Hedonism
II Trip Report
Nov
15 to Nov 27, 2000
Flew
down out of Baltimore on Air Jamaica. Had a very pleasant flight, excellent
service and actually arrived a little early in Montego Bay.
After waiting in line for some time behind a couple that did not have
the foresight to fill out their immigration form on the plane or bring any ID
more than their licenses (I guess they thought Montego Bay was in Kansas), I
was off to the Super Clubs counter for the bus ride to Hedo II.
The
wait was relatively short and the ride took about 2 hours.
That was OK. I got to Hedo about 2pm. Thanks to my roommates efforts
the room was already set up. All I had to do was check-in (a process that took
about 10 minutes) and off I went. I
was having my first drink at Delroy's before 3.
All
the staff looks good and in high spirits. Delroy is back to his normal self
after his Cricket injury and Bunny is also back. Although Bunny does not have use of one arm, which he keeps
in a sling, all things considered, he seems to have come through the stroke
well. He is in charge of housekeeping on the prude side, where they gave him a
office. It was great to talk to
him, he seems to be in good spirits. He said that he was overcome by the
expression of love by all the many guests who sent cards and gifts during his
illness. He expressed a sincere thanks for the thoughts and gifts.
The
food is about the same as it has been. No
culinary prizes here, but no one went hungry.
There is no more lobster night. From
what I heard they can no longer get the 700 lbs. of quality lobster required.
Too many hotels competing for a limited supply.
They tried to substitute with Cray fish, It didn't work. I talked to no
one who liked it. The Pastafari
was good, but even a little slower than in years past. Tried the Scotch
Bonnet. This is a Jamaican Restaurant that they set up by the pool.
The night we ate there it rained, so we were in the back of the dining
room. I had a Talapin platter and
Jamaican fruit bread for dessert. The menu consists of 6 or 8 authentic
Jamaican dishes. The food was good. Of course, Indiana is still turning out
the excellent jerk chicken and fish at 6pm at Roberts Nude Beach Grill.
As
usual the bar service was excellent. The
hut tub temperature was remarkably stable at about 95 degrees.
It was great for the shoulder to shoulder hot tub happy hours that
characterize Thanksgiving week and the week before.
Speaking of the hut tub, an old traditional game was revived once
again. The "car wash."
This is where members of one gender form two shoulder to shoulder lines
facing each other. Members of the other gender proceed through the line
getting a complete wash down. The
women added a new twist by having the men float through on mats.
Feel free to let your imagination roll and you have the picture.
The
scene at the nude beach and pool was typical of this period of time.
A little bit naughty and allot nice.
The Spanksgiving Day Parade was another raging success. 100 people
participated. Unlike other years, when we got to Sandals they were ready,
complete with cameras. It seems word went out in advance and they were
expecting us. I later confirmed this with a couple that was staying over
there. Also on Thanks Giving
about half of the Toga procession proceeded over to the Lido. This may be the
beginning of a new Turkey Day tradition. I am sorry to say I missed that (I was in Veronica's) but a
good time was had by all and they were well received at Lido.
Speaking
of Veronica's, it was another great year with Dave at the piano and several
truly talented guests such as Alan, Rich, Ann, and Cathy just to name a few.
It was fun singing some of the Hedo specific songs such as Rich's
"Ballad of the Vinnie," and Doug's "Hedonismville."
Of course Dave made it a point to have no less than 2 people strip on
the Piano each night. Congrats to all the strippers, they were good sports.
PJ
night Thanksgiving week was one of the better ones that I have attended.
First off, they improved the ventilation and air conditioning in the
DISCO. You can now breath in there. In
addition, there were several people who wore masquerade type costumes, which I
especially enjoyed. It was a refreshing change from the traditional leather
outfits and boxer shorts. Speaking of boxer shorts, there were very few
Vinnies there this year. Hopefully they have adopted Hedo III.
As
has become a tradition, I organized a group of people to go to church on the
Sunday after Thanksgiving as a gesture of thanks to the lord for the health
and wealth to make it back another year. We had 8 people go over this year. A
especially touching moment was when the priest offered a blessing for Mary and
Jim's 50th wedding anniversary. For me, that was one of the
highlights of the trip. After
mass we went on to do some shopping. Went to Times Square for the first time.
Times Square is more upscale than the Bi-Lo plaza and the prices are very
good. It is much closer too.
From
church and shopping, it was back to the beach. On Sunday Nov 26th my
last full day there, it rained all afternoon. Oh well, we still had fun. The
week before Thanksgiving the weather was beautiful with no rain.
However, Thanksgiving week was wetter than normal.
However, with only a few exceptions it rained generally before 11 and
after 5. There were a couple of afternoons where we had passing showers.
However, there was plenty of sun for everyone.
On
the 27th I left Hedo II on the 2pm bus. 12 days to the hour from
the time I arrived. I had a pleasant and uneventful trip home, even though I
accidentally ran the first red light I encountered coming out of the airport
parking lot. Luckily I didn't get pulled over. I wonder if a cop would
understand the concept of a Hedo Hangover.
Well,
in closing, it was great to see old friends and to meet new friends as well.
I did miss several people who for whatever reasons were unable to make
it this year. To those people I say that you missed a great party and
hopefully you can make it next year. I
hope that all of us can apply the love, tolerance, and compassion we practice
at Hedonism to our home lives.
One
final statement, to quote a friend, "God, I love that place!"
Delroy & Scumba