Trip of "Firsts"

[Mike_D]

We just got back on the 17th from our June trip, and I have to say that it was probably one of our best vacations, ever! This trip was highlighted by several "firsts":

• First time staying at Sea Grape Villa. Awesome! If I can afford it (i.e. slow season), we will definitely stay there again

• First time using Linston for airport transfers and trips around Negril. Excellent! Linston is probably the most honest and fair businessperson that we have encountered in Jamaica. He gave us some great recommendations for our trip, was accommodating to our needs and is just a great guy to hang with. He will be our regular driver going forward.

• We also made it a point to try a new restaurant every night for dinner. Murphy's, Bella Donna and Swordfish are just a few that we tried. Most were great but a couple didn't live up to the hype. I will go into details later.

I am enjoying all the great trip reports that are going on right now, so I will post more about our trip later when I have my pictures uploaded. I also have some cliff diving and snorkeling video that I took with my cheap go-pro knock-off. It does not compare to Smith744's video-logue, but I will share it nonetheless.

[VVHT]

Mike, looking forward to your post. We may have crossed paths early last week??? Swordfish was closed the night we wanted to go, I think it was Monday night last week.

Great to hear you had a wonderful trip!

VVHT

[Mike_D]

Hey Happy! - I read your report and was surprised to hear that Swordfish was closed. We went to Swordfish on the 2nd night of our trip, which would have been Wednesday the 10th. Maybe they are closed on Mondays? When we walked in (around 6:30?), we were the only ones there and had the whole roof deck to ourselves. By the time our drinks arrived, a small group of Italians had walked in. With the sunset view and the excellent seafood, this meal was one of the highlights of our trip.

[Melody]

I loved Swordfish too, thought they'd be closed for slow season.

[murph]

Yeah Mike D!

Cant wait to see you put those socks and knee high wet-boots on and do some laundry! bahahaha

[VVHT]

Murph, Smith wasn't kidding, all the young guys had these crazy knee high socks. Couldn't stop laughing when I saw them....

[Mike_D]

Yeah Mike D!

Cant wait to see you put those socks and knee high wet-boots on and do some laundry! bahahaha

LOL! At times, I wish I had some of those knee socks. Sea Grape is beautifully set among tropical foliage, but that means that the bugs are killer in the summertime. And any dirty laundry I had was washed by housekeeping. I don't think I would be up to Smith's challenge to live like a Jamaican for a week.

Murph, Smith wasn't kidding, all the young guys had these crazy knee high socks. Couldn't stop laughing when I saw them....

Tis true! They were all over the place. Some of the colors and stripes were crazy!

Sorry for the delay - I will get some pics and video uploaded in the next day or 2.

[VVHT]

and then......

[Mike_D]

Sorry for slacking off. The wife and I are in the process of buying a new house and on top of that I got stuck on Jury Duty for a week. Here are some pics from the trip...


Sea Grape Villa. It's True!


Getting ready for an incredible meal at Just Natural



Lots of photo ops at Just Natural


Swordfish...had the whole place to ourselves


View from the Sea Grape private patio. Amazing Place!

[VVHT]

and then.....