Let's see...a sub in one hand and a Sam Adams in the other....what better way to reminisce of one of my whackier days in Negril thus far...Unfortunately, today is the day I check out of the Tamboo. I totally effed up with my booking. I booked the flight then a few days later booked the Tamboo Sat-Thurs....I always like to close it out on the cliffs ....think I had a sub too many....and came back and booked Sunset on the Cliffs for Fri and Sat and leave Sunday.....What I didn't realize until the night before I left was that I hadn't booked a hotel for Thursday....Wickid pissah! as we say in Boston....which is being sarcastic because 'wicked pissah' in Bostonian language roughly translates into something positive.......Anyway, Expedia offered me this $25 coupon....and Roots was only $56 for the rustic cabin.....so for 31 bucks I figured I could 'rough' it with just me, the bed, the ceiling fan and the toilet. Let the new chapter begin!

I just don't wanna leave the Tamboo. I can't say enough great things. They are assured my business when I return in October. Today was a day I just wanted to lounge around. A guy Sascha from Saskatoon and his girl were hanging with me all day. They were impressed with my sub quality. As Cousin Eddie said in the original National Lampoon's Vacation.....'Nuthin' but the best!' My friends at the Tamboo afforded me the opportunity to check out late and I took full advantage. I cleaned up my room....emptied the sub drawer....tipped June the lovely housekeeper...and made it on my way to Roots Bamboo.

It was a unique experience checking in at Roots. The older gentleman at the desk kept insisting I should have been here the day before and asked to see my 'paper' I assumed he meant my expedia printout but I explained I only had it on my phone. He attempted to glance and threw his arms up...'To hell with it' he probably said....He told me to follow him, which I did and he gave me my key. I was now in my rustic heaven for the night.....I was afraid to turn on the ceiling fan....because when I did, this thing went absolutely buck wild....it looked as if it could come unhinged at anytime....All I could think about was sleeping in the middle of the night and that ceiling fan becoming unhinged and chopping something off....That's just not the way I wanna go out so it looks like I'll be sweating tonight....On a side positive note, however, I was impressed with the bathrooms and shower....Very impressive!

I hang at the bar at Roots for a while. my good friend (who also happens to be my driver) picks me up at 4 PM. Tonight I am taking him and his girl Nadine to Canoe Bar for the live steel drums show and dinner. Nadine isn't going to be ready for a while. She runs a shop in Green Island so Dwayne and I are ready to chill.

I hadn't been to Whoopie's Hammock Park in quite some time...I was unaware of Dennis' tragic death...Sad....I love that spot so much, though...I remember when the goats roamed freely....Dwayne was floored again...He didn't comprehend how he was a driver in Jamaica....and it took the Jamerican TimmyMon to open his eyes to Sir D, Calico Jack and Whoopie's....Anyway, at Whoopie's, Dwayne and I meet this Canadian man and his wife. I'd be lying if I said I remembered his name, but for the eff of it, let's just call him Wilbur. Well, Wilbur smuggled 30 subs in some air tight compartment...He got a little too technical for me...I manage a supermarket....well, I got to try one of these....I do well in the sub category relative to quality but we all know nothing grown outdoors rivals what we have to offer...We subbed it and he gave me one for the road....I was grateful....but far more grateful for being at Whoopie's again

We grabbed Nadine and I was lucky enough to run into Dennis and Betty. They were leaving Canoe and we got their front row seats for the steel drum band during dinner. What a hoot! We ordered all sorts of appetizers and beer. I think I may have given the band some competition regarding entertainment, however....I was trying to get the ultimate photo op....Dwayne with my camera as I leaned back on the rail, hovering backwards so the band can get in the picture....but.....Houston, we have a problem! I leaned back however I reached the point of no return. In a desperate last bid to save face and pull myself up, I reached my foot up against the bottom on the rail...If only I could cup my foot enough, my sheer leg strength would surely propel myself back up....

Wrong....I leaned back...and....Man Overboard.....I think I actually did a flip as I fell on my ass... I took out a couple rungs from the deck....Ask anyone that was there Thurs 2/26....I'm the guy that fell off the deck....Good news is, other than the welt on my foot....I was Ok so went back up and ordered a few more beers...Only me!

After dinner, I head back to Roots. My normal routine, had I been at the Tamboo, would be to throw on the headphones and go. I like the idea of coming home to cable or internet or something at the end of the night. The older I get the less I am fascinated by the late shows at Bourbon or whatever. They're awesome shows, however, I usually haven't been staying up that late....Tonight, though, I didn't have much to come home to. I knew it was going to be a late night for lack of anything else to do I didn't even have a book to read!

I actually walk back over to the Tamboo to see if my buddy Dave is there. He's not around so I start chatting up a Rasta I met earlier in the week. I will have to ask Dave his name as I don't wanna misquote it. I had met him a few days earlier when he made a beautiful flower bouquet for a birthday girl from wild flowers at the tamboo....I asked him to take me to Burger King and then we hit up the corner bar...I know, terrible, Burger King....We laugh and chat with locals all night...He was telling me how his dog had all these puppies and how he took my friend Dave to see them. I remember Dave telling me the story so I connected the dots. He was drinking his Dragon Stout and I my Red Stripe.

Finally, at 2:30 ish, it's time to go home. I still won't turn on that fan as I'd rather sweat than face the potential alternative options. It's late enough to crash. I should have paid the extra money but I can't complain for 30 bucks a night. I'm drunk....I sub it on the nice porch....and pass out...

Tomorrow starts my adventure on the Cliffs