The Kartchner's

Our Second Honeymoon...

Devon and I decided that we wanted to go back to his mission. We were not quite sure if it was the smartest thing for us to do, because money is tight, but we realized that it always will be and this was the best time for us to be able to take off and enjoy ourselves. So after a couple months of planning, and after Devon finished all his finals, we set out on a crazy adventure!!

JAMAICA

Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Highgate, Old Harbour, Linstead, Kingston, Spanish Town

The view from our Hotel room!! I was so excited when I looked out , and this is what I saw :)

Dunn River Falls. So amazing. The water felt wonderful.

We got to climb several different waterfalls. starting at the ocean and working our way up.

Just going for a ride on a back road. It is so green!!

I thought this was hilarious. They put a large "L" on the back of a car if the drive is a "Learner". I think it is a great idea, that way others around have a heads up. But it may be a little embarrassing for the driver.

This is a patty, and coconut bread.

This tree is huge!! I could only get about a 1/4 of it on the camera. Devon was so excited that he could finally climb it. He started out with flip flops and then went bare foot the rest of the way.

Devon acting like Tarzan, and the whole time I am thinking he is going to fall down and break his leg. I have no phone, know idea how to drive or where to drive, plus I don't think Devon would even go to a hospital in Jamaica.

We went to the branch in Ocho Rios. and for Mother's Day the Branch Pres. brought fried chicken. It was amazing!

Overlooking Ocho Rios

Port Antonio

Old Harbour

We stayed at Vaughn and Alexia's house in Old Harbour (Devon's first area) . Devon Baptized Vaughn while he was on his mission, and Alexia served a mission at temple square. They were married and sealed a couple months before we were. It so much fun staying with them.

Breakfast: Fried Dumplings and Mackerel

Colbeck Castle: This building was built in the 1650's!

This was our sweet ride for the week.

Kingston

Devon's Mission President, Pres. Hendricks. They came to Jamaica the same time, and he left at the end of June. We were so glad we got the chance to meet up and have lunch with him.

Port Royal

Lizard Eggs!

The Blue Mountains/ Hollywell

Linstead

(Natural Bridge)

Port More

On the left is Elder Shawn Jones, before his mission he would go out with Devon in Ocho Rios. I got to talk to him on the phone when Devon and I were dating. It was great to meet him. On the Right is Deneto Forde. He was one of Devon's companions in Ocho Rios, and is now married and living in Kingston.

SpanishTown

BAHAMAS, NASSAU

This is Melda. She was baptized while Devon was serving in Nassau. We surprised her at work.

Devon's plate: Akee and salt fish, with rice and peas. My plate: BBQ Jerk chicken with boiled food.

On the bridge to Paradise Island with Atlantis in the back.

Enjoying having the beach to ourselves!

This is in front of the house that Devon worked at his senior year in high school.

The Queen's Stair Case

Conch salad

Rented a scouter for the day. It was funny because most of the tourist stay in a certain area, but Devon wanted to show me the whole Island. So we were constantly being asked if we were lost and reminded to stay on the left. I wasn't worried, after driving in Jamaica, Nassau was simple, and Devon lived there for six months.

I could not get over how beautiful the water was!

The Pirate's Stair Case

Dinner at the Branch Presidents house. Sis. Ferdinand cooked Haitian food for us. It was amazing!!! The best food I ate the whole trip.

Atlantis

Brother and Sister Ballard have life time passes to Atlantis, so they were able to get us in for free!!

Went jet skiing in the ocean. It was so beautiful. We could see right through the water to the bottom.

This is the Ere's House. They are the member family that we stayed with.

On our way back to Arizona. Our fights got pushed back an hour in Nassau and then 2 hours in Texas. But we finally made it back to Tucson. It was an amazing trip, but we are glad to be back home.

Camping Trip...

Devon and I decided to go camping up on Mount Lemon one Friday in late March. It was quite the experience! We quickly packed some food, I made some foil dinners, while Devon gather the camping supplies that we did have. We didn’t have any sleeping bags so we grabbed two blankets one for us to lie on and one for on top of us, and drove up to the mountain. It was a beautiful trip. We drove up to the top of the mountain and on to the backside, so we could find our own secluded camp area. We didn’t think to check the weather, because it was so beautiful in Tucson. Come to find out we happened to go camping during high alert winds. Devon and I set up our tent and built a fire, and enjoyed our foil dinners. That night as we were going to bed, I was freezing. The ground felt like it was frozen. Needless to say, Devon saw a side of me that he hadn’t seen before. I was cold and tired, which isn’t a good combination for me. And I wanted him to make it all better, even though there was nothing he could do about it. After trying to tough it out in the tent for two hours, we decided to go and sleep in the truck.

Devon turned on the heater while I sat there and shivered. We did manage to get some sleep, but we were a little sore that morning.

Despite the bitter cold and the horrible winds, it was a great first camping trip. And now we know all the things we need to get for camping next time. Also we well be sure to check the weather for next time ;)