Way back when I was a little kid, my family decided to go on a trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica. At the time, my step-sister and I were in seventh grade, super stoked that we were actually going to go on an airplane and fly across an ocean to a different country. Leaving all the snow behind and the cold temperatures, we were beyond excited to be waking up for next seven days in paradise. Words can’t express how excited Konnor and I were!

After my flight, I finally landed in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The last thing I wanted to do was sit in an old, sweaty bus. After going through all the airport security and sitting down, that felt longer than five hours. Shortly, we finally arrived to our final destination, Rio Resort, Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was worth riding that old, rusty bus because paradise was right in front of my eyes as I stepped off that last step. I could smell fresh air, and being able to walk outside with shorts and a tank top was such a great feeling! I loved the warmth of the sun and the way the sun felt on my skin, and the way the wind breezed through my hair. We had not a worry in the world, rather than soaking up in the sun.
That moment, I felt free and was able to let go and was ready to have an adventurous time at our all- exclusive resort! For being so little, my step -sister and I were becoming impatient waiting for our parents to unpack, so we blasted off running barefoot, full of excitement following one of the Jamaican workers who was leading us into our room. It was like competition between my sister, Konnor, and me who could put on our swimsuits faster. It didn’t really matter who could change faster, because we had to wait for our parents who were slower than turtles. The first night flew by quickly. The second day, however, was very fun my family decided to go snorkeling. As we were walking on the beach, waiting to board the boat, I was feeling very nervous. All of these different thoughts came rushing to my head like what if a shark came while I was snorkeling. I was plotting in my head what I would do just in case a shark actually came. As the boat took off from the shore, I wasn’t feeling any better than before boarding the boat. I didn’t want to show how scared I was, so I kept all of these feelings to myself. As the boat kept on increasing its speed, my heart kept on beating faster and faster.
The ocean looked enormous and dark, but the sky was beautiful as ever! As the boat was decreasing the speed, it finally made a complete stop. I was so excited, but still very nervous. Watching other people jump off the boat, I was becoming very jealous so I decided to dip my toes into the cold, dark ocean than eventually slowly but surely, I jumped in making a splash. The instructor, told us we had to have partners, which I was okay with because I needed comfort swimming to the coral. The ocean was very calm, I didn’t get scared once. It was such a pretty color and such a sight to see all of different plants, eels, and stingrays. I wish I had an underwater camera to capture all the coral.
As time kept on ticking by, it was time to say goodbye to all the pretty coral. Once I swam back to the boat, I was so happy that I actually got to go snorkeling. The instructor took us to two different reefs, after the first one I wasn’t nervous at all. I definitely would go snorkeling again if I had the chance.
The days we stayed at the resort, were the fastest days ever! They flew by so quickly, and possibly, the best days I ever had lounging in the sun all day long, meeting new people from all around the world. After a while, laying in the sun for such a long time, can get a little boring and tiring at times, so my family and I decided to go downtown Montego Bay.
Our taxi driver, Sugar daddy, was the most interesting man I have ever met. He was hysterical, and a horrible driver. As he pulled over the vehicle to let us out, he crashed into a street sign. I couldn’t even open up the door to get out! I just laughed the whole entire time, thankful that we didn’t die. Hopefully, I didn’t make Sugar daddy feel bad about his driving skills. He just laughed along with Konnor and me. Before he started driving off again, I told him he was the best taxi driver ever! My step mom and I roamed around the flea markets in the hot sun all day long, walking was getting very tiring. We were all drained and ready to go back to the resort.
We only had a couple days left until we had to fly back to America and go through all the airport security again. Which was quite sad, I loved waking up every morning and putting on a swimsuit, to go get breakfast than play all day. That was the life! To pack up all my swimsuits, was such a hard thing for me, knowing that the next day I have to leave and see the snow again.

After being gone from my mom for so long, I was ready to come back to good ole Wisconsin! I had mixed emotions, I didn’t want to leave the sun, or the ocean but we did take some sand back with us. Even though I went on vacation to Jamaica four years ago, I still remember every night clearly! I miss it so much, if I had to chance to go back I would. I made a lot of memories and had time to bond with my family. It was a wonderful experience!