Shauna (marley9808) & Raul's (ralonzo29) 1st Anniversary in Jamaica *Trip Report*

DAY TEN (October 15, 2011):

Ah, conflicting emotions as I awake this morning.....One, I am happy because I am in Jamaica with my love, but at the same time I know that today is our last full day here and with that brings a deep deep sadness.....the day I always dread, oh well no time to dwell on that now, lets get up and make the most of this day!
First order of business.....I MUST go get some more of that french toast....yes! Check!
After that we decide to do our ritual last day checklist.....shopping for gifts for the people we love back home...check!
Get as much coffee as I can to hopefully make it until our next reach....check!
Raul gets his cigars.....check!

Oh wait....we were forgetting something.....that's right...our carving! It is our last day and it is time now to go pick up our special order carving. I am so excited to see it and to see how it came out. We call up our good friend Chicken and he says he will be up by the Grand Pineapple and to come by and check him and then we can go see Bobby, so when we finish up our shopping we head on over to see him. We go to Bobby's house and he had just finished painting it. He is sitting outside his house with the carving and as soon as I saw it I was in love....it was perfect!
We had asked Bobby to carve us a dragonfly to represent our wedding. Our wedding theme was dragonflies.....our invitations, favors, the cake, everything was dragonflies....and as you may have noticed already, I have a love affair (or as most peope call it, an obsession) with dragonflies.....but you don't see too many things in Jamaica with dragonflies (though trust me, everything I HAVE seen in Jamaica with dragonflies, I have surely purchased). But I always had wished I could get a carving of one....but then I thought, I could just ask someone to carve one, and so that is when I decided it would be the perfect gift to ourselves to celebrate our anniversary....and as I was standing there looking at it, I knew I was right.
Bobby asked if we wanted him to put varnish on it and we agreed and it sure did add a nice touch to it. So we watched as he put the finishing touches on it....and Chicken gave his pointers along with it LOL
After the carving was finished we packed it up nicely and along with all the rest of the loot we took it back home to Catcha and then spent the horrible yet necessary task of trying to determine how we were going to pack all of our goodies back in our bags to take home.....let's go ahead and get that out of the way because we have some last night partying to do....and with that, a ding on the phone and a message lets me know that Rob and Lisa are here, at the bar ready to party! LOL And soon after the Twisters joined us as well....we sat at the bar, drank some yummy drinks, laughed and also finished off the world famous rum cake! We gave the last piece to Kevin lol who was a big fan of that cake the last time too, and he was nice enough to share some with Ty.....the staff at Catcha are more like friends hosting a house party I swear, love them all!
Rob, Lisa and the Twisters....we had so much fun with all of you! Thanks for everything....and until next time...we wish you a very happy rum cake and great rum punch/gasoline wishes!

Bobby Ash putting the finishing touches on our dragonfly carving
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Chicken had to pose, this one made me laugh, he wanted his picture "working" on the masterpiece lol
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He carved our wedding date in it 10-10-10 :)
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Shauna posing with the dragonfly on the porch at Sagi
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Mmmmm a Miami Vice, courtesy of Ty at Ivan's Bar
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Good friends, good times
The Twisters, Shauna, Rob and Lisa (Raul behind the camera)
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DAY ELEVEN (October 16, 2011)

Nothing at all exciting or important to say about this day as we had to wake up early as Chicken was coming to pick us up at 8:30 to head to the airport, sad but true. We got up and had a quick breakfast, said our goodbyes to all of our friends at Catcha and told them we would see them all real soon.
Settled up our bill and we were off. Watched as we passed by all the usual places and was sad that this would be the last time seeing them all this trip....and soon we were past the beach, past the AIs, past Orange Bay, and Green Island, past Lucea and the Grand Paladium....and just like that we were in Mobay.....how does it always seem so fast when you are on the way back? Not fair!
And here we are, at the airport....so sad. I don't want to go home, but then Chicken reminds me, like he always does....he says "Just think of it this way, you are one day closer to your next trip" And like that I smile again...just like Jamaica, even when I am sad, this place makes me smile.
Thank you Jamaica, you didn't let me down....you never do, even with horrible wedding disasters and bad weather, I still love you, my sweet Jamaica.
I will see you again soon.....hopefully real soon!

Link to all the pictures
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjwsY6dT

And with that, our trip report, much like our trip....is over.
I hand it over to you now Clarity.....have a blast! We can't wait to hear all about your trip!

Tell Andrea, Mauvette, Kevin...and everyone at Catcha we said hi :)

Your rock, Shauna! I love it!!awesome pictures! I so enjoyed your trip report ! Thank you!!
and I'm so excited about this trip!!!!
Beautiful dragon fly carving too!!

I'll be sure to send your greetings to Andrea, Mauvette, Kevin...and everyone at Catcha!!

Can't wait!! We're leaving for the airport in an hour!! Now we're running around in circles like headless chickens! realized we have to buy quartsized ziplocks and transfer his additional carryon stuff from Markus's knapsack to his laptop bag!
AAAAhhhhh!
...and Jamar is still packing his suitcase! lol
will post an update from Negril as soon as I can! :)

Love,
Daisy

very nice carving .... Twister, now we have a name to the face -- looks just as we suspected! Great report, good details, and GREAT photos! You get an A-plus for the photos!

Love your report and pics..that is a gorgeous dragonfly! :)

Great report Shauna. Love the pictures. You guys make such an awesome couple, just beautiful. Love the dragonfly carving.

I love the report, pictures and yes the dragonfly. I always say to my sister I am creating my oasis in my backyard with butterflies, hummingbirds and dragon flies. I love them all. Congratulations on your 1st wedding anniversary and May God Bless you and Raul with many more wedding anniversaries celebrating them in our home away from home - Negril!

Great trip report! We had soooooo much fun hanging out with you both and sharing our experience together. I hope we can do it again someday!

Clarity- You are probably in Negril by now, hanging with Chicken and the Magic Bus....lol So excited for you all.
I know about the last minute packing, I do it every time, and usually still manage to forget something....but oh well, once my but is on that plane and on the way to Jamaica, nothing else matters! Have a blast!

Gerry- Thanks for the A+...I attribute it to the new camera the hubby got just for this trip...we are moving up in the camera world and it sure does make a difference.

Negrilaholic and Sandy-girl....thanks and I love the dragonfly too! So happy with how well it turned out, but I took the real dragonfly perched next to me that day as a sign it was going to be really good!

Tranquilitygurl - how nice of you, thanks! And I know what you mean about an oasis.....I have so many dragonfly things because every time I see any I usually buy them, and so does my husband, and my father, and other friends....but I am not complaining, I love them ALL....My Dad used to tease me and say "Do you think you have enough dragonfly stuff???"
But he is usually one of the first to buy me another dragonfly thing! I love it!

Mr Twister - absolutely! We had so much fun with you and your lovely bride as well. Great people and we would love to do it again sometime.....next time we make it to Jurassic Park for sure....or did you guys make it up there after we left?

Our trip was so much fun. I think almost more fun than I've had in JA. It was so nice to meet the Twisters and Rob & Lisa. Cn't wait to see you guys again.

To my love everyday in JA was a blessing and a blast. Everytime I'm there with you I fall more in love with JA and you. Thank you everyone for reading the missus Trip report and for all the great comments.

PS Mr Twister dont for get me I'm starting a garden ;)

Love, Love, Love your report and pics Shauna. You have made me so excited to be going back in a couple weeks. November 19th Soon Come :) Love the pics of Catcha. We will be staying in Libra. Love Sagi's shower though. After 8 nights in Libra, we will be heading back over to Dolphin Bay at Banana Shout for the last 5 nights.

The french toast at Xtabi is to die for. Don't even like that kind of stuff for breakfast, but I think I ate it everyday for a week.

Love seeing Canoe Bar.

We will be doing the One Love Drive Bar Pub Crawl on the 30th.

Your report makes those who have never been want to go and those who have been, want to go back. Great job. Congratulations on your anniversary.

Shauna....no we did not make it up there. I squeezed in another dive and decided to put it off for another trip. I did get 100% on my test too! LOL.

Raul...I've some callalloo & scotch bonnet seeds put aside for ya'! My peppers are still producing even though we're having temps in the 30's. I'll send you some other pepper varieties that you'll enjoy too!

Another great report! So sad to see it end. Who is next?????

Thanks Aud-A-Sea, glad I could help! :)

Libra is great too...that was originally always where I wanted to stay because I am a Libra lol but Sagi, wow! Just love that place and I am already sad because it appears to be booked for the next time we want to go and I feel rather spoiled by that room even though I would be happy just to be on the property! :)

What do you think of Banana Shout? I have never been on that property or stayed there but I looked at it a lot during our stay at Sagi....might check it out one of these days:)

And YES! You will have a blast on the One Love Bus Crawl....it was really a fun time!

P.S. Can't wait for your report and pics now!

Mr. Twister! Awesome about the 100%....that is good that you waited then to take the test!
We will have to definitely reschedule the Jurassic Park trip for next time then, should be a fun ride!

I can only imagine how excited Raul is now after reading that you had pepper seeds too....he is already mapping out the back yard for his new garden, lol

we could all feel the excitement the two of you were having on your 1st Anniversary Trip!
what a joy to read and see all these wonderful pics...have to admit it makes one very homesick....
seeing Ben and all the pics at Catcha, Banana Shout and the Lighthouse with Ricks, Canoe and da menu and food, Three Dives, Rob & Lisa, MiYard, Pee Wees, etc always brings back years of wonderful memories.......thanks!

thank you so much for putting in such a splendid effort and we all look forward to your next trip!

Big Thumbs Up!

Cool Runnings, Marko

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Originally Posted by marley9808

Thanks Aud-A-Sea, glad I could help! :)

Libra is great too...that was originally always where I wanted to stay because I am a Libra lol but Sagi, wow! Just love that place and I am already sad because it appears to be booked for the next time we want to go and I feel rather spoiled by that room even though I would be happy just to be on the property! :)

What do you think of Banana Shout? I have never been on that property or stayed there but I looked at it a lot during our stay at Sagi....might check it out one of these days:)

And YES! You will have a blast on the One Love Bus Crawl....it was really a fun time!

P.S. Can't wait for your report and pics now!

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Love Banana Shout. Dolphin Bay is a great little cottage. Funny, I looked at Sagi alot when we were there. We were probably staring at each other...lol. The price can't be beat at the Shout, however, it does not have the amenities that Catcha does and that is why I think 2 weeks would have been too long at the Shout. Really looking forward to staying at Catcha. Milo and Marianne is what brings me back to Banana Shout.

Can't wait to write a trip report with lots of pics :)

Thank you so much for the awesome report! Congratulations on your anniversary. The love you have for eachother is evident in every picture of you two. Just beautiful!

Thanks for that excellent report! We stayed at Catcha Gardens for a week last January and visited Ivans quite a lot during our time there. Snorkeled all along the cliffs from LTU Past Catcha. Love that area up there. (We usually stay at Blue Cave Castle and did 2 weeks there also.)
Dragonflies? We had a swarm come through our backyard garden last year. I was just before a hard rain, maybe that stirred them up.....:)
Here's the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7bmL...el_video_title

Marley, Banana Shout doesn't come near Catcha, thats for sure. I personally did not like Banana Shout but I know others love it there. I was sooooo hot in the cottage that I was miserable there. Those walls built on the sides of Banana Shout seem to keep any breeze away. I was there in December too. We also lost power for most of my time there, which I know is not their fault, so of course no ceiling fan. Uggghh! We hung out out Seastar all day. Even my Jamaican friends thought it was super hot there and I've never heard them complain about heat!!

Great Pics! Thanks for feeding my Negril appetite.

Thanks Marko! Glad I could help bring you back!

Aud-A-Sea....yep, I stared right back at Banana Shout, I think it is hard for either place not to see the other. I can close my eyes and immediately be back on that hammock at Sagi just looking out on the water, Banana Shout, and Ricks.....sigh ;)

Head in the trees---thanks, he definitely makes me smile...and I hope I do the same for him :)

Husker John...that is AWESOME! I just love dragonflies...they make me smile and somehow they always appear in the most amazing times....I always like to think of it as a sign. Last year when we were planning our wedding, in the summer there was an enormous, out of the ordinary amount of them everywhere in Florida....swarms just like you have on the video. When we would walk they would surround us and since we were planning our dragonfly themed wedding, I took it as a sign. And even though we had to endure such devastation around our wedding, Raul's best friend told me he saw a dragonfly on our wedding day even amidst all the rain and everything and he told me then, that he knew that meant everything was going to be ok.....that stayed with me!

Bonnie- Yeah, no offense to anyone, but in my opinion, nothing comes close to Catcha....but you know, everyone had their favorites, and I still like to check out new places, its just hard when you know you have a place in your heart for one place like I do for Catcha....but I do appreciate your review. I know some who love it and some who don't but I have never stayed there or even been on the property but after staring at it for a week I was interested in knowing more.

CotoJa---thanks! And you're welcome.....it helped feed mine a bit too lol

Marley, my son and his girlfriend got engaged at Catcha in April. They live in Clearwater too!! We all loved it there so much. Can't beat it in my book.

Bonnie! That is AWESOME!!!! Congrats to your son and his soon to be wife.....I hope they think of Catcha for their wedding....you are right..it cant be beat.....but just a word of advice...tell them NOT to book their wedding during hurricane season LOL ;)

Thanks Twister

Marley, actually they had planned for September 1 but have since changed the date for May. I was sooooo worried about having it in hurricane season. They are not getting married in Jamaica (wish they were) because they have so many people they want to attend that wouldn't be able to travel there. Outer Banks, NC it is! Perhaps they can celebrate their first anniversary at Catcha though.

Oh Wow!!!! Outer Banks will be lovely for a wedding....I am originally from Myrtle Beach, SC.
But seeing that they have picked the Outer Banks I would say I am also glad they changed their date! I think I would be even more nervous about the Outer Banks in September than I would be for Jamaica! LOL.
Growing up in Myrtle Beach, I learned really fast that though they always though every hurricane in the Atlantic was heading straight for Myrtle Beach...it always hit Wilmington or the Outer Banks!
So I am happy to hear they are going with May...I am sure the weather AND the wedding will be beautiful....congrats to all!
And YES!!! They absolutely should plan their first anniversary at CATCHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow wow wow!!! I realized I hadn't caught up on about the 2nd half of your trip report. Can't thank you enough for sharing all the INCREDIBLE photos...you're friend sure has an amazing talent, but so do ya'll! Also, wanted to tell you that ya'll seem like such a great couple...you can really see the love there. Congrats on your anniversary...I'm so glad you got to make up for all the unfortunate dilemmas you experienced for your wedding. I can see it had no effect on the marriage, ya'll are beautiful. Looking forward to your next trip report!

Awwwww.thanks Tizzy...that is so sweet!

And hopefully....you will be a part of our next trip report...start saving and planning now for April 2012!
:)