Takin' the Newbies along Part 2 - a trip report

[SLP]

Jenn I love your trip report. Your photos are terrific. I know you have posted loads of them but the one which caught my eye the most, for some reason, was the tiny green crab.

[Jenn]

Day 7 in Negril:
Well...another day started out the same as the others - breakfast then beach. I just want to take a minute and give a HUGE shout out to the lifeguards at Rooms - O'Neil, Christopher, and Mario. They are such great guys! We sure have some great laughs with them! After the first day - you know how it goes - up early - claim your spot...drag your chairs...ask them to help with the umbrella because for some stupid reason I can never figure it out. I watch them so I can be self sufficient...but I still can't get it right. Any how - they asked on the second day if that's where we wanted our stuff set up. Every morning - chairs, umbrella, and tables were set up. They didn't have to do this for us (I would NEVER ask them to) but did it anyway.

So beaching all day....an icy cold beer at Sunnyside...in the water...repeat. Robert (from Sunnyside) has a cousin who is a rasta and we hung out with him lots last year. We hadn't seen him at all this time - but he had recently gotten full custody of his baby girl (14 mo old) and was busy planting up in the hills. We told Robert that we hoped to see him. Well...today, I happen to look up and who should appear? He was walking towards me with a huge smile but I was not really paying attention. He put his arms out like, "really?!" OMG! Yay - jumped up and hugs/fist bumps were had. Then he pointed back towards Sunnyside and his sweet little girl was with him. AHH she was darling! I could have just snuggled her right up - and I did! We chatted for a bit then I went to go love on that sweet little girl. I asked him if he minded and he said of course not! So we played in the sand - which mostly involved her putting sand all over me. I picked her up and was snuggling her while he went next door. Pretty soon - here comes Brian. He wanted to be sure I wasn't taking her! haha Pretty soon she was looking for her "DA" as she was yelling that and giggling....took her back to her daddy and chatted for a few and said our goodbyes.

Back to the water with a round of beers. More swimming/sunning and then we decided to head down the beach. Stopped at Boat Bar again to grab a cold beer and then off to Dru's for lunch. Dru's has GREAT specials. Their drinks are cheap - the cheapest bucket of RS Light we found - 6 for US $13. Regular RS are 6 for $10. Ordered a bucket of RS Light and we got a patty and fries to share (Brian and I). Tom and Amy got the same. The girl at the bar was probably one of the BEST bartenders I've ever had. She didn't serve them in a bucket - instead kept them icy cold in the freezer. As soon as one of us were close to finishing - she had the next one ready to go. 2 buckets of beer and a light lunch and we were good to go. There was no evidence of the truck that had been stuck earlier in the week.

Public Service Announcement....for those of you as stupid as me. Just in case any of you qualify. Soo....when you use the bathrooms at Wav's they are unisex. It's a long line of bathrooms and when you walk in - there is a partial wall with a trough and water faucets on it. Then there are stalls. The trough is NOT a place to wash your hands. I'm not saying I did or didn't use it to do so...I'm just passing info along. If you walk PAST the stalls...imagine this - regular sinks with soap. That is where you wash your hands. Huh...who knew. I've used some pretty sketchy bathrooms in Jamaica - so I didn't really think that much of it....the guys sure got a great laugh out of that one!

I digress...

Back down the beach - more sun and swimming. Decided to give Swordfish another go. Showers - happy hour - and had Dwight from the hotel take us up to Swordfish (fingers crossed).

Here's some pictures from our day...



Preparing for rough seas?


We arrived at Swordfish and lo and behold they were open. A couple of years ago we met a lady who was traveling solo and joined us for several dinners. On other nights - she had gone to Swordfish and raved about it. It was on my list last year - but we never made it. The view is gorgeous - even though the sunset was cloudy. The food was fantastic! The service was good. The rum punch was not my favorite. I'm a connoisseur of rum punch (or so say I) and this was not my favorite. The bill for dinner was far less than we anticipated - BONUS!
We sat rooftop and had the following between the 4 of us: garlic shrimp, shrimp scampi, ginger pineapple snapper, and coconut shrimp.

Here's some photos from the evening:







And the beach from Swordfish at night:



Back to the hotel - and went down to sit with Kelvin for until he closed. Tom and Amy - off to bed....Brian and I...off to Sunnyside. Stayed late (this is becoming a habit) and eventually headed back to our room and called it a night.

Tomorrow - last full day in paradise. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!?

[Jenn]

Day 8 in Negril (day 9 of trip):

I couldn't figure out how my days were off, but then I remembered - I didn't count the travel day as day 1. I literally had to count the days out on my fingers to make sure I wasn't crazy. Ok - enough of my struggle with numbers and back to the report.

This morning we wandered over to Alfreds for breakfast. It was good, although, Canoe has ruined french toast for me from anywhere else, the girls gave it a go. It was good. Tom had saltfish and ackee and Brian had his regular - eggs/bacon/potatoes. We headed down the beach and cut through Bourbon Beach to Time Square.

From there we walked to Time Square to get some cash and do a tiny bit of shopping. We really aren't in need of any trinkets, but our son wanted a "dad hat". He said to his dad - you know a dorky one. Uh....

So we grabbed some cash at the ATM and then hit it again on our way out. Let me share my two cents on the ATMs and the fear of being skimmed. We used to always use Traveler's Cheques. I liked the safety of them. Then they stopped being available. So we opted for the AAA debit card. We add a set amount on it and bring some cash. When we withdrawl - we take out the max meaning we only have to do so a couple times. We took almost the rest of it out on our last full day so that if someone DID have our number - they wouldn't get much - and it is protected - we would get it back from AAA. Some people complain about the fees. In truth - they aren't that much. I figure this way - if I can afford to go on vacation to Negril once a year - I can afford a few dollars in a transaction fee. I consider it part of the cost of vacation. When we go out of town at home and if I have to get cash - I sometimes have to pay a fee at home. 2 or 3 more dollars isn't a deal breaker for the safety net it provides me. To each their own - but that works for us.

Ok - so we find a couple "dad hats" but I can't decide. They give us a good price if we buy both - so we do. Tom and Amy are shopping and eventually we meet back up and head out. I think I need to change a bit of these US dollars in to J so I run into the cambio. I prefer to use J when I'm there and 20's sometimes cause a problem with change. It's cleaner to me - I struggle doing the conversion when I pay US and the change is in J....so it's easier.

We walk back down the beach. It's hot as hot today. I love walking the beach - the people watching in Negril is like no other place on earth to me. I think I may have covered this...but still, I just love it. The things you see...like this:



So we stop in to Sunnyside - run to our rooms to drop off the hats and put the money away. I sure don't need to be carrying that cash around! Fall into our routine of beers/sun/water/bathroom/ repeat. A little later - we decide to head down and catch some music at the Boat Bar. It was getting cloudy - so we grabbed our stuff and headed out. It was getting busy so we grabbed a table upstairs and decided to order lunch. Grilled cheese is so much better in Negril. Why is that? And fries? Lawd have mercy - I love me some fries and Grace ketchup. After we arrived - it started raining...heavily! Now the place was really packed! It rained for quite a bit - all through our lunch and a bit afterwards. We just hung out and enjoyed the vibe.





Stayed and let the rain clear up and headed back down the beach. Our towels were soaked, but the rain cleared out and the sun was back out in full force. Hung for a bit on the beach and just took it all in. Our time was drawing to a close and nothing kills the vibe like knowing it's your last day and night in Negril. Is it possible to have PNS BEFORE you leave? Yes, indeed it is. Ok - I needed to get rid of the melancholy and enjoy the moment. Off to our room with a view:



Stay tuned for our last night and the shenanigans that are to come. Let's just say - we did it up right and in the meantime, did a good deed.