Takin' the Newbies along Part 2 - a trip report

[Jenn]

Thanks, Sue! That is one of my favorites! Between the tiny crab and the one posted directly above it...my favorites from this trip.

[Jenn]

Day 7 in Negril:
Well...another day started out the same as the others - breakfast then beach. I just want to take a minute and give a HUGE shout out to the lifeguards at Rooms - O'Neil, Christopher, and Mario. They are such great guys! We sure have some great laughs with them! After the first day - you know how it goes - up early - claim your spot...drag your chairs...ask them to help with the umbrella because for some stupid reason I can never figure it out. I watch them so I can be self sufficient...but I still can't get it right. Any how - they asked on the second day if that's where we wanted our stuff set up. Every morning - chairs, umbrella, and tables were set up. They didn't have to do this for us (I would NEVER ask them to) but did it anyway.

So beaching all day....an icy cold beer at Sunnyside...in the water...repeat. Robert (from Sunnyside) has a cousin who is a rasta and we hung out with him lots last year. We hadn't seen him at all this time - but he had recently gotten full custody of his baby girl (14 mo old) and was busy planting up in the hills. We told Robert that we hoped to see him. Well...today, I happen to look up and who should appear? He was walking towards me with a huge smile but I was not really paying attention. He put his arms out like, "really?!" OMG! Yay - jumped up and hugs/fist bumps were had. Then he pointed back towards Sunnyside and his sweet little girl was with him. AHH she was darling! I could have just snuggled her right up - and I did! We chatted for a bit then I went to go love on that sweet little girl. I asked him if he minded and he said of course not! So we played in the sand - which mostly involved her putting sand all over me. I picked her up and was snuggling her while he went next door. Pretty soon - here comes Brian. He wanted to be sure I wasn't taking her! haha Pretty soon she was looking for her "DA" as she was yelling that and giggling....took her back to her daddy and chatted for a few and said our goodbyes.

Back to the water with a round of beers. More swimming/sunning and then we decided to head down the beach. Stopped at Boat Bar again to grab a cold beer and then off to Dru's for lunch. Dru's has GREAT specials. Their drinks are cheap - the cheapest bucket of RS Light we found - 6 for US $13. Regular RS are 6 for $10. Ordered a bucket of RS Light and we got a patty and fries to share (Brian and I). Tom and Amy got the same. The girl at the bar was probably one of the BEST bartenders I've ever had. She didn't serve them in a bucket - instead kept them icy cold in the freezer. As soon as one of us were close to finishing - she had the next one ready to go. 2 buckets of beer and a light lunch and we were good to go. There was no evidence of the truck that had been stuck earlier in the week.

Public Service Announcement....for those of you as stupid as me. Just in case any of you qualify. Soo....when you use the bathrooms at Wav's they are unisex. It's a long line of bathrooms and when you walk in - there is a partial wall with a trough and water faucets on it. Then there are stalls. The trough is NOT a place to wash your hands. I'm not saying I did or didn't use it to do so...I'm just passing info along. If you walk PAST the stalls...imagine this - regular sinks with soap. That is where you wash your hands. Huh...who knew. I've used some pretty sketchy bathrooms in Jamaica - so I didn't really think that much of it....the guys sure got a great laugh out of that one!

I digress...

Back down the beach - more sun and swimming. Decided to give Swordfish another go. Showers - happy hour - and had Dwight from the hotel take us up to Swordfish (fingers crossed).

Here's some pictures from our day...



Preparing for rough seas?


We arrived at Swordfish and lo and behold they were open. A couple of years ago we met a lady who was traveling solo and joined us for several dinners. On other nights - she had gone to Swordfish and raved about it. It was on my list last year - but we never made it. The view is gorgeous - even though the sunset was cloudy. The food was fantastic! The service was good. The rum punch was not my favorite. I'm a connoisseur of rum punch (or so say I) and this was not my favorite. The bill for dinner was far less than we anticipated - BONUS!
We sat rooftop and had the following between the 4 of us: garlic shrimp, shrimp scampi, ginger pineapple snapper, and coconut shrimp.

Here's some photos from the evening:







And the beach from Swordfish at night:



Back to the hotel - and went down to sit with Kelvin for until he closed. Tom and Amy - off to bed....Brian and I...off to Sunnyside. Stayed late (this is becoming a habit) and eventually headed back to our room and called it a night.

Tomorrow - last full day in paradise. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!?

[Jenn]

Day 8 in Negril (day 9 of trip):

I couldn't figure out how my days were off, but then I remembered - I didn't count the travel day as day 1. I literally had to count the days out on my fingers to make sure I wasn't crazy. Ok - enough of my struggle with numbers and back to the report.

This morning we wandered over to Alfreds for breakfast. It was good, although, Canoe has ruined french toast for me from anywhere else, the girls gave it a go. It was good. Tom had saltfish and ackee and Brian had his regular - eggs/bacon/potatoes. We headed down the beach and cut through Bourbon Beach to Time Square.

From there we walked to Time Square to get some cash and do a tiny bit of shopping. We really aren't in need of any trinkets, but our son wanted a "dad hat". He said to his dad - you know a dorky one. Uh....

So we grabbed some cash at the ATM and then hit it again on our way out. Let me share my two cents on the ATMs and the fear of being skimmed. We used to always use Traveler's Cheques. I liked the safety of them. Then they stopped being available. So we opted for the AAA debit card. We add a set amount on it and bring some cash. When we withdrawl - we take out the max meaning we only have to do so a couple times. We took almost the rest of it out on our last full day so that if someone DID have our number - they wouldn't get much - and it is protected - we would get it back from AAA. Some people complain about the fees. In truth - they aren't that much. I figure this way - if I can afford to go on vacation to Negril once a year - I can afford a few dollars in a transaction fee. I consider it part of the cost of vacation. When we go out of town at home and if I have to get cash - I sometimes have to pay a fee at home. 2 or 3 more dollars isn't a deal breaker for the safety net it provides me. To each their own - but that works for us.

Ok - so we find a couple "dad hats" but I can't decide. They give us a good price if we buy both - so we do. Tom and Amy are shopping and eventually we meet back up and head out. I think I need to change a bit of these US dollars in to J so I run into the cambio. I prefer to use J when I'm there and 20's sometimes cause a problem with change. It's cleaner to me - I struggle doing the conversion when I pay US and the change is in J....so it's easier.

We walk back down the beach. It's hot as hot today. I love walking the beach - the people watching in Negril is like no other place on earth to me. I think I may have covered this...but still, I just love it. The things you see...like this:



So we stop in to Sunnyside - run to our rooms to drop off the hats and put the money away. I sure don't need to be carrying that cash around! Fall into our routine of beers/sun/water/bathroom/ repeat. A little later - we decide to head down and catch some music at the Boat Bar. It was getting cloudy - so we grabbed our stuff and headed out. It was getting busy so we grabbed a table upstairs and decided to order lunch. Grilled cheese is so much better in Negril. Why is that? And fries? Lawd have mercy - I love me some fries and Grace ketchup. After we arrived - it started raining...heavily! Now the place was really packed! It rained for quite a bit - all through our lunch and a bit afterwards. We just hung out and enjoyed the vibe.





Stayed and let the rain clear up and headed back down the beach. Our towels were soaked, but the rain cleared out and the sun was back out in full force. Hung for a bit on the beach and just took it all in. Our time was drawing to a close and nothing kills the vibe like knowing it's your last day and night in Negril. Is it possible to have PNS BEFORE you leave? Yes, indeed it is. Ok - I needed to get rid of the melancholy and enjoy the moment. Off to our room with a view:



Stay tuned for our last night and the shenanigans that are to come. Let's just say - we did it up right and in the meantime, did a good deed.

[Jenn]

Day 8 in Negril continued:
So - showered and met up at the bar - enough time to enjoy happy hour there and then keep the party going over to Woodstock to finish up their happy hour. Where do we go for dinner tonight. Nobody really ready to eat OR make a decision. Ok then...another round of drinks please. We stayed at Woodstock and watched people wander back to their hotels after a long beach and rain day or those who were already ready for the evening walk towards whatever dinner destination they had in mind. We laughed and chatted and just enjoyed the moments we had. Finally one of them - I can't remember who - said - let's go back to Best in the West. Perfect! Here are some parting shots from Woodstock:
We were treated to a glorious final sunset!






My favorite picture of the trip...totally taken by chance.




From here we walked down to Best in the West. They were hoppin' tonight! We were seated fairly quickly and ordered a round of drinks and pork for everyone. Super fast service with a smile. We stayed and hung out for a little longer - but when a new wave of folks came, we surrendered our table and headed out.

On the walk back, we decided to stop by Roger's Bar again. A fun little place to hand out with a different view. Roger himself was working this evening and we sat and whiled away some time with him. I took a couple pictures of Rogers, one of which was of Brian, Tom, Amy, and Roger. I VIVIDLY remember saying "WOW- that turned out great." I'll let you decide which picture that is...





Well, once you had time to really look those pictures over - you should be able to make a judgment call about my state at that moment. Either way - maybe I wasn't a great photographer at that moment - but I was still walking and talking clear as a bell. We said our goodbyes and headed back to Rooms.

We spent the rest of the night over at Sunnyside. After we were there for a bit, it started raining. It started raining harder. And it kept on raining. One Foot was coming down the beach and stumbled a bit causing him to fall. Brian went out to help him up and help him get his rain coat on and bring him to the bar to get out of the pouring rain. He sat up next to me and we chatted for a long while. What an interesting man he is and a kind soul. Someone bought him a beer and I bought him a water. There is a lot more to our evening with him at Sunnyside, but out of respect, I'll keep that off the internet. I will simply say - be kind to everyone you meet. You never know how their story was written. Don't assume that everyone needs a beer, when a meal or a water/juice will be better. Our story ended well that night. We headed back to the room.

[SLP]

You write a wonderful report and your photos are great. I especially liked the last one

[Jenn]

LOL Sue! Thanks!!

[Jenn]

Day 9 (which is really day 10):
Woke up to dreary skies. The water was rough and the temp wasn't it's normal hot. Went down and grabbed breakfast and then finished packing up. Sigh. I hate the last day. On our first trip to Negril, Alfred told us not to be sad - we had to leave in order to come back again. I have carried that sentiment with me over the years, but still find leaving day to be difficult. We purchased Club MoBay arrival and departure each year. Last year - we waited so long to check our bags that we never even set foot in Club MoBay when we were leaving. We were determined not to experience the same 3-4 hour wait to check luggage this year - so we asked Tulla to pick us up earlier than he normally would. He was happy to do so as that worked better in his schedule. I think we were picked up around 10:15 for a 3:00 flight. It was raining by the time we left and somehow that made it a tiny bit easier to say goodbye to the beach. Rained the whole way to Montego Bay...line was short (go figure!) and we had time to relax before we left. Had some snacks and a farewell rum punch, did a little shopping, and left on time.

So here I sit - 2 weeks home - wishing I were heading back for the Boardie Bash. Not gonna happen, but someday I will make it down for that. Our son graduates next year. We took his sister to Negril for her senior year spring break back in 07. Our son has been to Negril once (for his sister's wedding) but that was at Riu Palace. When we asked him where he wanted to go for spring break his first answer was Florida with his friends - um, nope. Not how I roll. Where would you like to go WITH US on spring break? Negril, without missing a beat, he added - but where you and dad go...not a big hotel this time. Last Friday we booked 10 days at Rooms for his break next year. In a short 51 weeks I'll be back to my paradise.

For those of you that stuck with me through this report - THANKS for reading. I never really know what people want to read about and or see - so I write it like something I would want to read. I love seeing everyone's pictures and learning about their adventures. Thanks for sticking with me through this - at least I got it done faster than last year's trip! LOL

[rocknrollfarmer]

Hey Jenn.....good luck with your PNS! Good trip report! Did you happen to read my trip report? Titled "Just got back home" . Respect,

[negrilfound42]

Loved reading your report and seeing your pictures. Thank you so much for sharing!

[Jenn]

Rocknrollfarmer - I know I started it...but I'm going to go back in and read it start to finish! Thanks!