_When I first won this trip on my birthday I was SO excited! American Airlines was giving away a trip a day for 25 days and I just happened to win one. It was a $1500.00 voucher to be used on any vacation package that AA offered. In August I planned on going on this trip with my boyfriend. He and I had been seeing each other for a few months and we were excited to plan out this trip together. Unfortunately our plans got ahead of us and we didn’t make it. We broke up in October which made me frantic to find someone else who could go. Out of all my friends who could afford a plane ticket, take time off before Thanksgiving, share a room with me and endure the excursions that were already bought and paid for.

My sister Patti came through! She had to rush and get her passport updated before she could buy her flight out there, but it was a sigh of relief when the mailman came through with it. She purchased her ticket and we were on our way.

_When we arrived in Montego Bay Jamaica we stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree. I’m not going to go into too much detail here, but unless you have a caravan full of kids I would stay away from this place. We made the best of our trip and ended up talking a lot in our hotel room about our past, present and future. It’s funny how close our family is and yet how much we miss when we live so far apart. Realizing early on that we didn’t like the food it didn’t take me long to find out that the gift shop held an indulgence we couldn’t resist. We liked to call them “meat pockets”, but the locals call them Juici Patties. OMAG! (Oh my amazing goodness) these things were meat filled pastries that were similar to empanadas. OMAG!!

On our first excursion we went zip lining in the mountains. It was an amazing adventure that I will never forget. My sister had done it in Costa Rica, but this was my first time. We often make friends pretty easily where ever we go and it doesn’t hurt to make friends with the guides. Rico and John made sure to keep us laughing and smiling the whole time. Soaring through the trees and viewing the river and rocks below was an incredible adrenaline rush. (zip line blog click here)

_The next day we went ATVing. This is something my sister and I used to do in Catskills, NY where my family used to have a vacation home. We would go up every summer and go fishing and ATVing so it was like reminiscing to get behind the bars of these 4 wheel units again. We trucked up the mountain and down into a little village where the kids came out to wave. They were so excited to see these ATVs driving through their town. As we went up the mountain you were able to see so many beautiful views of the ocean and other magnificent mountains. Our guide even took us off the beaten path and talked about their national dish which included the fruit called Ackee. Later my sister and I tasted the fruit in  our dinner. He also told us about Guava which sounds like a super food that even Oprah would be proud of. Plus a tree called the Soursop tree which the guide told us it would help someone with Parkinson’s disease. Later I looked it up and it seems he may have been wrong. Gotta love the powers of the internet.

_On our last full day on the island my sister convinced me to try a massage and reflexology at the spa in the hotel. I had never had one before and I was a little afraid of someone touching all over my back and feet. I ended up really enjoying the massage, but not completely loving the reflexology. It seems as though the reflexology would have been better for someone who doesn’t have ticklish feet.  The massage on the other hand was incredible. It soothed my whole body and made me feel completely relaxed.
Our last night in Jamaica and we decided to try out the Italian restaurant at the hotel. It had a great ambiance and the food was fresh and filled with flavor. We found that in Jamaica most of the food was pre-made or fried, but at this restaurant everything tasted so good. It was a great way to end such an amazing trip. It was even more awesome to spend some quality time with my sister and to share our love for life!

_Zip lining was an experience that I will never forget. I’m so addicted to the feeling of flying through the air that immediately after returning from Jamaica I started looking up zip lining in Florida. Imagine a beautiful 80 degree day with a light wind and a tropical forest just waiting to be explored. Everyone is ready to see what awaits them in this beautiful hillside.

Walking up to the first zip line I looked at my sister (Patti Reilly) and said “I’m not so sure I can do this”. Patti was a little worried that I wouldn’t make the jump, but after watching her take the leap first and trusting her laughter along the way my fears just dissipated. I couldn’t wait to have the tour guide tell me it was my turn to take that leap. As Rico set me up on the ropes and told me to grab on all I could do was think about letting go of every fear I had and just enjoy the ride that was awaiting me.

Making that jump (yes, you have to JUMP) and seeing the land and beautiful river below was incredible. There were lush green palm trees, bamboo, and a rocky river that reminded me of one that we lived by when we were kids. At the end of the ride my sister was at the other end with a huge smile. It was just what I needed to get through my first line. After that I couldn’t wait to get to the next one.

We had a couple people in our group that were holding things up a bit, but it’s an incredible experience to witness other people conquer their fears. We watched a woman who was so scared before, during and after each jump. At one point our guide had to get on the line with here because she was about 10 feet away from the end of the zip line. He hooked himself onto the same line as her and wrapped his legs around her waist then he pulled both of them in like a spider monkey on the line. She ended up being extremely scared after that and she didn’t want to go on, but when you’re zip lining in a mountain like this there is only one way down. By the end she finally did the longest zip line in Jamaica without a scream or whisper. Everyone in the group cheered and clapped for her success!

I would love to do this amazing adventure again and again. I never would have thought that I’d enjoy soaring across a cliff with just a few ropes and nothing underneath me but rocks and a shallow river. The whole experience was amplified by the amazing crew that led this journey, Rico and John the best guides ever!