A "Shiny" new Trip Report!

[BIG SHINY n Rootsy]

I have developed a much greater respect recently for all of the folks on here that do extended trip reports. It ain't easy to find time to finish this thing but......I'm determined.....

Also, I'm getting sick of seeing people who were down there at the same time as us doing reports for their LATEST trip so I need to get this thing done! (yes, I'm looking at you Flip)

A little more about the beach. Did I mention how much we like the beach already?

This trip we actually tried the brat guy that has the fancy new cart on the beach. It was good, but not great. It might have been the fact that we were eating brats, on the beach, in tropical heat, but I can't say that I would rush back there for another. It was definitely something different though. Of course, we are used to eating our brats when it's freezing outside, standing around a grill behind a pick-up truck in a parking lot.

We also had to take a stroll to Time Square to try the gizzadas at the the Caribbean Cafe. I think K3 must have been there at the perfect time because I didn't see any snow coned monsters like he found. In fact they only had one left so we were lucky to even get to try them. Again, pretty good, but we've had better before. Still a neat little place and I hear the pizza and pasta is actually really good there.

Last one left


Oh great! Julie found another place to get an expensive coffe!



It seems like some people always want to be on the move there, but we take a little slower approach to our vacation. We think it's pretty fun to just stay on the property and let the entertainment come to us. We like sitting on the beach and watching what I call Jamaican Survivor. As most of you know, Crystal Waters is right next to Margaritaville on the beach and It's kinda fun to watch the "live" entertainment there once in a while. That floating trampoline thing is a big hit with the tourists that they bus in. I don't like going in there to eat/drink but the place can provide hours of beach entertainment on a dull afternoon. Their DJ is a riot when he gets a fun crowd in there but it can get a little loud and obnoxious sometimes. The nice thing about that is, if you set up your chair on the Country Country side of the beach, you don't even notice the place is there.

One afternoon we got to watch an impromptu episode of the Caribbean's Next Top Model. It was crazy, there were about 30 gorgeous models there all having a great time. (yes, they were old enough) It was kinda weird though because almost every one of them looked like Rihanna. I remember getting pinched a few times that day for staring a bit too long.


So the next day we had to switch to this side. So much more peaceful. And way less pinching.




And the panoramic just for Bob and Cindy! (really missed you guys)



So, what other antics did we survive? Well, I remember accidentally making another guest cry one morning on our way to the beach. They were regulars but we had never met them before this trip. It was leaving day for them so we were saying goodbye, and I don't even remember what it was that I said. Something about "you can't come back if you don't leave" or something dumb like that. All of the sudden this gals tears are flowing like a river. I felt kinda bad at first, but her husband just shrugged and smiled like it happens all the time so I felt a little better then.

Some people say that "you meet the nicest people on the Pub Crawl" and I think that might be true. We ran into an old Negril friend of ours that we met on a crawl a few years back. He goes by MIDIRI on this board and he is a really good guy. He got in about 3 days before we left so we didn't get to hang much but it was good to see him again, and we got a little tour of Fun Holiday where he stays which was pretty cool.

His room was stocked nicely and we had a beer or three there.


And then there was the party at Drifters on Friday afternoon. I know this was mentioned a lot already but, what a great time! This place is awesome and it sure seemed like everyone there was having a ball, locals and visitors alike. I know some of these pics were already posted but here they are again.

The Flipmeister with his flip flop bottle opener.


Groove with the hats.


I wonder what's in that bag?


Julie and Groove gettin......well.....Groovy!




Ok, Last installment and pics soon come! (I hope)

[Chris B]

Packer fans 'pon d'beach! What bar was that, BS?

[BIG SHINY n Rootsy]

Drifters Bar.
On the beach.
At one mile.

[groove16]

I see someone I know...lol

great report, rob....

[BIG SHINY n Rootsy]

Thanks Terry!

Ok, I have got to wrap this thing up! For the 3 of you still reading......thanks for tolerating the extended pauses! This is the last installment, I promise! (it has to be......I'm out of pictures)


The last couple of days of the trip were pretty quiet so this should go fast.

I did forget one shot from the Drifters party that I had to post. The open air bathrooms is one of my favorite parts about the whole place. Nice and roomy for a big fat sweaty guy like me, and it's not like going into a sauna like some other places can be. This was right before we ran out of money and had to leave. It was a long, thirsty walk back to the villa after that party, believe me.

Sorry.....I couldn't resist!

A LOT of people ask us why we always go back to Negril instead of trying someplace different. I know I don't have to explain it to most of you if you're reading this board but, here is one pretty good reason that a lot of us in the North can relate to.....

This is a shot of the back yard the morning we leave.


But after only a half day of travel we get to look at this instead.

It's not a hard decision to make when you're freezing your a$$ off half the year.

Unfortunately, on this trip I tweaked an old back injury on our second last day and was pretty much useless after that. My man Midiri came to the rescue once again with some tablets that made the pain at least tolerable to walk around for a while during the day. Needless to say we weren't going out on the town with me barely able to move so, the last two nights were pretty calm. So, other than a painful and miserable trip back to Wisconsin that I won't go into on here, that's pretty much it!

I would like to again thank all of the cool people that we met on this trip for making this one of the most memorable and fun times we've ever had down there. I won't go into the whole long list again but you all know who you are! Thanks again and we can't wait to do it again sometime!

Incidentally, I would like to encourage anyone who is thinking about doing a trip report that can't type, can't or doesn't remember to take pictures, or can't write very well, to seriously reconsider the idea. This thing was not easy for a big dumb polack. I have a new found respect for all the people who have done them now. I actually like reading them and also like the fact that they really help when your next trip is too far away.

I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this particular one but......in closing I would like to say that, now that you know what we look like, and have a feel for who we are......if you see us around please don't be afraid to say hello. I might look like a homicidal ax-wielding maniac, but we are actually fun people. And since it's normally just the two of us, we are usually up for something fun to do or at least some interesting company.


Thanks for following along everyone!
As Porky would say......
That's all folks!
Let Jah be praised!
Respect!

[TAH]

Excellent report brother. I enjoyed the ride.

[Coco]

Very cool! Thanks for taking the time to finish.

[Ziggy]

This April, we have to get together again and talk about the packers winning the superbowl. Pub crawl, Red Dragon, Seastar?

[nutz4travel]

Thanks for taking the time to finish up! Just what I needed on this cold, rainy day

[sabu]

Thanks Shiny. Love the Packer flag. I always tell people Green Bay isn't as cold as people think -- I'm a New Englander -- but it could be a lie looking at that wind blowing. I always think the trip to Jamaica is like going to Oz and waking up in living color. And don't worry, you don't look like an ax wielding manic (much). Love to buy you a beer for the fine TR. Ever down in February?