WWW DEC. 2002 TRIP REPORT
STEVES PERSPECTIVE ~
(aka Hot Rod)
As this was my virgin trip, and this my first trip report, please bare with me as I ramble and bounce around as there is so much to tell.
I had a little over six months of pre-trip training, thanks to Debbie (Shower Queen) talking almost non-stop about how much fun I would have. All that time I admit I wasnt sure what I was getting into, but I was willing to try. The result? When do we do it again!!!
We left on Friday mid-day, picked up Luci (also a Hedo virgin), whom I had never met, but Debbie had met her before. After stuffing my one bag and the luggage of two women into the car, we were off to LAX. The car parked in Long Term parking, one shuttle bus later we were at the Air Jamaica Terminal way before anyone. We got in the line, and sat on the floor until we got boarding passes and went to the gate. We stopped for dinner and a little later Frank joined us. The flight was uneventful a little late leaving, but the time was made up in the air. My first discovery was free Red Stripe on the plane. After about 6, the next thing I remember was Debbie poking me to see the coast of Jamaica. We were there already! At the luggage claim, we ran into George Stults from the TV show 7th Heaven. This is Debbies youngest daughters favorite show. George was kind enough to do pictures and autograph a script cover page for her daughter. He was real curious about Hedo but was headed for Sandals.
We boarded the bus with five other people. Two for Grand Lido, the rest for Hedo. The bus driver asked who was a first timer. I timidly said Me and was shown to the front seat of the bus. The driver proceeded to try to scare the s__t out of me for the next two hours. We hit the timing of the marathon and detoured through the mountains of Jamaica. Very beautiful countryside, bad roads, no roads, chickens, cows, goats, people in the roads, construction, mud, delays and lots of horn beeping. We finally arrived and waited for an hour for a room. When we were given a key, we found our room already occupied. After a quick room change, we unpacked and headed for the pool. Well it was now or never for me so I dropped the clothes and never looked back. Up to the bar to meet Del Roy who must have thought I needed my own beer tap. Ill admit that I really over did it that first day. In a little under three hours I didnt know my own name. I knew everybody elses six months of training helped there.
Heres where things get a little fuzzy. There was a pattern emerging though breakfast at 8 am (the best meal of the day). I loved the Jamaican coffee and all the different varieties of food. Were those donut things really waffles? Is there such a thing as too much bacon? After breakfast, off to the pool. We never really had lounges as we stayed in the water most of the time and I learned really quickly that two drinks are required to maintain balance. We enjoyed the virgin initiation in the hot tub, as I had to participate in that no choice J. The welcome party was nice, so many gifts from everyone.
Back to the pattern we did lunch most days in the dining room, and saw the Wet T-Shirt contest, Men in Motion, Battle of the Sexes, and all the other fun, crazy stuff. After lunch, it was naptime, then back down to the beach to sit in the water, drinks in hand to watch the sunsets.
We took part in the WWW Catamaran Cruise and had fun snorkeling and swimming. Even accompanied Rasta Ralph in some songs. Diane set up a dinner at the Rock house for a group of 21, which was nice. The waiter assigned us all alphabetical letters (by couple) to keep the orders straight. We were I, Twayne and Thea were E so it went like E-I-E-I-Ohhhh! (you had to be there). PJ night saw some really strange outfits! We had dinner in the dining room, Pastafaris and Munihana and they were all great. For those that ate in the dining room, sorry about the lack of chocolate syrup for the ice cream. Youll have to ask the Shower Queen what was up with that. How did it get all over the stairs by DJ and Bruces room? Hmmmm.
The best part of this trip for me was all of the people. Everyone acted as if they had known me a long time and accepted me into the middle of everything. A whole group of instant friends how cool! The trip was an absolute blast and on the last day, Debbie had to drag me kicking and screaming from the pool. One more mudslide please?!? Okay, two!
Things I enjoyed ~ The people, the parties, the activities, the food, the drinks, the playtime, sleeping on the beach, floating in the cove, the hot tub and so much more!
Things I would liked to have changed or improved ~ Erratic Hot water, lack of towels at the pool, the tour groups passing through, the waiting for a room, leaving.
All in all, it was a great trip for me. An adventure I hope to repeat many times. My sincere thanks to Denny for all the work organizing a group this large and to all the people I had the pleasure to meet. See you all next time!
DEBBIES PERSPECTIVE ~
(aka Shower Queen)
What can I add to what Steve wrote? Well, I can tell you that the best part of this trip for me (except, of course, seeing all of my WWW friends again) was having Steve there with me. How did I get so lucky?
I did all of his pre-trip shopping and the look on his face when I brought home those black sheer boxers was priceless. I had so much fun watching his daily transformation from Hedo Virgin to Hedo Manwhore. The transformation went something like this: Days 1 & 2 ~ wearing shorts, t-shirt, shoes and carrying his towel to and from the beach/pool; Days 3 & 4 ~ just wearing shorts and carrying his towel; Days 5 & 6 ~ just wearing his towel (maybe); Days 7 & 8 ~ just wearing a big smile. J On our departure day, I really did have to drag him from the pool when it was time to go. I guess you could say he had fun!
Im not going to try to explain about the chocolate sauce what happens at Hedo stays at Hedo.
Thanks to all who shared these memories with us. We both look forward to seeing everyone in December 2003 (if not sooner).