well - been back a few days
i made it to negril - thinking the sea air would cure me. unfortunately i couldnt have been more wrong.. i was hacking, coughing, and just breathing sooo poorly in the airports, and airplanes, that when i got there - i truly didnt feel up to driving to negril - i had my two kids - and luggage, it was after 8pm, travelling all day, and i was just beat.. so i decided to just grab a ride outside the airport and worry about rental later. ill get back to that later.. so i am walking out of the terminal and a guys asks if i need a ride, he asked for $90, i said $60, he said 80,i said no kept movin the whole time, he said $70, i said ok.. not bad for 3 people i guess.. anyways we walk outside, and he is in this huge 20+ person bus.. mileage cant be great in that thing so i felt better about the price.. usually contact my regular driver for $60 though.. anyways, traffic was light, and the ride actually went pretty quick despite the size.. we got to the hotel - the normal security guard, i wont name, was waiting for me with my keys, and showed me in.. it was just b4 10 and the office was closed at the escape.. went in, dropped luggage.. kids and i head over to my newlywed friends room just behind me and say hi.. they said boy you dont sound good - i thanked them for the vote of confidence and visited for a spell.. went and fell almost immediately asleep to the sound of RE ch 90 music.. kids each had their own bed in the main room, and i had a bed in the 2nd bedroom - really worked out nice for us.. had a fridge brought in my room for just $5 a day.
unbelievably -i slept well, must have been tired cause it is very hard for me to sleep usually when i have chest congestion.. slept till nearly 8 am which again is just unheard of, even when i am healthy.. kids woke up shortly after - and we went by my friends to find them up and ready for breakfast as well. so we headed down to the included breakfast at the escape.. when the escape is not busy with guests they just give you a menu, and order -when they are busy they will just have a buffet style breakfast.. this trip it was menu the whole time.. we ordered the same basic thing everyday - because we loved it - french toast, eggs and bacon, orange juice, and a fruit plate with papaya pineapple orange and bannana slices.. excellent - every day - no exceptions - included in the room.. a tip for the staff each day i am sure is appreciated.. anyways - the happy couple decides they are gonna just relax at the hotel - although they have been before, they are still a bit green and were still warming up to the west end.. but i think they might have ventured to the minimart and down towards jam can - not sure - but the kids wanted beach - i felt like crap so i let them swin the pool for a bit - but i figured beach wouldnt hurt me either - but wasnt in for the higgle today.. so my perfect solution was canoe - i hadnt ever been there before - and it did take me a minute to find a nice path into the sea finding a route around the rockier areas, but after you figure it out - a very nice place to swim and relax, with excellent restuarant and bar service and just enough beach for my daughters to have fun.. it was a good choice.. even shade when u desire it.. had a nice time, despite my coughing.. man was it bad. we stayed most all afternoon, and then back to the escape to shower and have the kids get ready while i walk over and visit the neighbors who are on the porch relaxing.. they have decided that they will ask about a upgrade, they would like a ocean front, and i encouraged them to ask about it.. they agree they should - we decide to go and have supper at sharks.. we walked down and had some great supper - everyone was in the mood for jerk not having had any yet- so thats what we all got.. delicious as usual - as many great items on her menu - her jerk is still one of my favs - she has a sauce unlike others, and i cant get enough.. we all had a great time, but by this time i am not coughin so much - but you could hear the wheezing in my chest on every breath and even while talking my friends said.. we head back to the hotel - and i went to bed.. wheezed for a while - but did fall asleep and amazing - i slept most of the night..
Was up around 6 sitting on the porch looking at the ocean as it got bright in the sky.. the kids woke up about 8, my friends said i woke them up coughing around 7.. but they were smiling so i guess no foul.. anyways we he all headed to breakfast shortly after the kids rose, and agreed it was a beach day.. while the breakfast was being prepared each day, me and my girls would go look and sit on the cliffs edge and watch the sea crash into the cliffs.. a beautiful scene of rocks and crabs and pools rising and blow holes sea splash and the girls just couldnt get enough.. they really wanted to swim there so we tried to get in but the sea was rough enough and theyu were to timid to get far out that it really pushed them around the rocks more then they were comfortable.. no one got even a scratch, but it wasnt fun that day - too roiugh so we got out after just a few minutes.. the sea was smoother a couple days - but unfortunately they didnt want to try again, but after we got in the ocean, we went down to town so i could stop at the lexus barber shop and get a haircut.. that guys is a great barber.. lots of conversation going on too.. fun.. we got back with the friends, and got in the jungle bus for the free shuttle to the beach.. the normal driver i wont name is great - and asked us where we wanted to go.. me having no real preference said wherever - and maybe that was a mistake i was thinking cause dang he was gooing a long way down the beach, when we passed sandals i questioned him and he said we were going to the boardwalk... said the Wallaces also own it and it is nice.. so i said cool.. turns out it was nice.. quiet - very little to no higgling at all.. nice beach, trampoline in the sea - only problem is it just inst very deep there. 3-4 ft 100 ft out.. however deep enough we had a great time.. and the kids loved the trampoline.. i ordered them some kids meals from the bar $6 us for a nice chicken finger and fries meal +gct made it a little higher - not bad.. but i wanted roadside jerk so i passed on eating.. so when we were ready to go - i called a local driver i know and had him stop for chicken - blue dandy being my favorite - he wasnt out.. so my driver suggested best in the west - and i will say it was ok - there suace is spicy and i did like it, but blue dandy - it was not.. it was ok.. nuff said - but it was expensive at 11$us 1/2.. i probably wont eat there much.. so we head back to the hotel.. kids still feel like fish so they went swimming some more.. i sat on my porch and watched from afar.. before scolding, my kids have had swimming lessons since very young and swim better then i do these days.. i felt like crap but still - i wanted some ja food.. so after the kids cleaned up - we hopped in route cab and headed to town getting out at scotia and walking down to fries unlimited - ever since my youngest heard about it she wanted it.. so i got both girls some fries and a bigga, and sat them down at the concrete tables there by the bakery.. then i walked over to the soup man, and got a large bowl of chicken foot soup... i have grown to love this soup.. and my goodness this was good bowl.. lots of veggies..yummy.. then we went in the bakery and got some devon house ice cream - and it was ok.. my kids said as much - what can i say - i run a homeade ice cream parlor in the the midwest of the US, and i make the best ice creams in the world - homemade everyday - so they are acostomed to the best ; ) but we did enjoy having some ice cream.. fries unlimited hadnt had any chicken ready - i was pretty full from the late lunch and the early supper and eating girls fries: ) and dessert - so we just walked back to burger king so i could get the kids a couple burgers - and then jumped in another route cab back to the hotel.. again i am wheezing terrible - my good friend who i wont name had come by to see us while we were out - but had stuck around to visit my friends till i got back - i admit to my friends i had been coughing up some blood that evening.. my friend told me he would take me down to his pharmacist the next morning and get some medicine..
