Mike was kind enough to drive us to the airport…
Where we began the process of waiting to get on the plane.
Kelli made use of the downtime playing some video games.
On the plane was a good breakfast to start the day.
So I helped myself to a beer….
When we arrived in Jamaica, there was a Sandals hospitality suite at the airport….
Before heading to Sandals, Montego Bay….
And enjoying the champagne check in.
While waiting for our room to finish getting ready, we went and grabbed some lunch.
Shortly afterwards, our room was ready, and they seem to know us as repeat customers.
We loved the room!!!!
It had a great view…..
With plenty of room…
For all of your home away from home needs.
No need to share a sink!!
The complementary bar was well stocked….
And there was plenty of closet space.
There was even a free bottle of Appleton Special Rum!!!!
By the way, notice those things sticking out under the cabinet?
They’re for making your drinks!!!!
Kelli and I enjoyed a glass of champagne…
Here, you make your own plate….
Before getting dressed…..
And heading to dinner.
One of the many restaurants you can eat at when visiting a Sandals.
Throw it into the chef’s wok thing…..
And POW, he cooks it up right for ya.
Mmmm, mmm, good.
It turns out that we’re such great guests, we were upgraded to a penthouse room for free.
Our first full day had us longing for some diving….
So to the sea we went.
Ah, the beautiful Kelli fish, another rare spotting.
The divemaster found what I believe to be a box crab.
I wonder how long before they noticed it was missing?
A small group of wrasse.
The water was a little cloudy, but I still like this shot.
This one is better, and you can see the divemaster telling us which way to go.
Back on the surface for dinner, and Kelli looks fantastic!!!!
Of course, I don’t look too bad myself.
Dinner was at the Italian restaurant, and this was the salad.
All the food that night was great, including these shrimp.
A good shot looking back towards the outdoor dining area….
That looks better with a beautiful subject.
The entertainment that night consisted of restless natives.
Later that night……
Actually, the next morning….
It was back on the dive boat for dive #2.
Kelli and the divemaster work on their underwater synchronized swimming….
While I work on blowing the perfect bubble.
Can you make out what that object is in the distance?
It’s what’s left of a plane.
Pretty cool, eh?
I took a lot of pictures underwater, so I’ll skip to the surface interval…
And then onto dive #3 for the trip.
Getting the color correct underwater can be tough….
As the flash does not go very far.
These fishing cages were everywhere underwater…
And always had an abundance of fish.
Even when I got the color right, it seemed the camera didn’t want to focus properly.
Sometimes a school of fish would swim so close you’d think you could reach out and touch them…..
Of course when you try, they swim away.
That night, dinner was at another Sandals resort…
So we took the shuttle over to Sandals Royal Caribbean.
A quick pose by the fountain…..
And another by the pool.
I’m such a sucker for these things.
The restaurant was on a small seperate island….
So we hopped on the boat…
And were greeted on the island with a cocktail.
Dinner that night was at…..well, you read it.
What happens when you have too many cocktails.
What happens when you don’t use sunscreen.
As with the other restaurants, the food was great….
And having a Thai theme….
This food had a nice kick to it.
They had the best coffee!!!!
Thank you, thankyouverymuch!!!!!
Mark and Maggie. We meet him diving, and her through him.
Speaking of diving, this is dive #5.
The camera died on me on dive #4.
It really sucked because in one of those cages from earlier…..
There was a 6 foot moray eel.
Lobster, anyone?
How to make out underwater.
The divemaster picked up a conch for us to hold.
A trumpet fish…..
That Kelli swam by to see.
Hi, Mom!!!
How to shower on vacation.
Later, after the dive and a shower….
I took my sexy body in search of some fine women.
Actually we were just hanging out at the swim up pool, when these two Sandals employees came along.
I wasn’t sure what they wanted, so I partially hid myself from their view.
It turns out they wanted us to drink.
So I finished my underwater photography….
Took a quick picture of Kelly and Chris….
And then joined the game.
The game involved yelling someone else’s number when your number was called and drinking if you messed up.
Remember, regardless of what the sign says, the customer is always right.
That evening, it was time to get ready for dinner….
So we had some champagne…
Played a few video games…..
Then started posing for our evening shots.
Ahh, what a lucky man, he was.
Kelli and I celebrated six years of marriage. Click Here for those pictures.
That night we had dinner with the general manager….
Who took an interest in Kelli.
There aren’t too many pictures that night, because I was very socially lubricated.
So a quick walk on the beach….
Before one last shot, and heading home for the night.
Dive #6, and right where we dropped in was a 6 foot sting ray.
He was too fast for an up close picture, so enjoy this picture of a sea cucumber instead.
I tweeked the white balance underwater, and seemed to get better color afterwards.
But it’s still hard to see great distances underwater.
After a short break, it was on to dive #7.
I was going to tell you what kind of fish this was, but I couldn’t find it in my identification book.
A cool shot of the coral near the surface.
A lizardfish….
That changed color when I got too close.
Lobster for three.
A banded butterflyfish.
The Kelli fish.
Another lizardfish….
This one let me get pretty close.
A yellow stingray.
Killing time at our safety stop on the way up.
I liked this picture better, but Kelli wasn’t in it.
But she’s in this one.
Water on the lens, and you can’t see Kelli on this one…
And me on this one. Oh well.
Setting up for the night’s going out shot….
And Kelli was happy to join me when it was ready.
This Sandal’s employee asked me to take her picture, so Kelli joined in the fun, and I did.
These pictures were done by the resort, not me.
I had some long talks with one of the on staff photographers….
And we liked her so much we asked her to take a few pictures of us.
Sometimes the chauffeur likes to be chauffeured.
Thanks Natalie!!!!
Oh, by the way, tonight was our 6th wedding anniversary.
So we decided to do two dinners that night.
The first was back at Tokyo Joe’s….
For the not-on-the-menu lobster.
First a spring roll.
Chef Dave was a great guy for making Kelli a specail lobster treat.
And as was the standard, the food was cooked while we waited.
Not your traditional serving, but lobster nonetheless.
The chef also made us a special dessert.
We went back to the room between dinners for some R-and-R.
We played a lot of video games in our downtime. (We’re currently hooked on Puzzle Quest).
Entertainment that night was music…..
And dancing.
Our second dinner that night was at the Italian restaurant, again.
The last picture of the night before…..
Dive #8 the next morning.
That can’t be good for the reef.
Much better placement here….
That seems to have resulted in a nice catch of fish.
I like the texture of the feather dusters in this shot.
We did find another moray eel for me to take a picture of for you. This one was well hidden, but was probably about 4-5 feet long.
After finishing dive #9 (our final dive of the trip), we hopped on the shuttle and took it over to the resort close to town.
After a quick drink and bite to eat….
And finding a goal to strive for…..
We started the 30-45 minute walk into downtown Montego Bay, Jamaica.
She woudn’t be Kelli if she didn’t pick up strangers.
Hey mon, what can I sell you today?
Shortly after that I told her to stop talking to the locals or we’d never make it to the downtown area.
We stopped by Margaritaville to check things out….
And while it looked fun….
We had everything but the water slide for free back at the resort.
A nice park with plenty of solicitors on the way.
Remember this shot, I have another one looking the same direction one block south in town.
Did I mention I forgot my wallet?
You get used to the all-inclusive lifestyle, and I didn’t even think to bring it (or any ID for that matter).
I like the policeman with his finger on the assault rifle trigger in the background.
With not much to see, and no money to spend, we headed back.
Here is the same waterway from earlier. The first picture was taken looking the same way behind the overhanging tree in the middle.
We made it back to Sandals Inn in one piece, and then headed back to our own resort.
I’m bringing sexy back.
An interesting shot.
Always trying to make the photography interesting as we head out for our last night of dinner.
We enjoyed some piano music….
Before being seated on the sea for dinner.
Some of the best food was our last night…..
Although all I remember is that it was a fish.
I was told this was strawberry, but I assure you it tasted like crappy bubble gum.
Kelli said the flan was good, though.
A picture I wanted all week, and waited until the last night to get.
Kelli heading into the room for the night.
The next morning, we relaxed before packing.
Hurricane Dean was coming….
And we were leaving.
So we said goodbye to our new friends.
then went and had our last meal at the resort.
We hung out in the concierge lounge….
Before being seen off by our favorite divemaster, Big D.
So sad to go.
With the hurricane coming, everyone was trying to get out.
And the only seats left on the plane were in first class.
Too bad for us!!!!
Well, with another great meal in front of me, it’s time to say goodbye….
But not before another thanks to Mike for picking us up from the airport.