Trip Report #6
February 24-March 3, 2004
Unlike our December trip, this flight was uneventful. Ya mon!!! We decided to go with only 7 days heads up which was not enough time for Air Jamaica (they need 7-14 days as they only do snail-mail) so we went via US Airways in order to use our Frequent Flier miles. Flight was as expected but really missed the direct AJ flight and the on resort pre-check out with AJ. We took Tim Air in and got a great aerial shot of the beach, but their price increased and were not sure if it was worth it. We brought our Christmas presents and wore our WWW hats that had still been packed in the suitcase from before.
Bare Facts
After meeting the Bubbly Bares for the past several years at the Hedo Reunion at Sandy Hook NJ, we finally joined them on this trip which was #6 for us and had a blast. We did miss a couple of Bares who were unable to make it this year Doc Overproof & Ms. Doc who was remembered fondly with many opting for membership into the Overproof Club. Yes, I know we obtained our membership at the Hedo Reunion but that was then. J When four oclock came, thoughts turned to Bubble Lady & her hubby with their cheery smiles & flowing bubbles who also couldnt make it.
We were officially inducted as Bares along with a couple of others and after their Initiation Ceremony, the Bares Champagne Beach Party began and ending with 91 empty bottles of champagne. About five unsuspecting revelers woke to red fingernails and toes done incredibly precise and swiftly by one Sneaky Bare. Hubby has now added champagne right next to purple muthafcukrs to his list of beverages to avoid. Yup, it happened again! Too funny!
Rastabare and Dr. Spank celebrated their birthdays with everyone and were arrested by uniformed police officers who handcuffed them to two dining room chairs which were brought down to the beach. Each was charged with their respective crimes as read by robed Judge Donna Grant who left their fate to the maddening crowd. It was truly a sight!
I earned my Dr. Spank T-shirt however, the good Dr. was very disappointed at the lack of interest by the others and may have to let go of some of his staff unless business picks up next year. Speculation was that the Champagne Party put most of the guests down for the afternoon.
Dining
We heard the resort was sold out at one point and the main dining room had every table set and occupied. Lobster was missing from the main dining room the whole trip. If you were lucky enough to have booked Pastafaris (as we were) on one of the two nights they had it as a special then good for you! We left the resort and dined at Kuyabas ordering lobster which was excellent only to find it was also served that night in Pastafaris. It would have been nice if there was a way to know this a head of time. Kuyabas was good but a piece of metal found at the bottom of the glass of soda of our guests and managements lack of attempt to take ownership of it put a bit of a damper on the evening.
The Japanese restaurant was in a state of confusion couldnt seat us because we only had 7 in our party and they wanted 8 we then came up with another couple but they didnt want 9. The whole time we watched an empty section of table that could have easily fit 9 (which we have done in the past) remain empty until they felt like seating us about 40 minutes after the time we were supposed to have been seated. Fried rice wasnt offered and we didnt realize it until the sticky rice was put in front of us. No one took drink orders sake wasnt offered and they ran out of green tea ice cream so there was no dessert.
The Scotch Bonnet was excellent perfect night, clear sky and a gorgeous full moon with a luminescent ring surrounding it made ambiance unparalleled. Easy to talk and we had a great time getting to know new Hedo friends.
One night, all the tables in front of the Japanese restaurant up to the stage were marked with cards placed in the center of each table, non-smoking. Thats a first! Not sure what prompted that as people had been smoking there all week. Itll be interesting to see if it holds in a place that has no rules.
Day
Afternoons brought on lots of PDAs by other guests. Shows in the cold whirlpool were almost daily and one set of gals was applauded after one did a back bend over the rounded edge of the spa. One day we were in the cold spa chatting with a couple from a prior trip, when the other four couples in there with us were receiving BJs and the entire pool areas attention was in our direction. It was pretty funny trying to act nonchalant. Our friends commented they felt they should be doing something since it appeared we were the ones out of place!
Security was inconsistent at best. One day reprimanding a Bare who was nekkid from the waist down because he had a tank top on (he wanted to protect his back from burning) and making him take it off to the next day allowing textiled people (complete with shirts, shorts, socks and sneakers) to roam the nude side, get served at the bar and get food at Roberts & hang out without even a nasty look in their direction. There were easily at least a dozen or more women with bottoms on too. Go figure!
We brought down a binder with printout pictures of the Sandy Hook Reunion and circulated it among the guests at the beach and we met someone for the first time at the beach that was at the Reunion and we didnt know it! Weve left the Photo Album with Donna Grant so any of you Reunion veterans feel free to be the keeper of the book for the week and spread the word for this year!
Night
The TV in our room was interesting. First time weve had one. You may want to pack extra AA batteries just in case your remote is dead. It took a while to figure it out and help from a friend instructed us on how to program the TV to receive the Playboy channel. Hubby was happy to have that occupy his time while I showered until a problem with transmission arose down after the second day affecting of course only that channel. Not sure if TVs are a good thing. Our neighbors left theirs on all night long. It drowned out the sounds of the tree frogs and could be heard even with earplugs in. We also heard several TVs on during the day. The sounds of Hedo from H-Block had changed dramatically from the familiar reggae CDs/radio stations and love-making sounds from the past. Hope this was just an isolated instance. Wonder what they plan to do with the old TV Room.
Maybe were getting old, but everything seemed LOUD! Its almost as if they think if the volume is louder, the more fun people have. It was difficult to have a conversation with anyone in the main dining room once the entertainment started.
The Piano Bar was sad. Dave was not there and it was pathetic. People sang and no one cared. There was no applause. The three different pianists we saw could play the piano, but none had talent to command a room. They had no crowd control and there really was no entertainment factor. One night only a handful of people were there. The night there was a crowd, again no one was paying attention to the pianist - people were just about screaming at each other to talk above the person singing and the TV which would be on at the same time. Its basically just a common bar. We stopped going after a while.
We spent more time in the Disco this year since the Piano Bar sucked. That has stayed the same and you expect it to be loud! No problem, mon!
We actually joined one of the resorts activities which we rarely do because of sand gravity. We participated in one of the Tantric Sex classes. Hey, you can still get cardio up there! ;)
Again, we met some great new friends on this trip and hope to see everyone again on a nekkid beach somewhere!
