Vacation: Part 4 --- To be or not to be active

I forgot to mention yesterday that on my burning hot day, we also decided to include a tennis match at about noon.

There weren't any rackets or balls available to borrow by the courts, so we had to call the concierge to figure out where to get them. We were told to go the the entertainment headquarters, and we went to the open window where we saw tennis equipment, board games and books to borrow. I'm surprised the guy behind the counter didn't look at us oddly as we picked up the equipment.

You see, when I thought people were motivated and nuts to get up and become so active early on vacation, I soon realized why they did it.

Tennis was fun, but we were sweating within seconds. The heat index was at its peak, and the humidity made it even hotter. Every game, we took a second to sit in the shade and drink water. Being outside on the hot, green cement didn't help my sunburn either as I soaked in even more rays.

We learned our lesson that it's better to get up early and be active, so we instead got up about 8 a.m. the next day and started off with a game of tennis. We went to the entertainment center to get equipment again, but when we got to the court we saw workers there with equipment to borrow. Obviously they expect people to play tennis in the morning and not at noon. Go figure.

My skin had already started to tighten, and I learned that I need sunscreen in a more tropical atmosphere than home. I also learned the importance of looking at the UV index. Since the UV index quickly skyrockets in Jamaica, we decided to stay in the shade until it was below 8.

We made our home under the same grape tree that we had the day before and watched the UV index so we could go out in the sun.

Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the UV index didn't get to 8 until about 4 p.m. So we stayed in the shade for quite a long time. Finally, we just decided to head back to the room and sit on the patio while enjoying our complimentary champagne.

We dressed up and headed to dinner, and then were walking hand-in-hand by the pool.

"What do you want to do?" I asked, all the while thinking that I could honestly go to bed, even if it was only about 9 p.m.

"I could go to bed," Nate said.

"OK, me too," I said, smiling at our similarities.

So, that's what we did. And it didn't matter that it was early. It was our vacation, and we did what we wanted.