February 2004 Negril Trip Report:

January 30th - Woke up at 2:45 am to get to the airport on time. The temperature was below 0. We stopped at the McDonalds by us but they hadn't started serving breakfast yet so we waited and went to the one by the airport. I can never finish my sandwich when we're headed for Negril. I guess I'm just too excited. We met a really nice guy at the airport and time passed quickly chatting with him. Flight to Charlotte was uneventful. Greg amused himself by playing with his GPS unit and checking altitude, speed and location as we were flying. Once at Charlotte, it's always such a huge rush to get to our gate on time. Plus I have to have time for a beer and a smoke. It's a shame I made it a tradition because it never fails to upset my stomach. LOL. Our seating assignments weren't next to each other but a nice Jamaican lady next to me switched seats with Greg so we could sit together. I was kind of reluctant when she offered because she was so sweet to talk to. Neither of us had a window seat this time so the GPS didn't work.

Once we landed (85 degrees!) we were shocked to see that we no longer had to climb down the stairs to get off the plane to walk across the tarmac. It was so nice not to have to haul our suitcases down the stairs, across the lot and back up the stairs. There were no lines at immigration and we got our luggage and into Eddie's car in no time. We stopped for a Ting outside town and Eddie grabbed some kingfish. We were saving our hunger for our favorite places in Negril.

We checked into Idle Awhile. Marcia is so warm and sweet. She made us feel like we were coming home. We even got free drinks delivered to our room this time. We quickly unpacked and changed and left for Jah B's to get our scooter. We saw Juicy (the gardener) on the way out and stopped for hugs.


Our plan was to get a pattie from Miss Sonia when we picked up our scooter but she wasn't there so we went to Selina's. We met a hilarious guy from England who was home visiting his terminally ill father. We played with the kids while Selina fixed jalapeño poppers and then seafood and chicken cannelloni with callaloo. Selina likes to sneak healthy stuff in our food behind our backs and then she gloats when she tells us what we ate. LOL.


We gave the kids their presents and Zoe was a hoot. I said to her, 'What if I told you I got you books?' and she said, 'I don't like books' and I said, 'Uh Oh, I really did get you books' and she said, 'Oh, well I love those books'. Hee. I know what to get her next time though, I'm coming equipped with BARBIES! Later we got some coffee for the room (we packed a coffee maker) and headed home as we were exhausted. I practically fell asleep as we hit the door and Greg sat out on the porch to smoke a ten year old ERDM Demitasse  and begin the trip notes.

January 31st: Our room this time is a garden view deluxe and it's on the outside side of the property and the people next door at Coco La Palm were checking out early and woke us up but NO PROBLEM, we're in paradise! Greg made some coffee and we walked to the Boat Bar for breakfast but they weren't open! They must be having problems as last October they weren't open either. And I was really wanting some crunchy french toast and real syrup. Oh well, we ate at Idle awhile and then laid out for awhile and tried Miss Sonia's again but she still wasn't there so we went to Niah's for a pattie. Dang those things are good. Then we went back to the room to read and take a quick nap. There was a surprise waiting for us though, there was a brand new fridge in our room. Hurrah!!! We immediately stocked it and bought a bottle opener on our way to 3Dives for dinner. We met two really nice couples and took pictures and talked. We met another couple while we were eating who were also from Kansas City. They told us KC was supposed to get 10 - 12 inches of snow that night!

We stopped by Selina's on the way back for a frap and frozen key lime cheesecake. YUMM! We hung out with her and Big Roy for awhile and I downed some Red Stripes. Then we headed home and played cards while Greg smoked a PC Del Punch. I crashed and Greg caught up on the trip notes. We've got it all figured out. He records what we do as we go along and then I get it up on the web. : )

February 1st:  We slept in late and headed for Sunday Brunch at Selina's. We didn't get there until 10:30 and Selina said we had just missed our friends Dustin and Wendy. Carol Ann was there and she let us use her phone to call home to check in with Granny. We went back to the room and I hit the beach and Greg headed to Cigar World to pick out his daily cigar and hang out with Vinnie.

Later in the day we went and checked out Pirates Cave and then stopped by Negril Beach Club Condo's to scope out the property for a friend at home.  Then it was 3-Dives for dinner. The Granny Sauce was just made and still warm. Later, we got drinks at the bar at Idle Awhile and sat around and played cards.

February 2nd: We woke up extra early this morning to get pictures of the Negril River. I've been hesitant to stop there in the past as I knew we'd get hounded by all the locals around there so we were going super early in hopes we'd be left alone. So we jump on the scooter and pull over by the bridge, I hop off and I get like 30 seconds to fire a couple shots and up comes this old guy. He wanted money of course, and while Greg checked to see if he had something to give him, the old guy stuck out his hand and practically plucked the money out of Greg's wallet. We should have told him to forget it when he did that but he made off with 10 bucks. It would have been one thing for us to give him 10 bucks, not really a big deal, but he was so rude about it. It put a damper on the first few hours of the day for me. I just don't like being taken advantage of because we're nice.

We did our usual, breakfast at Selina's and then the beach. Later we went with Mr. Brown and Big Roy to the bank and then picked up the kids at school and got potatoes for Selina. We had garlic cheese bread and queso asado (divine). We played Skip-Bo with Selina and then stopped by Time Square to get a picture frame for the pictures I'd taken of Buppy and Zoe last October (note: just because the frame says 8X10 doesn't mean it really is). We missed Wendy and Dustin AGAIN! Wendy and Dustin are this awesome easy going, fun loving couple from Canada. We met them the night Greg and I got married in February. Actually they met my girlfriend Christy. So the next day at Selina's they were there and Wendy calls out 'Hey, Betsy'. What the heck? I've gone by Elizabeth since I graduated from college. Leave it to my friend Christy to always corrupt everyone. Oh, and Selina told us that Dustin proposed to Wendy the night before!!!

Later we went with Big Roy, Mr Brown and the kids to Sheffield to feed the dogs and get water. We saw the awesome progress on their guest house. After it got dark we could see the sugar cane burning on the horizon in the dark. It was really cool.  On the way back from Sheffield, I taught Buppy and Zoe 'The Quiet Game'. Ha! I didn't think it would go over but after one of them would mess up they'd say, 'Again! Again!' So Mr. Brown and Big Roy got a mostly silent trip all the way back to the restaurant!

It was after 9 when we got back to Selina's so we headed back to Idle Awhile and grabbed some Best of the West jerk chicken from the stand across the street. Mmmmmm. It was awesome.  Then we checked in with Granny again and called my girlfriend Christy to wish her a happy birthday. Afterward, Greg retired to the patio for a cigar and I hit the sack.

February 3rd: We had breakfast at Idle Awhile and then hit the beach. Later we headed out for the cambio and low and behold, we saw Dustin and Wendy at Selina's. Whoo Hoo! We hung out there for awhile and then Selina came back with Zoe from the doctor. She had cracked her head at school and required two stitches. Poor baby.

Eventually we made it to Rockhouse for lunch and by Times Square for Greg's daily fix. Then back to Idle Awhile while Greg smoked a cigar and I walked up the beach with my camera. On the way back I stopped by the bar for a Red Stripe and talked camera talk with this super nice guy named Brandon. An unassuming man sat with us for a while and after he left, Brandon told me he was the owner of Couples! Greg came down from the room and we hung out there until sunset. We went by Miss Sonia's for some delicious patties and then to Selina's to hang out.  We swung by the minimart for drinks and stuff and then back to the room for bed. Well, I went to bed. Greg hung out on the patio and smoked a cigar and caught up on this journal. Unfortunately this was when Greg realized that it wasn't the day after tomorrow that we had to check out of Idle Awhile but tomorrow!! We were totally bummed because that screwed up the plan that Selina and Big Roy would come hang out tomorrow night. : (

February 4th: We woke up early this morning to pack. We had plans with Dustin and Wendy to head out to Half Moon Beach and they were supposed to show up at 9:00! Wendy and Dustin showed up and we hung out on the patio for a while and had a beer and then they helped us carry our suitcases down to the lobby where we left them until 3:00 when we could check into Rockhouse. 

We all climbed on our bikes and we were on our way. There was a photographer there and two Italian models and they were doing a photo shoot in the bar area. We took our chairs out into the water and sat and talked. The water was so amazingly clear, we could see fish swimming by our feet and there was an adorable little Jamaican girl swimming around. Next thing we knew it was 1:00 so we had lunch there as well.  In the restaurant area there was a model of homes to buy there and floor plans to look out. I guess they're planning on building houses there at Half Moon Beach. We're hoping to win the lottery so we can buy one as well.

So we headed back to Negril and went to Easy Rock so I could dump my pictures to disc but the computer we needed was busy so we went back to Idle Awhile, tipped Juicy, the bartender and the beach guy (Romeo) and then moved on up to Rockhouse. See, we hadn't booked in time and Idle Awhile only had the first four days available. We were kind of bummed out and cranky that we were being usurped.

We checked into Room 28 in the building 'they are the least fond of' according to Matthew the manager. The room was basic and clean. This is what you get when you don't call well in advance to reserve a room. It was something like 90 dollars a night so well worth it. Just not up to the rest of the properties standards and certainly not like our yummy room at Idle Awhile.

We went down to Selina's for dinner, and then headed home after dropping off a coffee delivery for them.

February 5th: Breakfast at Selina's with Wendy and Dustin and then Greg and I headed back to Idle Awhile to hang out on the beach. We were horrified to see that they were cutting down the beautiful purple bougainvillea tree.  I guess it was encroaching on Coco La Palm's property. BAH!!! I bought a carved giraffe next door from the really nice and laid back vendor and then we were off to kidnap Selina and Big Roy for the rest of the day! They couldn't find anyone to watch the kids so Buppy and Zoe came along as well.

We stopped by Hi-Lo for supplies and then up to Rockhouse to hit the pool. The kids swam and Selina, Greg and I played Skip-Bo. Big Roy relaxed and kept an eye on the kids. We all had lunch in the restaurant  and then we all went back to the pool to swim and watch the sunset before heading back to the room. Everyone got warm showers and then we sat on the balcony for a couple hours just chilling. Selina and I had a blast singing old 70's songs. Big Roy was cracking up.

After our guests left we rode out to 3-Dives for a quick meal. We were astounded that we ordered, got our food and ate it within 20 minutes!! Then back to our room where I read in bed and Greg smoked a cigar and caught up the journal.

February 6th: Greg went up to Hi-Lo to restock the stupid mini bar. (A good tip at Rockhouse is to ask the maid to take all the drinks and water out of the mini bar on day one and then stock it yourself. Otherwise you'll pay an arm and a leg for a water or beer. We had thought we'd be sneaky and put back what we drank each time but the maid checks the inventory daily.) Then we had breakfast at Rockhouse and hung out at the pool all morning. I will say one thing about our cliffs experience. It was nice to get away from the sand for a bit. Later, we went shopping at Sunshine Plaza and I bought an awesome painting at Countrywide. We ran into Wendy and Dustin at Times Square later on and then we all headed to Selina's for a snack and then Wendy and Dustin took the kids swimming at their place.

Later, we met Wendy and Dustin at Selina's and walked over to Kuyaba to get some engagement portraits of them then back to Selina's as she was cooking our 1 year anniversary dinner! The three of them had seafood pasta and I had chicken jamaica. It was SO FREAKING GOOD. I practically licked up every drop of the gravy. YUMM. Wendy and Dustin and Big Roy and family each got us a card and a gift. : )  

Then we all went up to Pee Wee's to hang out. That is an awesome place with amazing ambiance. There is this fabulous rock stairway down to the water and Wendy and I climbed down them and sat and talked on the waters edge for awhile. Then we set out for Mi Yard to park for the Bob Marley Birthday Bash at MXIII. That was an interesting experience. You got a free beer coupon with entrance fee. I barely managed to choke down my warm Guinness. I guess that's how a lot of Jamaicans drink their Guinness. It was pretty gross for me as I'd never even had a Guinness before. The bands were pretty good. It was a lot of fun people watching. Wendy pointed out a few prostitutes and said that they always seem to hit on Dustin whether she's there or not! The next day we found out that later, after we'd left, one of them grabbed Dustin's crotch. LOL. I guess Wendy was right.  Greg and I took off back to Rockhouse at about 1 am and took a few nighttime pictures of the Rockhouse pool with the tripod.

February 7th (Last full day):  We were up at 6:30 for our ride around the West end and through Mt. Airy and Orange Hill. Then we went back to Rockhouse for a shared breakfast and hit the pool, chilled out for a while and then rented equipment to go snorkeling. That was awesome. We didn't make it to Xtabi but we saw some really cool fish.


Later, we went to Selina's for a snack and then did a little shopping and then back by Easy Rock to burn another CD. We headed back to Rockhouse to relax a bit and call Eddie to arrange our trip to the airport tomorrow. *sob* We took showers and napped for a bit and then went back to Countrywide as I decided I wanted one of those paintings for my best friend at home. We went to Niah's for a Pattie and were watching some men playing dominos on a picnic table and they offered to teach us! There was a young guy named Larry who was apparently winning all the games before we sat down. I had a streak of beginners luck and much to the older man's amusement, I was the first to win six games and thus the winner! The old guy just kept chuckling to himself while Larry sulked and muttered.

Then we stopped by Selina's to get all the coffee we ordered, but Big Roy was still roasting.  I said, 'That's okay, we'll get it tomorrow, it's all good' and Big Roy said, 'No it's not, we're really going to miss you guys'. I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

I was out of ciggs so Greg took the scooter to get me a pack and came back with my smokes and Red Bulls for all of us. I suspect that I've gotten Selina quite hooked on these during our stay. Although she did say one night she lay awake cussing us because she couldn't sleep so maybe she'll give them up .

So we head back to Rockhouse and once we got there Greg was like, 'Holy shit, we forgot to pay Niah!'. Seems we'd gotten so involved in the Domino game that we forgot to pay. So we headed back down to Niah's place but it was locked up. I could hear some voices from the vicinity so I called out to him and thankfully Niah came out. Greg explained what happened and he said, warm as can be, 'You haven't left yet, no worry', so we paid with a healthy tip, talked for awhile and rode back up to Rockhouse.

We walked down to the Yoga area by the pool and sat in the reclining beach chairs and  smoked and read for awhile. Once we went back to the room Greg decided he was hungry so we went down to the restaurant. Greg ordered conch fritters and we split an order of jerk chicken fajitas. Then we went back to the room to read in bed. We had plans to wake up really early and pack before heading down to Selina's for Sunday brunch.

February 8th - We heard the neighbors wakeup call at 6 am and the symphony of their smokers hack for about 30 minutes and then crawled out of bed. The walls in the cheap rooms at Rockhouse are paper freaking thin. It was really annoying. We packed, showered and checked out, put the suitcases and me in a taxi and Greg followed on the scooter to Selina's. We had breakfast and took pictures of Buppy and Zoe and met Mr. and Mrs. Biggs, as they'd just arrived. I could have cried we were leaving on the first day we met them. They seem like such a fun couple. Mango was also at Selina's and we hadn't seen him yet this trip. It seemed like everyone was showing up just as we were leaving. Greg went up to Cigar World to say bye to Vinnie and get me another pack of smokes (I'd left them in the taxi) and then he turned in the scooter. Wendy and Dustin showed up in time to say goodbye. They still had two weeks left for their trip! We talked to them for awhile and Greg got all the coffee into the suitcases. I sat with Zoe on my lap for the last 15 or so minutes. She was thinking she might want to come home with us. ; ) Our ride showed up and we hustled down to the taxi.  I'm sitting in the back looking out the window at Dustin and Wendy and The Bigg's and Mango and the tears started falling. Our time was up again. Buppy and Zoe were leaning up against the fence watching us leave with these sad expressions and my heart was broken. Until next time, that is.