans due to the weather in Kingston at the time. On the Brightside, it just gave my father another reason to come back to the Island. That’s always a good thing

i dragged my baby to jamaica before he could walk
i will never forget walking down the plane ramp on to the tarmac - yep before jet ways - and his head snapped back - when the humidity and the smells of jamaica hit his nose
rolling him in the umbrella stroller - watching him laugh as the cars went beep beeb
going downtown mobay and finding goats - and he touched them and had a ball
eating at the pelican restaurant (mobay) and finishing off an entire order of pancakes
He swears he remembers - lol

Seveen - I love this description of your time with your son in Jamaica. I’m hoping to make memories like that with our little one when the time comes! That sounds beautiful!

No worries Clarity! You CAN have babies and still travel to fun places. :-) We always traveled a lot before kids, and still travel a ton with our little ones. My kids are great little travelers! And, remember, you are also blessed to have some family in Jamaica that would probably watch your baby for night, so that you & Markus can still enjoy a night out sans kids!

Thanks Eden - That’s true, having family in Jamaica is an added bonus and they’re all excited about the prospect of me bringing my baby to the Island. I’m sure they’d be willing to take care of him/her if Markus and I wanted to get away for a one on one night out.

thank you for your report I followed you one love report aswell as the other "turtles" or what has yet been finished of them at least...lol and I am very happy for you that you could "reconnect" with your family. They are very important the most important thing IS family blood or not... Learn to except each other for who you are and just love them for their crazy...lol oh yes and the ability to let the little things go is verrry important (sometimes it doesn't seem like a little thing but in reality if you step back it prolly isnt too important) once again i thank you for your report and good luck with starting your own family, a little daisy or marcus would be awesome... just no lion fish... hehe I pay attention!

Thanks beebeluv! You’re so right about family!
LOL @ lionfish comment! Little Markus or Daisy – Yes – Little Lionfish – NO. hahaha!

I am so happy that you and your family had this time together, what a blessing. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
I will be staying in the Star Cottage for the first 4 nights of my Dec trip... could you post some more pictures of the cottage if you have them???
I too am hoping that you guys can find a way to make a Dec NYE trip happen...

Iriesistah – That’s so awesome! You’re going to love Star Cottage!! I do have a few more pics that I can post of the inside and outside of Star for you. I’ll go through my photos this afternoon and post some.

[Reggae_Girl98]

Hi Clarity,
I've immensely enjoyed all of your and hubbymon's trip reports so far, thanks a lot for sharing your adventures here! And am sure they will continue!
Having travelled to Negril since my early twenties in 1995, I am still going as often as I manage to save up enough money for the trip.
I first took my baby boy when he was only 3 months last year and we've been back together when he was 9 and 15 months. Each trip was completely different, as he was in different stages of his young life, but we always had a great time! True, packing for the trip is a pain in the neck, but once arrived, that's forgotten. Btw, our trip going takes at least 18 hours door-to-door, but it's worth it! (We are travelling from Europe!)
The journey back is a bit faster, but still 15 hours or so.
Am so looking forward to my next trip in October, with Alex being 17 monhts old then! Last time he was still a bit anxious with the sea, but I guess this time around it will be tough to keep him out of there.
So please, travel is not over with a baby! Of course, finances is another matter. Anyway, don't know what your airline will be charging, but until 2 years of age, I only have to pay around 60USD in taxes to take my baby. After that I probably won't be able to go twice a year anymore as I will have to pay two full tickets. Oh well, in any case, travel or not, being a parent will change your life completely and you will love it!
Hugs from Brussels,
Anke
PS: I also went to JA when I was 5 months pregnant without any problem! ;-)

[Juli]

Oh! What a little sweetheart, Reggae_Girl. I agree, don't stop traveling because of babies. No matter what age, I believe it opens childrens eyes to the culture of other parts of the world.
It is up to us to make our children better human beings which they will carry through out their life!

[TizzyATX]

I agree with the common sentiment....but I also understand Daisy's reluctance to travel to Negril with child lol. It would just be a very different trip, but valuable to no end for both parent and child I'm sure.

Reggae_Girl your bby boy is SO precious....look at that face omgoodness

[dash]

Clarity, I don't pretend to know you. The board may give a false sense of intimacy. But I know that you are going to be an amazing mom! Negril will be waiting for you and your family. It will not change much but you will and the pleasure of being together as a family in Negril will be very special! I wish only good things for you and your family.

[Seveen]

i want to hear that a baby is baking :-)

[gerryg123]

Great report, as always, Clarity. Along the lines of what Booger said, when you first made your declaration in May about choosing not to return for a long time, I predicted you'd be back by Thanksgiving.

Turns out you succomed even sooner than expected to the most beautiful island in the world. Now you've got us all buzzing about pushing the button again ASAP!

[Jim-Donna]

I have been waiting for this... YIPPIE, I'm so happy you all had a good time!

[Eden]

Oh my goodness, those cheeks! I just wanna squeeze him! He is so adorable

Hi Clarity,
I've immensely enjoyed all of your and hubbymon's trip reports so far, thanks a lot for sharing your adventures here! And am sure they will continue!
Having travelled to Negril since my early twenties in 1995, I am still going as often as I manage to save up enough money for the trip.
I first took my baby boy when he was only 3 months last year and we've been back together when he was 9 and 15 months. Each trip was completely different, as he was in different stages of his young life, but we always had a great time! True, packing for the trip is a pain in the neck, but once arrived, that's forgotten. Btw, our trip going takes at least 18 hours door-to-door, but it's worth it! (We are travelling from Europe!)
The journey back is a bit faster, but still 15 hours or so.
Am so looking forward to my next trip in October, with Alex being 17 monhts old then! Last time he was still a bit anxious with the sea, but I guess this time around it will be tough to keep him out of there.
So please, travel is not over with a baby! Of course, finances is another matter. Anyway, don't know what your airline will be charging, but until 2 years of age, I only have to pay around 60USD in taxes to take my baby. After that I probably won't be able to go twice a year anymore as I will have to pay two full tickets. Oh well, in any case, travel or not, being a parent will change your life completely and you will love it!
Hugs from Brussels,
Anke
PS: I also went to JA when I was 5 months pregnant without any problem! ;-)

[Ann Theresa]

Daisy...thanks for the beautiful pictures and trip report... I got tears in my eyes when you talked about your Mom relaxing. So glad you had a wonderful time with your family. My husband and I were married for 15 yrs before having children and we did quite a bit of traveling before children....we did travel more locally when they were real young, but as they got older, we got back in the swing. It's different with kids....you just don't have the energy, but once they are teens, it's a breeze. If you can, expose them to different cultures. That is one of the best education you can give them. You have certainly been blessed...keep on posting....Jah Bless