Ya Mon...No Problem Mon

The day after our wedding proved to be just as humbling as the actual wedding day. We were able to eat breakfast and see off some of Sam's family and friends from Quincy, which was a lot of fun. We loved having everyone in town and it meant so much to us that people would make the drive for our wedding. After saying our goodbyes and thank you's we headed out to lunch with Sam's friends from the Academy. Where is the best place to eat out for the first time ever as a Mr. and Mrs.? Qdoba of course! If you have never experienced the divine awesomeness of Qdoba, well then you are missing out. The night we got engaged we ate Qdoba for dinner, and now that we live in a town that doesn't have one we plan specific routes and trips just to dine at Qdoba, needless to say it has played a large role in our lives. After lunch we headed to my moms house to open all our presents. My mom had recycled Rachel's banner from a shower I had in Quincy that said "Amanda and Sam", it was cute to see in hung over the fireplace. We ate wedding cake while opening presents and it felt like another shower. We were overwhelmed, yet again, by all the love and thoughtfulness from friends and family. Though we were exhausted, the day after our wedding was simply amazing. We finished the day by driving to Kansas City, about three hours from Springfield, to catch an early flight to Jamaica!

We got a few honks while driving to and from KC!

Our first day on the resort, waiting for orientation.

You really can't complain about having to get up at 4:00am to catch a flight to paradise. After ten hours of traveling, a short layover in Charlotte, NC, where I sadly didn't meet the upcoming Bachelorette Emily Maynard, we arrived in Jamaica. My first experience ever going through customs, but it wasn't too bad, we were greeted with island music and instantly I felt relaxed. The scary part was trying to find a bus that would take us to the correct resort. We finally got onto a bus, after watching lots of people running around and shouting loudly. Our bus driver was entertaining, but it was an hour drive to our resort. We stopped at multiple resorts along the way and a fifteen minute pit stop at a local shop. By the time we got to our resort in was 5:00pm, with the time change it meant we had traveled a total of eleven hours. We decided to explore the resort and get dinner after quickly unpacking. By the time we ate our delicious brick oven pizza it was dark and we couldn't see much. We went back to our room and we were both asleep by 9:30pm. Perhaps it was all the traveling, or the post wedding exhaustion, but we pretty much slept for three days straight.

The view of the resort next to us from our balcony.

The beach!

Sam ready to explore

 We had lots of welcoming meetings and tours to go to on Tuesday, our first full day on the resort. It was a bit frustrating to plan time to relax by the pool when everyone wanted to welcome us! It was also a bit cloudy, but still 80 degrees. The resort had two swimming pools with swim up bars, a restaurant with a tree in the middle, a brick oven pizza place, Japanese restaurant, a club, an Italian restaurant, a spa, a tennis court, a grill that made the best cheese burgers and was open 23/7, an outdoor workout center called "the cut", and a fancy restaurant called Platinum. It was absolutely beautiful. Tuesday night they had a beach party with a buffet out on the beach, we ate dinner with a nice couple from Vancouver, the lady was a teacher for special education. After dinner they had a fire dancer, a snake dancer, and a nail dancer. It was a lot of fun. We called it another earlier night and headed back to our room around 9:30pm, like I said, we literally slept for the first three days, going to sleep between 9:30 and 10 and waking up between 9 and 10. 

They delivered this tasty treat to our room one night.

I loved the towel animals.

Sam and I after dinner one night.

The buffet and fire dancer

 Our room came with a butler, so on Wednesday our butler came and walked us out to the beach where he had set up towel animals and flowers on two chairs. Some people say the hardest decision they have to make on vacation is where to sit on the beach, but we didn't even have to decide that! After a year of planning and decision making its nice to have a week where everything is decided for you! Wednesday night we ate outside, by the water, at an Italian restaurant, where our butler had set up roses that spelled out "I love you". Thursday and Friday we spent on the beach as well, Thursday night we ate dinner on the pier which went out into the water, it was a five course meal and we ate with an older couple, who was from Quincy, IL, and two younger couples, one from New York and I don't know where the other people were from, but we all had a really great time sharing our experiences and by the end of dinner it was like we were old friends. On Friday night we ate at a fancy restaurant called, Platinum, which had Caribbean style food. We also ate breakfast there Saturday morning, their food was different, but yummy. Saturday, we decided to take these small sail boats on a tour. It was a bit scary, because our boat filled with water and I was concerned we were going to get swept out to sea. We visited James Bond beach, where the first James Bond movie was shot, and the Prime Minister of Jamaica lived. Sadly, I didn't have my camera to capture this epic moment, but I did get to sit inside a waterfall and feel a spot in the ocean where salt water met fresh water, it was very cold at the bottom. On Saturday night we went to eat at the Japanese restaurant, where you had to make reservations, and they cooked the food in front of you, but it wasn't as delicious as Nakato's in Springfield and they didn't have seafood sauce.

Our butler, Larnell.

Our chef at the Japanese restaurant, Last Samurai  

 

 

 

 

 

More from our balcony

I tried fried bananas...not very tasty, but a Caribbean specialty.

After dinner we went back to our room to start packing and our butler came by, he was shocked that we were in our room at 8pm so he kicked us out. We went and watched the "dive" in movie, where they showed a movie in the pool and then went back to our room. We were surprised to find the coolest towel animal of the week, with roses all around, a hot bubble bath with candles and a bottle of wine chilling. We were basically on our own private bachelor episode. It was such a fun, relaxing, and romantic honeymoon. The Jewel Dunn's River really knows how to show you a good time. Sam and I were sad to head back to the states on Sunday and we are so glad that we splurged and got a butler suite on an all inclusive resort. Our honeymoon was a perfect week together, where we were greeted as Mr. and Mrs., no technology around, just each other, enjoying spending time together and recharging our batteries. I am so glad it worked out and we actually got to have a honeymoon!

The little sail boats we took out into the ocean.

This is what we came back to after being kicked out of our room.

The Spa. We did get an hour hot stone massage here.

One of the pools, you can see where it says the Jewel

We had another full day of traveling on Sunday, but at least we didn't have to get up at 4am. We stayed another night in Kansas City before heading back to Springfield. We spent a week in Springfield, staying with Sam's parents. The week after the honeymoon was definitely a strange mix of emotions. We spent the first part of the week turning me into an official Holbrook, and combining/closing out bank accounts. The guy gets off easy...yet again...not only does he get to hang out the day before the wedding while the girl is busily running around to get stuff ready, he also doesn't have to change his name on official documents! We knew we had to be back in Enid, OK by the following Monday, however, we didn't have a place to live until halfway through the week. Once we found out we got a house we spent the ladder part of the week packing to move. This is where the mix of emotions comes into play, first I felt excited, I was still on a honeymoon high and loving being married. Second, I felt a bit sad and slightly depressed, Sarah, Sam's sister, calls this the "wedding bell blues". For the past year, I always had something to think about, plan or do for the wedding, especially the month before the wedding, I ate, slept, breathed wedding and then BAM! Nothing, just like that it was all over. I enjoyed the planning and there was nothing left to look forward too, nothing left to plan, no more "I cant wait for your wedding, its going to be awesome." I didn't even know what to do with myself, until we found out we had a three bedroom house, then I channeled my wedding bell blues into packing and planning for a move. As with any move you feel a bit of sadness for the place you leaving behind, though you are excited for new opportunities. As the week drew to a close, we recruited help, packed up a Budget truck, spent time with family and friends, and then set out toward the wildly wonderful land of Enid, Oklahoma. The best part of this move was that Sam and I, after four long years of distance, were finally leaving together!

Sad to leave Jamaica

Sad to leave Springfield

All great posts, just like trips and vacations, must come to an end. Thank you for reading! Until next time!

Amanda