A Sunny Jamaican Honeymoon

Sunny and I just recently returned from our honeymoon! Of course, if you didn't know about our wedding in July, you might be a little confused. However, I will blog about the wedding in an upcoming entry. Otherwise, here are a few details from our trip to Jamaica.

Here are the reasons we chose Jamaica:

1. Sunny loves the beach. She enjoys the surf, sand, sunsets, and, as we found out later, snorkeling.
2. Jamaica is only two hours ahead of Pacific time (no jetlag).
3. Jamaica can be reached via a nonstop flight from LAX (although our flight got cancelled and was rebooked through Delta/Atlanta).
4. Our travel agent recommended it and found us a good deal.
5. Yeah mon!

We stayed at Sandals Grande Ocho Rios, an all-inclusive, couples-only resort on the northeast side of the island. This particular resort is very large with 100 pools, 11 restaurants, and plenty of water activities. We stayed in a duplex cottage with a semi-private pool and managed to eat at just about every restaurant that had a vegetarian option.

Here were some of the highlights for me:

1. Spiritual - Of course, we had devotions and worship together. On Sabbath, we spent time telling each other our testimonies and recounting about how God had brought us together. We also began a scripture memory project where we memorized eight passages of scripture (17 verses in all). Each of the texts was either related to love or was a special text from our courtship. Especially meaningful were three passages: Psalm 127:1, Heb 10:35-38, and 1 Peter 2: 19-23. We hope to continue our Bible memorization throughout our marriage.
2. Food - What a strange feeling to walk into a fancy restaurant in shorts and order whatever you desire from the menu (of course, there was usually only one vegetarian option; we got excited if there were two!) and then walk out without asking for the check! The resort offered Italian, International, Asian, American, and Jamaican cuisine, to name a few. Best of all, many of the restaurants had breath-taking views of the ocean.
3. Outdoor activities - Since the resort was all-inclusive, we could try most everything for free. We enjoyed the aqua trikes (a variant of paddle boats), kayaks, Hobbie Cats, and snorkeling. They also had a rock-climbing wall which Sunny scampered up like a mountain goat! We would have gone scuba diving but since I am certified and Sunny is not, we would not have been able to dive together so we skipped that.
4. Romance - Being in a tropical paradise with white sandy beaches and colorful flowers perfuming the air is romantic in itself but when combined with spectacular sunsets and delicious food, you really can't go wrong. One night we walked to the end of a pier, our path illuminated with the light cast from occasional flickering torches. By torchlight, we could see the coral reef below us through the crystal clear water and could hear the waves lapping gently against the pier. Above us, a million points of light spread across the night sky. Sunny immediately pointed out the Big Dipper and the North Star, as she always does. In the distance, lightning danced between the clouds of a passing storm. We thanked God for His many blessings in our lives and for leading us together.
5. Sunny Arakawa- Enough said.

As you might expect, we took a lot of pictures (except when we were in the water!) so I thought I would share a few select photos in a gallery. Click here to see more!