Gerry G's TRAIL OF ASHES TOUR Final Chapter -- The Mighty Californian's return

GerryG -- Memphis Mike here- miss you my Brother!! Hold it down and have a Blast! Glad to hear that you saw Bentley, I've been worried about him.....Marko is busy??? Seastar will fit you right once again.....good luck with your spearfishing...take care

Pure gardens is pretty nice. It took awhile for them to clean a room for me and to get towels. But the pool and grounds are nice. Its very quiet too. Im happy to hear you reunited with Bentley and he is doing much better.

Oh, and one more thing: If you're considering coming to Negril, of cashing in your chips and sailing into the sunset, of just going for it with passion no matter how practical or how much it costs, then DO IT. Negril is incredible. I am having an incredible time. This feels much more like home than Los Angeles. Except for one big mishap which we will get into, I am absolutely thrilled to be here.

In real time, I'm heading out the Catcha Falling Star in just a few minutes for a grand farewell well meal for Chickster, who leaves tomorrow. Great guy.

Sadly I will not make it to the rock to share a Red stripe or Rum punch with you! When I heard you were going for another reach I had hoped to finally meet up for a drink and to hear some of your stories. Alas, I will have to wait for the TR as we do not depart the great white north for another 12 days, and my first 7 will be spent at an AI in Mo bay ( have to make the missus happy) :) . Have a great time GerryG I will be awaiting the TR!!


Respect
W99

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Originally Posted by walleyed99

Sadly I will not make it to the rock to share a Red stripe or Rum punch with you! When I heard you were going for another reach I had hoped to finally meet up for a drink and to hear some of your stories. Alas, I will have to wait for the TR as we do not depart the great white north for another 12 days, and my first 7 will be spent at an AI in Mo bay ( have to make the missus happy) :) . Have a great time GerryG I will be awaiting the TR!!


Respect
W99

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Maybe he'll extend........

Gerry, cool running into you last night at Catcha. Amazing how our brains work, as soon as I spotted you I thought "trail of ashes", even though we've never met before.
Great times!

I had been up all night flying in, so I didn’t make it to New Years midnight. I did see the celebration in Europe on the TV in the room, and that was good enough for me. But a part of me was really excited to be in Negril, so it was no surprise that I woke early, as it was still dark outside.

At about 5 a.m., I thought it might be fun to jump on the motor scooter and drive around the strip, as Marko told me they’d be going ‘till dawn at The Corner Bar party and at another party on the beach. There were a few stragglers left when I strapped on my chinstrap and summoned the Pure Garden security guard to open the gate for me, as I putt-putted my way through.

There were a few jerk-chicken guys still left, but for me it was before breakfast time, as I was just waking up as everyone else was all partied out from hours of drinking. Didn’t see many tourists, mostly locals.

And then it happened.

A couple of local guys with bad intentions together on a motorcyle got a bead on me, and cruised up side by side with me as I was motoring along. They said "what's up mon?" and I think I said something like “happy new year,” and then suddenly the driver reached across and was grabbing at my pocket as we’re traveling along at 30 mph.

I freaked.

Oh geez. This isn't going to end well for someone involved in this story.

Hey Gerry thanks for the good time lastnight and the Martini Bandit says hello. Just sitting in the Mobay lounge having a departing Vodka and orange...air transat just upgraded us to the Club seats looking forward to being pampered

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Originally Posted by gerryg123

And then it happened.

A couple of local guys with bad intentions together on a motorcyle got a bead on me, and cruised up side by side with me as I was motoring along. They said "what's up mon?" and I think I said something like “happy new year,” and then suddenly the driver reached across and was grabbing at my pocket as we’re traveling along at 30 mph.

I freaked.

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King of Cliff Hanging!
We are on pins and needles here Ger...123 more.

Lord a mercy!

Don't leave us hanging MC! This sounds more exciting than the gas station incident!

Wow. So what happened??

Wow! And then.....?

gerryg123 we didn't need a commercial break at this particular time in your story...

I can remember the whole thing in my mind like I am seeing it in slow motion. I yelled "Hey" and hit the brakes hard, thinking that I could have swerved out of control, and that would have been really bad.

Unfortunately, these thugs stopped, too. The bigger one was the passenger, and he got off the bike and started pacing towards me. We were only a few feet apart when I quickly did a u-turn and hit the throttle, my instinct telling me it is best to head back toward the roundabout, where there were more people. As things were, we were the only three on the road.

My heart racing, I motored as fast as I could, and I was wondering if they were going to come chase me down again. From behind, sure enough I heard the roar of their motorcycle.

I did not look back, but yes they were coming.

Oh man! Then what?!

Damn Gerry!!! Give it to us already....

We would like to take a commercial break but stay tuned for the next episode of the gerryg123 saga...

AGAIN GG?....isn't this the 3rd/4th+ incident in recent trips....I think I need to be your bodyguard!

What a way to "rack" up views :p

Then what ?? Now you have us waiting typical Jamacian style.

Him soon come ;)

Hoping this story ends with a really cool Jamesgerryg123Bond plot :cool:

Yes bnewb, what does gerryg do in calif, write for the soaps?

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Originally Posted by Lulu and Al

Yes bnewb, what does gerryg do in calif, write for the soaps?

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Lol. You are kinda close.

As things turned out, the twosome on the motorcycle just sped right past me. I guess the weren’t too worried about me identifying them, plus they probably wanted to return to their friends and keep the party going. These model citizens were doing like 80 mph in the dark – and with NO lights on.

I was shaken but I willed myself to get over it. The Negril trip was just starting for me, and I simply had to put this unfortunate incident behind me. I have had a few other little run-ins in Negril through the years, but this was the most scary. He could have knocked me over.

What made things even more dramatic was, just for this one day, I was carrying ALL my money and cash and bank cards in the compartment in the scooter, as I was 1 percent worried my valuables might get stolen from my room, something that happens in Negril.

Now, if you’re reading this, please don’t let me talk you out of coming to Negril. However, if you need someone to talk you out of going out alone four hours after the New Year’s celebration, I can do that. I probably shouldn’t have been out, but then again I had a legal right to do so. Ironically, there were more police out than usual on this night, but at the roundabout and not on seven mile.

I had plans to jump into the ocean soon. And if that can’t wash away your troubles, then you don’t belong in Jamaica.

Gerry, I'm glad it ended the way it did and you were ok. Your hotel needs to have room safes!

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I had plans to jump into the ocean soon. And if that can’t wash away your troubles, then you don’t belong in Jamaica.[/QUOTE]

Glad you weren't hurt. And I agree, the ocean can wash away a lot of troubles

Man that turned out better than I thought it was going to. Glad they didn't hurt you or get any of your stuff. Live and Learn!

Glad you are ok and were able to shake it off!

Here are some pics:

Attachment 32521

Feeling right at home at Seastar Inn

Attachment 32519

Famous Vincent, a Negril legend

Attachment 32520

My Seastar Inn neighbor, Kevin from Norway. Great guy.

Looking good Gerry. More please

I see the new bartender at Seastar is a friendly fella eh GG?

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Originally Posted by Crusher

I see the new bartender at Seastar is a friendly fella eh GG?

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Alvin's a great guy! He was there last year when we were there!!

I was talking about Gerry lol!! :)

I made my way down to Seasplash, the usual spot, the usual routine for four or five trips in a row now. It was just me and Vincent, and by now we've become pretty good friends, as I've gone snorkeling/spear-fishing with him probably about fifty times now.

God it felt good to be back in the incredible Jamaica ocean. If you love the feeling of a nice warm sea with aquarium-like clarity and schools of beautiful fish, this is the spot.

Famous Vincent pulled in an octopus, but when he went thru his catch back on the h boat, he was disappointed by the one that got away -- a big groutfish that somehow slipped out of the bag as Vincent swam along.

I just stuff the fish I catch into my bathing-suit pocket, and Vincent eventually keeps them all to help feed his family.

I filled the scooter with gas at the Shell station, then on a lark I headed to Blue Cave Castle for breakfast. I stayed there once and have visited several times through the years. There is always a good vibe there -- not a fancy place by any means but still a cool place to hang, as a lot of the guests are long-time returnees.

I had the shrimp and eggs for ten dollars, plus free coffee, and all was irie.

I knew I was only staying the one night at Pure Garden, so I tried to keep most of my stuff in the suitcase and carry-on, but of course it still took me a while to organize every little thing like all the computer cords and stuff, and I packed it the best I could.

My plan was drive my scooter to check-in at Seastar Inn -- god I could not WAIT to be back on the iconic hotel's caring hands -- while following my suitcases in a cab. But I didn't want just any cab. My luck, the driver would take off with everything and say "good luck, gerryg123." But I had Shayne in my back pocket, a loyal cabbie for many years. He picked me up with a friend and we took off up the hill.

On the way, I saw Nicky, a favorite party girl, up on the hill. She has her own white scooter -- I was impressed with this -- and since I've known her for years I said meet me later at the Seastar.

Well, her "later" was an instant u-turn, and all of us arrived together. i bought Nicky a fruit punch to be nice, but my room wasn't quite ready so I her told maybe we could visit again later. For now, I wanted to be with all my homies at Seastar Inn. It is my favorite place in the world.

Wow! That likkle incident with the 2 guys on a MC sounded intense! Glad everything turned out OK. I like your friend Kevin from Norway's Nebraska shirt. We have fans all over the World I guess. :). Keep the trip reports coming! It's All Good!

Glad you are having a good trip. Don't go scooting around at 5 am anymore, I cannot take these parts of the tr's. Be safe, man.

I met Chickster, a friendly Canadian, at Seastar Inn. Like so many of us, he is a frequent return visitor, along with his girlfriend, Kimbo (not to be confused with Seastar Kimbo).

This was Wednesday, and after checking into my room, I kind of zoned out, only to be surprised an hour later by Lenbert Williams from the Pub Crawl; I had said I wanted to go but forgot all about it, but usually I just follow along in my scooter anyway, so I said I would catch up later.

There was also Weathermon's mini-boardie bash going on at the same time at Canoe Bar -- it turned into quite a party, by the way -- so there was a lot going on for my first day in Negril.

I love it. I am home.