Happy Spring everyone!

When I last wrote, I was excited to be leaving for my Montego Bay escape to celebrate Elisa’s 40th birthday. Today, I’m happy to report the trip was everything I hoped it would be: five days of rest and relaxation fueled by tropical breezes, turquoise water and Jamaican rum. I feel refreshed and ready to tackle reality again. (I’m pretty sure the birthday girl feels the same way!)

Another great thing about this vacation was how it allowed me to mix up my exercise routine. While I hit the fitness center every morning for 60 minutes of cardio and strength training, the hotel offered some super fun alternative calorie-burning activities you simply can’t find here in New York City.

Sylvester ran a fun 45-minute aerobics class on the beach every morning while the entertainment staff offered daily Reggae lessons by the pool. There were also water polo games which got pretty intense for some of my vacationing teammates! At night, the cardio could continue in the hotel’s nightclub and on our last night, the dance party moved to the beach where we enjoyed more good music (and more rum punch) under the stars.

While I did my best to keep my body in motion, I made sure my brain did the least amount of work possible. The most stressful decisions Elisa and I had to make everyday dealt with whether we wanted to sit at the beach or by the pool and what we wanted to drink. I bought “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” by Stieg Larson at the JetBlue terminal before we boarded the plane. I think I made it through 90 pages. (I did, however, read two People magazines from cover to cover.) I often lost track of time simply looking at the water, listening to the breezes rustling through the palm trees and enjoying the Reggae music playing from the pool bar’s speakers.