Lisa - July 2009
Trip
Number 8 -
The Sneak Attack
July
12-18, 2009
{Names and
certain activities not listed to cover the butts of the not so
innocent
J}
After my
last trip in February 2009, emails from my loverly friends started
arriving asking if I was going in July. I debated for a few
weeks (mainly due to my low tolerance for heat) before booking the
trip with the fluffernutters and deciding that, for the first time,
I wasn’t going to tell anyone (about 20 people who I knew from past
trips) that I was going. It was a real struggle since I was
asked multiple times by several people throughout the months before
I went.
I usually
fly non-stop from Baltimore on Air Jamaica and the only difference
this time was the departure/arrival times were about 1 ½ hours
earlier. I arrived at Montego Bay around 9:15am and after a
short wait in the Super Clubs lounge was on a shuttle with one other
couple who were going to a different resort (no one else from HII or
Grand Lido like other trips). The driver didn’t stop at the mid-way
stop (Yeah!), so it was non-stop service ‘home’ as well.
J
Check-in
was a breeze, a record breaking 5 minutes from resort arrival to my
room in the ‘naughty corner’ (closest to Sandals). I still swear
that they grouped us all together for a reason my Feb. Peeps!
Once there, I dropped all of my stuff off and quickly went to the
wild side to see who I could surprise first and was stopped along
the way by both staff and friends. The rest of the day was
over before I knew it even though I was literally awake for 24 hours
before I went to bed.
The
biggest issue for me during this trip was the heat (when not in the
pool). There was very little rain (only did so briefly one day
that I remember) and SPF 30 sunscreen was applied by friends several
times a day. The piano bar and disco had some A/C flowing, but
not enough to make much of a difference when filled with people.
Luckily I ate dinner 3 of the 6 nights in Pastafari (Thanks to those
peeps for including me in their reservations!), which had some A/C,
because the main dining area and Munasan was very warm, even for
local friends. Ziploc ice-bags and wearing head bands became the
norm for nighttime.
Another
norm was the gathering of the wild side pool crew starting about
midnight and ending a few nights when the bar closed (5am) and the
sky was getting ready for the dawn of a new day. One awesome
peep brought an I-pod docking station down to the pool each night so
we could dance, laugh and otherwise enjoy ourselves in the pool.
One of many highlights was when a handsome chap carried & bounced me
around the pool saying “you aren’t ‘Kyttles’, you are Kibbles n’
Bits, n’ Bits, n’ Bits.” And, yep, I have bits, n’ bits, n’
bits. Hehe! A quick shout-out goes to Carl, Ricardo and
Nicardo who bartended for us those nights.
Being part
of the fluffernutters group added many activities such as the PJ
night prude pool deck party, a daytime beach party, body shot
marathon, etc. Due to the heat and the large gathering of
peeps in the wild side pool area, a couple of the lunch time spins
were done there. One of many firsts was that Mega actually got into
the pool (with his normal clothes on) and was going around serving
rum punch shots. Given that everyone was usually in the pool
daytime to avoid the heat and ‘making hours happy’, I think this was
a great idea and I can see the Entertainment Coordinators (ECs)
being part of the group in the pool on a regular basis when the
crowd is there and it is so hot. I also think that the PJ
night pool party was a great idea and should be part of any high
occupancy week when the disco gets both crowded and very warm.
Other
firsts included having Sophia from the front office stop down at the
pool to talk to anyone who wanted to relay suggestions or concerns
and eating at Munasan with Okuson who was really fun dinner company
and very interested in knowing our thoughts about resort
improvements.
The ECs
this week included Winston, Brady, Rafael (started in April), Vixen,
Mega, GiGi, Dean, and Sunshine. Due to 2-3 ECs (Michael, Omeca
and ?) leaving fairly recently and the large group in house some ECs
did not get their day off (1 a week) and Tavis Smith (Entertainment
Manager?) helped on Toga night.
It was
also great to hear the musical styling of many truly talented
guests, in addition to the Winston and Dion in the piano bar.
One of the
things I have noticed and have come to appreciate about the peeps
who frequent hedo is that most of them are not there to get drunk or
drugged to an extreme – they are there to be socially happy.
This time a few who were there may have been great if only they had
moderated a bit better – thanks go out to those who helped protect
me from the seemingly uncontrollable.
The good
side is that for each idiot there are at least 40 who are amazing,
each in their own way. This trip was no exception, I had
awesome friends (new and ones from previous trips – both locals and
guests), hubbies, fantasy peeps (handsome as ever) and this time
even a hot ‘dad’ who wanted to make sure I could handle myself given
the crowd and my own boundaries. Lucky for us that I am not
interested in being with a couple as there would be a case of incest
happening (6-inch rule aside)! Hehe! ;)
For those
who haven’t been, hedo is truly what you make it – it can be a place
of making fantasies a reality (chocolate sauce anyone?) or a place
of calm relaxation. Little things like dressing for the theme
nights, bringing party props (anyone ‘up’ for another game of ring
toss with glow in the dark bracelets?), and generally being happy
add up to a positive experience that is truly good for the soul.
And, at
the end of the trip, nothing is better than a hedo peep reunion at
the airport’s Margaritaville!
I have
already booked my flights for February – see my regular and
irregular February peeps then!
Lisa
Aka:
Kyttles and Kibbles ‘n Bits, n’ Bits, n’ Bits
Email:
Kyttles@comcast.net
p.s. A
small thing I do now and appreciate is the exchanging of business
sized cards with names, email and pictures on them – makes it easy
for this blonde one to remember faces and names each time.
General
Resort Comments/Concerns
Ä
A/C in disco, piano bar and even Pastafari could not keep up with the
heat and number of people. The piano bar needs units installed
in the TV section and the piano section to be really effective.
The disco is always warm – the A/C units need more powerful fans in
there.
Ä
Adding blower style fans on the edges of the dining area and/or lobby
entrance area would help bring in air for the ceiling fans to
distribute more evenly.
Ä
PJ party on the pool deck for high occupancy weeks, this would really
allow people who don’t like the disco to enjoy the pool or just stay
further in the main dining area and those who do enjoy the music to
stay cooler.
Ä
Doing more of the wild side games (like find your mate, etc.) that used
to happen years ago instead of just bocce ball, etc.
Ä
Designate and offer smoking/non-smoking rooms. I am not one who is
easily impacted by smoke, but my room this year had a very strong
smoke smell that didn’t disappear after many air freshener sprays.
Ä
Keep the fruit/bread section from breakfast open until closer to
lunchtime. Many people have commented that it would be nice to
have a light breakfast open when they don’t wake up or leave their
rooms before 10:30am.