Marley and Ninja: Having Their Cake And Drinking It Too! Trip Report - April 2012

Yep, we are at Catcha too......

I wont know until tax time LOL

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Originally Posted by TizzyATX

I wont know until tax time LOL

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Sugar Daddy!

Great Report guys..thanks for the kind words Marley and clarity and brasi you guys all rock as well and it was my pleasure to spend the day will everyone. Its one of my favorite memories well excluding trying Ninjas ummmm not so tasty concoction. LOL .pure battery acid.

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Originally Posted by garysteph1018

Ninja that "movie poster" is awesome! I'm not even in it & I want one!

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Thanks garysteph1018, appreciate the appreciation

The poster is killer! The day was truly EPIC! Thanks for sharing Ninja......

Day 5: April 25, 2012

I awoke this morning with a smile on my face. And why wouldn’t I? I was lying in bed listening to the waves crash against the cliff in my favorite place in the world and I was laughing and smiling thinking of the events of the previous day. It took a moment for me to remember what day it was and once I realized it was Wednesday I then instantly knew what today was…..it was the Pub Crawl! I realized I still had 4 more days to go and that made me happy. Yesterday I spent all day on a bus with crazy fun people and I was looking forward to doing it again today!

I got up and headed out to breakfast. I joined Sweetness at our usual table and grabbed my cup of coffee and rum cream. We chatted and laughed about the Magic Bus trip and how much fun we all had. We talked about our plans for the day and enjoyed chatting some more while we ate, this became a morning ritual for us and I really enjoyed it.

We saw some rustling from Booger, and Tizzy and Jon….but no sign of Pooper. The three of them headed out to breakfast (I think maybe Just Natural?) and they left Pooper in the room to recover….we never even ended up seeing her that day! LOL Later on that day Booger, Pooper and Jon checked out of Catcha and headed down to the beach for the rest of their stay. Tizzy had one more night at Catcha and then she was to leave to go home. But she was having such a good time she called and got her flight changed and extended her trip until Saturday…Yay! So her plan now was to stay around Catcha that day to recover and then join them all the next day down on the beach.

After breakfast, Ninja and I called to get our scooters. We always rent scooters while in Negril because it makes it much easier to get around but we realized we had been having so much fun and on the go here there and everywhere that we were already on day 5 and had not even rented our scooters yet! So we called and our friend came and picked us up and took us down to his place on the beach. We were getting everything in order when we saw Kopper (Patty’s hubby) walk by on the road. We called out to him and he crossed over to chat with us. We asked if they were going on the pub crawl later today and he said no, that they were all having a dinner party at their place that night, so we told him we might stop by later depending on how crazy the pub crawl gets. So off he went and us too. We hopped on our scooters and headed over to the gas station to fill er up! By the time we were done with all of that it was probably noon and since we had a pickup time of 2pm we decided to just head back to Catcha.

When we got back the place was pretty quiet so I assumed this meant that Booger and gang had checked out. LOL Ninja and I headed to our room to just chill out and enjoy the view from the hammock for a bit.

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After that we headed to Ivans for a pre-pub crawl drink and a light lunch.

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(A Purple Rain at Ivan's Bar)

We chatted with Tizzy for a minute but she said she was going to sit the pub crawl out so she could recover a bit but that she would call us later and maybe meet up then. I noticed it was 2pm but it is Jamaica so I didn’t run directly to the front gate. I got Ninja and all of our stuff, spoke to some of the gang at Catcha, gave some dog biscuits to Ben and then headed to the gate. I was in no hurry because it’s Jamaica, no one is ever on time and by now it was only 10 after. I greeted our favorite security guard, Louis, and told him we were headed out on the one love bus. He then told me “Oh, they were just here looking for you but I didn’t know it was for you guys” I was like “OMG, REALLY?!?!?!?!” We missed it !?!?!?!?! And he said well, no, they said they would head up to Seastar and then swing back by. So I was like “Phew” ok so we just went ahead and walked up the lane towards Seastar. We saw the bus there at the end and we headed down towards it. As we almost reached we could see Guirigay and Sweetiepie boarding and then the bus started coming towards us. We waved and stuck out our hitchhiking thumb and they stopped to pick us up.

We got on and greeted our fellow travelers. On the bus was Guirigay ad Sweetiepie, Gerryg123 and SuzieQ. Our next stop was Xtabi where we picked up Katho and Wpyogi and +1 (though I didn’t know that was who they were at the time). Since that was pretty much all of the west end stops, Lenbert asked if he could drop us off at the first stop while he heads down to pick up all of the gang on the beach. “Sure…no problem” we all say. So he lets us off at the first stop, which was Swordfish. We get off the bus and head up to the top deck, what a great view from here. (I had some pretty great pictures, but of course-by now you should know whats coming-they were on the camera we lost). I ordered another Apple vodka and Ting (thanks again Bre) and sat in the little hammock swing chair off of the bar. Around this time I introduced myself to Katho (who I recognized from her pictures on Negril.com) And then there was the other couple, whom I didn’t recognize. I asked if they were boardies and the wife said “I am but he isn’t” She said her name on the board was wpyogi and she was shocked when I said “Oh yeah, I know you” She said “Really? I don’t post much” And I said “Well I read all of the posts lol and I remember seeing that name before” So we chatted and got to know each other a bit better….all of the what’s your real name, where do you live, what do you do, etc etc.

Around that time the second bus group showed up. I was pretty excited because I knew that Daisy and Markus, Spottycatz and Booger and gang would be onboard. So as folks started piling in, there were LOTS of people, but I didn’t recognize a single one of them. Finally I saw Daisy and Markus but no one else. It seems Booger and crew decided to chill beachside after their check-in and I later found out that Spottycatz did intend on coming but after waiting about 15 minutes for the bus they gave up and just headed back out onto the beach. So this was it, but there surely was NO lack of folks on this traveling party. We welcomed Daisy and Markus and they also met Katho and wpyogi and +1 (that was the name assigned to the elusive hubby of wpyogi LOL) We had enough time for another round and then SuzieQ came over and told us that Lenbert wanted the first bus load to round up and head out to the next stop. So we went downstairs and got on the bus, this time we picked up a couple of others from bus 2 who just thought it was time for everyone to go, no worries, we headed out and our next stop was C&D Country Western Bar. (Let it be known that this is the ONLY country bar I have EVER stepped foot in….sorry folks, but I am not a country fan) But this is actually a fun little place. Connie is a pleasure with her big smile and heart of gold. They also have some pretty good dirty bananas so we headed in and ordered a round. Unfortunately Connie wasn’t there today but we enjoyed our drinks all the same.

Soon after it was time for the next stop so we headed up the cliffs and stopped at Bella Donnas. As we got off the bus each and every single one of us was greeted with a hug….by Bella Donna, how sweet. Here we chatted a bit more with Gerryg123 and SuzieQ. They told us what all they had been up to and how they were enjoying their time. SuzieQ also decided to extend her trip and she was thrilled (Who wouldn’t be?). Gerryg then told us he had plans for a big boardie meetup and meal at Bentley’s that night and was inviting any and all who wanted to come. I have been dying to try out Bentleys but I already had been discussing plans with Brasi to go possibly Thursday night. However, here it was Wednesday and we had not set anything final and I had forgotten to ask him the day before. So I tried calling him and got no answer. I said, well, we will play it by ear and see how we feel after the crawl.

So a little bit later we boarded the bus and this time it seems we now have all passengers on one bus. It was CROWDED. I can’t even tell you how many folks were on the bus, it seems like 50+. Everyone sitting on someone’s lap, people standing....we all became friends real fast (but drinking helps that of course). We even picked up two more passengers who decided to join us mid-crawl. These two guys will make an appearance again much later in our evening (more on that to follow). So anyways, we managed to fit all of these people in this bus AND get the doors closed, hoping, of course, that we didn’t have too far to go until the next stop.....hahahahaha were we wrong. Lenbert says “Next stop, Westender Inn” Yeah, not exactly close, but I was excited to be going as I had been wanting to check this place out too ever since Gerryg and Sweetness both had mentioned it and shared photos.

So we arrive at the Westender Inn and it was every bit as beautiful as it has been described. What a great place. Sure it is far out, but if you are looking for a relaxing place to get away from it all, this place would surely fit the bill. We spent quite a nice bit of time here, looking around the property and even in one of the rooms.

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Ninja walked around taking photos as did Katho.

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I walked over to the water’s edge and out onto a little pier like structure out to the water with Daisy and Sweetiepie. Wow, this place is nice.

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I started chatting with a nice couple about the Westender and I mentioned that I had a friend (Sweetness) who had stayed out here and that the rooms were awesome and the place seemed real nice. They agreed and then we even discussed the Living Social deal. They mentioned how this would be the kind of place they could stay at for sure. Then the wife says to me “You’re staying at Catcha, right?” And I quickly said “Yes, I love Catcha” and then I thought to myself. Did I tell her I was staying at Catcha? Oh well, she probably talked to Ninja earlier and he mentioned it, no big thing. But as we continued to talk and she said some other things I thought hmmmmmm.....oh WAIT!!! I know....She MUST be a Boardie. So I said, “Are you a Boardie?” And sure enough her reply was, “Yes!” “I’m Iowagirl, but I don’t post much!” Funny enough I actually remembered that screen name too, I think we had recently discussed something on the board so I did remember the name. So we chatted a bit more and I asked if they would be attending the Boardie Bash but sadly they were leaving the next day so they weren’t going to make it.

As we were standing there talking, someone came over and mentioned they had some snacks over at the bar for everyone. I said, what kind of snacks and the reply was “Lionfish”
I turned around so fast and said “Daisy, they have Lionfish!!!” She turned around equally as fast and said “Where?!?!?!?!?!” So we nearly sprinted over to the bar. There it was in all its glory. Fried Lionfish. Daisy set eyes on it and she smiled really big. I have a feeling this was the moment she had long been waiting for....the tables have turned, Mr. Lionfish. She got a nice plateful and I told her that even though I don’t eat fish, I would take one small piece so that I could be a team player in her quest to eradicate Jamaica of these terrible pests! lol

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This was Daisy’s very first taste of Lionfish, but it surely would not be her last.

After a nice visit at the Westender Inn, the large group of pub crawlers once again piled onto the bus and headed back down One Love Drive towards Sir D’s. Everyone headed into Firewater and this is where we took in the sunset. What a great place to catch a sunset on the west end. This is a bar that is literally on the edge of the cliffs. Awesome!

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(Markus is pretty excited about it)

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We had more drinks and toasted to the beautiful sunset. By this time I would say just about everyone was having a really good time.


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(Gerryg and his new sparkly flashy friend lol)

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After the sunset at Sir Ds it was time for the bus to take everyone back home. We were the first stop getting off at Catcha and we took Daisy and Markus, and Sweetiepie and Guirigay with us. Greeting us at the gate was Sweetness and since Katho had wanted to meet her we convinced her to get off the bus with us as well. They met for a brief moment but then Sweetness was off to somewhere else I believe, so the rest of us headed to Ivan’s bar for what else? A drink!!!

:)

Nice update, and yes ma'am you are correct we headed out to Jus Natural to get some killer breakfast and kick it with Teresa. Heard that they just moved recently and I look forward to checking out the new yard.

I needed a recovery day so that's why we ducked out of the pub crawl. The Pedialyte simply would not work after a full day on the Magic bus. Plus is was our first day on the beach and I was working to get into the groove of things.

Please continue.......

Day5: Wednesday April 25, 2012
NINJA's 2Cents
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Sorry seems I’ve been the brakes that have put the slow down on the rum cake train.

This day started like most of the days so far in Negril, lack of sleep sounds of crashing waves my lover by my side and fresh crisp air. You ever have one of those days where you were pretty sure you knew how it would end but in the end you realize how perfectly wrong you were. Just goes to show you The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry (thank you, Robert Burns ala John Steinbeck).

The previous days CHICKEN BUS TRIP, left us soooooooo tired so we slept late. Though no real plans aside from the One love bus, I pretty much knew it be a day of drinking and carousing with the usual suspects. The day started off in its usual fashion. One of use would wake first, and usually lay there a bit. Then Shauna would get up and head for breakfast while I did some yoga to keep my back in working shape. I would eventually meet her and Sweetness at breakfast and then the day would progress. Like I said nothing too different. We caught a glimpse of Booper and Jizzy, well actually just Booger it seemed Sandie was still down for the count from their previous nights affairs.. They would be leaving us today to become beach dwellers, in fact they vanished so fast when they went to move we never got a chance to say catch you on the beach, but thats neither here nor there.

Shauna and I usually find ourselves getting scooters so that we can be mobile while in Negril, but with the late entry on Saturday and the events of the next 3 days we figured we could wait till Wednesday to get them...

After breakfast we called up our Scooter guy and made plans to get set up. It was late in the day to really do anything but get the scooters and chill out before the one love bus came to get us so we planned it just like that. The cool thing about the guy we always use for the scooters is he either comes to get us, sends someone to get us or brings the scooters to us. Never a problem always a pleasant encounter. We sailed through the rental and had time to visit with Copper as he took a stroll street side. We needed to get gas before we headed back to the Catcha. I always like the trip up and down the cliff right after the circle. The twists and turns makes me feel like I can do the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. Shauna always rides infront of me and like the wonderful wife she points out the potholes so will miss them. She always has my safety in mind. I always have a little of a problem around Three DIves turn whether I’m going up the hill or down. Going up I always overcompensate and go wide on the turn (I’ve learned to go pretty slow) and coming down I always undercut it. We parked the choppers by the office and headed to the room to chill. It wasnt going to be long before we had to run back out. Our party pack had checked out in a mad dash but I figured we’d find them later (and the next day we did).

Having only been on the love bus once before in more of the off season it was a little bit of a surprise how many people we managed to cram into that bus. We hit Swordfish and it was my first time there. I really liked the back deck it had a nice view and cool vibe. We got to meet WPYOGI and her +1 and Katho who would be this time forward our token photojournalist along with Sweetie Pie. The back area of swordfish was definitely a nice place to chill and get to know people. We made it over to C&D which I had been to before and I always laugh at how close it is to the road and half the patrons kinda mingle out there. We had our customary Dirty B’s and some more intermingling.

Now let me give you my vibe of Bella Donna’s. It a great place inside and the welcome was astounding. My only real downside was when I went to the bath and felt like I was giving everyone at the bar a nice little bathroom show. The guys bathroom has like this waste long open area. Now I’m not a shy guy but I’m pretty sure no one wants to watch me pee.

Once we all piled back in the bus there was lap sitting and very close quarters. At one moment I tried to sit on Markus’ lap but I think my wife was jealous so I sat on hers instead. Oh well maybe next time Markus. We popped out of Bella Donna’s and head on probably our longest drive up to the Westender. I can’t even put into words how beautiful this place is. I could stay here and just never reach into town. We walked around and got the vibe of the place. I spent along time looking at the bougainvillea adorning the front of the gate and talking to a fellow boardie about the one of the I have in my backyard. I truly love bougainvillea’s they are such a beautiful plant with a very nice long thorn if you dont know. After we enjoyed everything this side of staying at the Westender it was time to go. What? One more stop to watch the sunset. I’ve seen sunsets at sea, on the beach in FL, in the desert of Nevada but the sunsets in Negril they take your breath away. Everyone talks about Rick’s but Sir D’s now thats a spot. Everyone seemed in that sweet spot you hear surfers talk about in that perfect wave. We had good company, good booze and the best sunset ever. Watching the sun go down was the best completion to this bus trip and now for something completely different “Drinking at Catcha”

For anyone who hasn't been to Sir D's....This is what Ninja is talking about when he mentions the "sweet spot" for sunsets.....


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Great tale of boardies n bus n booze. Sounds like a good combo. I was kind of wondering how everyone faired after the trip to the Pelican and back, sounds like you all recover fairly quickly. Thanks for the great pics and tales. I like how you're including all the boardies in your report. Nice.

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Originally Posted by bjritz

Great tale of boardies n bus n booze. Sounds like a good combo. I was kind of wondering how everyone faired after the trip to the Pelican and back, sounds like you all recover fairly quickly. Thanks for the great pics and tales. I like how you're including all the boardies in your report. Nice.

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It's all about Pedialyte! I now swear by it as it works quite well when used as directed. No, it doesn't work in beer, tried it to an epic fail.

Day 5 (cont.)

So where were we? Oh....that’s right, we were belly-up at Ivan’s for more drinks and more fun. So we started (much like many other times before) with a round of Dirty Bananas for everyone!

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Cheers!

We drank, and talked and laughed....speaking of laughing....this is pretty much how I spent most of my week any time Markus was talking to me.......laughing my butt off! He is one crazy German (and I mean that in a nice way LOL) I believe this is the moment where he confessed to me his love of Whoopie Goldberg!

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Can you imagine any place better to have some drinks and good times with friends? Yeah, me neither

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Around this time.....and God knows what time that actually WAS, we all decided we were quite hungry (drinking can work up quite a hunger of course) and someone then remembered about the invitation extended to us earlier during the pub crawl to join Gerryg and gang at Bentleys. Everyone immediately thought that was a good idea, but no one had his number. We looked at a clock and wondered if they would even still be there, but we decided what the heck, we will try it anyways....and if no one is there, surely we would not go hungry as there are plenty of other options.
Oh, but first, before we head off for dinner....I suggested that we have a little dessert first! We took the gang back to our room at Sagi and did a round of pineapple upside down cake shots (though they were more like full on drinks at that size....but no one was complaining). Don’t worry, we made sure Markus’ hand stayed far away from any and all fans. Ninja poured one for everybody (Markus and Daisy had already sampled this delicious treat a few days before but for everyone else, this was their first taste) So with full cups and happy faces we all clinked plastic cups and downed the heavenly cake drink! Yum!
Ok....NOW we are ready for dinner. We headed up to the gate and had the security call us a taxi that would fit everyone (7 of us) Very soon our ride was there and we loaded into the van. We told our driver that the first stop would be at Xtabi (only 2 minutes, that was all we needed for Katho to get her permission slip signed and then we were on our way). Next stop was Bentleys Crab Shack! Of course, our driver had never heard of it and had no idea where it was. The only people in the van who had been before were Guirigay and Sweetie Pie, so GG told the driver what street it was on and we were booking it down West End Drive.....we were all still feeling good and happy, talking and laughing. When I looked up we were passing Canoe! I said Wait! Driver, we passed it. Now I have never been there before but I do know where Pee Wee lane is and I knew we had passed it. So he heads on down almost to the center of town, he turns around at Corner Bar and heads back up, this time we try A WHOLE LOT harder to pay attention so we don’t let him miss the street again. Yay! There it is, and so we turn and head up the lane.....hard to miss the place from the road with all the lights. We stay in the van while GG heads up to see if the gang is still there and if they can accommodate 7 more diners. So of course the answer was yes, and we all get out of the van and head on up to the Crab Shack!
As we reach upstairs we see Gerryg123, SuzieQ, Wpyogi and +1 who were just finishing up their meals. Bentley greets us all and immediately puts SuzieQ to work as our waitress, she pours us all a glass of some delicious fruit punch. It was what everyone had, mainly because it was the only option, but it was indeed delicious. It was nonalcoholic for everyone but Markus it seems ;)

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We all sat and visited while Bentley worked away on our gourmet crab cake dinners. We talked and laughed and told stories.

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Soon our food was ready and SuzieQ and Bentley served all the plates around. Guirigay and Markus must have been his favorites because they got a lot of extra helpings and more and more and more of that special sauce! OMG, there was so much food on my plate there was no way I would ever finish it. I didn’t even know what it all was but every single thing I tasted was delicious. I remember Markus exclaiming, “It’s so good I am even eating my carrots” He was right! It was sooooooo good.

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I ate and ate and ate until I couldn’t eat anymore and the plate must have been magical because it looked like I hadn’t even touched it! I looked around and most everyone elses plates looked like mine.....all except Markus, who ate ALMOST all of it save for a few carrots, lol and Katho who actually FINISHED IT ALL!! (it’s always the small ones that can throw down on a plate of food) :)

Sometime before we all finished Gerryg, SuzieQ and Wpyogi / +1 left us to finish our meals as they were all probably stuffed from their own and in much need of a nap (or at this point, a good nights sleep). We all finished what we could, then ordered our to-go boxes. We had some more chatting time with Bentley and heard some of his infamous stories and lots of his crazy laughing. This guy is not only a good cook, he is one hell of a show! You just have to experience it. I had heard many stories and seen many pictures of Bently and his crab shack, but much like Jamaica....Once you go, you know!

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After we finished and settled the bill, I would say most of the group was tired and ready to call it a night. But Guirigay suggested that since we were so close we should walk over to Pee Wees and get one of those infamous Pina Coladas to end our night. We had all assumed we would be stopping there on the one love pub crawl so he had it in his mind all day and needed to satisfy that craving.
At that point I could tell that most everyone was not really on board with that idea (and I have to admit I myself was the kind of tired where it feels like you just can’t seem to hold your eyes open) but I shouted “Let’s do it” and with that, everyone sort of reluctantly started walking down the lane towards Pee Wees.

We walked over and into Pee Wees Bar. However, there was no one there. It was late, the lights were off, it was clearly closed. So we walked out towards the cliff edge and stared out to the sea as the moonlight hit the water. We chatted and laughed a little more as we recalled the whole day, and the whole trip up to that point.
Around that time, a light flicked on. And we heard some movement in the building behind the bar. Then a guy appears and says “Hey everyone”. It was the guy we had seen join us earlier on the Pub Crawl.(Remember when I said they would make an appearance later in our story) He had mentioned to us that he worked at Pee Wees and we should all stop by.....so here we were (In all fairness he never mentioned a time....which was fine because none of us even had any clue what time it was by now). He said “Oh I remember you guys, hang on a sec let me grab my shirt and come open the bar” And so he did. He flicked on the lights to the bar and opened the cooler and asked what everyone wanted. The bar was now open...just for us! He pulled down a tiny little music system and hooked up his ipod and started playing music. He introduced himself (Perrell?) and also his friend Eric. Perrell (sorry if that is not how you spell it) told us he was Pee Wee’s son. He mentioned that he and his brother own the bar now and take turns running it. We had such a nice chat with him and getting to know him, he is a VERY personable host.

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He played some game where he tried to remember all of our names. It was very entertaining but I could see the crowd was now really starting to fade, eyes getting heavy, heads getting closer to the bar. And with that Perrell said “Would you guys like to hear some live music” And me being a huge fan of live music yelled out “YES!” without even looking around for approval (sorry gang) It seems Perrell is also a musician and he wanted to play something for us. So he ran to get his guitar and he then asked us to move in under the building in the open air seating area for better acoustics. He came back with his guitar and he proceeded to play about 3 or 4 songs for us. Around this time the music and lights of the bar attracted a bit of a crowd and they gathered at the bar and also offered us some entertainment (perhaps not so much on purpose, but it was all fun nonetheless). Perrell had an amazing voice and great guitar talent. He sang a love song and Guirigay hopped up to dance with his Sweetie Pie and then Markus and Daisy followed. I just sat and watched and smiled. At this moment I felt as if I was living in a movie. It all seemed so surreal. A very special and magical moment, for sure. He then began to sing and he incorporated some of each of us and our stories into the song. This night was just so magical and special I will never forget it. I was sitting on the edge of the cliffs in the middle of the night, under the moon, with my newest family members, listening to the waves crash and an impromptu and private live music show put on at a bar that moments ago was closed..........
Only in Jamaica.....only in Jamaica!

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After being fed a delicious meal, and then serenaded on the cliffs under the moon, we all headed back to our homes, our Jamaican homes....the ride back home was quiet. Everyone was beyond tired we mostly sat in silence.....with smiles on our faces.

(Up next, Day 6, the Canoe webcast and Jon’s birthday)

On this, Day 5 I got to meet several other boardies I had yet to meet.

Gerryg123- Though I never got to really spend much time with him, the few moments and chats we did share were very nice. He seems like a guy who loves life and loves Jamaica! The greatest takeaway I had was his ever ready eye for news and his reports. He sure enough had his paper and pen ready to jot down notes for his reports. I heard him say “Can I put that in my report” and I just smiled. Months and days were spent reading his reports and now here I was living in one!

SuzieQ- She is just about the sweetest person, with a huge smile and a tremendous love of life...not hard to see why she and Gerry hit it off. I did not get nearly enough time to chat or get to know her either as I would have liked but what I can say is she seemed to light up a room any time she entered and I never saw her without a smile. I liked her, even though she told me repeatedly that I looked like Mariah Carrey LOL
Iowagirl and hubby- Shout out to you guys, a brief but very pleasant meeting and chat at Westender and on the bus. Hope you guys had a great trip and a safe flight home....next year?

Katho- Our photojournalist! What I love most about Katho (besides her awesome photography skills of course) is the fact that when you first meet her you see her with her camera and you think, she is quiet and will just be around taking photos. Not true at all. She is so much fun, and funny, and quirky, and sarcastic...just like all of us. She fit in immediately. So much fun! She can take amazing pictures without anyone even realizing she is there.....she can drink and party and dance all night with the best of them.....and she can finish an entire plate of Bentleys food....I am not sure there is much more I can say to prove her awesomeness!

Wpyogi (And +1)- I am including the hubby in on this one for anonymity purposes HAHAHAHAHAHA So wpyogi and +1, they also rock! I first heard of them before I met them. When we were with Chicken the day before he mentioned that he had picked up a couple that knew all about our trip. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out who it would be, but he told me they were staying at Xtabi. The very next day we met them during the pub crawl and they introduced themselves, I made the connection then and asked if they had ridden with Chicken. I loved this couple too almost instantly when Wpyogi explained that her hubby was not online (sounded familiar to another couple I know and love) and that he probably thought she was crazy for dragging him to all of these “boardie events” with folks neither of them knew. But that didn’t last long. Regardless of what they thought, they were both very outgoing and instantly were part of the family. They were both so funny and provided instant laughs and also pretty good self-bartending and chinese lantern launching skills (more on that later)

Man, we missed a great night. If I remember correct, disclaimer, Pooper was pooped and we called it an early one. Next time I'm tucking her in and setting out with the crowd. Yep that's the night, as well as the first time I had EVER turned on a TV in Jamaica. I was holding out and trying to stay disconnected, but with the wifey sawing logs, Jizzy jizzing, and all my other friends away, what was one to do?

Please continue........

Yeah booger, we REALLY missed you guys this night.... It was the day you guys moved down to the beach, after you left Catcha that day, we never saw you again....but I am real sad you guys missed out on it...and Jizzy too, it was definitely a fun night
You would get a kick out of Bentley too....we will have to take you back in December.....Raul (and Markus if they come) have a date with a special conch dinner prepared by Bentley lol

Day5: Wednesday April 25, 2012 cont.
NINJA's 2Cents
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Drinks a flowing, conversation a having; we simply couldn’t make this night end any better. But wait theres a hunger in the air. We’ve got to eat, should it be here at Ivan’s? Or maybe back over to Eddies our second home away from our Jamaica home. Someone mentioned Bentleys and I know we had talked to Brasi before we left the States about having a dinner there one night but I remember something earlier happening with GerryG and the rest of the decisions makers (i.e my better half). At this point in the night I was just riding the wave that started at sunset. I was never sure how this day was gonna end and you see from my wifes report above I couldnt have guessed it. We all came to a consensus that we’d try bentley’s and if it was no joy then we’d just let the night take us where it may.

We found our self doing drinks in our room before we knew it and the hunger just kept coming up. We headed out to the gate to catch a ride down to Bentleys or wherever. As you know we made it to Bentleys and they fun just kept going. I started not to feel well for some reason. I don't know what was making my stomach upset but I knew I need to do something about it. My thought was I didn't want to eat this great food and then pretty much expel it an hour or even a minute later. I excused myself to handle the situation. On my way back up I heard Bentley scream where’s this guy and I laughed to myself. He is definitely a character. And by character I mean CHARACTER. Between the laugh the screaming and the look he was ON as they say. I would say he’s nuts but in that good way. We sat and talked and goofed around and Markus had his own intoxicating drink (little did he know it was just fruit juice). The food hit and we all shut up for a bit as we devoured our food. I’m not a crab cake kinda guy so I had a smorgasbord of other stuff in my plate. I really couldn't finish what was in my plate.

We just really had one of those magic nights where we had conversations about soooo many different things and just got to know each other so much more. I felt like the night should never end. After some more crazy talk by Bentley and stories about helping people get preggers with his magic conch soup we bid the chef farewell. On the way out we decided to go to PeeWee’s for a nightcap. Most of us if not all of us wanted more of a night nap than a nightcap but we pushed on. This is where the night turns into a Woddy Allen movie. PeeWee’s was clearly closed but within 15 minutes it was more alive than the Jungle or Alfreds. Perel and Eric were so entertaining, like watching Dean and Jerry or Clooney and Pitt. Eric would say something and Perel would sarcastically chime in. It was a classic back and forth with us speaking up here and there. All of a sudden Perel whips out his guitar and graces us with a bit of music. As he serenaded us the music encouraged some of us to dance and one local “friend” of Perel’s to add her own sound effects. She was quite humorous to say the least. As the night came to an end we had grown closer and had an experience none of us would forget. I dubbed this night “One Night In Negril”. And of course as I do I needed to make some art ode to the Night oh and a video of our concert. Thanks for the night everyone.

http://youtu.be/yf_wUIyu5Vw

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Wonderful art there Ninja! I imagine Marcus & Clarity will want that framed and hanging on their wall at home. Just great bringing that night in for a landing! Very cool.

sounds like a wonderful night....

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, it really means the world to me. :)

First of all, those posters are amazing!! Can you send me a larger file copy of those? I would love to hang them in our livingroom. That's so beautiful!
Ninja & Marley - Your images and your words take me right back to our time together Negril. All those great amazing memories we shared. You remember things that I've forgotten and I can't stop smiling.
Thanks for brightening my night and letting me re-live the best vacation in my life! I'll go to sleep happy now and have sweet dreams!
P.S. You're so right, Markus was the one person that polished off his plate... sans the carrots. He doesn't like carrots. lol!
Man, that food was so good... I ate the remainder of my portion the following day for breakfast. It was pure heaven!
Love and miss you guys!
-Daisy :)

Bjritz, pretty40 and negrilaholic....it was indeed a magical and beautiful night. I am so thrilled to share it with everyone because it shows you how no matter how many times you have been to Negril (or Jamaica) or even your same favorite bars, there is ALWAYS a new experience, a new magical moment to have! And it also goes to show that sometimes saying yes to an idea (even when you think you are too tired) can end up being the best decision you make!

Daisy! I knew you would love that poster too (that was actually the first one he made, that was the one that inspired the others) I said OMG! Wait until Markus and Daisy see this, they are going to LOVE it! So then he began to make more, his vacation posters tell the whole story of our trip and it's awesome....much like your videos do. Between the posters, the videos and the TR....we should successfully be able to remember this magical trip forever, and I am thrilled to death about that. I was so happy when he showed me the video clip of Perrell singing to us, I didn't know he recorded that and I was so happy he did so that we could hear his magical voice again. I know what you mean.....it took me instantly right back to that night and it makes me smile every time I hear it!
Love and miss you guys too!!!

Daisy, Raul will email you the file today :)

SO wishing we were with yall that night...the pics/posters are very telling of what a great time yall had together. :)

Wow what a great time you guys had at Bentley's and then Pee Wees. My kind of crew!

That truly was an amazing day/night! I can't thank you enough Marley for pulling me off the bus to meet Sweetness ;) It sucked that she was on her way out but the company and events to follow made up for it! Thanks for taking me along! Also, thank you for the kind words...I do like to hide behind the camera and have trouble approaching people at first...didn't take long to feel comfortable with you guys or the majority of people I encountered on this trip! You're all awesome :)

Ninja - LOVE the video and posters, very cool!!

So sorry for the delay in the trip report......this time it's my fault. I hope to have the next installment up tonight!

Day 6: April 26, 2012

I awoke this morning with only one thing on my mind....yep, that’s right.....French Toast from Xtabi! lol
As you may have heard me mention only a few hundred times, the French Toast at Xtabi is the best dang French Toast in the whole world (IMO) and I usually eat it as much as possible while in Negril. Now that we had our scooters I knew that this moring I would finally be having my favorite breakfast in the whole world and I couldn’t for the life of me believe it was already Day 6 and I had yet to have it. So with that I woke Ninja up and simply said “Xtabi!” I think I skipped out of the room and nearly jogged towards the front to get on the scooter. I didn’t even stop at the normal breakfast table to greet Sweetness or have my first cup of heavenly coffee. I later found out that Sweetness had been at the table and had even seen me sprint by and she had yelled out a greeting, one that I didn’t hear of course, because I was a woman on a mission. A French Toast mission. Sorry Sweetness, this morning I had a breakfast date with a different kind of sweetness :)

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Now I have tried all sorts of French Toast in Negril (and even all over the world). I have had cheesecake stuffed french toast, I have had fancy california french toast with unique ingredients lol, I have had banana french toast and warm pineapple french toast (Catcha), all kinds of heavenly dishes, but nothing has ever come close to comparing to what appears to just be plain old French toast at Xtabi (I swear they put crack in it or something!) Yum!

After we greeted Omar, enjoyed our breakfast view, coffee and heavenly french toast at Xtabi we decided it was time to head into town and get our shopping out of the way. We headed to Times Square and purchased our obligatory coffee, rum cakes and cigars. The good thing about coming to Jamaica so often is that you don’t really have much by way of souvenirs to purchase anymore, so we were pretty much in and out of Times Square. Made a quick stop at the ATM there and then back out to our scooters.

Now that we were down on the beach road, I figured we should try to find some of our beach friends. At this point I knew of Daisy and Markus (and now Guirigay and SweetiePie had joined them at their current residency on the beach) Spottycatz, and also The Booger, Pooper, Jizzy combo. So we decided to pay the Booper/Jizzys a visit since they had just moved in the previous day and we hadn’t seen them since they left Catcha. So we headed on over to Country Country. The guard was nice enough to let us in so they could ring their room and announce us as guests. Of course it was the middle of the day so no, they were not in their room and I explained to her that I was sure they were down on the beach so she let us go check and sure enough there they were. So we chilled for a bit on the beach chatting and catching up on the previous night’s events.
You know how they always say if you sit on the beach long enough, eventually everything you need comes to you. Well I would say that is pretty true.....and if you are lucky, sometimes it even comes to you while swimming in the ocean.

First it was patties! Yum

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Then, later, it was even friends! Look who shows up

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Eventually a group of just Booger, Pooper, Jon, Tizzy, Marley and Ninja, grew to also include Daisy, Markus, Guirigay, Sweetie Pie, Spottycatz and Indy Bob and Cindy and all we had to do was sit there and wait for them to come to us

After that it was Red Stripes

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And then someone’s prayers were answered and the beer waitress even made special deliveries into the ocean....now THAT’S service!

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We were all having such a good time that I didn’t even notice the REALLY dark clouds rolling in. I was laughing and drinking and then the thought came to me.....We are on scooters! So I turned to Ninja and said “ummmmm looking at the sky we better get on our scooters and get back up to Catcha before that is no longer an option” He agreed and so we quickly said our goodbyes and made plans to meet back up in a few hours at Canoe for the Thursday night webcast.

We gulped down our drinks, hurried out to the front, got on our scooters and headed back up the cliffs to Catcha. It started raining soon after we arrived so we went and chilled on our porch for a bit until it was time to get ready and head out to Canoe.

It was still raining a little when we decided to head to Canoe so we called a cab to take us down. On our way out of Catcha we saw Sweetness walking on the side of the road so we told our driver to stop and pick her up and even though it looked as if she were heading back to Catcha, we convinced her to join us at the party at Canoe, which she did with very little arm pulling.

When we arrived the party was well underway and all the usual suspects were there. Soon the birthday boy (Jon) and posse arrived by water taxi, moments later Spottycatz and IndyBob and Cindy arrived, then Daisy and Markus, and so on. Greeney and his steel drum band were playing sweet sounds and everyone was enjoying themselves. I decided I needed to order a drink to match my shirt (as a nod to Patty S.) so I ordered the Blue Canoe

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And it was gooooooooood!

Next thing you know the waitress brings out a “Special” cake for Jon and the steel drums play Happy Birthday while everyone sings. I remember watching him “blow out the candle” and the smile on his face was priceless. I later remember saying to him “This is pretty much the worst birthday you’ve ever had, right?” hahahahahaha

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After we all sang happy birthday, Mr Spottycatz joined Rasta Stan and the steel drum band and sang Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”

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That is still one of my favorite Mr Spottycatz moments. I can look at that photo and instantly be transported back to that night in that spot watching him sing and dance while everyone else joined in. This was a fun night for sure!

After that I joined Rob for a few moments to read what all was going on in the chat and Markus and I gave everyone at home a quick view of our signature poses (“The Cinderella” and “Blue Steal”)

Markus and Daisy ordered some Lionfish and I forget what Ninja and I ordered. The Booper/Jizzy crew headed out and decided to head up to Catcha, so we told them we would be following them shortly and with that we convinced IndyBob and Cindy, Katho, wpyogi and +1 and Daisy and Markus to join us. We called the van to pick us up (the same one that took us all down to Bentleys) and once again we told him we would need to make one quick stop at Xtabi lol. Once Katho got her permission slip signed and whatever wpyogi had to do, we were all back on our way to Ivan’s.
Once we arrived at Ivan’s, Booper/Jizzy crew had already got the party started which they are quite good at and so we decided we needed what every good party needs..... Flaming Bob Marleys! So Kevin did the honors and made a big old round of those nasty flaming things. I remember once they were all lined up on the bar and flaming he hands us a straw and says “Suck it fast before the straw melts” and I just looked around at everyone and no one was doing anything. I said “Are you really supposed to put the straw in there and drink it while it is still flaming” He said “yes” and no one was disputing it....of course no one else was doing it either so I figured, “What the hell” and I did exactly what he said.....shouts and screams and camera flashes were everywhere and then shortly after the burn traveled all the way down my throat and I swear I could feel it actually enter my stomach. Yep, that’s the kind of shot that gets the party going.

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With that, Raul and I went back to our room to get our supplies for Pineapple Upside Down Cake shots, and we made a shot for everyone at the bar including the staff. Yum! Those things are good! Well they were really more like drinks than shots, but you get the idea

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After all of the shots we decided we wanted to do a “test run” on our chinese lanterns so I grabbed the ones I brought (about 10) and we all headed to the cliff edge to see if we could get them lit and launched. Before we did that, a couple of us wrote our wishes on our lanterns with a marker. Once we were at the cliffs we struggled a little with determining how to light them and exactly how long they needed to be lit before attempting to launch them.....the first one was a crash and burn but eventually we all got the hang of it and managed to get them launched. It was really cool and we all enjoyed that.

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Once all of our lanterns were launched several of the turtles thought it would be fun to do a night dive into the water....Barbara the manager at Catcha didn’t agree and she urged them all to get out of the water! Silly turtles

Ok so we have shut down Ivan’s, done several series of shots, launched chinese lanterns, gone for a night swim, what next? How about Eddies? Well of course, because that is where you go at the end of the night, isn’t it? For us it sure seems to be the trend, so we took a shift of several taxis and headed on over to our favorite neighborhood hangout. Eddie and Trevor were there to greet us as always. Dancing Ronnie was also there. This night was fun as all the other nights were and there is really not much more to say about that. Fun, drinking, laughing, story telling.......

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Who knows what time it even was, it was late but several of the crew weren’t phased and they continued on to MiYard...Ninja and I however headed back to Catcha and called it a night.
Another amazing, fun, crazy day in the books and still two more to go.....tomorrow....the Boardie Bash!


Tonight we got the chance to spend some more time with a couple of other boardies:

IndyBob - What a guy..... I am pretty sure his face has a permanent smile painted on it because I never saw him not smiling....and why wouldn’t he? I am pretty sure anyone would smile constantly if married to Cindy. But really, Bob, you are such a wonderful, friendly, fun-filled guy and it was really fun partying with you and your amazing wife, you guys crack me up and I look forward to spending more time with you both in the future!

Lurker Cindy - Oh what can I say about Tizzy’s long lost mom. I still remember when I first met her she came over to us at the table at Seastar and said “Hi, I’m Cindy....I’m a LURKER (using air quotes)” and it just stuck, from then on she was Lurker Cindy. And I really do think she and Tizzy may have been separated at birth. And just like I never saw Bob not smiling....I never saw Cindy NOT dancing! She dances to her own beat (even when there isn’t one....she doesn’t need a beat, there is always a song in her head and always a reason to dance!) You just got to love her zest for life, her free spirit and her “accents” that she speaks....even though her Jamaican accent and her Puerto Rican accent sound exactly the same.....Just love you lady! I feel like if you were around these two, that every minute of every day would be a non stop party!

Marley,
Is that french toast really only one order?! Omg, it looks sooo good,and French toast is my fave breakfast, were you able to finish all that goodness on that plate?!
The lanterns are such a nice idea! Love how you matched the drink to your shirt! Ha!

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Are you sure you drink? Were you drinking virgins the entire time? The details you remember are amazing........ That day is a tie with the Magic bus day as my favorite of the trip. We had an amazing day with Jizzy and it was fun filled with many friends throughout. SpottyCatz stepping up and singing his heart out with Rasta Stan was really cool and just made the day that much more killer...
And those Marley shots will just be a memory, as the one I did that night nearly killed me and I am done with those. It came out just as fast as it went in, pure gasoline. And that pic with you and Rob reminds me how lucky Ninja really is, great pic. And how can you not close out a great day with Eddie and Friends?

[QUOTE=Eden;58256]Marley,
Is that french toast really only one order?! Omg, it looks sooo good,and French toast is my fave breakfast, were you able to finish all that goodness on that plate?!
The lanterns are such a nice idea! Love how you matched the drink to your shirt! Ha!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by marley9808

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Yes that is one order!!! French Toast is my favorite too, have always loved it and since the first time I had it at Xtabi (2007) I have NEVER had another that has come close to it. I just don't know what it is that makes it so good, but it is the best! You will have to give it a try and let me know if you agree.....and oh yes I finished that whole plate.....thats almost the only time I can finish a meal in Jamaica but I NEVER let that go to waste. I was sad that I only had it ONCE on this past trip....that is unusual for me, I will have to make up for it in December lol

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Originally Posted by booger

Are you sure you drink? Were you drinking virgins the entire time? The details you remember are amazing........ That day is a tie with the Magic bus day as my favorite of the trip. We had an amazing day with Jizzy and it was fun filled with many friends throughout. SpottyCatz stepping up and singing his heart out with Rasta Stan was really cool and just made the day that much more killer...
And those Marley shots will just be a memory, as the one I did that night nearly killed me and I am done with those. It came out just as fast as it went in, pure gasoline. And that pic with you and Rob reminds me how lucky Ninja really is, great pic. And how can you not close out a great day with Eddie and Friends?

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Of course I drink....you saw me drinking (though you probably don't remember it) But funny enough as much as I drink I rarely get drunk in Jamaica....I am not sure why, but I am definitely not complaining. And you know those Blue Canoes weren't virgins.....YOU were the one who told me not to order it because it was TOO STRONG! hahahahaha But I thought they were rather tasty! lol
I know....I loved the day too, but I loved them all honestly. I do think that will have to go down in the books as one of his best birthdays for sure. We always had a blast with this group of folks and I remember all of it because I never wanted to forget a single moment, I wanted this trip to last forever, even if only in my memories!
Thanks for the compliment.....you better be flattering me because you know how upset I am with you right now, Booger. I already told you I wasn't talking to you and here I am replying....
(LOL only kidding of course)

And yeah, I think Eddie's will always be the signature close to every good night!

The party SHOT. Not even gonna try and pinpoint my fav, but this was one of the best days/nights I can rememeber....as in EVER. I'm so glad someone (YOU) remembers everything accurately cause I sure as hell dont. LOL

Jon sure seemed to enjoy himself on his bday lol....but how could you not with a friend like Booger. LOL

You guys came through on the cake shots! That was the shiz

Anyways, great recap of a great day!!! Great pics. I look terrible but soooo happy w Eddie! LOL

Hey Mom! (I know you're lurking and dancing about) HAHAHAHAHAHA

P.S. A lot of those pics are courtesy of Katho because most of my pics from this day (inlcuding a KILLER shot of the flaming Bob Marleys) was on the camera we lost.
Let this be a lesson to all, to try and download / upload / save / copy over all photos at the end of every day if you have that option so if you lose your camera you won't also lose all of your photos....that is my biggest regret and definitely our best lesson from this trip!

But luckily there were many other cameras snapping around! Thanks Katho

Dude...MY biggest regret is you losing that camera. LOL I'm just giving you a hard time, but you're right that's a great idea. i'm taking notes but once I'm there it's another story hahaha and I would probably not think to do it....but thank god for OP's! LOL Katho caught so much action omg, her pics are amazing too. Props Katho!

Would have liked to see the flaming marley pic, i love those shots. Love the CHEERS pic at Ivans. Good stuff, wish we were on our way there now....hmmm. :rolleyes:

Yeah Tizzy, I wish that too :)

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Originally Posted by TizzyATX

Dude...MY biggest regret is you losing that camera. LOL I'm just giving you a hard time, but you're right that's a great idea. i'm taking notes but once I'm there it's another story hahaha and I would probably not think to do it....but thank god for OP's! LOL Katho caught so much action omg, her pics are amazing too. Props Katho!

Would have liked to see the flaming marley pic, i love those shots. Love the CHEERS pic at Ivans. Good stuff, wish we were on our way there now....hmmm. :rolleyes:

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We all need to bust out the credit cards and just do it. I'm in.....,,