"Welcome Home" the adventure I thought I was prepared for.

*DISCLAIMER* I by no means am a writer or have ever been good at English class so please try to over look any bad grammar, for this will not be amongst the greatest such as clarity and ninja and most all others not to leave any one out , Tanfastic, marley, tizz, cherry, gerry g, guiri, orchid, sweetness, spottycatz, booger, and sooo many more it is my intention to name all of you but I'm sorry I don't want to writes a thousand names... But they are all wonderful!!! Anywho... I do however have a very good memory for most of what happened and I will be as honest as possible with you.P.S. I will be referring my wonderful boyfriend as "My Other."

So I guess a minor back story is in order, I am 25 yrs old and so is my other we both work on a marine base in the chow halls. I was a supervisor who recently demoted myself because I was feeling way to stressed and I was bringing my work home to the point I was dreaming about it and hardly sleeping. My other recently promoted to a cook. Good job baby! ... So I researched anywhere to go but my focus was somewhere tropical and beautiful with an amazing beach and it couldn't be too expensive. I was steering towards an AI because this would be both of our first trips to pretty much any where and I didn't think I could handle not have it all already ready... I have an issue with anxiety and self confidence and that was making me freak out just thinking about it. So I came up on the Riu's that reside on Bloody Bay in negril.... wow the pictures and videos wow... now to decide which one... this was really easy, I don't want to stay at a place with the word club in it... We are both young but definitely don't fit the "norm" for our generation... in my eyes my generation is filled with drunk crazy irresponsible young adults that really make the few of us that aren't guilty by association.... breathe... OK... sorry... :) back to the precursor... so Riu Palace Tropical Bay was the winner.We can only stay 4 nights that's what budget would allow so I book the flight, transportation, safari, and hotel all on priceline.com for a total of about $2,300. OK wow I pushed the button.... This begins an OCD rant of research on trip adviser and negril.com, I printed maps and read every single post everyday it was insanity... Now this is where I give all of you who helped me out a giant thanks I was soo nervous and worried and you all helped immensely... THANK YOU!!! :) The anticipation was soo intense. In the weeks leading up to this my passport arrived...Attachment 19896
and we exchanged some money...
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and at about a week out I had my bag packed...
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... TO BE CONTINUED...

Dang girl!!!! You're good!!!

So excited for your trip report Beebe ;)

:) this is going to be good!

FRIDAY, NOV. 9th 2012



Woke up around 4am to be on the road by 4:30am. Traffic was a lot nicer and smoother than I had expected as was the airport. When we got out of security and looked at the clock, it was only 6:15am... We left way too early as our flight was to leave at 9am. LAX is one of those places that is notorious to be unpleasant and busy. It wasn't all that bad this morning granted I dont remember any smiling faces but … we were at the airport at 6 in the morning. So, after my other stands in what was a group instead of a normal line at mc donalds we see noone is occuping their very small little sitting area and at the back theres one table pretty secluded so we chose to sit there for a little while before moving on to go find our gate for the first flight of our adventure.While sitting at our gate...
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Our gate was un eventful, I did notice the masses of “important” people aka people in suits and with briefcases. Also for some reason I remember a woman with a laptop eating a whole cucumber... I dont think ive ever seen anyone just bite and dig in to a cucumber before...lol Our first flight was LAX to Charlotte, NC. A gorgeous and nice airport btw... it must have been cold outside because there were a lot of beanies being worn...or maybe its a style thing idk but it was enough for me to notice, also in this airport that I wasn't expecting was the “restroom attendants.” The nice attendant in the restroom I utilized was very cheerful and singing about how she hopes all of the people that come through her restroom have a good flight and a good day. This actually made me happy someone who is in charge of the place people defecate and urinate among other disturbing things that happen can be that happy with just being alive...:) there was a short wait still and I was hungry again as it was 5pm so we got a burger and some fries which were pretty good, nothing too exciting and we only had to pay one arm and three toes for it.. Our next flight was Charlotte to ft. lauderdale. We came into ft. lauderdale alittle before 8pm. Looking out the window it looks like a mini LA just flat... so here we are the place we were dreading because of a 12 hour layover... dun dun dun.... so we made our way towards the door of this terminal but before we exited we asked a security guard which terminal was carribean airlines and in which direction after he pointed us towards the way we were outside in nice air it wasnt cold it was nice... so we walk over to find our spot for the night. I watch people for a while as people watching is very interesting especially in airports “all walks of life” are there and to me its intriguing. This man who I think might have either been possessed or legitimately crazy comes with all his stuff and lays down and falls asleep right in front of a door that says do not block.
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While he slept he would talk in a different dialect of Spanish than I'm used to and it's pretty creepy. So I decide to move to the other side of the room, I needed to plug in my phone anyway. My other has been amazing hes just the best thing in the world dealing with me being hungry having to go to the restroom every 30 seconds...lol sigh I love him a lot! This night never really ends as I dont sleep but I'll cut this day here for labeling purposes.

Great start, keep rolling!
Love that thumbnail and JaMoney shot.

Bee this is great, don't sell yourself short, I can't wait for it to continue, you have me hooked! :D

By the way, God Bless you and your "Other" for serving our Troops!!!!!

Smooches! Bring the romance Beebe, don't let me down! :)

Love it so far! More please ....... I need my fix :p

SATURDAY NOV. 10th 2012


Around Midnight a scene I wish I could have recorded occurred. Let me layout the scene for you in this area of the airport there is one wall with electrical outlets along it. At one of the far ends was this fairly old woman maybe 80 ish and looked a little homely but Im not one to judge by appearance just the look of a lot of clothing and very unkempt made me think that... anyway... This Asian guy maybe 20 something who had dreads and facial hair tries to sit 2 seats away from her and she began to yell at him to not sit next to her. Lol this got everyone that was in there's attention so he moves one more seat down and she yells “NO!!””Don't sit by me!” This man who was probably from New York and was the closest to the ordeal that had unfolded tells the lady to go F herself and the sh!t hit the fan... the man told the guy to stand up for himself and she was still saying not to sit by her while fighting with the hilarious new yorker I started to tell her she can't tell him that but Mr.NY had it covered. After many exchanges of F words and C words and old bags and all sorts of things that made me laugh so hard I could barley breathe, Mr. NY video calls a nice woman who I think is his wife and he has her on speaker while he explains what the old B had done and she was asking him if everyone could hear her and him and of course we all could and again I'm laughing... So she asks him who is laughing so he turns the camera from the old woman to me and says "a cute couple who thinks this is just hilarious" so I waved, she looked nice. Another woman was very upset because she had paid to check her bags to final destination ( which happened to be MBJ) but they came around on the carousel here at ft. lauderdale. So she picked them up as would anyone and was pissed off as would many about that. On the phone with the airline they tell her she should have left them on the carousel... what? Nooo way so someone else can pick them up and walk away with them no I agree... also there was this announcement that came over the speaker multiple times saying not to leave your stuff it could be discarded and/or fined $250. umm... she did what any rational person would have done, grabbed her belongings. I had planned on sleeping sometime but it never happened.
Here is a pic of my attepmt...
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Early morning an older couple maybe 60's walks in and sits down and seem to be very happy they were listening to music and “dancing” it was cute and nice to see someone happy lol... As soon as they opened check-in we were there behind “dancing couple” ready to go we get our boarding passes and head through security and on to our gate... i'm soo excited at this point... I decide to go change in the bathroom because I knew Jamaica would be warmer than Florida. I did my make up and by the time I was done it was time to board.

Lovin' your report, Beebe! It is making me so excited for my upcoming trip with my boyfriend. And, I think your writing is pretty great! :-)

i love your story so far

Don't sell yourself short Beebeluv, so far so good. Can't wait for more...

Thank all of you for your kindness I'll give you a little more but like a drug dealer I gotta keep you wanting more... keep you on my line lol jk... again thank you and A lil more to follow...

SATURDAY CONT'D

The man next to me on this flight was very friendly. He was the first “real” and friendly person yet. He went back to the restroom and when he returned he told us that we were lucky. We looked at him curiously and he said as soon as we can move I'm moving back there, there's a lot of open seats. Ok cool. We are being “taxi'd” out and at this point it's becoming obvious the man is uncomfortable and very nervous I tried to keep him talking so he wouldn't freak out and in turn freak me out lol. He said he was a UPS driver and I made a joke about the shorts . So we get in the air and he moves and my other and I try to fill out those customs forms... we were almost there. Coming up on the island was breathtaking my best description for me would be coming up on Jurassic island just gorgeous. The landing is crazy amazing you come very close to the water and its defiantly a highlight.
First pic in Jamaica...
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OK... this being our first trip pretty much anywhere we had no clue how things worked, the “customs coral” was interesting and equally confusing. Luckily it wasn't very busy and we got through it all fairly quickly, found our transportation kiosk and after the necessary technical stuff the man asks us to wait outside to the right by the bar...NO PROBLEM! Ok wow there is nothing like that first wall of Jamaican air that hits you when you walk out of the airport. Now I'm so overcome by it all I start to tear up. Ok compose yourself.We stood there for a while seemed like forever although it was probably only 15 minutes tops before they tell us ok lets go and showed us to our mini bus. As I get on the bus I notice on our mini bus is”dancing couple”, I could tell by their facial expressions they recognized us. So I decided to strike up a conversation, “Where are you staying?” and I got the first stun of the day...Their reply”Hedo” LOL OMG I've heard of that... no wonder they looked so happy. :) I reply that we were staying at the Riu Palace. Meanwhile, the driver swung around to the front of the airport to pick up another couple who were very nice looking and they almost immediately started a conversation with “dancing couple.” “Where are you staying?” again “Hedo.” “OH, us too.” said the lady. LOL WOW really now... hahaha anyway the nice looking couple have been there 4 times and the “dancing couple” had been there 12 times. Honestly they made it sound very nice but I personally am not comfortable with myself to be nudist or even around that for even a little while. Along the ride there were many conversations. We find out the nice couples occupation the woman detective, the man a firefighter, this through me for a small loop considering the conversations we had about “subs” all on board the nudie buss...lol... were partakers in devouring subs. The "art of Jamaican driving"... thats all I can say...
A few driving pics...
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Thankfully we were the first stop, every flight was early and so was the bus we arrived at our resort around 10-11 am we were the first check-in for the day. Check-in was easy and they offered us rum punch (delish) while they switched our rooms to one that was already ready. So after that it was off to our room everyone we walked by said welcome home and it felt very good. And this is why I adopted this for my title. This was a gorgeous resort. The bell-hop whom accompanied us to your rooms was very friendly and asked us if we needed anything....oh he meant it....he provided us with our sub fixings and we brought our own rolls. So after a tip for bringing the bags, he was off. After that crazy day (and night) of traveling relaxation by “full stomach” was greatly needed and definitely appreciated. OK... I'm from California and I used to have a “members card” to the Sandwich shop. But this was crazy amazing... the looks definitely deceived the taste! For the embarrassing part after our sub we didn't even want to leave the room, it was just that da^m good! WOW!!!

Loving it!

No better sub in the world than your first sub once you land in Jamaica! Keep it coming, you're the "dealer now and I'm getting strung out" I need it bad. LOL

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tanfastic

No better sub in the world than your first sub once you land in Jamaica! Keep it coming, you're the "dealer now and I'm getting strung out" I need it bad. LOL

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What's a sub? Like a hoagie?

enjoying your trip report!! the countdown is on for me & mine.

Thanks for letting us live through your trip report while waiting for ours.

Peace,
Islander - Brynn

Oh so looking forward to the great subs. :)

Man, this report is off and running...............loving it! The vibe of Jamaica has been officially started!! Carry on mi friend...loving it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by captaind

What's a sub? Like a hoagie?

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LOL.... dat is major cute, CapnD LMAO

Not a Hoagie..... A skliff...:cool:

You will be glad you chose Riu Trop instead of the cheaper Riu Club...Big difference. 5 times Riu Trop.Slip the bartender a tip everyday & they will take care of you.

Loving your report...

Great start, keep it going!

We await the unfolding of this exciting experience.

Great stuff ! Keep it comin :)

okay i'm hooked too - come with it :-)

Lol when I get home I'll give u guys a Lil fix lol

Nice airport drama, nothing like traveling.
I like your drive into Negril shots. I was so absorbed I never took any, and these are bringing it all back.
Looking forward to more.....

Yay! Yay! Yay!
I am so happy reading this T.R.

More! More!

P.S. Your nails are pretty :)

I love newbie reports...My first trip will always be etched in my mind...Keep it coming!!

nice............

Love your trip report....had me laughing at a lot of things you encountered....loved the "subs" topic! Too many subs gives you sand gravity! Can't wait to read more!

wow--that is a lot of travel time for a mere 4 days in paradise. I don't think I could bear a 12 hour layover. But what a great first trip to take. Thanks for sharing--I love reading of first-time trips because they help me remember what is was like to go to Negril for the first time. Thanks for sharing!

Sorry I've been so neglectful life and other things have gotten in the way but I have all the pics now so when I get home I'll try to give u at least a Lil more

Yeah! Can't wait! Enjoying your report! :)

Starting out good, waiting for more. But next time you need a longer trip and no long layover. Don't know how that came about.

More More More! We're staying at the RIU Palace Tropical Bay in October and I'm really enjoying your first hand report !