Waking up in the cliffs...Wow...I always ends my trips up here....Yeah, I don't wanna leave here....but I know, as Bob Seger famously said, 'We've got Tonight'.....well, I have today and tonight.....and I;m spending it in the cliffs.....The beach party is over and now it's time to explore the cliffs like I always do
I awaken at 8ish and go out to the Doplhin Cove, which is the restaurant here at Sunset on the Cliffs. I converse with a delightful group of women, probably 9 or so, gathering for one of the girl's 70th bday....They were a hoot....After breakfast, I walk down to the cliff, descend the ladder and hop in the water for a little swim, The water is a little rough...I had to at least get in the water....You know how it is...

I head back to the room...sit on the balcony....or lanai, as we say in Hawaii...I'm from Boston but was lucky to live in Hawaii for 6 years...I'm a sucker for the islands.....sub it up and and roll a few for the road....The headphones come on and I'm heading left outta Sunset on the Cliffs...It's about 11 or so....I'm ready for a beer....so I start with a cold Red Stripe across from the hotel a bit...I buy a few more wrist bands to add to my collection ...I chat with this one man who kept telling me I look like Troy Aikman but sound like Jack Kennedy....I totally get the JFK part....I've heard Aikman a time or two all these years in Plano, Tx

I pass the Rockhouse/Pushcart area. Ahhh...the memories...it was nearly 20 years ago that this combination was once the Pickled Parrot...The quintessential utopia for a 20 year old spring breaker....Buckets of beer, bitsy bikinis, water slides, boat rides, rope jump, bass pump, it was better than Rick's Café.....wish it were here today

I keep walking down....I stop at the No Name Bar....I was impressed with this place...I chatted up the owner from Colorado...The bar and seating area are really Caribbean yet modern and recently renovated...I'm glad I was beckoned in by the gentleman cooking the jerk....I highly recommend this place and I'll hit it up upon my return in October....I walk past Canoe....Stop at a few more random places for beers....Get close to the roundabout then decide to turn around and head back up....

I stop and have a few beers with a couple local guys. It turns out this one guy, who was the spitting image of NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, knew an old buddy Micky I knew from Trelawny Parish....small world....Music on, walking up the hill...I decide to pop into one of my all time favorite places....Peewee's....I met the man years ago when I was a kid....Too bad I missed his annual party on Feb 8th....Anyway, I see Elvis...well, the one that runs the bar nowadays....have a few beers and cross the road....I see my buddy Rambo whom Ive known for years now too....We enjoy a sub as we catch up

This is when things got kinda weird

Bentley's Crabhouse is (was) right across from Peewee's up the lane. I had eaten with Bentley on numerous occasions over the years....He always served '5 Tings on a plate' lol....I had heard that his mental health had been deteriorating...I asked Rambo about Bentley....No sooner than 2 minutes later.... Bentley appeared. The man I once knew was not the person I saw across the street. Once a stocky man full of laughter, now there he was ....gaunt and bewildered....I called his name...'Bentley!" He looked across at me, sucked in, and hucked a loo-gee....Not sure on the correct spelling there....It didn't make contact...but I got the point....sad to see someone you knew and laughed a lot with to go down like this...I never wish anything negative on anyone

I head back to the room at sunset on the Cliffs....Sub it on my beautiful porch....I eat some lunch and lounge out on the cliffs....It's about 4 ish now....I shower up...and now I go right out of the hotel...My destination will be Sir D's lookout for sunset...I make stops along the way as the liquid diminishes....I refuse to go to Rick's Café...Not my gig...I will not spend 5 bucks a beer plus crowds don't tend to be amongst my favorites things as I progress in this journey called life

Sir D's Firewater Lovenest is pretty quiet upon my arrival. The guys remember me from a few days before...Soon, a whole group of Italians show up...We all have a few laughs...Unfortunately, the sunset we all come here for will not be in the horizon..pun intended...It's cloudy....but laughter can always beat the weather and we had lots of it...

I leave Sir D's....and walk....I never cab it as I could just walk for days here in Negril....By now it's dark....and I've had a bunch....but I know to always walk facing traffic....paying tight attention around corners... I've walked this roads so many times.. Being aware is EVERYTHING in Jamacia...

Stop back at the hotel...Have a beer and chat up the beautiful birthday girl from breakfast....They did the Appleton Rum tour today....I have done many of the tours and liked a lot...but,as I've gotten older, I've developed an extreme aversion for crowds and an even far greater distaste for inconvenience of any type. Therefore, I tend to do low key stuff nowadays

I head back left...Stop at the No Limit Bar and have a few beers with some guys from New York...Kimbobwee anyone? I go across to Peewee's again and have a few more there...I head back up.....Eddie's De Bar for a few....Now it's like 10:30....I had a collapsible cooler I bought....and a few beers were on ice....I was heading back to my balcony...The sky cleared and the moon was shining....I was gonna sit out on my huge balcony....I was gonna light a sub....I was gonna play Bob Seger....and I was gonna get into my own woeld...

I did all of the above

I awaken today, Sunday, March 1, on the cliffs....only it's quite different than awakening yesterday. I leave today...Wow....The things I did this week....My goodness...

best trip ever ...not just because it was the most recent....but because it truly was the best

Dwayne picks me up at 10 ish....We stop for beers along the way....I seem to get stopped for every plausible search possible leaving the airport...Not so sure if my 14 Jamaican wristbands facilitated this...plus, travelling alone never helps..


Here I am...waiting for my flight.....I'm so dark...reading the Jamaican newspaper...one local man tries talking Patios to me...I'm honored he thinks I'm local

I'll be back in October... By then, I'll figure out how to post pics

Bless up!

Thanks for following...See you in october