WWW 1999 (The Journey)

WWW’99 was not just a trip for us, but a journey. It is only appropriate that we tell the whole story from the beginning, so here it is. After returning from our first Hedo experience in October ’98, we stumbled on Denny’s web page. That is where the journey began. It began with simple postings on the main board and the submission of a trip report. We never expected that this would ever lead to anything, but were we wrong! What it led to was a journey of meeting new friends from around North America and from our hometown of Phoenix. It all started with an innocent e-mail from Diane that forever changed the lives of a lot of people. One thing led to another and before we knew it, we had the opportunity to meet Diane and Denny face to face in a "likle " Jamaican bar here in Phoenix. I guess we hit it off, because over the next few months we became very close friends and continued to get together whenever we could. Our Phoenix group expanded and we quickly became friends with many of them having the common thread of having all been to Hedo.

We also started chatting in Denny’s chat room on a regular basis and had the opportunity to get to know many of the people that were going to WWW’99. We became internet friends, and began getting to know these people in such a way that it was like we were life long friends when we finally did meet at Hedo. We felt this really made a difference in our experience on this trip, as opposed to our first trip, when we went not knowing a sole. It was interesting finally meeting these people, because you develop perceptions about people over the Internet that is not always reality. It was a very rewarding experience. Denny’s photo album also helped in allowing us to recognize people right off the bat. All in all it made a huge difference.

As this was going to be our 5^th trip to Negril and only 2^nd to Hedo, we were determined to drag as many people into town as possible. We are not ones to sit idle and knowing the area very well, this proved to be very rewarding. There is so much more to Negril then Hedo, and we feel that people make a huge mistake when they don’t leave the hotel.

This trip report is written in great detail for our benefit, so we can someday look back on it. Please excuse us if it is wordy.

As we are morning people, we would wake up early and try to catch as much sun as possible before the rains came in, which was every day on this trip. Dan (the drummer) would keep Jeff, Kim, Boomer, Steph (when they woke up) and us in stitches until Delroys opened. We became very close with these guys, as we had so much in common. Sitting around chatting provided some of the nicest times of the trip.

We scheduled our trip to spend 10 days at Hedo, arriving on Friday and leaving the following Sunday. The Flights were fine and we arrived at Sangster airport about an hour late, just missing Denny and Diane. (We were surprised when the Air Negril rep knew our names and said that they were looking for us). Having booked through Go-Classy tours under a special they were running, we were provided with a voucher to fly to Negril via Air Negril (We flew over with Travis and Lisa). Having taken the bus on all of our previous trips, this is the only way to go. It is a 15-minute flight and well worth it! We arrived home about 1pm and were ready to party! Since our room would not be ready until 3pm, we headed to the nude beach hoping to place our things in someone’s room. We recognized Greg and Kathy (who would become our disco-dancing buddies) from the photo album, and lost our bags and our clothes in their room. Finally we were naked!!! From there, we started running into the WWW group (My kindred sprit- Boomer and Steph, Jeff and Kim, Bob and Kathy, Bare and Becky to name a few). It was so awesome finally meeting everyone, as it seemed like a big family reunion. That night, Diane, Denny, Bob, Kathy, Lance and Jessica threw a birthday party for me (my birthday is in June, but what the heck, I am always up for a party). Diane made me dress up in a mesh thong and off to the dining hall we went. It was really nice and I was really touched. (Thanks guys, it really meant a lot to me) Jessica and Kathy were dressed to kill in stunning red dresses, and for some reason I had a shit-eating grin on my face throughout dinner. (I have to add that Kathy’s smile lights up a room and Bob’s sense of humor was darker then mine which was a real treat.) We partied well into the night, dancing in the disco with Greg, Kathy, Bob, Kathy, Hedo Tom and Barb. We had a blast and we did some interesting dancing, guess you would call it line grinding. We had a total blast and ended up in the cold/hot tub some time early Saturday morning, where we proceeded to laugh our heads off, back flipping out of the cold tub into the pool. Having killed the romantic atmosphere, we then wandered out to one of the floating rafts where members of the Jamaican glow worm team tossed glow rings out to us. We really got a kick out of wearing these and watching all the glowing bodies out on the beach. Eventually we headed off to our room (2158) where we crashed.

This is the day when the bulk of the WWWers were coming in. We booked ourselves on the catamaran cruise. This was our first one, and it was a blast. Jeff and Bette scammed a half-gallon of Bloody Marys from the prude bar and the party was on! Snorkeling nude is so much fun, and we decided to try the slide at the Pickled Parrot naked. One time is enough, as if almost flipping out on the rocks isn’t bad enough, the salt-water enema was an eye opening experience. Rolling around in the net with your favorite person is highly recommended though. After disembarking, we saw Ro standing at the pier waiting for us with a drink in his hand. I promised him that I would meet him at the front desk when he arrived with a drink. OPPS! We went to the hot tub and meet the www crew (Smiling was smiling just as I imagined, John and Ellen and Damian and Robin all greeted us), and we were so excited to meet Med face to face, after countless hours of chatting and many phone calls. The rest of the day became a blur, wandering around carrying Ro and Meds luggage all over the resort trying to find their room. We were rewarded though with shiny new 14k gold rings for our piercings. (Thanks guys!)(4 days is not enough, next time book a longer trip!) Another night of partying, dancing and relatively early night to bed, as the jetlag hit us like a ton of bricks. (It rained like heck, and for the first time we were actually chilly)

This was the day of the impromptu trip to Margueritaville, down on the beach. Greg, Kathy, Shaunda, Steve, Don, Sherri, Hedo Tom, Hedo Barb, Ro, Med, Jeff and Kim joined us. I believe the newly arriving guests enjoyed watching us rub some of Shuanda’s nipple erection cream on each other, as we waited in the lobby for the bus to pull up. Margueritaville is our favorite bar in Negril, and the ladies got the place fired up when they all lost their tops and went for a swim. The place seemed to really come alive and for good reason! We drank pitchers of Dirty Mangos and Margaritas. One of the best moments of the trip came as we walked down the beach and Don (an ex-baseball player) joined in a game of cricket with the kids on the beach. There were 8-10 kids lined up, trying to strike him out. It was truly a magical moment, one I doubt he will ever forget, nor will I. We returned to Hedo, ventured down to the hot tub and ran into Shelli, Chris, Jan, Andy and The Baron and Teresa. This was a thrill, as we had been chatting for months. The WWW crew had congregated in the nude pool and it seemed that when we came back a huge party broke out, and of course Boomer and I were right in the middle of it! (Gee, What else is new)? The rest of the night was spent partying and dancing. Line grinding was the dance of choice, as both Kathys, Bob and Greg and us rubbed sweat all over each other! Didn’t seem like anybody minded though.

This was the day of the wet tee shirt contest. All I can say is that the girls were awesome! You would never get us up there. This day seemed uneventful, although it was packed with fun.

Gums excellent adventure. We rented a huge bus and took The Baron, Theresa, Boomer, Shaunda, Steve, Shelli, Chris, Judy, Rodger (boy were you two in for a surprise), Damian and Robin into the Hills. We drove up the mountain through Orange Hill to a place called Jurassic Park. This place was a bit hokey, but had some cool metal sculptures of Dinosaurs. I got to meet the artist and we had a real nice talk. I am not sure everyone enjoyed it, but I tend to enjoy meeting Jamaicans so it was a blast for me. I was touched when he pulled out a crude visitor’s log and asked me to sign it. Next we headed to the Lighthouse only to find that the owners son who had the keys was busy making love to some girl under the cliffs. We couldn’t climb the lighthouse, but we did surprise the guy and his girlfriend as they tried to hide from us. He was kind enough to pose for a picture, but was a little embarrassed as we gave him a hard time. Really was pretty funny. Next it was off to A Jamaican Bakery called Sips and Bites, where some of the group enjoyed some Tea and Cake. It was here where we met the Rootmon who was selling a legal herbal tonic he was touting as an aphrodisiac. This was a good purchase as Steve (from now on referred to as "The Rootmon") and I found out. This stop really got the day rolling for a bunch of us. It was way too much fun.

That night was the PJ party. Dressed to kill in my black boa and leather thong and Bette in her sexy nightie, we danced as best we could with Steve, Shaunda, Conrad and Lisa. It was really hot, and being one not to want a lot of attention, we retreated to the Hot Tub just before they called my name for funkiest PJ outfit. (Steve chanting Rootmon, Rootmon the whole night was way too funny!)

This was also Jessica’s birthday, we had carried a bottle of special Tequila from Mexico as a gift, but were unable to get it to her that night. When she reads this she will understand, I hope. OPPS!

This day turned out perfect and was so much fun!

This was the day of the Denny Roast and the WWW cruise. It again was a truly special day. Diane and Sharon really deserve kudos for putting together the roast! We spent tons of time with Diane and Denny throughout the trip, eating dinner, in the pool, tying togas etc., Still we felt we didn’t get enough time with you guys. Being part of a 100-person group will do that I guess. The WWW cruise was a total blast, with one of the highlights being me getting caught in the netting. For all of you that jumped into help (NOT! wouldn’t want you to drop those cameras LOL), you know exactly what I mean by getting caught! It was pretty funny though, and I escaped intact! Dancing with Bette while the sun was setting was also a great part of the cruise. I did manage to give Jessica her gift earlier in the day, and it was worth carrying the bottle all that way as I felt her gratitude. Happy belated Birthday Jessica! Later that night we ate at Pastifari’s for the only time on the trip. Greg, Kathy’s, Jeff and Kim’s and Anita’s company was really nice though.

This was the night of the Toga party, and Bette was designated the official toga designer. She looked stunning in her sheer toga, and she did a nice job on Mine, Denny’s, Diane’s, Robin’s and Damian’s. We ate dinner with many of the WWWers, but decided to head to town with Conrad and Lisa, as this was their last night, and we are not much into the conga. We missed the village sluts (Bummer), but had a real nice dinner of Lobster Frajitas at the Pickled Parrot. Sitting at the most romantic table in Negril and chatting with our friends from Phoenix was really nice. After dinner the four of us went to Debuss to see the Gregory Issacs Birthday Bashment. This turned out to be a blast, as artists from all over the Island came to perform. The crowd was 75% Jamaican, so you know it was a special concert. We returned to the hot tub, where I shared a shot of Jessica’s birthday Tequila. She could tell that I am a Rum drinker, and not a Tequila drinker.

This was an uneventful day. We joined Diane, Denny, Robin and Damian for the 2:30 snorkling trip (really was at 2 o’clock right, Diane?), the speedboat took us to meet up with the rest of the crew and we enjoyed crashing in on the prudes! Naked people snorkeling, the nerve! We were really tired and went to bed at 10:30 and set the alarm for 4:30 the next morning.

We woke up at 4:30 am to watch the sunrise. There was only one other couple out on the point and the nude beach was really peaceful. The sunrise was really nice and we decided to play around in the waterfall and check out the grotto. We went back to sleep, woke up a few hours later and enjoyed the sunshine. We went on the catamaran cruise again and sat by the net with Doug and Nonie. It is kind of funny how you meet people at the end of your trip that you wish you met earlier. Please send that picture of us in the net. (Common theme here). When we got back to the pier it was pouring and lightning. We headed out to the floating raft and entertained the crowd staying dry under the massage shack. Yes Jan, you can have a backrub next year. There is something about rainstorms that get us in the mood. It was a magical moment. When we got back, we enjoyed the rest of the day and evening doing what we did all week, partying and dancing. As this was our last night we made the most of it. The last people we saw that night were Boomer and Steph and we headed off to bed.

This day was a killer as it was time to leave. We had a late flight and killing the time was difficult. Saying goodbye was even worse. Next time we would rather go early. We flew out at 3 PM on Air Negril and left on time via Air Jamaica at 5.

This trip was so much fun. The people were what made it so special and we hope to meet all of you again. The friendships formed will last a lifetime and we will always cherish the memories. Thanks to everyone for making this the trip of a lifetime, with a special thanks to Denny for making it happen and Diane for being such a good friend. This will go down as one of our best trips, until next year of course!