Day 4-6: An Unexpected Surprise!

[Patty Sather]

Rastagal I just love your reports!
Ahhhh to be young and brave again! You go girl!!

[rastagal]

Day 5 Monday
Since I had gone to bed at a relatively reasonable hour the night before, I was actually up at about 9am or so. Lisa calls our room and I answer. She asks if I want to go to breakfast. Bobbie is still knocked out so I tell her OK, I’ll be ready in about 30 minutes. She knocks on the door and I tell her I want to go down to Café Goa for some coffee and banana pancakes. No problem. We get there, sit down, and peruse the menu. All of a sudden everything looks good. I usually don’t eat a lot in the morning but I feel like I’m starving! So we both order the “Big Nyam”. It’s pretty much everything! My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach because I don’t even think I finished half of it. It was good though.

We finish up breakfast and head back to the hotel to see if Bobbie is up yet. She kind of is. So we decide we will all walk across the street to the beach and she will just have lunch at Mama Flo’s since it’s almost noon now anyway. Remember I have not been to the beach YET! As you can probably tell by how deathy pale I look in all the pictures. Haha!

We walk over and Lisa heads straight for the beach to try and round up some chairs. Bobbie walks in and sits down at a table and I just stand next to her table, but on the outside of the railing. I look over at the bar and I do a double take. I tell Bobbie, “that looks like my friend Randy that used to be the bartender here but it can’t be”. This guy had sunglasses on so I thought maybe he just looked similar. Randy and I had kept in touch since he moved away about 4 years ago so I thought I would have at least seen a post on his Facebook page or something if he was going to be in JA. So, after about a minute the waiter comes over to the table to see what she is going to order. He looks at me and says” You look like you want to ask me a question”. I guess I had a confused look on my face. I think it was more a confused and almost excited look all at the same time. So I tell him..”Well, I don’t want to look like an idiot if I’m wrong so do you know the guy’s name that is standing over there”? He replies….”Yeah man, that’s Randy”!!!!!!!!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I scream RANDY!!!!!!!! He looks over and peeks over his sunglasses and shouts ”Bumbaf@ck”!!!!!!!!! I run around the little fence and give him the biggest hug ever!!!

I am so excited and I can’t believe he is here! He said he didn’t post if on FB because he likes to come by himself over the Holidays so he can relax. I was so bummed because he had been there since the week before and I had already been there 4 days without knowing, and only had 2 days left.
He was my right hand man back in the day. We would hang out all the time. So much that everyone swore something was going on. I swear just because you have a friend of the opposite sex, EVERYONE always thinks it HAS to be more than that. It wasn’t. And that’s probably why we were friends, because he wasn’t trying to hit on me all the time like the other 99%.

So we chat for a while, then I see Hamilton, another member of the “group”. He apparently did not move away, but it had still been at least 4 years since I had seen him also. Then he tells me 2Pac is also in town but he is roaming the beach somewhere. I never did get to see him which is a bummer..he was one funny dude.

So I didn’t get any beach time in because I stayed under the bar chatting with mi fren dem. Eventually Bobbie wandered up and joined in the convo. We were still talking about trying to go up to Rick’s for the sunset and Hamilton said he had a car, so if we wanted to go anywhere he would take us.
Lisa is still on the beach while Bobbie and I are up by the bar with the crew. We were telling them how Lisa had never been to JA before and she seemed a little uptight. Frankly, she was getting a bit unbearable. So of course each one of them thinks they have a remedy. There is a lot more to that story but it’s probably best not to share it here. I thought I had a pretty good idea. I suggested we have her try some Stone & Gravel…that stuff is bound to loosen ANYONE up.




So I run across the street to Shamrock and buy a bottle of JB Overproof and some Ginger Wine. Oh God this stuff brings back some memories!
Back to the beach bar we go and the fun begins. The bartender lines up the cups, and it is so funny because when he poured the drinks he apparently put more JB in one of the cups, so when Lisa goes to grab a cup he stops her and says” No, THIS one is for you! Hahahaha. This might sound horrible, but if any of you had to deal with what we had to, you would have done the same thing!
A few cups later and it’s now mid afternoon. We decide to go back to the room to freshen up then head up to see the sunset. We all jump in the car and head up to 3 Dives!!!!!
We pull up and park, then head over to a bench and table by the cliffs. Realizing we are getting low on drinks, I go back up to the front where they have stuff you can buy, and pick up more JB and Ginger Wine. I am NOT a rum drinker, and definitely not an Overproof Rum drinker, so I’m just hoping I can hold up!
Back at the bench we all pour ourselves some more drinks! It is beautiful up there and the weather is nice. My friend calls and I tell him I’m at 3 dives. He says he will be there soon. So we all just chill out there for a while and watch the sunset. My friend shows up and Bobbie and Lisa decide to go up to the front to order some food. I don’t think I saw them until like an hour later!!! They had started the little bonfire next to the bench we were sitting at and it was getting kind of hot sitting over there. Bobbie and Lisa finally finish eating and we decide to head back down to the beach. The 5 of us hop in and away we go. There is a song on in the car from Christopher Martin that we all LOVE and are singing at the top of our lungs!



I think every one of us is feeling nice at this point. That Stone & Gravel will do it to you every time!



Back at the hotel we all get out of the car and just stand around for a bit trying to decide what to do. We were supposed to go to Coral Seas but I got out voted. Bourbon Beach was the final decision. I’m sure we went in the room and changed but that part is a little fuzzy.

We got to Bourbon Beach and there is already a guy sitting at the front charging! And it’s early! So Bobbie and I volunteer to go up and try to get out of paying the cover. It didn’t work. Something must have been wrong with that guy. So we go back to the car where the other 3 are waiting and tell them we didn’t have any luck. My friend heads up there next to do some negotiating. He comes back and says we’re good, we can all go in. Damn. Apparently he has better negotiating skills. LOL.

We go in and head to the bar. Order up some drinks and head upstairs. I love the view from up there, and it has a nice breeze. So we all just dance and talk and drink…you know. The usual. Nothing really exciting to report this night. Bobbie and Lisa end up downstairs at the bar talking with Anthony Able and some other musicians that are performing that night. Eventually they want to leave so I tell them to go ahead, I’m going to stay for a while. It was a good night.

[pretty40]

Love the Beachpark on Sundays!! Sorry about your sandfleas. No fun so now I stand near the bar to avoid the "itchies."

[mud]

you put flea collers on your ankles,and you wouldnt have sand flea problems

[Maryann]

Yes, what Patty said.

[Lady Jane]

Great report. You girls know how to have fun

[Cali]

Oh goodness I am now really feeling "miss Jamaica so bad and these months won't pass fast enough until I can get back". Chris Martin is one of my favorite singers, love that song! The three of you ladies are pretty, no wonder you ended up with "tour guides" at the beach party LOL. Please continue posting.

[rastagal]

@Yvonne I didn't see any pigeons so not sure about that one.

@Patty Thanks!

@Mud I might have to try that!

@Cali I already have that can't wait to get back so bad it hurts feeling. I can't even concentrate! Although that will be a hard trip to live up too. I'm not sure how much better it could have gotten? LOL

To everyone folllowing along: Thanks for all the positive comments!

[gerryg123]

great job, keep it coming>>

[rastagal]

The Last Full Day
I woke up this morning with that feeling that all of you know so well. This is my last full day in Jamaica. Just writing that brings that feeling back all over again. I even think about the last day when I book my trip, because as excited as I am to plan the next reach I know the last day will come and then I’m right back in the same boat again. But I quickly push the thought out of my head and make the best of the time I have left.

Since I had spent some time in Whitehall the previous evening, my first plan was to get a taxi back to the beach. That involved a bit of walking. I finally make it and decide I need to lay down for a little bit and try and get some kind of sleep. I try but I can’t. Oh well, so I just jump in the shower and start the day.

The only thing planned today was to finally get to Rick’s so Bobbie can get her hubby that T-shirt she promised him.

Randy stops by and we tell him what we were trying to do, so he calls Hamilton so he can take us up there.

We stop at Juicy J’s for some patties on the way. Get in line, get up to the counter and we are told they won’t be done for another 13 minutes. So she asks if we would like some Coco Bread and cheese instead. Ok, sounds good to us. I was really looking forward to a Veg patty but sometimes you just have to roll with it.

Back to the car with our Coco Bread and cheese and we head up to Rick’s. I’m not thrilled about being here but whatever, it’s a nice day. I head to the bar and get an overpriced drink and just take in the view.



We stay for sunset then head back down to the hotel. I head to the fridge and take out all the alcohol we have left and just set it all up on the table on the patio. Some Coconut Rum cream, Coconut Rum, some stripes, and some Vodka. There isn’t much left in each but when you put it all together, it’s good enough. We turn on some music and we all just sit outside and talk for a while. I am still so bummed I didn’t realize some of my peeps had been there until just 2 days previous. So we make plans to try and meet up in August when he and his family come down for their semi-annual trip.

My friend calls and says he wants to stop by so I tell him no problem. We are just chillin out on the patio. He shows up and we all mingle for a bit. Bobbie and Lisa want to go eat but I’m good, I tell them to go ahead without me. My other 2 buddies say their goodbye’s to me as well…. and then there are two.
So I sit with my friend, and there are a lot of silent moments. As you walk the road of life you never know what is going to be around the next corner. And sometimes it takes you by surprise.

I’m not a serious type of person so I try to keep the conversation lighthearted. So I say we will keep in touch and see what happens. I don’t trust many people in this world and I am a big believer in actions speak louder than words. If you know someone long enough and their actions hold up, then you might have a chance =)

The girls get back from dinner and I realize if I don’t start packing I’m going to be in trouble. The shuttle is coming at 645 in the morning.
My friend and I say our goodbye’s and Bobbie and I start trying to pack up the ridiculous amount of stuff we had scattered throughout the room over the last week.

We talk about some of the things that have happened on this trip..things we would have changed, etc.
The morning is there before I know it.

As I sit in the airport waiting to board the flight, it sucks. But I know I’ll soon be back…..