FDR blog archive - in date order

To make reading and following our blog easier, we have added an "index" page, with links to our daily posts in date order. We hope that you will travel with us and find out all about the Franklyn D. Resort & Spa, and Pebbles Resort. While the blog is written through the eyes of two young children, it describes the various features and activities that all members of the family will enjoy at these great family-friendly resorts. Oh, and there's lots of pretty pictures too...

Start from the beginning>>
(or jump in from one of the links below)

A note from Gabriella & Kiara - 9th Feb 2007
Well, it's been 4 months since our last vacation on the Disney Cruise. That trip was so much FUN, that we just wanted to go on another vacation right away. Read more...

The planning (?) process - 10th Feb 2007
It seems that Nana started planning this trip at 3am on February 09, 2007. That's my Nana, she claims to live from moment to moment and this proves it once again! Got to pack now. Read more...

On our way to Montego Bay - 12th Feb 2007
Today was a pretty long day for us. We went to the Ottawa airport for 7am and flew to Toronto on West Jet. We met Nana's friend Sonja and connected to our Can Jet flight to Montego Bay at about 1pm. Read more...

What a day to turn 6 - 13th Feb 2007
It's me, Gabriella. It's Feb 13!! It's my Birthday! I woke up to find myself in this beautiful and very big apartment. Read more...

Valentine's Day, FDR-style - 14th Feb 2007
Hi it's me Kiara. Today is a very Happy Valentine's Day here. The resort is all decked out in red and white balloons and all kinds of other Valentine decorations. Read more...

Tennis, shopping, dancing and more - 15th Feb 2007
Today started with a swim in the ocean before breakfast Gabriella had her very first ever tennis lesson this morning. The coach said that she did very well and she goes back tomorrow for another lesson. Read more...

Another perfect day at FDR Runaway Bay - 16th Feb 2007
It's me Gabriella again. Kiara won't stop long enough to write today I guess. After she watched some of her favorite cartoons on TV she said, "You do it today Bella," and took off to join Nana in the water. Read more...

It's raining, it's pouring... - 17th Feb 2007
We were really too busy to write any more yesterday. We were also sad to leave FDR Runaway Bay. We loved the resort. In so few days we had made many friends and our grownups said that they had had such a great relaxing time. Read more...

Where, O where have my bloggers gone? - 18th Feb 2007
Today is Sunday. This is Nana. No bloggers in sight. I decided to go looking for my "little people''. Then I came across the activity board for today. Oh, Oh! With all of this going on I think I know who will be doing the reporting today. Read more...

Sad to Say, We're On Our Way - 19th Feb 2007
Sharlene helped us make the neatest tie-dye outfits. We did sand drawings, and leaf drawings apart from all the other activities. We had a great time with our new friends playing with some hermit crabs and we even named the crabs. Read more...

Sad To Say We're On Our Way

Monday Feb 19,

Gabriella and Kiara back again.

Sorry we missed you yesterday, but we were really, really busy. Sharlene helped us make the neatest tiedye outfits. We did sand drawings, and leaf drawings apart from all the other activities. We had a great time with our new friends playing with some hermit crabs and we even named the crabs.

With some other of our new friends, we went fishing, fed the goats and swam.

Our Nanny Sharlene stayed late with us last night and she took us to the kids buffet for dinner . We had a bonfire on the beach and roasted marshmallows. (Shh... we each had four ...shhh!)

Our grownups went back to the Italian restaurant because they had enjoyed it so much on Friday night.

Now it is Monday and we are going back to Canada today.

Sad to say we're on our way
Got to go to Montego Bay
To catch a plane and go back home
After we've gone jumping in the foam.

Today the sea is very different. The water has a lot of waves and foam and people are having fun jumping in the waves. We got up early so that we could do a walk on the beach and get more shells to take home. Mommy said that we could each get two hair braids. Do you like them? We had our last swim just before lunch.

Our Nanny Sharlene had lunch and stayed with us and helped out while Mommy packed. Sharlene was with us up until the minute we left the resort at 2:30pm to catch our plane at 6 pm.

We are all going to miss Sharlene and we hope that she will be here when we come back. We are coming back! Mommy promised. Daddy has to come to FDR and we want all of our family from England to come too.

We left Pebbles on time and Kiara fell asleep as soon as the transfer bus took off. I cat-napped a little. Montego Bay airport is new and very beautiful with lots of lovely shops. It was very busy and packed with people catching all kinds of planes. You have to do a lot of walking so you don't want to have to carry too much. A stroller is very usful in airports Nana says. We agree.

We were supposed to leave at 6pm. Guess what? CanJet was on "Jamaica Time". So what time did we leave??? Right. We left about 7pm, arriving in Toronto at 11pm. We said goodbye to Sonja who had been so much fun to travel with.

Nana had booked two rooms at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel right in Terminal 3. We were able to put our luggage on a trolley and go to our rooms without even stepping outside. The next morning we wheeled the trolley with our luggage still in place right back to check in at WestJet for a 9AM departure. The flight left right on time. But we miss being on Jamaica Time and we want to go back very soon.

Thanks for travelling along with us,

Gabriella, now 6 yrs old and Kiara, 3 and a bit.

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Where Oh Where Have My Bloggers Gone?

Feb 18. Today is Sunday. This is Nana. No bloggers in sight. I decided to go looking for my "little people''. Then I came across the activity board for today. Oh, Oh! With all of this going on I think I know who will be doing the reporting today.

Well that gives me an opportunity to give the adult side of the FDR story. I still say, like I have said for many years .. for a family holiday experience, you cannot beat an FDR Resort.

While our kiddies are having so much fun, the five adults in our little group are making friends, enjoying the water, the beach, the wonderful air, the more relaxing activities ... if you can call reggae style water aerobics, and pool polo relaxing...and the very excellent food and drink which seem to be constantly available.

The staff and the friendly service they offer at both FDR resorts is truly the best of the best. Here no request is a problem. The sincere friendliness of the staff spills over to the guests and everyone is infected with their sense of good will.

The intimate size of the resorts ensures that you are never out of touch and wondering where your children are and what they are doing and if they are safely enjoying themselves too.

Our own travel agency has clients who have come to FDR resorts for the sixth and seventh time in as many years. On this trip however I met a family who have been coming each year for the last sixteen years. The "children" in the family are now in their twenties and still return with their families... now extended to include aunts, uncles, and friends. I asked why, with so much choice available, they kept coming back to FDR. Their answer was, "Because we love it here, we've always loved it... It feels like home."

What really puts FDR Resorts in a realm of their own though is the Nanny service that is included. Jamaicans love children. They love their children, and they will love and care for your children like their own.

I have to include a photo here of a scene that really touched me personally. I was sitting watching a young Nanny as she sat for a long time on a beach lounge peacefully staring at the sea while gently cradling a wee one who slept so relaxed and "at home" in her arms, experiencing "day Care", Jamaican style.

I continued to watch as the young parents came by to check that all was OK. When they saw the tranquil scene on the beach, they smiled at each other and at the Nanny and sleeping baby and went on their way again obviously assured that all was well.

What more can I say! I'm off for a swim now. Tomorrow we return to Canada, having felt "at home" here from the moment we arrived. Thank you FDR.

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It's Raining it's Pouring

Feb 17...It's Saturday!

It's me Kiara. Hi !

We were really too busy to write any more yesterday. We were also sad to leave FDR Runaway Bay. We loved the resort. In so few days we had made many friends and our grownups said that they had had such a great relaxing time.

Mommy took oodles of photos at FDR and she is going to edit them when we get home to Canada and we will put them on and tell you about them.

Yesterday afternoon we drove from Runaway Bay back west to Pebbles. We saw all the scenery that we had missed the day we arrived in Jamaica, because it was dark then. It gets dark here by about 6:30.


When we arrived at Pebbles we went to our rooms on the second floor in Block 11 The rooms are very nice, but very different from Runaway Bay. They are wooden inside and out. They have nice balconies and you can see the ocean from every room. Gabriella said that if we were any closer to the ocean, we'd be in it. We are in three separate suites. They are all alike.

These pictures are of one suite.

We met our Nanny, Sharlene, and she took us on a tour of the whole property.

The beach here is really nice. It has 3 connecting coves. Those long narrow piles of rocks you can see in the pictures are there to trap the sand that falls when the waves break against them. There is a trampoline raft out in the water and the older kids can swim out alone.

The sand is really soft and powdery and even us little kids can walk a long way out in the water very safely.

There are lounge chairs in all of the beach areas and there are hammocks under the trees.

They play a lot of games on the beach like volleyball and soccer. There is still lots of room for anyone who just wants to lounge around.

The pool is great. The pool has a big slide and a large kiddie section at the end opposite the slide. They have a lot of pool toys, no need to bring your own.

During the tour we met some of the other

Nannies and kids. We helped feed goats and some rabbits who live here. We also counted 8 turtles in a special pond. There is another pond where kids can go fishing.

There are three restaurants and a beach grill on the property. Two restaurants are for adults only. Our adults decided to try the Italian restaurant for dinner Friday night. They said the food was excellent.

Sharlene, our special Nanny, stayed some extra hours and took us to the kiddies club and then to have dinner at the kid's buffet. There is a good choice of kids favourite food, but we were too excited to eat much.

Look we turned into cats while Mommy was enjoying her "adults only" dinner.

Friday night some of the teenage guests camped out on the beach right under our balconies.

Their activity co-ordinators camped with them. We could hear them giggling if we listened very closely, but Nana said that they were really very well behaved.

Anyway...today is Saturday, Feb 17.

AND:

It's raining, it's pouring.
My grandparents are snoring!
I opened their door and I jumped in their bed ,
At 7 o'clock in the morning.

I could do that because here at Pebbles all the middle suites connect through the bedroom. Each suite has two sections, Mommy took pictures to show that. Each suite can accomodate up to 5 people. It means that even if there are 10 in your family you can have connecting suites here.

When we woke up this morning everyone was "stranded" in their rooms for a bit because of the rain that just poured down. Staff members were all over the place with great big umberellas which they used to escort guests to breakfast. We put our bathing suits on under big beach towels and scuttled off in the rain to have breakfast. Everyone was laughing at the rain.

Nana was so pleased that it rained that she sat on the balcony for over an hour just to watch and to listen to the rain on the wooden roof.

Soon the sun came out and Saturday was a very busy day for all of us. Gabriella and I did so many fun things with our Nanny and the other kids - in the kids club, on the beach and at the pool.

We won prizes for games we played.

Mommy and Abuelo and Sonja went out in the glass bottom boat to see what the reef was like at this part of Jamaica. We chose to stay with Nanny Sharlene and play in the pool with her and with our new friends... There are kids of all ages here and they are divided into different groups for activities.

Nana and Tia Ruthie just wanted to sit on the beach and go to swim. Everyone had a great time.

Saturday night we all had dinner together, it was Jamaican barbecue night. There was a floor show. I sang again and Gabriella gave a great hula-hoop performance once again. Everyone clapped and clapped. Anyone who wanted to ...kids and adults...danced on stage and then all around the room in long lines, waving red serviettes over their heads. Crazy fun they called it.

Sonja and one of the teenagers helped the fire dancer have his dinner too.

I wonder what kind of tooth paste he uses.

Oh my. I have to go to bed now. I can't write another line. I wonder if I will snore. Giggle giggle.

Kiara.

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Another Perfect Day at FDR Runaway Bay Jamaica

Feb 16,

It's me Gabriella again. Kiara won't stop long enough to write today I guess. After she watched some of her favorite cartoons on TV she said, "You do it today Bella," and took off to join Nana in the water.

Answers to yesterday's quiz -

8 o'clock Jamaica time is any time between 8:30 and 9:00 - Everyone here says, You're in Jamaica mon and you're on vacation... no need to hurry, no need to worry!

Stamp an' Go is a cod fish fritter with some special hot sauce on top. Nana says to let her know if you want us to get any recipes.

A hermit crab has a spiral shaped shell on his back and he can move into that when he wants to be alone. Nana says that that might be a great thing for all of us to have.

Crab races take place poolside at FDR... Mine and Mommy's crab won a prize!!! A gift for my Daddy... and a bracelet for me!!

Tree frogs are about the size of a 25 cent coin... soo cute and they make such a big noise all night. My Tia Ruthie thought that they were birds singing when we arrived here. Nana shone a little flashlight on a flower bush and we saw one right away and we touched him ever so gently.

The youngest guests we met here at FDR are 2 month old twins. The oldest guests are about 80 years Nana said. I didn't think that 80 year old people went scuba diving and did aerobics and danced and smiled soo much. Here they sure do.

How many kids and adults are happy at FDR.......all of them!

From the door of our suite to the beach is between 15 to 30 feet..... depending on the size of your feet of course.

Today we are moving to FDR Pebbles to check out that resort. We are leaving about 1 o'clock, Jamaica time, so we have all morning to do stuff before we have to pack up.

Nana has been in the ocean... outside our door... since early this morning. Tia Ruthie is lounging in the shade just listening to the sea. Sonja is writing down some ideas for her next books, Abuelo has gone for a long walk on the beach. Mommy is all over the place taking pictures. I have to leave now for my second tennis lesson and then go to play some games in the pool, check out the kids programme for the morning, have lunch and get ready to leave by 2pm......1pm Jamaica time, remember?

As we say in Jamaica...Ah gwon dis side till later. Soon cum.

Gabriella, just one of the many happy guests at FDR Runaway Bay Jamaica.

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Tennis, Shopping, Dancing and more

Feb. 15. Gabriella and Kiara, back again. We really wanted to write more last night when we came back from dinner, but it was too late. Our Valentine Dinner was very very special last night.

We also took part in a kid's club fashion/ talent show that took place during dinner hour... sort of. Kiara sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Gabriella did hoola-hooping. After that there was a great floor show with a live band and really good singers and everyone danced... kids, parents, waiters and all. It was fantastic.

We have a quiz for you that we made up ourselves.

When is 8 o'clock Jamaica time?

What is Stamp and Go?

What does a hermit crab look like?

Where can you go to see a real crab race?

How big is a tree frog?

How old are the youngest guests at FDR this week?

How far is it from our FDR apartment to the beach?

What is fan coral?

How many parents and kids are happy at FDR?

Answers later.

Today started with a swim in the ocean before breakfast Gabriella had her very first ever tennis lesson this morning. The coach said that she did very well and she goes back tomorrow for another lesson.

We were busy until lunch with lots of kids stuff that our Nanny (don't confuse with Nana) took us to. After lunch we all went on a drive to Ocho Rios for sightseeing and shopping and stuff and our Nanny Ollisia came with us. We visited places and people my grandparents knew when they lived here,long before we were born.

Tonight we had another special dinner, this time we had a barbecue right on the beach with a big show and dancing and lots of good food and fun. We even saw a fire dancer and a great balancing act. Gabriella took part in a dance contest called freeze.

We are off to bed now after another great day at FDR. Back tomorrow!

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Valentine's Day FDR Style

Hi it's me Kiara,

Today is a very Happy Valentine's Day here. The resort is all decked out in red and white balloons and all kinds of other Valentine decorations. Nana brought special chocolates for the staff and I started to pass them around at breakfast time. We soon ran out though because Abuelo says that the ratio of staff to guests is about double the normal... I am not sure what that means, but there are Nannies, Kids Club staff, waiters and cooks and all kinds of people just everywhere you need them and they are all smiling and helpful.

Our friend Sonja says that this place is a guaranteed knockout?? She just wants to tell everyone about it. Today we swam in the ocean, and in the pool, went snorkelling, went to the kids club (we stuffed our very own Teddy Bears), went in kayaks and went to crab races. We are having a great time and it looks like all the other kids and their parents are too.

Today we all went for a glass bottom boat ride and that was so interesting. We saw all kinds of fish and different kinds of coral and learned the names of the coral and some of the fish. Tonight there will be a very special Valentine's dinner, as well as a Talent show at which I'll be singing.

I have to go now... my sister is calling me... I am missing some of the fun games on the beach.

Love from Kiara

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What a Day to Turn 6

It's me, Gabriella. It's Feb 13!! It's my Birthday!

I woke up to find myself in this beautiful and very big apartment.

It has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a big living room and 4 televisions. Oh what a day we had.

I had breakfast with Sonja because I was so hungry I couldn't wait for everyone else. We had such a good breakfast... everything that kids and grownups like was there... buffet style and cooked to order. We met our Nanny, Ollisia, and then we did so many things that I had, in my head, to make a list to try to remember them all.

We took a tour of the property with Ollisia so we would know where all the neat stuff is.
We went to the beach and played in the sand and the water.
We swam in the pool and did aerobics in the pool with Mommy, Abuelo (my grandfather), Sonja and other grownups... not Kiara though because she was too short. We did tie-dye t shirts in the kids club. We had lunch.

Ollisia brought lots of goodies in a pretty basket to our suite. We had some quiet time.

Guess what? The Kids club threw a suprise birthday party for me about 4 in the afternoon... We played games and danced, had snacks of fruit, cheesies, cookies and banana chips and a lucious vanilla strawberry cake.

Then we went to watch the crabs running along a big log in the water.

Then we went fishing and Kiara caught a fish and we took him to the grill, but we decided not to cook him and we put him back in the water; Fishy would be happier with his mother... not in a pan...

We got all dressed up for my birthday dinner under the stars again and we danced during dinner and we went to bed at 9pm... very sleepy. Will post this tomorrow. Thank you everyone for all my birthday messages.

Goodnight. Love from Gabriella.

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On Our Way To Montego Bay

Feb 12,2007
Today was a pretty long day for us. We went to the Ottawa airport for 7am and flew to Toronto on West Jet. We met Nana's friend Sonja and connected to our Can Jet flight to Montego Bay at about 1pm. In the airport in Toronto we had lots of fun playing with things my Mommy had packed for us.

We arrived in Montego Bay about 5.30pm and we arrived at FDR about 8pm. We had a private transfer supplied by FDR and a really nice driver named Trevor. .The trip was extra long because there is lots of road work going on for part of the way. Anyway we didn't mind because we had fun singing and talking.

We checked in and went right to dinner. We had dinner outdoors, under the stars and right next to the sea. That was so great.

At 10pm Mommy said we had to go to bed and we were very tired... no way can we send this tonight. Good night. Talk to you tomorrow.

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The Planning (?) Process

Well me maties we are off on a new adventure... Our mother says that this whole trip is possibly going to be a combination of Survivor and The Amazing Race. We don't know those shows so asked if that meant it would be like Dora the Explorer. Mummy said.........hmmm... as she dug out our summer stuff that she'd just managed to get put away.

It seems that Nana started planning this trip at 3am on February 09, 2007. That's my Nana, she claims to live from moment to moment and this proves it once again! Got to pack now.

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A note from Gabriella and Kiara

Well, it's been 4 months since our last vacation on the Disney Cruise. That trip was so much F U N, that we just wanted to go on another vacation right away.

Lucky for us, our Nana (grandmother) is going to, take us to Jamaica, to visit two of the best resorts in the world for family vacations, - FDR resort in Runaway Bay, Jamaica and Pebbles Resort in Falmouth, Jamaica.

Besides Nana we are going with our Abuelo, (grandfather), our Mother Maritala, our Tia, (aunt) Ruthie and one of Nana's best friends, Sonja (who writes the neatest kids books ever).

So we are looking forward to a great trip to Jamaica, staying in beautiful suites, with our very own vacation nanny(!) as if we didn't have enough adult attention already...

We leave on Monday! Whoopee!!

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