I'd spend my life in Silver Sands, Jamaica

See that house with the bright blue roof, about halfway across the bottom of the map? That's Oh Boy Villa, a vacation home that my grandfather built. I've been going there at least once a year since I was born. And see my profile picture at the top of this page? That was taken on that jetty extending off from the upper left of the map.

They say home is where the heart is, but my heart isn't in Rye, NY ... the second I get off the plane and out the airport doors in Jamaica, my heart instantly swells and then settles, as if it is coming home. The place calms me, the balmy breathy winds soothe me, the Jamaican sun heals me.

family photo op during Feb '09 trip, minus my brother

Yasmin and Elaine make every stay at Oh Boy pure heaven. Yasmin's key lime pie is the best key lime pie on earth - I think I ask her to make it once or even twice during every visit! And both of them are wonderful cooks who inject a little local Jamaican spice into everything they whip up in the kitchen. I love when ackee, a local fruit, is in season and they prepare it with spices and maybe some saltfish for breakfast. When cooked, ackee tastes and looks similar to scrambled eggs!

Yasmin, me, and Elaine

ackee tree

When you hear the word "Jamaica," you probably think of Sandals resorts, Margaritaville, tacky sunburnt couples drinking tacky cocktails and decked out in tacky Jamaican souvenirs. I'm proud and grateful that my Jamaica is nothing like that; it's a small, quiet slice of the island that generally is undiscovered by those tacky tourists. Most of the visitors have been coming to Silver Sands for years and respect the island, the culture, and the people. Many are even full- or part-time residents of Silver Sands. Every vacation there is blissful and peaceful.

a quiet morning in Silver Sands

This is no Margaritaville party people, but by all means you can come down to the beach bar at night and enjoy a Flaming Bob Marley like my daring mother:

I'll leave you with a brief teaser photo tour of the 1-minute walk from Oh Boy Villa to the quiet private seashore, courtesy of Katie Henry Photography:

You can rent Oh Boy Villa (if I'm not staying there at the time!) - check out the website here: http://ohboyjamaica.com/

The villa is part of a gated vacation community called Silver Sands - feel free to poke around their website too: http://www.mysilversands.com