The very first trip that my husband and I ever took together was to Montego Bay, Jamaica. We were just dating at the time, and were on a tight budget. We had heard about all-inclusive resort vacations, and thought it might be something fun to try together!
Living in Ohio at the time, our ability to fly to an island in the Caribbean was ideal. We did a ton of research together and ended up choosing the Sandals Resort on Montego Bay. It had a great room rate, beautiful weather, along with exotic food and drink menus. I think we booked the entire week-long trip for $1,300 (granted this was fifteen years ago now…) We split the price between the two of us, and packed our bags.
Never having vacationed with just a significant other before, I had the most amazing experience. We learned so much about each others’ relaxation styles on this trip, and found our compatibility exponentially growing. While so many people like to go on adventures and go sight-seeing on vacation, it became quickly apparent that we both take our “do nothing” time pretty seriously. Taking naps in hammocks, sleeping in late every morning, lounging by the pool and counting a lazy stroll on the beach as the day’s exercise were on both of our priority lists. We took great care to maximize our unlimited food and drink allocation each day, and definitely got our money’s worth in the form of “hummingbird” frozen drinks and jerk chicken sandwiches.
The best part of this trip was our room location. We were situated on a high floor with a small balcony that overlooked the pool area. After one of our first days laying by the pool, where activity concierges tried to get us to play games and participate in group dance parties, we decided to try a day on our sunny balcony, people watching. This became the absolute best entertainment. Watching the fun without having to move our own bodies too much was perfect. (Introvert alert!) We would take turns going down to the resort bar or restaurant to grab food and drinks and bring it back up to the room. Then, in the evenings, when the daily activity schedule was complete, we would head back downstairs to enjoy the empty hammocks and listen to the steel drums playing on the pool deck.
Not long after this trip, we bought a condo together and got engaged. I still believe that trip to Jamaica was an essential part of us knowing whether we were right for each other. And while our vacations have evolved quite a bit over the last fifteen years, our need to “do nothing” on certain trips is becoming more and more necessary. It’s great to have someone who feels the same way traveling with you, as that really leads to true relaxation.
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