Conference!

I just returned from the AMTA (American Music Therapy Association) National Conference in Atlanta, GA. I'm hoping to blog about it as soon as I get a chance, though this week is crazy with work and Thanksgiving and then we are off to Cincinnati this coming weekend...

Jamaica (Saturday, Day 7)

Because our flight was scheduled to leave a little after noon and our resort was a couple hours away from the airport, we didn't get to do much before leaving Jamaica. We got up early to get our luggage ready, because we were supposed to leave it outside our door to be picked up. We stopped by the Cafe and got some pastries for breakfast as well as some muffins and scones for snacks on the plane. Then, we headed to the lobby to wait for our shuttle.

The ride back to the airport was a little scarier than getting to the resort, just because this time we were driving on the side of the road nearest to edge of the mountain. Nonetheless, we made it to the airport with no problems. We ate at Margaritaville in the airport, just like we did the last time.

The flight back to Charlotte went without a hitch, but of course the customs area was so full that we had to wait on the plane for awhile after landing. This made us nervous because we only had an hour and 15 minutes between flights, and during that time, we had to get through immigration to get back into the country, get our luggage, go through customs, go through security again, and then board the plane before it left. It took so long to get through customs that we were really scared we would miss our flight. Fortunately for us, most of the people on the connecting flight were also in the customs line, so the flight took off quite a bit later than anticipated because there would have been very few people on the flight had they not waited. The funny part was that as we boarded the plane, we saw one of our bags being lifted onto the plane, so our baggage almost beat us there.

Speaking of baggage....when we got to Louisville, we found that one of our bags had made it (apparently the one we had seen) but the other did not, which made no sense, seeing that we had checked both bags at the exact same time. There were four couples that this happened to as well. Luckily, the airline made arrangements to deliver it to our house the next day, even though it was more than a two hour drive.

Once we got that mess figured out, we stopped at Culver's to grab some dinner to eat on the way and headed home. Eric's parents brought Anya to our house so we could just go home without having to stop somewhere else. We were so happy to see Ani and I think she was really happy to see us. She was up much later than normal that night, but I was okay with that because we definitely wanted to see her when we got home.

So the next question is: Where are we headed next? I don't know where we will go for our 10 year anniversary. Who knows how things will be at that point? For now, we are planning another European adventure in early May 2012 and this time, Anya will come with us. We are thinking Madrid, Budapest, Vienna (with a day trip to Bratislavia), and the Middle Rhine in Germany!

Jamaica (Friday, Day 6)

Friday, Day 6

Friday was our actual anniversary and it was a perfect day. We got up a little early and went to The Bayside for breakfast. Then, we headed to the spa. We had wanted to book a couple’s massage but it seemed like the prices had doubled since the last time we were there, and we just couldn’t justify spending that kind of money for it. However, we kept running into a couple who were on our flight and found out that Saturday the spa was having a 2 for 1 deal (buy one, get one free). Basically, you could get a couple’s massage for half the price. The only problem was that we were leaving early Saturday morning and would not be able to do it that day. Eric went to the spa on Thursday and asked if there was any way we could get the deal on Friday because that was our anniversary. They weren’t going to give it to him until he said something about really wanting to get this certain massage treatment since it was the same one we had 5 years ago when we were there, and then the lady caved. So we ended up getting our couple’s massage for half price on Friday.

Our treatment was called the Champagne Celebration. First, we got probably a 50 minute massage and then a hot bubble bath in this really big bathtub. We also got a bottle of champagne and a fruit tray while enjoying the bath. It was really nice and calming, though I have to admit that I’ve had better massages here in the US. Nonetheless, we left the spa feeling very relaxed.

We spent a little time at the beach and then headed to The Bayside for lunch. We then treated ourselves to crepes at the Café de Paris. After lunch, we spent some time in the pool at the pool bar and then relaxed on the beach bed. It started to rain a little so we went back to the room and napped for a bit.

We decided to go to Neptune’s for our anniversary dinner. We had Fried Calamari and Lobster Bisque as appetizers. I had the Seafood Pot a Fue and Eric had the Lobster and Cheese Open-Faced Ravioli. Both were pretty amazing. We had some kind of raspberry chocolate bar for dessert. Dinner was nice and I especially liked eating dinner outside near the beach.

After dinner, we headed to the beach where there was acoustic music being played. We danced for a little bit and then went to Le Cabaret to listen to some authentic reggae music. We stayed for awhile but went back to the room early. We were exhausted after such a long day and we knew we would have to get up really early the next morning to leave for the airport.

Jamaica (Thursday, Day 5)

Thursday, Day 5

Thursday morning, we got up early to see the sunrise. We were exhausted but wanted to make sure that we saw it at least once while we were in Jamaica. There were a couple of other people on the beach doing the same thing. We went to the beach in our pajamas and sat on some of the chairs until we saw it rise up over the mountains.

We went back to the room and got ready to have breakfast at Eleanor’s again and it was a lot quicker this time. Eric had Custard-filled French Toast and I had Caribbean Toast, which was huge pieces of toast with warm bananas and chocolate syrup on it. We also had eggs, hash browns, and fruit. Then, we did a little shopping in the gift shops so that we could be finished. It is always kind of stressful to know what to bring back our families, but it didn’t take too long to do. After that, we hit the beach and spent pretty much the rest of the morning lying on the beach. We planned to get pizzas at Giuseppe’s this day but they don’t start serving them until 3, so we went to The Bayside for just a snack around lunch time, and then hung out in the pool for awhile.

At 3, we headed to Giuseppe’s. We wanted to eat on the patio, but it was a little rainy so we ended up eating inside. I had a pepperoni pizza and Eric had some kind of seafood pizza that was really good. 3 was kind of an inconvenient time to eat pizza (it would have been better at lunch), but it was definitely worth it! We were stuffed afterwards, so we ended up taking another nap in the hammock. Are you noticing a trend here?

That night we had dinner at Eleanor’s (yes, we went there twice in one day). Eleanor’s is the fine dining experience at Whitehouse and it is supposed to be the “nicest” restaurant. A lot of people said we should have saved it for our anniversary, but the menu didn’t look as good to us, probably because we aren’t big steak people or into fancy food. But it was actually really good. Eric had a Filet of Beef and Shrimp Cocktail and I had the Red Snapper Filet with Sweet Potato Mash. I don’t even like sweet potatoes, but it was actually really good. We actually ordered dessert there as well. We had some kind of ice cream with warm bananas and something called Magical Moment for Two, which was chocolate with some kind of raspberry drizzle I think. Whatever it was was really good!

After dinner, we headed to Le Cabaret to watch some couple games and the Cultural Show. They brought in a group that performed cultural music and dance, which was kind of interesting.

Jamaica (Wednesday, Day 4)

Wednesday, Day 4

I was exhausted Wednesday morning because I hadn’t slept much the night before, but I was able to get up and go to breakfast at The Bayside. Then, we spent the morning doing absolutely nothing on the beach, which was great, considering I was so tired. We had lunch at Bluefield’s. Again, we ordered the Bammie and the Ackie and this time, we also tried a Chicken Patty, though the “patty” was more like a dry dumpling instead of a “patty” like we know it. Eric had the Red Snapper Filet Sandwich and I had Curried Goat. Yes, I said goat. I had never had goat before, so I thought I would try it. The great thing about an all-inclusive resort is that if you don’t like what you order, you can order something else. However, the goat wasn’t bad, though it was spicy because of the curry. It tasted similar to beef. After lunch, we headed to the pool and then took a short nap on the beach bed. Then, we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner because we had been invited to the Returnee’s Dinner.

When you go back to Sandals after being there at least once, you are invited to a special dinner for only returning guests. We had debated going because we didn’t want to miss out on all the other restaurants but people on the forums insisted that this was the best meal they had all week, and I’m so glad we didn’t miss it. It was a 4-course meal and it was amazing. This is what we had:

South Coast Butter poach Lobster Medallion and Cheese Filled Ravioli with Lime Tarragon Beurre Blanc

Freshly nix Leaves of Lettuce accompanied with Charred Mango and Pineapple served with Vine Ripen Tomato and Red Wine reduction

Grilled rubbed Chicken Breast mounted on Pumpkin sweet Potato mash served with Coconut Shrimp Run-Down, seasonal Vegetables and Au-Jus

Spanish Flan with Peppercorn Biscotti and Strawberry Sauce

Blue Mountain Coffee or Tea

Of course, this was complete with wine! Even though I was still scared to eat as much as I wanted due to the previous night, I was still able to enjoy the meal. It was definitely the fanciest meal we’d ever had!

After dinner, we headed over to the Le Cabaret for White Night and the Chocolate Buffet. Each week, there is a White Night where people are invited to wear their best white clothes and there is a buffet of chocolate around 10 pm. It was supposed to be outside, but it had rained pretty hard earlier that evening, so they had to move things inside. The chocolate buffet was really nice but there wasn’t a whole lot left by the time we got to the buffet, but we probably didn’t need it anyway.

Jamaica (Tuesday, Day 3)

Tuesday, Day 3

Tuesday morning we had breakfast at Eleanor’s, which is the Caribbean restaurant that serves an a la carte breakfast. We had a fruit tray to start and then I had Eggs Ranchero (egg, sausage, and cheese in a tortilla), bacon, hash brown, and a pancake and Eric had Eggs Benedict, hash browns, and bacon. We had to wait a little bit for a table and the service was a little slow so it took awhile to actually do breakfast, but we didn’t have anywhere to be so it wasn’t a big deal.

After breakfast, one of the Sandals staff members took us out on the hobie cat. Last time we were in Jamaica, Eric and I took one out on our own, but this one was bigger than the others, so we assumed that staff took people out on this particular boat, which was fine with us. There’s no way we would have been able to have the kind of ride we had without the staff person there. When we turned in the hobie cat, we signed out a kayak and paddled our way down the beach. This gave us a nice view of the resort. Afterwards, we hung out on the beach for a bit and then headed to The Bayside for the lunch buffet.

At around 3 or so, we headed to our Catamaran Cruise. This was the only excursion we signed up for because we really just wanted to relax. There were about 6 or 7 couples total and our cruise included snacks and alcohol. So we cruised along the ocean and made one stop so that we could get in the water for a bit. Then we headed to what the Jamaicans call “The Barder” which is the border between Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth parishes. They took us to this neat-looking cove area where the two parishes meet. Then, we headed back out to the open ocean to see the sunset. After the sun had set, the DJ turned the music up and everyone did some dancing as we pulled back into the resort. The cruise was really fun (though more expensive than it probably should have been), but Eric and I both got a little seasick. We took a similar excursion last time and had no problems, so we’re not sure if the person driving the boat was going faster than normal or if the waves were rougher than normal, but we both had moments of nausea so we didn’t drink as much as we would normally have.

When we got back to our room, we cleaned up and headed to Giuseppe’s for dinner. For some reason, I wasn’t very hungry but I ate what I could. We had Bruschetta and Caprese for appetizers and then I had a Capellini dish and Eric had Penne Carbonara. Then we headed over to Le Cabaret for a fun game show and the staff talent show. Afterwards, we got some snacks from Café de Paris to go and ate them on a beach bed on the way back to the room.

Unfortunately, this was the night that my change in eating habits got to me. About an hour after we went to bed, I woke up feeling really nauseous and ended up being up most of the night either in the bathroom or lying in bed trying to ignore my nausea. I think I finally fell asleep around 3:30. I don’t know if it was something I ate or what, though I think the fact that I don’t normally eat the way I had been eating probably played a role in it.