Today we went to Riis park beach. I’m gonna guess its been 2 years since we’ve been there. Sienna was very excited to go. I had memories if the water being really fucking cold. it turned out to be not so bad at all. It was cold but once you get in it, you just get used to it. Sienna and i went for a swim while Lisa sat under the umbrella and read her book.
After the beach we returned home for BBQ. I still suck at the grill but getting better.
This year we wanted a complete beach vacation so we decided to go to St Petersburg Florida. Why St Pete? well, we had never been to that coast before but read a bunch of good reviews. It was important to find a kid friendly environment. No late night party bullshit. We flew Jet blue on Wednesday (June 2nd) and sure enough Sienna got to watch some cartoons. She really liked that. The flight was uneventful. Sienna is a very good traveler.
We arrived in Tampa (which is next to St Pete) in the afternoon and got our little rent a car. It was the first time that i used priceline and it worked out really well. The car was a tiny Kia Rio LX with a surprisingly large trunk. It took me a while to get used to how it handled. I have grown accustomed to how our CRV feels. So spoiled..
I shot a bunch of video clips. The final video would have been too long so i cut it up into 4 parts. I didn’t shoot many stills though. I need to work on that..
While in St Petersburg, we stayed at the Plaza Beach Hotel. The hotel is right on the beach. They also have a heated pool. I wasn’t so sure why they heated it but it felt good and Sienna loved floating around..
The first morning Sienna was up early as usual so i decided to take her out for a walk on the beach. That ended up happening every day.
morning walk
she loves the water
We met Houdini the parrot.
This was the first day on the beach. It was the calmest day. Not exactly a Jamaican beach but it was nice and not crowded at all.
mmmmmmm!! the beach!!
This is a really cute picture..
I don’t know where she got this from but it was cute.
I LOVE THE WAFFLE HOUSE!!!
I guess it’s good that we don’t have one in NY.
waffles rule!!!
We had a really nice time. I think we would go back again.
After sticking around the mountain compound for a day or so, we loaded up the cars (JP came too) and headed out to the west coast, Negril. Beach Time finally!! For 3 days anyway…
The trip took about 5 hours of steadily degrading road conditions but once we got there, it was soo worth it!!
The resort was called Merrils 2 it was small but nice. The food was ok, I’ve had better. The rooms are clean. I guess the one thing that urked me was that they didn’t have fresh oj which is weird for a Jamaican resort but whatever. It’s not exactly kid friendly but they try..
Our room
pig tails by grandma
Sienna loves the beach
more little beach bunny
Uncle Baba loves the beach
that water was friggin blue!!!
they just had to run around
Dad
After 3 days at the beach, i wanted to stay but we had to get back to the mountain. The Christmas tree was waiting to be decorated..
back at roz
Sienna helps Uncle Baba
Gabby helps too
Dad just looks on
Cute little tree
I’ll be posting more video clips of this trip in the coming weeks..
For our Christmas vacation this year, we originally weren’t going to go anywhere. We bought a car earlier this year and that really took a huge bite out of our finances. As we got closer and closer to December however i started wanting to get away from New York to see my family in Jamaica.
Last year, we flew Air Jamaica. What a stinking pile of shit that airline was!! This year, Jet Blue was our airline of choice and what a huge difference!! They were organized and on time. The only complaint was that the TVs didn’t work that well in our aisle. I was hoping to occupy some of Siennas time with a little cartoon network action but oh well, the story books and stickers seemed to do the trick. She also took a small nap.
We had an early flight from JFK landing in Kingston Jamaica about noon. Below, Lisa and Sienna are having some juice before the flight.
A little juice before the flight
We tried to get her to walk around a bit hoping that she’d sleep on the flight. Here, she sees our plane and asks over and over if it was ours..
yes Sienna, that's our plane
Jet Blue
When we finally landed and cleared customs (faster than i ever thought possible), we were met by Grandpa, Grandma, Baba, Auntie Carol-Anne and Gabby.
Baba and Auntie Carol-Anne have drinks on the new porch.
JP and Carol-Anne
Rozkribben (the compound)
This is my favorite picture of the trip. Sienna looks older but is actually the younger of the two..
cousins
Goldfish share
Sienna and Daddy
Saturday was one of the best summer days i’ve had in a looooong time.
The original plan was to go and checkout The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Lisa has always wanted to go shoot it. I was up for it until we found out that there were going to be some pain in the ass parking restrictions. We decided to go to the Riis park beach instead.
The day started out with a cloudless sky and cool temperatures. We packed up the truck and left the house at 9 ish. The beach is 15minutes away so it didn’t take long to get there. We decided to park and enter the beach at another spot.
Just arrived
I like the new spot. It’s closer to the actual beach and there are showers for after we’re done.
The beach was almost deserted. The only others there were other parents of toddlers.
Sienna was so excited
playing with Mom
yellow bucket
I love how happy Sienna is to be at the beach. She always has such a great time. I only wish we could actually swim more. The water didn’t seem as cold as last time.
too cute
After the beach, we headed home and i barbecued up some hot dogs and burgers. Sienna then took a long nap. She was really really tired.
Later that day, Lisa made pizzas for dinner using her new pizza stone. We’re getting better at rolling the dough and figuring out the toppings. I’m sure Lisa will have more pictures.
I hope we have more days like this.
Since I had Friday off for the 4th of July weekend, we decided to visit Riis park beach (a local beach). It wasn’t as bad as i thought. I was expecting a mess but was surprised to find it clean and well maintained.
Just arriving
This beach is literally maybe 10 minutes away. We got there around 10ish and the only other people that were there, were other parents of small children who were also forced to be up by 6:30 am.
Trying to figure out where to setup
Empty beach
Sienna loves the water
The water was friggin cold but not as cold as the water last year at the Jersey shore. I’m a huge beach snob. Beaches should have turquoise water!!!
Sienna shows me the sand in her hand
Huge beach
Sooo tired
We had a great time. I would do it again. I also think that i would go in the water only if it was really really really hot day.