Well it's the third wake up on the island I suppose I should make an attempt at reportage before memories disappear like smoke. I make no promises as to the diligence with which I will update this thread and any pictures will likely get posted on facebook.
I really need to find a way to stay here long term because the older I get the less I like travel. I love being here but I hate getting here. That being said travel day was probably the best ever. The van came spot on time and we were off. Check in and TSA were a breeze at 4AM. The Delta gate area at MSP has be redone into a hipster techie cyber bar with very few plain old seats. Lots of tall stools and every spot had its own iPad for you to surf, shop and especially order from the techie hipster bar that is there now. The whole thing felt rather uninviting and mildly fascist. You vill interact und you vill like it! Surprising Donna with our first class upgrade when we boarded was fun. Arriving in Atlanta we took 5 stops on the train and they were boarding our flight within 5 minutes. The next surprise for Donna was the arrival service from Club MoBay. Ours was the only flight arriving so the crush was minimal but it was still nice to be escorted to our own immigration desk and our own customs desk no waiting. Our hostess called our driver, he met us at the curb and we were off. All told it probably saved us 30-40 minutes. Was it worth it? Marginally yes but on a busy day it would be friggin' priceless. The road to Negril was a blur as I dozed most of the way and with a brief stop for supplies we were home.
First morning Donna is up and at em early and heads for the gym. I finally stumble down for coffee and eventually one of Teddy's yardie omelettes and barely move from my spot in the gazebo all day. Donna heads out again later to visit friends and I finally become mobile by going into town for cash and phone credits and we rendezvous at Yellow Bird for 2 for 1 dirty bananas. From there it's off to Canoe for the web cast. Joining us at Canoe was my bff Al and his wife Beth. I've known Al since we were in 4th grade and it was their wedding that brought me to Negril for the first time. Al is a master class home brewer and certified beer judge and also makes some outstanding meads. A couple months back he gave me a bottle of pimento berry mead that was simply stunning but he topped it by bringing a sorrel mead fortified with a bit of overproof. One sip and your mouth says "christmas in the islands mon!" Dinner was fantastic as always. I had the Lionfish and it was delicious lightly battered and fried. I only wish there was a second piece. The "new" Canoe is sweet! Same great vibe and Patty & Kirby are such excellent hosts. Maybe the best place to chill ever!
The Castle is looking great. There is a wedding here today and they have been cleaning and repainting. Security has always been good but they have added a uniformed guard service at night for even tighter reign. They are as guest friendly as ever they just need to know who is coming so they will let them in. Our plan for the day consisted of nothing until it was time for the Pirate Dinner at Bourbon Beach. I called and made reservations for 4 in the afternoon and Al and Beth met us there before seven. I have been reading such good things on the board about BB, the dinner and what Kevin is doing in general and was anxious to see for myself. Well it turns out that instead of the Pirate Dinner they had a big show that had been scheduled well in advance of the dinners but the person who took our reservation was the only one there who didn't know. Just as a harrumph is starting to work its way up from my belly Kevin walks up and introduces himself apologizing all the while for the mix up. The next thing he said blew me away. "To make up for it let me buy you dinner." They set us up a table with platters of jerk chicken and pork with fries and rice and peas. It was more than the 4 of us could eat. We will definitely go back for next friday's dinner. That kind of pro active customer service will generate more good will than he knows.
This mornings omelette has arrived so I'll sign off for now. I might show up in chat tonight from Seastar.
Bless...
Ed
