This is a fantastic trip report. Your pictures are taking me along with you two. Really fun.
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This is a fantastic trip report. Your pictures are taking me along with you two. Really fun.
I had lunch alone today and whipped out my phone and decided to read your report just because of the catchy title. I could not wait to get home and talk to you. You had me DYING laughing at the restaurant over the "mixed Drinks" incident.
YES!!!! I have never removed my suitcases and "the pile" from my bedroom floor from one trip to another, and if you can't deal with it, then don't come to my house.
You have a great sense of humor and I love your writing style. Continue please.
Wow! Thank you both for that! Very nice!
I have learned recently that it's ok to just post stories on here that don't need to have any truth to them so I just wanted all six of you still reading this to know that every word of this report is in all actuality fact that did really happen. You can ask anyone involved. I even have like.....8 pictures to prove it. (Dam! I knew I should have taken more pictures! Sorry about that! I really wasn't expecting to do a report but now that I started it, I must try to finish)
So, remember that gal we had along with us on the ride in from the airport? Well, it turns out she was actually staying in OUR usual villa. They were filled up the day we arrived and we learned that we had been "upgraded" to a newer and bigger villa. Well that's great but.....we like our usual villa! Then we found out after we got there that this gal HATED it in Negril????? (too hot, too many people, to noisy at night, didn't like the frogs chirping, etc.) So, the morning we arrived........she left early. Woo Hoo! Back to our usual villa for us! Like I said, she was very nice and I don't want to blast her too bad, but......who hates it in Negril? Oh well, it worked out great for us anyway.
We skipped breakfast on moving day so we were starving by the time we got unpacked, put away, and greased up with the mandatory amount of sunscreen. We got down to the beach and started walking......mmmmmm.....left? (such hard decisions) We needed to find something to eat. When we were walking by Rooms I heard a "hey Big Shiny" and there was Roy Mon and Sheri. We met Roy last year and they are a really nice (and funny) couple from somewhere near Toronto I believe. (eh?) So just before we head over to say hello, we stop the bread guy on the beach and grab a couple of coco breads and cheese to satiate our hunger pangs. Well, the whole time we were chatting with them and sitting on that ugly wall at Rooms, we were stuffing our faces with this delicious beach snack. We must have looked like a couple of ravenous dogs to them but they didn't seem to mind too much. So we just kept right on talking with our mouths full of coco bread. (my mother would be so embarrassed) I hope we didn't gross you guys out too badly with our horrid "American" manners. :)
We saw them again (and many others) a few times at Sunnyside bar throughout the week. We love Sunnyside! It's a great little place right on the water that you can get a cheap beer and there is almost always someone interesting to talk with. (or listen to) ;) The owners are really cool people. It's Robert and Maureen from the old For Real bar so we have known them for quite a while now. (we used to go to For Real almost religiously back in the day)
Some more stolen pics of Sunnyside
Love this look from the Roy Man !
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We spend a lot of time at this walk up spot at the bar. Our grand opening gift of the Packers playoff towel still hangs proudly above our heads.
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We were signed up for the One Love Pub Crawl so we took it easy, walked around a little more, and made our way back to the villa to get "ready" for that. Let's just say that this one was NOT boring. In fact, the first hour or so was like being in an episode of The Twilight Zone or something.
It started with us waiting outside the villa watching the road for Lenbert to pull up, and then.... Here Comes The Bus.........aaaaaaaaaand there goes the bus. He just drove right on by and never even slowed down. Noooo! We both just looked at each other and shrugged. Luckily we've known him for a while and I have him on speed dial so I give him a call. He answers, "Hey Shiny! What's up? I am going to drop my first group off and come back and get you". WHAT? He has two groups tonight too? Normally that wouldn't have been a problem but, we were meeting up with jojo p and about a half dozen other people that were on the other tour. Now what?
How do they say it in Jamaica?
No problem mon!
Nice report.
Yes Big Shiny I agree with you , that is one ugly wall they have at Rooms. Lol But I am sure the break water project wall will look even uglier !!
We waited about a half an hour or so for Lenbert to head back to get us. When we got on the bus we didn't recognize anyone on this tour. Oh no! We wondered how we were going to hook back up with all of the other people we were supposed to be on the crawl with. The bus was full except for 2 seats. Julie took the open spot right behind the driver and I got the last spot, up in the front, right next to him. There was only one problem.......we were heading North......away from the Westend. So I say, hey Lenny, what's up man? He says that he just got a call from the RIU and they had a group of 4 that wanted to go on the tour. No problem, I say. The more the merrier right?
The sky started to darken on the way there and the wind and rains picked up. We were in a full on storm at that point and I should have taken that for the sign that it obviously was. But alas......I did not. When we drove up into the turnaround at RIU I saw a look on Lenberts face that could have curdled milk. He was understandably upset as he could see the group of four that was standing outside waiting for him. Two of them were kids (I'd say probably 13 and 15) and the other two were a guy and what I could only guess must have been his grandmother. (I'd say 80ish?) She was a sweet lady, but VERY frail looking. They sat up in front by us and we talked with them a bit. They were all very nice and I didn't have a problem with any of them at all.
When we finally got to the first stop, (Swordfish I think) Lenbert put his hand on my shoulder and said "you two stay right where you are and I will bring you to the other group...... your group". Yaaaaaa! We were going to meet up with our friends after all. After the bus was empty and we started pulling away the insanity switch was flipped. Lenbert went into this verbal tirade in patios that quite frankly, I'm glad Julie couldn't translate. He went on and on about the RIU group and seemed very upset about the whole deal. In fact, after a while, he told us he was going to call RIU and make them send a cab out to get that group and bring them back. I heard quite a few Bumba's and something about "mashing up his tour" but he must have got his point across quite well to them because they agreed to come and get them. That seemed to cheer him up a little but unfortunately for him, that was just the beginning of his misery.
As if that ordeal wasn't enough to get the crawl off to a bad start, that was not the worst thing we had to deal with. When we pulled up to Canoe bar to hook up with the other group (our group) something very non irie occurred. It seems that there was some confusion with the seating arrangement (or lack there of) and one of Lenberts guests didn't like the fact that someone (me?) was in "her" seat. I won't go into detail about what was said because it got pretty ugly. Let's just say that a little argument turned into an all out nonstop verbal onslaught. I'm pretty sure nobody was real upset when she finally got so frustrated by the whole issue that she called her own cab and left the tour at the next stop.
Which was......... Skybar!
It was raining off and on at the start of the trip and by the time we got to this place it was pouring out. We all hustled up to the bar as they were pulling the flaps down to stop the deluge from getting us all soaked. We made the best of it and had a couple of drinks as we all packed in together into this small area. It was an interesting way for us to introduce ourselves to this new group, but we all made the best of it. It seemed like we were all talking about the same thing anyway for some reason. I actually got a few pics at a couple of these places.
Like sardines trying to stay dry.
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We decided to do a before and after selfie to see if there was any difference in the way we looked but guess what.......I forgot to take the after picture. Go figure! :)
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Oops......sorry.....no idea how to fix that. Any help please!
Julie and Jojo
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Looking fabulous!
The rain eventually let up and we headed back to the bus for the next stop. When the sun started shining again it felt like a completely different atmosphere from the odd start that we experienced on this tour. Everyone was laughing and having a ball. The vibe had really taken a turn for the better and the rest of the night was a total blast. Of course..... the beer, booze, and Jenny's cake might have had something to do with that too. :) We stopped at several bars and I'm sure I couldn't remember them all if I tried but I did manage to gets photos at four of them. So, I guess I will do as the pros do it on here and.....follow the picture trail. (condensed version)
Next stop.....Jenny's Cakes!
Glad your day got better after dealing with such non-sense!
Please keep it coming Shiny,it's been great so far!
OMG !! I remember that situation with that lady. you are on the one love bus in Negril and you still find something
to complain about, smh:)
The crazy thing is that you would be the first person to give up your seat for anyone, oh well, lol... What a fun day
with you guys and everyone else that day !!!!!
A "Shiny" new Trip Report!
A sneak peek into the boring a$$ vacation of Big 7 and Julie
NOT!
Nice job!
VVHT
we luv your t.r., but the small wall around ROOMS is awesome, we have been stayin there for 6 straight years, and has been awesome for keepin the hagglers away, but is great for holding our coolers off the sand, mixin drinks, and for sitting on for the famous sunset, but also a meeting place for other boardies and new friends, soon come
I'm loving this report and the photos!
My goodness, someone getting upset about a seat on a bus? Party pooper, and bad karma all in one. So glad you found the fun and didn't like Debbie Downer ruin your parade. Carry on, loving this report
Thanks everyone! Love the replies!
jamaicarob.....I'm not saying the wall doesn't have its uses, (chair, bar, etc.) I just wish they would paint it a different color or something. I always enjoy your reports too btw.
Part Two of the Crawl.
We made a usual stop at another one of our favorite little quirky places called Jenny's aka Connie's Country and Western Pub. We love it here, and we don't even like country music. (she plays a lot of the old classics which makes it more tolerable) The vibe here is always great, and the special cake can be very effective. :) Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "Oh no, here comes another story from some doped-up idiot"? Well, to that I say, o' contrair mun frair (What?) it's not like that at all. In my defense I would like to say that we don't "do drugs" at home, in fact we barely even drink at home, we are both gainfully employed, and we don't have children to set an example for, so frankly.....I don't consider eating a piece of cake all that terrible of a thing to do with all other things considered. But, go ahead and judge me anyway if you must. Haha!
Country jojo and the fish? Let me tell you something......this chick can Par-Tee!!!
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Can't waste the crumbs!
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C&W Connie.... A really awesome lady!
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We met a great couple from Philly on this tour that were staying at Xtabi. (Lois and Steve I think?) It just so happens that it was one of the other stops we made. They asked a few of us if we wanted a little tour of their cottage while we were there. What? Sure we do! We love doing that!
There are so many different places to stay in Negril and they are all a little different, but we really liked this place, it was very nice! It had an upstairs loft with a bathroom and the bathroom on the ground floor had an outdoor shower. Wow! I believe they were in cottage #4 and let me tell you, these folks were great hosts. They pulled out beers and booze with all different mixes. They even had snacks! They were both giving little tours, bringing us all around the place. I didn't want to seem like too big of a freak so I didn't take any pictures of the inside. The whole place was so neat, and these two were just awesome! I don't think we even went to the bar at all, we just had our own little party at their place untill we left. It was so cool. :)
A little cottage in Negril.
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Our last stop was at Negril Escape and it was a loooooong one. We had to wait for Lenbert to drop off the entire other group before he came back to get us. We made the best of it as usual and got to party for a while longer at at this place. (Luckily I was feeling no pain by that time) :)
It was our first time being at Escape and it was a pretty cool place. The bar area and the seafront were very cool. They have a nice big area to explore and a couple of neat places to jump off. The one thing that absolutely blew me away was the little cove in the cliffs area between the lighthouses that I dubbed "The Devils Washing Machine". I don't know if it is always like this or if we were just there during a certain tidal surge or whatever, but this was a truly amazing spectacle of natures power. The sea water would pour through this small opening between the cliffs and the surge it created was pretty awesome to watch. The water level in this small cove was rising and then dropping about 20-30 feet and it would expose the cliffs that were way under the usual water level. It was pretty cool to watch. I tried to take some pics but they don't really do it any justice.
These pictures were taken about 5 seconds apart.
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After being mesmerized by this for some time, I noticed this girl hanging casually over the edge right over this spot. Scary!
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The only thing we didn't like about this stop was that there were a few locals hanging around with the bartenders there and they all had their children with them. There were probably 5 or 6 kids that just went through the crowd all night asking for money. Now, I have no problem with someone trying to make a buck but, really? Having your kids out with you, in the bar, at night, begging for money? That just seems kinda wrong to me. And it wasn't just one or two times either. These kids just kept going from group to group, all evening, one after the other. I watched them go back to the same people over and over, and they were persistent every time. (I assume that's part of their training?) We tried to just ignore it after a while but it was a little disappointing to watch.
On a happier note....there were so many fun people on this crawl, some of them boardies, most were not. Nobody got too crazy but every single person there was having a great time and it was truly the funnest Pub Crawl we've been on yet. (I say that every time) :) Even the ride home was a blast! We met up with another boardie couple, Ziggy (and his wife) and another couple from Colorado that might lurk on here. (Sup Rick & Rhonda?) All of them were total strangers to us then, but we now call them friends. That's another perk to vacationing in Negril, 90% of the people you meet are of like mind and that usually equates to everyone getting along pretty well.
Next up....... The Beach Adventures.
Can't wait makes me what to back there
Likewise, it was great meeting you guys, hope to see you next April!
Back to the Beach!
We made a few new observations this trip. The most obvious one was the absence of the PWCs on the beach. What a joy this was for us. (and many others that we talked with) Now, I have nothing against jet skis or the people who ride them, but it always seemed to me that the most aggressive peddlers (and the most abundant) were the guys trying to get you to go jet-sking. One of my biggest peeves was when we are out floating in the sea, enjoying the peace and tranquility, and no matter how many times you say no thanks, every 2 minutes another one would pull up and shout..... "Hey gen eh ral! You whan go for a jet ski"? Why??? If they just asked when you were walking around I wouldn't care, but when they roll right up on you when you're relaxing, ignoring the ropes, and stink up your senses with their smelly, loud PWC's, it becomes VERY annoying. So it was nice that they were held in check this trip at least. I hope they can come up with a plan that works out well for everyone but, if not.....we don't mind if they stay gone for good.
Unfortunately, what seems to have gotten much worse is those guys with the horses on the beach. Mark my words, it is just a matter of time until some poor person (probably a child) is going to get seriously hurt or killed by one of those runaway animals. I stopped counting how many times we witnessed a close call where the horse just missed trampling an unwary beach goer just minding their own business, completely unaware that they were almost very badly hurt. And for what? I've never once seen any of those horses treated well. They look emaciated and extremely unhealthy. They let them crap in the water right next to people who are out swimming without giving it a second thought. The guys trying to get people to ride them all look like common thugs and I've heard that most of the animals were stolen in the first place. It's unfortunate, but I think that the only thing that's going to change this nonsense is someone else getting badly hurt or killed by one. I know there are other places to go if you want to ride a horse so PLEASE don't give these guys your money to ride their stolen horses on the beach. If they aren't making any money out there then, maybe they will go away from the beach for good. (wishful thinking?) We did see a great sign at the front desk at Treehouse when we were looking at the property. It basically said some of the same things, so at least I know some of the hotel owners feel the same way. Thanks Gail!!! Great sign!
We spent the next couple of days doing our usual beach routine. If we don't stay out real late at night, we usually get up pretty early so we're almost always out on the beach by 10:00 or so. We like to start out in the morning by having some rum cream with coffee in it, eat a delicious home cooked breakfast in the villa, and then sunscreen up for a day on the sand. We don't drink every day when we are there but, we find a nice beach bar-hop can be pretty fun once in a while. On those days we start to get pretty thirsty by about noon or so and that's when it becomes time for a walk.
We usually see some pretty interesting things on our beach walks and this trip was no different. We saw two different roofing jobs on the beach. The first was at the tiki bar at Margaritaville. No big deal there but I did like the way they had the ladder set up.
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The second was at Beaches. (I think) Now, this one was a head scratcher! We watched these guys for a little while. Instead of the guy doing the painting climbing up and down the ladder to move it, he just stayed at the top and hung on. Then the guy on the bottom would then grab the rope and pull the top of the ladder over about ten feet. (YES, with the guy still at the top!) The two guys at the base of the ladder would then shimmy the bottom of the ladder over until it was straight again and the guy would paint away until he had to be moved again. I wanted to get a video of this interesting technique, but the beach police in the picture shooed us away when they saw me taking pictures. Not exactly an OSHA approved method back home. I dig that Jamaican ingenuity.
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The other couple watching were quite amused as well.
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There was another comical encounter we experienced with a fun Boardie couple on here. We stopped in at Barry's Bar on the beach for a beer before we did the long walk of AI beach. There was one other couple already sitting there. Then I noticed that the other people looked kinda familiar. By the time I realized that it was Weathermon and Mi Lady, they were already saying hello. Just another nice, fun couple that we have met down there. I was only a little bit embarrassed when I saw that we were both wearing the same swimming suit. Had to get a picture of that right?
Due to the high quality of Julie's photos.....you can't actually tell who it is but I swear it's really us. I hope their picture of us turned out a little better. :)
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Gotta have an afternoon nap sometimes. Love them hammocks!
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It's not easy staying in the thing at a 90 degree angle.
Another shot from the beach that I thought was amusing. Nothing to see hear folks!
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Shell guy!
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Shiny......here is a pic with the heads. I'm not sure which is better, the one with or without.
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HaHaHaHa!!! Good one! I'm glad you saw this. Thanks for the help! It was great to meet you both and thanks for following along with us!
ok, first of all my friends, I need to give you approval for any pics you post of me, because I look hungover in all of them , oh...
that's right, I am :) ok, proceed, the problem is everytime I read an update, I miss you guys, continue on, I hope you are doing great/. say hey to Julie
We are in total agreement on the PWC's and horses on the beach !!!! Also, really like your writing style....keep em coming big guy !!!
Why didn't someone tell me that it's a bad idea to try and do a TR in the middle of the summer?
We spent our first cliff day on the beach so it was only fair to spend one of our beach days up in the cliffs right? We met up with jojo p one last time before she headed home and went on a private afternoon bar crawl. Trust me, we had more than a few good laughs that day. :)
We started off at White Sands, where Jojo was staying and got a short tour of her trashed room. (as I said, she is a real party animal haha!) We actually hung out at WS a lot more than usual this trip because of the fine folks we met there. I actually started calling it the R+R bar after a while because of a really cool couple that we also met there named Rick and Rhonda. It's a nice little place on a good spot on the beach with a different two-for-one drink "special" every day. We have never stayed there before but it looked like a nice enough place when we walked around the grounds.
The Pre-Crawl picture of Jojo molesting our driver. ;)
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Saw some hot chicks at the bar. It was like 95 degrees that day. :)
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We had heard about the Seastar shenanigans already quite a few times by that point so I figured we better go there first and see if the place was still standing. I also wanted to catch a bit of the Brewer game and figured that would be the only place that might have it on. Unfortunately nobody could figure out how to put the game on so, we had to make do with more drinking and meeting some more very cool people.
Like this guy! Finally got to meet the one and only Chickster. Another super nice Canadian eh.
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I'm sure this was an extremely important conversation about something or other.
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Once I was sure that the Seastar was OK, we hit the road again. Now, no cliff crawl would be complete without a stop at Spyda Bar and a visit with the incomparable Anita. Another one of Sparrows favorite places to stop. (for obvious reasons?) It never fails with him that no matter where we are on the island, he will always know the bars with the cutest bartenders or owners. This dude is a real stud muffin! I can't say that I mind either. :)
Definitely the coolest bottle opener I've seen down there. Had to get the Vikings girl in on this one.
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We actually like the location of Spyda bar because it's right across from BCC and there is almost always someone interesting to visit with there, locals and tourists alike. After a few too many there (and a couple of other places that I probably forgot about) we decided to try and find a place with something to eat. I knew it might be a little late in the afternoon to hit the Red Dragon for some pork but, when I mentioned it to Sparrow he said we should try it anyway.
That was another one of those days that we were about an hour or so behind the other Boardie party goers and by the time we got there, the pork was mostly gone. Sparrow did manage to get about a half of an order that he let us nibble a little off of and it was quite delicious. The beer at the Dragon is hands down THEE coldest in Negril. In fact I'm pretty sure they just keep it right in a freezer because most of them were actually frozen. Some of them were actually stuck together they were so frozen.
Ice was forming inside and out on this bottle.
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An actual iceberg was formed inside of this road buddy.
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Just a couple of posers.
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Had to get one of the flag!
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Another philosophical conversation I'm sure.
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The Red Dragon is a really neat little place with a lot of cool old pictures of the area and of people that have visited over the years. We spent WAY too much time here and we were getting pretty "full" at this point. Most of us were really in need of something to eat so off we went to Sweet Spice for some chicken and some air conditioning. Now, I won't go into the whole story of what happened at this place but, the next time you see jojo p, ask her what the underside of the tables look like there. Haha!!!
Julie and I were pretty much done at that point. It was Jojo's last night however, and she was having nothing to do with slowing down for the evening. We told her we would meet up with her later but I'm pretty sure we had no intentions of actually doing so at that point. We felt kinda bad for "blowing her off" on her last night but I don't think she minded that much. She is not the kind of gal who has any trouble finding something fun to do. In fact, even though we missed her when she left, she stopped by and left us a little present to remember her by before she went home. Let's just say we were both laughing our butts off when we came up off the beach that day and saw her little gift she left for us on our porch. Hilarious girl!!!
Next up.....The Final Chapter
Where's Midiri?
Like I got flat foot CUSSED OUT this trip by two women who wanted to sit their chairs right in front of my couch when I politely asked them if they could please move over a bit into what was STILL shady area so we could continue to have our view of the ocean. For this I got called a ***** and it went on and on from there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lady Jane
only thing that's going to change this nonsense is someone else getting badly hurt or killed by one.
The quickest and easiest way to change it is NO ONE PAYS THEM TO RIDE THEM TAKE A PICTURE WITH THEM PET THEM OR EVEN acknowledge their presence. I have just a big a beef against Dolphin cove.
Shiny, that second contract shot of the painters is at the Great House at Swept Away. Been there many times... and going again next April as 2nd half of a two week. By the way... Kaukauna here... must not be too far from ya! and GREAT pics!
Well, after reading a lot of sad news on this recently, it was enjoyable to read about our fun day, and bring me back to Negril for a while. Love the pics, and seeing ol sparrow, I will have to bring him a gift next time, for putting up withme, and no, not the gift I left you all. lol. Im like a boy scout, always prepared...:)
Thank you neighbor! And welcome to the board! I always get confused as to where those huge AI's are located. We will be there at the end of April so maybe we should get together for a beer and talk about the Pack or something like that? Between the Queen and the Princess, us Knaves should get along "royally". ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris B
Thanks Jo! We literally crack-up every time we talk about your little souvenir. If my memory serves me.....Sparrow was the one who ended up with it anyway. Haha!Quote:
Originally Posted by jojo p
BIG SHINY...
We'll be at Negril Palms from the 18th to the 24th, then spilling ourselves at Swept Away from the 25th to May 2. Cold Stripes and chatter sounds like a plan! We'll stay in touch...
ONLY in Jamaica Mon.......you just gotta love it. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG SHINY n Mango
I have developed a much greater respect recently for all of the folks on here that do extended trip reports. It ain't easy to find time to finish this thing but......I'm determined.....
Also, I'm getting sick of seeing people who were down there at the same time as us doing reports for their LATEST trip so I need to get this thing done! (yes, I'm looking at you Flip) ;)
A little more about the beach. Did I mention how much we like the beach already?
This trip we actually tried the brat guy that has the fancy new cart on the beach. It was good, but not great. It might have been the fact that we were eating brats, on the beach, in tropical heat, but I can't say that I would rush back there for another. It was definitely something different though. Of course, we are used to eating our brats when it's freezing outside, standing around a grill behind a pick-up truck in a parking lot.
We also had to take a stroll to Time Square to try the gizzadas at the the Caribbean Cafe. I think K3 must have been there at the perfect time because I didn't see any snow coned monsters like he found. In fact they only had one left so we were lucky to even get to try them. Again, pretty good, but we've had better before. Still a neat little place and I hear the pizza and pasta is actually really good there.
Last one left
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Oh great! Julie found another place to get an expensive coffe! :)
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It seems like some people always want to be on the move there, but we take a little slower approach to our vacation. We think it's pretty fun to just stay on the property and let the entertainment come to us. We like sitting on the beach and watching what I call Jamaican Survivor. As most of you know, Crystal Waters is right next to Margaritaville on the beach and It's kinda fun to watch the "live" entertainment there once in a while. That floating trampoline thing is a big hit with the tourists that they bus in. I don't like going in there to eat/drink but the place can provide hours of beach entertainment on a dull afternoon. Their DJ is a riot when he gets a fun crowd in there but it can get a little loud and obnoxious sometimes. The nice thing about that is, if you set up your chair on the Country Country side of the beach, you don't even notice the place is there.
One afternoon we got to watch an impromptu episode of the Caribbean's Next Top Model. It was crazy, there were about 30 gorgeous models there all having a great time. (yes, they were old enough) ;) It was kinda weird though because almost every one of them looked like Rihanna. I remember getting pinched a few times that day for staring a bit too long.
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So the next day we had to switch to this side. So much more peaceful. And way less pinching.
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And the panoramic just for Bob and Cindy! (really missed you guys)
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So, what other antics did we survive? Well, I remember accidentally making another guest cry one morning on our way to the beach. They were regulars but we had never met them before this trip. It was leaving day for them so we were saying goodbye, and I don't even remember what it was that I said. Something about "you can't come back if you don't leave" or something dumb like that. All of the sudden this gals tears are flowing like a river. I felt kinda bad at first, but her husband just shrugged and smiled like it happens all the time so I felt a little better then.
Some people say that "you meet the nicest people on the Pub Crawl" and I think that might be true. We ran into an old Negril friend of ours that we met on a crawl a few years back. He goes by MIDIRI on this board and he is a really good guy. He got in about 3 days before we left so we didn't get to hang much but it was good to see him again, and we got a little tour of Fun Holiday where he stays which was pretty cool.
His room was stocked nicely and we had a beer or three there.
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And then there was the party at Drifters on Friday afternoon. I know this was mentioned a lot already but, what a great time! This place is awesome and it sure seemed like everyone there was having a ball, locals and visitors alike. I know some of these pics were already posted but here they are again.
The Flipmeister with his flip flop bottle opener.
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Groove with the hats.
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I wonder what's in that bag?
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Julie and Groove gettin......well.....Groovy!
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Ok, Last installment and pics soon come! (I hope) :)
Packer fans 'pon d'beach! What bar was that, BS?
Drifters Bar.
On the beach.
At one mile. :)
I see someone I know...lol
great report, rob....
Thanks Terry!
Ok, I have got to wrap this thing up! For the 3 of you still reading......thanks for tolerating the extended pauses! This is the last installment, I promise! (it has to be......I'm out of pictures)
The last couple of days of the trip were pretty quiet so this should go fast. :)
I did forget one shot from the Drifters party that I had to post. The open air bathrooms is one of my favorite parts about the whole place. Nice and roomy for a big fat sweaty guy like me, and it's not like going into a sauna like some other places can be. This was right before we ran out of money and had to leave. It was a long, thirsty walk back to the villa after that party, believe me.
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Sorry.....I couldn't resist!
A LOT of people ask us why we always go back to Negril instead of trying someplace different. I know I don't have to explain it to most of you if you're reading this board but, here is one pretty good reason that a lot of us in the North can relate to.....
This is a shot of the back yard the morning we leave.
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But after only a half day of travel we get to look at this instead.
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It's not a hard decision to make when you're freezing your a$$ off half the year.
Unfortunately, on this trip I tweaked an old back injury on our second last day and was pretty much useless after that. My man Midiri came to the rescue once again with some tablets that made the pain at least tolerable to walk around for a while during the day. Needless to say we weren't going out on the town with me barely able to move so, the last two nights were pretty calm. So, other than a painful and miserable trip back to Wisconsin that I won't go into on here, that's pretty much it!
I would like to again thank all of the cool people that we met on this trip for making this one of the most memorable and fun times we've ever had down there. I won't go into the whole long list again but you all know who you are! Thanks again and we can't wait to do it again sometime!
Incidentally, I would like to encourage anyone who is thinking about doing a trip report that can't type, can't or doesn't remember to take pictures, or can't write very well, to seriously reconsider the idea. This thing was not easy for a big dumb polack. :) I have a new found respect for all the people who have done them now. I actually like reading them and also like the fact that they really help when your next trip is too far away.
I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this particular one but......in closing I would like to say that, now that you know what we look like, and have a feel for who we are......if you see us around please don't be afraid to say hello. I might look like a homicidal ax-wielding maniac, but we are actually fun people. And since it's normally just the two of us, we are usually up for something fun to do or at least some interesting company.
Thanks for following along everyone!
As Porky would say......
That's all folks!
Let Jah be praised!
Respect!
Excellent report brother. I enjoyed the ride.
Very cool! Thanks for taking the time to finish.
This April, we have to get together again and talk about the packers winning the superbowl. Pub crawl, Red Dragon, Seastar?
Thanks for taking the time to finish up! Just what I needed on this cold, rainy day :)
Thanks Shiny. Love the Packer flag. I always tell people Green Bay isn't as cold as people think -- I'm a New Englander -- but it could be a lie looking at that wind blowing. I always think the trip to Jamaica is like going to Oz and waking up in living color. And don't worry, you don't look like an ax wielding manic (much). Love to buy you a beer for the fine TR. Ever down in February?