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

Well by now it should come as no surprise to anyone on this message board, that a whole bunch of us went to Negril at the end of April, or that we had an EPIC time, or that we all fell in love with each other, or that we laughed til we cried or partied til we dropped, or that Tizzy had a great time with Jon, lol. In fact, this should all be so well documented by now that I actually just thought my trip report would be that I would write “Yep, what they said” on everyone else’s report and just call it done! LOL But then I started reading everyone else’s reports and I realized how fun it was re-living everything just by reading theirs and so now I am in. If you are tired of hearing our stories, sorry, and it is probably best you stop reading this now. However, if you want to see yet one more view of this trip, then please join me in my report.

Marley’s disclaimer:

What I can promise you this report will NOT have- writing skills like that of Clarity and Markus or Guirigay, photography skills like Sweetie Pie and Katho or Sweetness, so I cannot promise it will be as entertaining or as beautiful as theirs, sorry!

What I can promise you this report WILL have- a completely accurate account of each day’s activities, I remember every day, where we went and what we did (that might not be such a good thing for some LOL), photos, grammatical errors and misspelled words (whenever Ninja posts) lol, edits made shortly after by Marley, lol

What I would like to ask of all who were involved: If you were there and interacted during any of this report, I urge you to chime in and add your account of the day, activities, or events as I and Ninja describe them, also if you have photos to add, please do so as well….I figured this could serve as a group or team effort, might be fun!

So if you are ready, I will get started :)

Day 1: Saturday April 22, 2012

The day started for us around 7am, after what was probably only about 3 hours sleep, we awoke, showered, got last minute things packed, and headed to Orlando for our direct flight to MoBay…..oh but first things first…..we had to be sure that we had packed ALL of the necessities for our trip. Let’s see, sunscreen-check, bathing suits-check, flip flops-check, clothes, passports, money-check, check, check….WAIT!!!!!!!!! We CAN’T forget the most important thing…..that’s right, the CAKE VODKA….never leave home without it!

Attachment 14320

Ok, NOW we are all set! So off to Orlando, about an hour drive and we park our car and get on the bus to take us to the airport. As I take my seat on the bus, I look up and see a sign that says “Your driver’s name is……………


Attachment 14321

That’s right…LUCIANO…..our bus driver just happens to have the same name as the Reggae Artist we will be seeing that very night in Negril at Seastar Inn….how cool is that? So Luciano drops us at the airport and we breeze through check in and security and soon we are off….one hour and 27 minutes later we are in paradise….but as soon as we get off the plane we are greeted by the longest line at customs and immigration that I have ever seen, it took us a little over an hour to get through it (almost the same amount of time it took us to fly there). Well we finally make it outside and I scan the crowd for Chicken, he is usually hard to miss, tall guy, usually front and center with a BIG smile….I don’t see him, I scan the crowd some more and a guy says “Who are you looking for” and I say “Chicken” and then this young boy gets all excited and starts waving the familiar sign at me that says “Chicken’s Magic Bus” “Hi I’m Ricky” he says, “Chicken’s son, and your friends are this way……” He points to Groovy Grouper and I immediately recognize Guirigay who is seated facing me with his familiar straw hat. Sweetie Pie and Tizzy cannot see me as their backs are to me. At first I felt Guirigay was looking straight at me so I waved, but when he didn’t respond I realized he has not seen me yet, so I walked over to the side, right up next to them, by the railing where they were sitting and I didn’t say a word and then just like that all 3 of them look over at me and in unison SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so loud and shocking that I jumped back a bit and everyone in a large radius was looking our way. I bet they were all thinking “What is going on over there….why are they screaming at her” And then in a blink they all jumped up and came running for a hug. I think the first was Tizzy…or maybe Guirigay that part I am not sure of but what I am sure of is that with all 3 hugs, I remember thinking that these were not hugs that you give strangers who you have never met…..these were real quality hugs, the kind you give your family that you haven’t seen in years but have been dying to see and HUG!

And with that enormous and unforgettable greeting, Chicken brought the Magic Bus around, loaded our stuff and we were off….Chicken driving, Ricky playing bartender, Tizzy, Guirigay and Sweetie Pie, and Marley and Ninja, on our way to Negril…..the trip we had all been counting down to, messaging about, posting about, dreaming about…..it was finally here! And we were off……oh, well that is with one short stop. We needed to hit up Digicel so Guirigay and Tizzy could get some Jamaican cell phones….and I needed some minutes for mine, so we made a quick stop at the Digicel store on the Hip Strip……well, it was SUPPOSED to be a QUICK stop……..and so this begins what I now refer to as the “LONGEST but MOST fun trip to Negril ever” Just for reference, our flight landed at 2:42pm, we arrived in Negril at Seastar a little after 7:30pm!
LMAO

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by marley9808

What I can promise you this report WILL have- a completely accurate account of each day’s activities, I remember every day, where we went and what we did (that might not be such a good thing for some LOL), photos, grammatical errors and misspelled words (whenever Ninja posts) lol, edits made shortly after by Marley, lol

---

HAHAHAHAHAHA, bring it, girl! At least someone has a clear memory of the maddness!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wpyogi

HAHAHAHAHAHA, bring it, girl! At least someone has a clear memory of the maddness!

---

SO she claims. I have Tizzy on stand by for all fact checking......

I'm really looking forward to this one. :cool:

Absolutely excited to read your report! YAY!!!

And so it begins~~ YIPPIE!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by booger

SO she claims. I have Tizzy on stand by for all fact checking......

I'm really looking forward to this one. :cool:

---

Yeah cause MY memory of these events is just clear as day. LOL

Marley, my sista, this is gonna be so good....I love thinking about that day. ;)

All spokes can now link to the hub... :)

This should be good ....

I can't wait to read this. Some great times!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Disclaimer!!!

Got my olive oil chips and red stripe and ready!!!!

That was a tease. Need more info and pics please.

Day1: Saturday April 22, 2012
NINJA's 2Cents

I can tell you what you will get from me. Miss spelling and bad grammer, hardly any punctuation, sarcasm, comedic relief and well come colorfulness.

As usual I tend to pack my stuff at a time that could be best address as the we hours of the night/morning. So sleep isnt one of my forte's when heading into a travel day. Surprisingly I had packed a lot of my stuff in the week (something I never do, maybe Marley's rubbing off on me). We had spent the night watching the Marley movie and getting all our shi... stuff together. Being mid level veterans of trips to Jamaica we had lists to check (twice) and luggage to weigh. Note to the many who will be reading this (I say many cuz my goal is to get ALOT OF VIEWS - dig) a good idea while traveling is to purchase a portable scale to weigh the bags. Though some bags come with overweight detectors they cant tell you how over weight. Just so happens Marley and Ninja are so in tune they had an exact weight amount (and yes I referred to myself in the 3rd person it happens). So needles to say (why say that if it is needless) we got NO sleep.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed we headed to Otown as Marley has said and the trip was pretty uneventful (we did make one stop at 711 to get 5 hour energy drink because we knew when we hit JA it would be ON). Now Marley has skipped a rather delight bit of information that we both had to FB when we got on the plane. Our stewardess' name was wait for it... POPCORN. Let me tell you something I love my parents with all my heart, and neigh do I ever wish them harm (yes i said neigh thats how I roll). But if they had ever named me POPCORN I think I would have Menedezed them along time ago. The lovely, oops Im sorry I said stewardess that was my mistake, FLIGHT ATTENDANT Popcorn was rather nice. She seemed competent to handle the this flight with the exception of one thing I'll get too right after this commercial break. NOTE: If you are traveling to a foreign country be sure to grab yourself a pen so you h ave it handy to fill out customs forms cuz no ones apt to lend you theirs, FYI Popcorn was nice enough to inform us one form per last name. I made some side joke as we walked in to be seated that me and the lady in front of me had the same last name. We werent related but how luck was that. Popcorn laughed. But I think that was a courtesy laugh but I'll take it. Of course I tell you this thing about the forms to then tell you that she was wrong we needed one per person thus making our wait in the line longer because as I was filling out my form it seemed like 3 more plans landed and extended our line.

As we waited in line Marley found herself looking in line to see if our fellow boardies, Guirigay, Tizzy and Sweetie Pie were unlucky to be stuck too, alas no but this facilitate time for Guirigay to have a couple drinks ;). Now we made it through, B-lined it as fast as we can out and looked for Chicken. I'm a tad bit more observant than my lovely lovely wife so I was able to see Chickens sons sign before anyone had to point him out but was to slow to say there it is before my wife answered someone asking who we were looking for. Ricky pointed us towards the other boardies and Marley and I made dash for them. Now I will be honest here, 2 things: 1) as you know I'm not that prevalent on the board as my better half is so I am less involved with the people on the board but I generally like most people or at least can stomach them and B) at times in my life I can be shy, stand offish, quiet/subdued and some might say like a prickly german (sorry inside joke). So once all 3 people screamed at seeing Marley I made a quiet retreat to the bathroom. I did have to though so I wasnt leaving just cuz. I had to prepare my self mentally to not be what I described above. Marley had been anticipating meeting everyone and though I was too, She's spends alot of time on the board helping people, reading things and generally conversing so she really kinda knows everyone. I spend less time so I generally kinda stay in the back ground. However when I emerged from the HEAD, I was now ready to say hi and did thus that and was happy to find I wouldnt need to be my usual shadow self. Everyone was generally happy to see us and rearing to get our asses to NEGRIL. Marley kinda covered the trip in (the longest trip to negril ever), but it was so much fun. Between Digicel (and losing tizzy to the craft market), Biggas (yum biggas) we caught our first sunset of the vacation (7 more of those to see) anticipated meeting everyone else.

There is that moment when you feel what if you hate these people or even so what if they hate you. Let me tell you after the first night I didnt have to worry about that the rest of the trip. Next we wait to see if I get the red pen treatment. ;)

Some in bound trip imagesAttachment 14339Attachment 14340Attachment 14341

NIIIIIN JA..... in the house! That's whats up!!!

Bring it, Ninja-san...

Woo hoo!!! Marley AND Ninja reporting!! Tag teaming it, I love it!!:D
Loved the disclaimer in the beginning! lol
I'm so excited that someone remembers the order of the events that unfolded! It's getting all muddled in my head already!
Your trip report will become the April 2012 boardie week bible for everyone to refer to for accuracy. haha

Can't wait to read more!!
Miss you guys!!!:o

Ha! Yeah well......we learned that tag-team style from the best!

Miss you guys too!
I did the Cinderella yesterday and thought of you both! LMAO

I will post more tonight!
Speaking of posting more...........

;)

Love ya all!

Ninja,
Are you speaking into a mic on your computer and using transcribing software to write your report? Because reading it feels like I am standing next to you having a conversation. Too cool......:cool:

Good, you hear it too Booger! :)

Nope....that is his writing style ;)

Now let’s see, there were five total stops before we made it to our resort that evening, and like I previously said it was the LONGEST ride to Negril I have ever been on (even back when the road was so bad and it took longer than it does now), but I never complained…not once, nor did Chicken or anyone else for that matter, we had a blast. Our first stop, like I already mentioned, was at Digicel on the Hip Strip. But instead of us just popping in and grabbing some phones, this experience was much more like a first stop on a pub crawl. Chicken pulled the bus up to the store and everyone got off except Ninja, he remained on the bus (probably because he did not need anything from Digicel and didn’t expect the trip inside would take that long). Everyone else, with their Red Stripes in hand, entered the store like a whirlwind…..of course you have to know that Guirigay and SweetiPie had already been at the bar waiting for us for over 2 hours and Tizzy, maybe 1, so they had already had a few, so to speak. So, in this group walks, beers in hand, still all talking a mile a minute about how happy we were to be there, how we couldn’t believe it all, how cold it is in Michigan, how some of us hate the cold, how cold weather is fine if you have proper clothing lol….all sorts of discussions. There were probably only 2 other customers in the store but yet we still spent AT LEAST 45 minutes in there getting phones and minutes….Jamaica time for sure, but honestly not once did I feel I was in a store buying anything, it straight up felt like we were socializing at a bar…and so it begins. They get their phones and I was the first to call them both, from then on I became the official phone- number –haver! “Marley, what’s my phone number again” was a phrase I heard a lot.

Tizzy mentions that she needs a cambio and one just happened to be right next door so I pointed her in that direction. Soon after, Guirigay, SweetiePie and I get back on the bus, poor Ninja had been there all the while waiting on us. So we are waiting and Chicken says “Where is Tizzy?” I said “She is in the cambio” and right then I look and see, she is not there. He says “I think she went down that alley with those ladies, you should probably go get her” Well Guirigay offered to go get her and soon she was back in the bus safe and sound (With most of her souvenir shopping already complete LOL)..And we were off! (again). A mere 10-15 minutes later we hear a distress call from somewhere in the bus….you know the one….”Bathroom break needed!” But can you blame them really?!?!? Afterall, they had already consumed probably a case of red stripe by this point, so we made the next pitstop down the road. And it happened to be at a rum bar, so what do you get while stopping at a rum bar to use the restroom….well RUM, of course! And Guirigay did…..but not only did he get rum, he got some Stones Ginger wine to share with his new family..US! Yum! So that stop lasted only about 15-20 minutes, which was an improvement from the hour we spent on the Hip Strip….but hey, at least we were out of MoBay by this point! So now on the road again! Talking, laughing, drinking, occasionally pausing to look out the windows and determine where we were. LUCEA! At that point I realized it was time to shout out to Chicken that we definitely needed a stop at Biggas, and of course he agreed! So the next stop, Green Island, for Biggas. Unfortunately Bigga was not there, and Guirigay was mighty disappointed by that, but we did get to meet MRS. Bigga and she was delightful. We got the jerk pork for a change and it was delicious, I finished mine before we even got back in the bus and I was sad, but then again, I knew we would be at the SeaStar Inn buffet not long from then so it was the perfect snack. Back on the bus and off we go, now we are in the home stretch….pass Orange Bay and then that familiar sign! Welcome to Negril! We all cheered loudly and just about that time we noticed it was sunset time, it was like we all spotted it at the same moment and let out an “Oooooooooooooooh” So with that, Chicken pulled over right where there was a clearing and we watched our first Negril Sunset of the trip, the five of us together….and it surely did not disappoint. Once we were satisfied, we were back on the road. As we passed all of the familiar places we shouted them out…”Margaritaville! Seasplash! CoCo La Palm! Grand Pineapple! Alfreds! Canoe! Mi Yard! Blue Cave! Xtabi!”

Now we were on the best end...the west end! We dropped off Guirigay and SweetiePie at their place and told them to get settled in and then catch a ride up to Seastar and join us at the party, they agreed and so we said a quick, bye for now! Later I told most people I would be surprised if they made it to Seastar because when we dropped them off I was REALLY seeing the effects of all that Red Stripe and traveling on Guirigay!

Next stop was for Miss Tizzy, she was staying at Catcha! I was so happy to see my home, but I didn’t get out, we would not be checking into Catcha until tomorrow, so we let her out and told her to get checked in and freshened up and then head up to Seastar. See you soon!

Then the bus turns down that familiar lane and we head up to Seastar. By this time the party was in full effect and the place was PACKED. It was 7:30pm or maybe even a bit later. We got out and Chicken and Ricky took our bags to the front desk for check in. Chris, the owner, greeted us even though they were in full gear for the show, buffet, and party! He quickly checked us in and took us to our room. I actually saw some of our boardie friends when we walked in but they all had their backs to us and missed us coming in completely so we snuck off to get checked into our room. We had originally booked Room 5 which I was excited about because Daisy had told me it was a good room and right across from their favorite room, which was #3. But I guess there was some mix up, maybe because we had only booked one night in room 5 and had done so probably 6 months previously…so anyways, Chris put us in Room 6. I noticed the mistake and said “We were supposed to be in Room 5” but then I realized, you know what…no big deal, it had two beds instead of one but we were only there one night and probably would not be doing much sleeping anyways! I was right! So we checked in and I could not wait to get back out there and hug some of my long lost family (you know, the ones I had never officially met)

**Now I am going to pause here and take a second to talk about the first family members we met on this trip, the ones we shared this monumental and unforgetable trip to Negril with! It has been described before but cannot fully be understood until you live it. I said almost immediately that never in my life before had I met people who I felt like I knew before I ever even had met them. It was almost like (as Sweetie Pie had described) a blind date - with over 100 people. I recognized them from photos, I knew their likes/dislikes, their traveling histories, where they were from and other small or large details of their lives.....the only thing I didn't know was what it was like to be in their actual presence.....well guess what? It was JUST as great as I thought it would be! It was truly like being reunited with long lost family members, and Guirigay, SweetiePie and Tizzy were my first taste of this!

Tizzy - Imagine a small little package with a HUGE personality and an even larger Excitement for life and just having a good time...and that is Tizzy.....it is IMPOSSIBLE to not smile, laugh or have a good time when you are around this woman. And the funny thing is, you might originally think she is just the average typical, good body, nice rack party girl without a brain. But she is not! She is smart, funny, sweet, caring and so very loveable. She is nothing you expect her to be and everything you could want her to be. And the funny thing is, I knew this all almost instantly after meeting her, when she jumped up and gave me that great big old hug I knew I liked her, and I knew I always would!

Sweetie Pie- The first thing you will notice about Sweetie Pie is her eyes....they are beautiful, mesmerizing, gorgeous....much like she is. The second thing you will notice, very soon after, is why her man calls her Sweetie Pie...because she truly is. You might at first think she is shy or quiet but when you get to know her you can have some pretty amazing talks about just about everything. She is so sweet and kind and very knowledgeable, though you may miss some of the things she says if you are looking at her, because those eyes.....oh Guirigay, you are in trouble man...just surrender now...but I can see, you already have! Sweetie Pie...I REALLY enjoyed our talks, and I also really enjoyed getting to know you and building our friendship, I also loved talking and thinking about your future with Guirigay....you two make me smile every time I think of you.

Guirigay- What can I say about Guiri, so many things really. His excitement and enthusiasm overshadowed most everything else at the beginning of this trip, and it was so hard not to get sucked into it....but why wouldn't you want to be? There was a calm and relaxed smile he seemed to ALWAYS have on his face no matter what was going on, and his eyes are so welcoming. He makes you feel like he loves you the moment he meets you. In fact, because of that I think that was why I felt so instantly connected to this group from the moment we arrived. He just has this way about him that makes you feel as if you have known him your whole entire life. And it is such a comforting feeling. You just can't help but love this guy.....pretty much instantly!

Photos from our stop at Biggas (the photo with Guirigay, Marley and Ninja AND Mrs Bigga is courtesy of SweetiePie)

Attachment 14358

Attachment 14359

I wondered what happened to my balcony mates... Room 3 is killer and I'm sure room 5 is more of the same.......

Yeah....I am not really sure what happened....but there was no real reason to sweat it....room #6 is a fine room too!

You kids crack me up.............. keep the laughs a comin:) yall have such a good memory! Ican bearly recall some things until i read what you and the gang have wrote in your reports and im like . O yeah we were there, now i remember!!!!!!!!!!!: Thanks for saving some brain cells to remember with:)lol.....xxooIndy Cindy

So when I got out of the room and walked out, by that time they were all sitting around a table. I looked and I immediately saw Patty and Kopper, Daisy and Markus, and Dawn and +1……and so I just ran up to the table and did a sort of “Tah-dah, I am here” motion. And then there was a similar reaction to the one at the airport. Yells and laughs and hugs and greetings. I was dressed in head to toe Marley gear just so everyone would know who I was! Again, this time the hugs were all great and genuine. I felt at home with family instantly. But I also felt it was time to go back and freshen up and get dressed for the party. So I excused myself and Ninja and I returned to the room to get dressed. We were back in a flash because I was super eager and excited to spend more time with everyone. When I came back to the table I was instantly greeted by Joe and Manda….I was so happy to see them!

Attachment 14353

After the warm welcome from those two party animals I realized that Ninja and I hadn't paid for the buffet yet so we headed over to the table to pay and get our wristbands. While there I looked over and noticed Rob and Lisa and I waved. As I was paying for us I heard some obnoxiously loud guy talking to Ninja. I turned around and there was some dude talking and laughing. I did not know who he was. I had never seen him before, he was not familiar looking at all. So I just sort of stared at him. That is when Ninja says to me "It's Booger" Now honestly, that is probably the last person I expected this guy to be. But I said "Hey Booger" and I gave him a hug and at that moment he spilled his Red Stripe all down the side of my dress......I just laughed and thought to myself, I could think of no better way to meet Booger for the first time! He was nothing like I had expected him to be but everything like I had expected him to be, if that makes sense!

After such a greeting I returned to our table. Booger and his wife and friend were over by the bar, I believe, and our table was closer to the entrance and nearest the webcast table. I found out later that there was another table closer to the bar where Rasta Stan and Betty, and the SpottyCatz and IndyBob and Cindy were, but at this moment I just knew about our table.

We decided to head to get some food. About the time we returned to our table Tizzy had joined the party and was received just as happily and easily as we were. Introductions all around again. Then moments later...Guirigay and SweetiePie! And I was so happy to see them, as I had mentioned before, I was a little worried they would not make it to the party after all of the Red Stripes set in! But they were there! And now it was a party!

We did a WHOLE LOT of this..

Attachment 14354

And as we sat there eating, drinking, talking, laughing....more boardies came by. We met Sandie, Booger's wife...then Jon (there will be plenty more on that meeting later from others....ahem), Indy Bob and Cindy who came over to our table and informed us all that she was a "LURKER" We met Mr SpottyCatz who was not hard to spot in his fabulous Hippy Pants...and later Mrs. Spottycatz who is just as cool, hippy pants or not! Rasta Stan and Betty...Babalew! And probably even some more....it was like being in the perfect storm of boardies and fun and excitement and I am thrilled to death that I was a part of it too!

Markus seemed to share my excitement as well :)

Attachment 14355

Woooohoooo, this is fantastic. Keep it coming < insert popcorn eating emoticon here> :p

"It's Booger" Now honestly, that is probably the last person I expected this guy to be. But I said "Hey Booger" and I gave him a hug and at that moment he spilled his Red Stripe all down the side of my dress......"

Glad you do not put to much weight in first impressions..........:o

I have never laughed so hard at a boardie post. Tears running down my face. Sweetie Pie just tested me for dampness.

As I was paying for us I heard some obnoxiously loud guy talking to Ninja...

You're a good sport, Boogs, thanks for playing :)

On the other end of the tear spectrum, Marley, thank you. Sweetie Pie loves you too.

Lol

Kisses to Sweetie Pie!

Love this...keep it coming! Dennis and I wondered what happened before we arrived...wow! Lol

Lol!!! Love it!!:d

I wish we had a "like/love" button! I will admit that I am a little green though! Maybe I should get another Red Stripe!

:D Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahhahahahahahhahahah ahahahahahhahahha............................snort ......................hahahahahahahahahahahahhahah

MARLEY!!!!! Hahahahahahhaha.....Gosh it was like i was back there ....the excitment is still there ...what a night of Magic!!!!!!!! It is so fun reading everyones discription of each other! LOL!!!!! and sometimes the events seem to change depending whos telling it and the state of consciousness:rolleyes:

This is great!! Were you keeping notes? lol! Amazing detail ;)

Also LOVE the thread title, lol!!

Ninja/Marley,
What are you waiting on? Seriously I need more. Carry on please............

Day1: Saturday April 22, 2012
NINJA's 2Cents
----------------------------------------------------------------

My wife is gonna laugh at my next statement but she'll understand what I mean in a minute. I'm a guy who at times is reserved (insert laugh track by Marley). What I mean by this is when I meet new people especially a large group, and especially if my wife knows them better I turn down the NINJA a bit. I can be sarcastic, digging and I never forget anything you do that I find amusing and I will bring it back up over and over in a dry one liner or an elaborate story just to sting you. I mean nothing by it. I simply like to laugh and I can take it as much as I give it, but like everyone I have sensitive subjects. SO when I meet people I don't know I try not to be THAT guy just yet. Let them like me first then you can hate me in that I like him but he's got the sarcasm dripping off of him.

I say all this to start with our trip to Digicel. See chicken was nice enough to get Marley what she needed for her phone well because that's the man he is, however we discovered as we waited to get on the CB that others in the group needed to get phones. Chicken without a care in the world save making us happy made was happy to takes us to Digicel.

OK quick back story that terribly unnecessary but as my wife will confirm I like to talk. Last year for our one year I NEEDED to surprise my wife with something or rather someone. Anyone who has read last year's TR they know what it was. I wanted to get a phone last year so I could converse with this person without having to let my wife in on the little secret. Well needless to say I didn't get the phone but still manage to pull off the surprise. OK back to our regularly scheduled EPIC story.

So as we stopped to go into the Digicel store. I went in to the store with everyone decided if I wasn't need here I would excuse myself. I asked my wife if she wanted me to get a phone she said no (hindsight had I had a phone she could have called me when the incident happened on sunday { story to come}). Anyway, (drawn out anyway followed by long pause) I opted to remove one unnecessary person from the group in the small store. Honestly I was still in that observation mode. This is the mode where I engage less with people. I don't initiate conversations if I do they are quick. I don't get directly into the group discussion unless I need to and I gather as much information as possible before I decide whether the person I'm talking to is someone I want to have a long conversation with (for note sake this mode didn't stay long). I sat in the bus just observing mostly and drinking. Waiting for my fellow bus mates, just taking it all in.


----------

I will take this moment to do what my lovely wife did and give first impressions.

Tizzy is a bundle of pure energy ( even later when she lost her iPhone she never seemed to miss a beat). If you allow yourself to get past the fact that she is from TEXAS, just kidding Tz, you'll find that the statement everything's bigger in Texas is a direct statement about her person and less about her stature. She's like what 5'2 in heels ( again kidding it probably more like 5') but her aura, personality, chi or what ever you want to call it is 7' tall. She got a charisma of 20+5, thats for you nerds out there. But if you get past all of bigger than life Tz you'll find she simply a great mom, a good listener and all about being the best Tizzy she can be.

Sweetie Pie is quiet but not in the way you may think. Everything with her is never loud. Which make it easier to engage her because you really have to listen. As anyone can tell you I have a voice you can hear if I was buried alive 6' under and under a concrete slab. Sweetie Pie would be the antithesis to me. Her tone and conversation quality is rather calming. She like my wife when it comes to being a focal point. Someone to focus a person when they are trying to multitask but failing epically. Which well Guirigay needed a couple times this trip :). I wont comment on her eyes because I can't do them any more justice than Marley did.

Guirigay, what to say about my flop competitor. If anyone one engaged me the most on the trip in it was him, at least initially. His energy funny enough is a little between the whirlwind that Tizzy is and the cool breeze that Sweetie Pie is. He seemed drunk first off but I would never hold that against him. He had that sliver eyed look people get when they are what my mom calls sweet (I call tipsy). I have to say it was our fault since they all were waiting for us. Guirigay has that intellectual quality you might mistake for a feeling of superiority if you didn't take a second to LISTEN to him. For the most part he's a smart ass much like myself but has a very kind heart. He's one of those guys that has always been a nice guy but realized they tend to finish last but instead of letting that deter him he just became a smart ass nice guy ( i know the type all to well, I look at that type every time I shave). Once you get past his disarming charm and fun you get to talk soup with him and well genuinely learn something.

Marley - I know you're thinking why in gods name does he need to write about his wife. My wife hates people. I say this because people need to be hated. They are obnoxious, self centered and genuinely in their own world and inconsiderate. If I have no patience for people she has -100. However when she gets in Negril and around people she really likes she lights up like a firefly and I can’t help but love her more if thats possible. She always has everyone's best interest at heart and even when she makes a mistake she only wants to remedy the problem. She’s really the opposite of the majority of people. Anyone who comes down on her, insults her or talks about her behind her back will eventually have to deal with me and even though I'm nice, I really am not that nice.

Watching her on the bus ride was like watching a thousand million fireflies. I could see she really loved these people and if they're okay with her then they'll be okay with me. She's so beautiful isn't she...
----------

Ok now that I said that I will admit that none of this was immediately discerned so as far as the trip to Negril was concerned I was with the Big Boobed Texan energizer bunny, the quiet yet stunning photojournalist, the drunk guy and the Queen of Negril. I say this with all the love I have for each and everyone of you.

After Guirgay had to rescued Tizzy from spending every dime of the moneys she converted in the cambio we piled on the bus and headed out of MoBay.
Quick note Guirigay makes the hat story seem way cooler than I thought it was so I thank him for that. When we stopped at Biggas the fact that they didn't have chicken ready but had pork made it the best stop on the way. Chowing down on Jerk pork with a little red stripe and the random sip of stone wine was like heaven.

I’m going to fast fwd to Sea Star Inn mainly because I want my wife to start writing her next part and really she covered the ride in. For my part let’s just say by the time we reached Sea Star I was out of observation mode at least for now.

When we reached Sea Star it was already dark and the party had started. Marley and I bought two 5 hour energy drinks anticipating the amount of tired we would be when we got to the party. So we got signed in and decided to head to say hi to everyone we just snuck by on our way in. The mix up with the rooms really wasn’t that big a deal as it was for one night and we just really needed a place to lay our heads. It probably wouldn’t be that long of a head resting anyway. The room was fine, but the only thing I noticed was that the mach 5 fan was awfully close to normal people arm reach (this will be important somewhere around 4 in the morning. Marley wanted to say hi to everyone in her Marley gear so we postponed changing to go say hi.

I have to admit meeting everyone was like a whirlwind there was a Patty, Kopper, Beachgirl, Clarity and Hubby man, a Spotty Kat and on and on. As my wife points out the funniest intro was still Boogers not so much because he was drunk but more because I only slight knew who he was and I think I gave him the so what face when he said I’m Booger. Luckily for me he was halfway in the bottle and can’t quite remember that. In my defense I was back in observation mode and there were way too many people to meet. But I recovered as I introduced him to Marley and he christened her dress.

Ok I’m posting this now because I need to get my woman some food but I haven't spell, grammar or general sense making checked it yet so, You were pre warned by my wife who will tell me to correct it later ;)

Love it!!