Our plans to go to Jamaica on a vacation began all the way back to July 1998. Unable to celebrate our 25^th anniversary (we got married young) due to me being just put in charge of a year long project at the shipyard; we decided to celebrate our 26^th at Jamaica. I started acquiring information on the various resorts at the end of November. By January Cheryl and I decided to go to Hedo II, reservations were made and the countdown began. Shortly after we made our reservations I ran across Denny’s web page and sent an email of our visit dates to Hedo. Denny in turn sent us an email that our dates were during WWW 1999 and asked if we wanted to join. We did. The day after we signed up on Denny’s Attendees we started getting email from others going. We thought that was great! At that point I knew we would probably have a good time.

Finally, July 13^th arrived and we were on our way. Except for our flight delay in Charlotte, the trip went smoothly…..no that’s not true. We followed the suggestion of others and took the bus from MoBay to Hedo. What little roadway there is… is full of potholes and road construction was going on throughout the journey not to mention it was pouring down rain. My body was still numb from all the vibration an hour after we arrived at Hedo but at least the rain had stopped. I must admit though, the people that suggested it were right. You get to see the island, coastline, people, and small communities during the journey. You should experience it at least once.

We finally arrived at Hedo at 5 PM. Our room wasn’t ready yet so we went to the closet bar and got ourselves a drink. Within 30 minutes we were being escorted to our room. Once in the room I threw our bags on the bed, walked over to the room window (which faced the beach) and opened the curtain. Below us was the volleyball court and a (nude) volleyball game was in progress. I told Cheryl to come over and take a look. Her reaction still makes me grin but at the moment I wondered if we had made a mistake coming there. When she came over to the window all that came out of her mouth was Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! And she slammed the curtain shut. I asked her what was the matter and she said, " I’m not ready for that yet". I didn’t push the matter and we proceeded to unpack our bags. Once we were situated in the room we decided to go grab something to eat at the main dining area. The meal wasn’t extravagant but we thought it was good and the open area setting was nice and tropical. After eating we decided that we needed to go to the hot tub and relax after our long trip there. We slipped into our swimsuits and proceeded to the pool/hot tub. Once there it was nothing for me to drop my trunks (I guess I always wanted to run around naked and not get arrested for it) but Cheryl stood there and said, "I don’t know if I can do this". Once again I’m thinking…. ooops! After a minute she finally removed her swimsuit and hastily made her way to the cool down pool where I had started to get into. We started talking with another couple (forgive me I can’t remember who they were) in the pool and Cheryl started to forget a little about her being nude. From the pool we went to the hot tub where we stayed for a short period of time because it was PJ night and we had to get ready. On the way back to our room we passed Denny and Diane’s room. There were at least a half dozen people there and the door was open. We made our way into the room to meet the people we had been conversing with via email for the past couple of months. No sooner in the room we were greeted with hugs as if we’ve known them for a long time. Thank you….we no longer felt like strangers. I remember somebody asked us how we liked Hedo and if we’d come back. Cheryl replied, "maybe".

Cheryl had two outfits for PJ night; one being more revealing than the other. Not really knowing what to expect I suggested Cheryl wear the less revealing outfit. It didn’t take much to convince her. Once at the disco we realized that her other outfit would have fit in perfectly. It was like a Frederick’s of Hollywood fashion show there. We danced until around 1:30 AM and then proceeded to the hot tub. One would think at this hour there wouldn’t be too many people there. Once again I was wrong, there was at least 40 people in the hot tub. We finally retired to our room around 2:30 AM.

I guess since I’ve been getting up early for what seems to be a lifetime, I woke up at 6 AM. Cheryl was still sleeping so I set out to find some coffee and do some exploring. It was like everybody went home after the PJ party because everyone was still asleep. I found some coffee at Robert’s Grill and proceeded to walk around the resort. All the visitors were still asleep but the employees of the resort were already busy raking the beach, sweeping the walkways, cleaning the pools and getting breakfast ready to serve. Today was our 26^th anniversary and not unlike yesterday it would proved to be memorable. We started the day like we did the remaining days there. First we grabbed breakfast at the main dining room and then proceed to the beach to relax and work on no tan lines. We stayed on the beach usually from 9 AM til noon. This proved to be a smart move since it seemed to rain every day sometime between noon and 3 PM. We went to make reservations to eat at Pastafari for a nice anniversary dinner….. I screwed up. The placed was already booked for the entire night. Little did we know that it was common for a Wednesday since it was Chinese at the main dining area. In the afternoon we went on a private catamaran cruise with about 50 other people from the WWW group that Denny had arranged. Thank you Diane for making sure there was a place for us on it and Denny for arranging it. We cruised the jagged coast and it was beautiful. The cruise stopped at the Pickled Parrot for swimming, swinging off the rope on the cliffs and cliff diving for those brave souls. During the cruise we met and conversed with more newfound friends. Some of the group provided entertainment during the cruise that that I won’t discuss here but I’ll tell you we'll probably never forget. On our return trip they made sure they swung by Rick’s Café where the group lined the side of the catamaran and provided moon shots to Rick’s patrons. After we returned to Hedo we ate, returned to our room and fell asleep for about an hour and a half. After waking up we paid a short visit to the disco and then back to the hot tub for our nightly visit. About 2:30 AM we left the hot tub and walked the beach. We found an empty hammock, laid in it and before you know it we were making out with the water lapping the beach near our feet and the moon providing just the right amount of light. This was truly an anniversary to remember. I remember, during the day, somebody asked us again how we liked Hedo and if we’d come back. Cheryl replied, "probably".

The next day pretty much the same morning routine…. up early, coffee at Robert’s, explore, breakfast and then the beach. Took some pictures while exploring this time so I could show the friends at home what the resort looked like. Nobody was really up yet so I didn’t have to worry about getting somebody in the picture that didn’t want it taken. We went to make reservations for Pastafari early that day since we didn’t get to go the day before…….yep, I screwed up again. Seems it was closed on Thursdays…..S__T! During the afternoon we went in town so Cheryl could shop for some gifts for her friends back home and our family (damn I wish she didn’t have so many friends). Luckily the daily rain shortened our shopping excursion. Back at Hedo we returned to the pool. After lounging around for an hour or so I remembered that it was Toga Night and we missed the toga tying demo….Crap! We rushed out of the pool to shower and figure out how to make up the togas. I did remember to bring the safety pins from home with us. I didn’t have any problem. Wrap around the waist and throw the excess over the shoulder and presto! ….a toga. Cheryl on the other hand was something else. Calvin Klein I’m not and Liz Claiborne she isn’t. After about 15-20 minutes and 10 safety pins later she was wearing some semblance of a toga. Really it didn’t look too bad……..little did we know. During the course of dancing around her top came loose twice and fell almost to her waist both times. The MC of the party was calling up women (whom he referred to as virgins) based on how much they were covered up. He motioned to Cheryl. She knew she wasn’t a virgin so she turned around to see whom he was calling. Cheryl finally realized that he was talking to her. She shook her head and said, "I’m no virgin". The MC told her to turn around. Little did Cheryl know that her toga was really falling apart and most of her rear was showing. After the MC seen this he agreed with Cheryl that she was no virgin. Only one complaint about the Toga Party. The sheets are heavy and after carrying on and dancing for awhile, they get really hot. After the party was over we changed into something cooler and went to the disco. Didn’t spend too much time at the disco before we left for the pool/hot tub.

Look at me rattle on! The last two days were as memorable as the rest. Yes, I finally got reservations as Pastafari on Friday and we found the food excellent, a wonderful atmosphere, and great service. On Saturday night the entertainment at the main stage dining room had a female singing group from Jamaica called "Ebony". Kind of like our "Supremes". They were fantastic! If you ever go to Hedo and they’re on stage; you need to seen them.

Remember Cheryl’s answers to if we’d come back the first two days? By the third day her answer, when asked by someone, was a definite "yes" and on Sunday as we were sadly departing she said, "When we come back next year we’re going to stay a minimum of 10 days". Also, that same person that that said, Ahhhhhhhhhh!" as I opened the curtain and didn’t know if she could remove her bathing suit on our first day…….By the third day what little clothes she wore when we were outside the au natural area were being thrown off as we reached the au natural area and on the fourth day as I was taking her picture with Mark (a Hedo entertainment staff member) she was clenching his butt in her hands.

In closing (I know you can’t wait), Cheryl and I agree our vacation to Hedo to be the best vacation we ever took. I know the start of the first day was a little shaky for Cheryl but before we left she even had to talk and laugh about it. We averaged only about 3 ½ - 4 hours of sleep a day but we found the vacation relaxing….go figure? The resort itself was only part of what made the vacation the best with its location, landscaping, staff, activities and entertainment. You can find that in a lot of places (probably not the same type of activities). We use to stay at hotels whenever we went on vacation but there was something wrong with the atmosphere. It was the people. You seldom got to know the person staying in the next room much less the one down the hall and you even more seldom did anything with them. A few years back Cheryl and I started camping. Why? Because of the people. The people seem friendlier, you shared meals, stories, have drinks together, go places together and help each other. Both Diane and Denny talk about "people" in their Trip Reports. The people made Hedo the best vacation we’ve had. We made a lot of new friends… Denny and Diane, Chip and Patty (If you read this send me your email address. I have a good picture of us together I’d like to send you), Baron and Theresa, Bob and Kathy, Rob and Lisa and Greg and Kathy to name a few. Our only regret is that we didn’t really get to meet everyone or take part in many of the activities with other people in the WWW group. We brought home a lot of memories of what not only we did but the memories of the people we met and the things everybody did together. We hope to return to Hedo next year and as Cheryl said, "for a minimum of 10 days". We look forward to seeing our friends again that we made this year and to meet new friends. If you ever get in the Charleston, SC area in the mean time look us up.