Jamaica

In honor of our friend Jeff's 25th birthday (honestly!), we joined him and eight other friends for a week in Negril, Jamaica. What better way to celebrate your birthday than with some of your closest friends in the Caribbean islands? We had a wonderful time, despite what must have been 10" or more of rainfall that week! We stayed a block away from the 7-mile beach, one of the biggest tourist attractions on the island. There are a few big all-inclusive resorts, but most of the beach is lined with restaurants and bars, like the ones advertizing in the photo above. We had about two sunny days, which we spent on the beach. The water is perfect -- you can walk out about as far as the ropes and the water is crystal clear.

When it was raining or cloudy, we spent time at the Freedom Villa, our accommodations, playing cards, reading, and chatting with everyone. Jeff has stayed at the villa before and has befriended the managers, John and Anita. They also give tours of tourist attractions around the island, and we made several day trip tours with them. Our first was to the Manfield Falls, where we did a riverwalk through a series of small waterfalls. The second was to the Black River and Appleton Rum Distillery. It poured rain partway through the Black River tour, but the tour guide still managed to entice a few crocodiles to approach the boat (a snack helped). Here's a view of the river, with red mangrove trees that grow "roots" from their branches to drink from the river:

But we didn't mind the rain much, right Jeff?

The rest of the week was full of relaxation, for both Russell...

...and Rachel.


We'd love to return to Jamaica again and enjoy the beautiful beaches, eat the amazing food, and see the sites again soon. I'm sure we only scratched the surface of what Jamaica has to offer. Maybe for Russ's 25th birthday...

Hiking in the Poconos

The beautiful Pocono Mountains, just a few hour's drive north of Philadelphia, was the setting for a weekend of camping and hiking with our friends Pieter and Carol in late September. The leaves were just beginning to change color. Above and below are scenes from the more gentle of the two hikes we did, at the Hickory Run State Park in the Lehigh Valley. There were a few small waterfalls on this hike.









The second hike, the Glen Onoko Falls Trail, definitely raised our heart rates more, but luckily it was not as treacherous as the sign warned:











It definitely was a challenge! We resorted to scrambling up sides of the mountain, almost rock climbing in places, when we lost the trail. Luckily, we only met one very timid and small snake and no one had to be air-lifted from the gorge.
















And we were rewarded with views like in the picture below, taken from atop the waterfall in the above picture.









We're hoping to make the hike again in October, once the leaves have turned colors more. It's worth the view!