10 Years, 12 Nights, 6 Hotels, ONE LOVE - April 2012 Trip Report

[Clarity]

Sweetness also made an appearance



Marley and I visited Sweetness in her upstairs suite. We all sat together on her balcony taking in the view and catching up.

We really all felt like family and I felt like this trip would never end, like we would all pass our time together at Catcha in Paradise for the rest of our days. This was the first time I had stayed in Jamaica long enough to feel this way. The urge to run to the next party or chase after the next adventure was dissolving. I was just content, relaxed and happy in the moment. I felt no anxiety about anything… it was a wonderful feeling and a gift from Jamaica that I accepted.

That night we had our last dinner together. Markus, Marley, Ninja, Guirigay, Sweetie pie. Marley and I ordered our favorite dinner yet again. The Seafood linguine and I savored every bite.

We had our last Ivans bar party with our two favorite bartenders, Ty and Kevin.



Next up was Tawnee’s Birthday bash right around the corner at Seastar Inn. Unfortunately Guirigay, Sweetiepie and Brasi couldn’t join us. They needed to leave early the next morning.

It was time for another round of goodbye’s…

Which meant more waterworks from me…

You would think that it would get easier after the first round of goodbye’s but it didn’t…

I don’t want to write about this goodbye because it will make me cry and it’s already been a pretty emotional week for me.

Guirigay, Sweetiepie and Brasi know how I feel about them. We’ve all been through a lot together. They are compassionate, caring, kind, beautiful friends that hold a very close place in my heart. The connection we all have is one that I can not put in words. I’m so grateful for every minute I was able to spend with them during this trip. (As you all know, Markus had a bit of a bromance thing going with Guirigay…It was pretty hard for him too.)

I still had tears in my eyes as I walked down Seastar lane towards Tawnee’s birthday bash with Marley, Ninja and Markus.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand and straightened up. “Okay” I told Marley ”it’s our last party together. I’m not going to be sad. I’m just going to enjoy every minute”

We were late arriving to the party and we missed quite a few people, but thankfully the party was still going strong. Here are some pictures from that fun night.


Jim and Donna


Markus and Tawnee

[Guirigay]

It was time for another round of goodbye’s…

Which meant more waterworks from me…

You would think that it would get easier after the first round of goodbye’s but it didn’t…

I don’t want to write about this goodbye because it will make me cry and it’s already been a pretty emotional week for me.

Guirigay, Sweetiepie and Brasi know how I feel about them. We’ve all been through a lot together. They are compassionate, caring, kind, beautiful friends that hold a very close place in my heart.

Every time I read your words you know what I'll see...

The connection we all have is one that I can not put in words. I’m so grateful for every minute I was able to spend with them during this trip. (As you all know, Markus had a bit of a bromance thing going with Guirigay…It was pretty hard for him too.)

Let me see what I can do, It should only take me the rest of my life...

(((((((((Markus and Daisy)))))))))

[Jim-Donna]

It was such a Pleasure meeting you two. How is that little one coming along??

[Clarity]

Thanks Kaycee, Angel, Gerryg123, BillnDonna, sweetness, Spottycatz, Boogs, Marley, Irieworld!

Lol Seveen! You crack me up! Sorry for making you cry..AGAIN! I'd really love to meet you some day!

[Clarity]

Been waiting for this part of the trip. Need to know what we're going to in April. Don't leave nuffin' out now!
And Plug is the man to speak to, yes?

Yes, Plug is the man. He's great and he'll help you out with anything you need. He'll even go to the grocery store and Milo/Marianne will cook a meal for you. The three of them are so warm and welcoming. You'll feel at home in no time. You're going to love it!

[Clarity]

It was such a Pleasure meeting you two. How is that little one coming along??

It was so wonderful meeting you both too!!

We are still working on that and we're hoping for some good news soon! You know that as soon as there IS officially a little one on the way, we'll be screaming it from the rooftops. Believe me, you'll know! lol

P.S. We've also decided to take one more shot at a "Jamaica Baby".*fingers crossed* Soon come!

[Clarity]

So my goal is to finish this trip report before the world ends. That's scheduled to happen this Friday so clearly it's time to wrap this up.

I have a cold and I'm at home sick from work right now. This gives me some time to post a new update and some more pictures. I apologize in advance for typos, I'm kind of foggy in the head from all the cold meds... But here goes...

Day 11 continued...

I agree with everything Markus wrote about Banana Shout. It definitely does have a hippie commune feel to it. I love the bright colors and the entire funky vibe of the resort. There was no one else there at the time, so we really felt like we had the entire place to ourselves.



This was our first time staying in a room right on the edge of the cliffs. It was an amazing experience for us... to step out the door of your cottage and have the beautiful view of the turquoise ocean right in front of you. I loved hearing the waves lap against the cliffs while swinging on the hammock and feeling the warm breeze. This was truly heaven.



We went for a dip in the sea...



And afterwards we enjoyed using the outdoor shower built into the cliffs. It was really refreshing. (We also gave the boat floating by on it's way to Ricks Cafe with a crowd of tourists quite the show...)

Next up was a trip to Fun Holiday on the beach end to say Goodbye to Beachgirl66, +1 and Becky.

[Clarity]

We just missed Maureen by a few minutes but Robert was still there. He gave us a warm and enthusiastic greeting. It was so good seeing him again!

We noticed there was a new sign up and there is room on the back for visitors to sign their names. If you look closely you'll see ours up there:





Wpyogi and her +1 were happened to be strolling down the beach and greeted us. I was psyched to bump into them again and so glad they were still in town. They hopped up on the bar bench and joined us for a few rounds of cold Red Stripes. It was a lot of fun!

[Clarity]

At one point Markus disappeared to take another swim in the ocean. He was gone for a while but when he returned He was in very good spirits.

"I just saved a bee!" he announced with a smile.

I laughed "Um, That's nice, Dear"

It wasn't until a month later when I was going through the video footage from our trip that I saw what he was referring to. I smiled from ear to ear when I saw this. The footage was so oddly touching and heartwarming to me that I pieced the video clips together and posted it on Youtube.

For those who haven't seen it yet, Here it is:





This video shows you a glimpse of what I love about Markus. He has so much awe and respect for every little living thing on this planet. He's really a gentle soul with the biggest heart. I'm so grateful every day that I have him in my life. He makes ME a better person.



Love this beautiful man with every fiber of my being.

Sorry I have to stop here. I'm feeling really drowsy and my head is pounding. It's time for me to drink some hot tea and head back to bed.

To be continued...

Bonfire webcast party at Seasplash w/ Spottycatz, Lorax, Indybob, Bella Bea and a whole bunch of great boardies coming up