Late Wednesday afternoon I’ll be digging my toes into the warm sands of my favorite beach. I’ll probably hang out at White Sands for a while, then walk down to Sunnyside, say ‘Hi’ to Maureen and have a Stripe or two. Later, I’ll turn westward and watch the first of the 35 sunsets that I’ll be seeing this reach.
Yesterday, Bea and I arrived home from Panama City Beach, Florida, where we spent a month. It was nice. I love the Gulf Coast. The people there are genuine and very friendly. But now I am more than ready for Negril. This will be my second trip to Negril in three months; I spent 12 days there in early December. That was a solo trip; Bea was working and I just had to escape the winter-hell that is Ottawa. As I look out the window now, it’s snowing heavily – like it’s saying, “Welcome back, sucker.” So I’m rip-roarin’ ready to get the flock outa here.
We’ll be in Negril for 35 days. Like last year, there’s gonna be a constant stream of peeps coming and going during my stay – so I expect to be busy, but busy in a good way.
Lately my writing muse – her name is Calliope – has been begging for some attention; some nurturing, some exercise. It’s like having a big old dog that needs a daily walk, or an itch that needs scratching. So – thought I – why not scratch Calliope in the form of a good ole Negril.com trip report?
Then I thought – well, that could be a problem. You see, I don’t go to Negril to party, or to stay up late or to drink a lot, or to smoke my face off. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just not my style. I’m not saying that I don’t occasionally indulge in the aforementioned pass-times, I just don’t make any of them the object of my day. Most of my days in Negril are quiet, laid-back, contemplative and somewhat repetitive, so my trip report might be a bit boring for y’all. That’s why I usually don’t do trip reports; my life is predictable, repetitive and by most people’s standards - dull. But then I thought, what the hell, I’m gonna go for it, and if people find it boring, well . . .
So, for what it’s worth and whatever it may become, I humbly submit this opening piece of my 2013 Negril Trip Report.
Tomorrow I’ll go over the cast of characters that will be dropping in over the next six weeks. They are, after all, the meat in the bun of my moveable feast. But right now I’ve got to do some packing.
