I had better get this written before I read other WWW trip reports. Since Deb isnt going to get this started until at least NEVER, Ill get the trip report started and she can add, amend and use the wifely over rule to delete<Note from Deb: You better believe it buster! If I leave this completely up to you, it just wont be right. LOL!>
Since we had to miss last years trip due to Debs heath issues, we were long overdue for our 7th trip to Hedo. It seemed like we got the party and the planning started even before Denny opened the registration. While Deb was busy planning her outfits (slutwear), I was busy planning the door theme and getting the other essentials around. <Note from Deb: Yes Dear, The Door, The Door, The Door.for 8 months I heard The Door!> With so much planning and anticipation, I began to worry that this trip could not possibly live up to all the build up. Luckily, this trip more than exceeded our expectations, and it is true that the trips keep getting better and better. It was great to see everyone and share some great moments. The bottom line is that this trip really rocked!
Why? Yes, it because of the great friendships that are made and strengthened. Also because by now we have figured out what works for us and what doesnt work for us at Hedo.
Things that work:
Letting Deb decide what time the cab should pick us up to take us to the airport. As many of you know, Deb arranged for the cab to be at our house at 3:00 a.m. for a 45 minute ride to the airport, we had a 6:40 a.m. flight. After much pleading, I did get her to change the pick up time to 3:30 a.m. Needless to say, we were one of the first people to check in for the flight. Thats what works for Deb! <Note from Deb: Much pleading, HA! It was more like ARE YOU CRAZY!!! Why dont I just send you and the luggage on ahead at midnight, and then Ill meet you there when the plane boards.>
The Travel Gods smiled upon us. The Air Jamaica flight left Chicago approximately on time <Note from Deb: on time is relative> and the flight was pretty non-eventful. Since our arrival time was around 11:30, we knew that we were on one of the first flights in, so if we hustled we might get enough ahead of the crowd to not get stuck a long line at immigration. So when the plane landed we hustled off the plane and down to immigration. It worked out well as it only ended up taking 15 minutes to get through immigration, and you meet the nicest people in the immigration line, dont you Rick and Cindy? <Note from Deb: It was more like Brian telling me to run ahead of everyone else, because he had our carry-ons so I knew if I didnt sprint up to the front of the line Id be in trouble. LOL!> Once through immigration, it was down to pick up our bags. Believe it or not, our bags were waiting for us...what service. So we grabbed the bags and had no line/no wait to get through customs. This is going good. Just a quick stop in the SuperClubs Lounge, not even long enough to sit down because the bus for Hedo was loading to depart. Total time from landing to being on the road to Negril was less than 30 minutes.
It was a full busload to Hedo, which made the trip a laugh and story feast. Due to the fact that we usually came in a day later than everyone else, this was the first time we had ever had a full bus of Hedonites, the ride just fly by. We met Rick and Cindy (actually ran into them in the Immigration line), Mike and Lady Di, Scott, Scott and Greg. Poor Di was so nervous about the Virgin initiations and we couldnt tell her a thing about it. LOL!! Pretty much because by the time the initiations got started we were no longer virgins. We all talked and talked and talked and then the bus pulled off to do a beer stop. Another first for us was the beer stop. Wed never been on a bus that stopped on the way to Hedo before. It turned out to be just what was needed because both of us were getting a little bit motion sick from being turned around in our seats talking so much and the gentle movement of the bus. I kept telling Deb that if she was feeling queasy she should turn around and face forward, but she was too busy talking to a bus load of Hedonites and as anyone who knows Deb can attest to, BOY can she talk a lot. And fast too.
Next stop was Hedo. Check-in was a breeze; I must give a big thumbs up and thank you to the front desk staff. At this point, they listened to our needs and accommodated them in a big way. This made for a much more enjoyable total trip experience. <Note from Deb: Yes, they were very good to us given our request. I am grateful for that. It wouldnt have been the same trip for me otherwise.>
Okay, now we checked out our room, it was so convenient, just what we needed. Total time from touch down to room, less than 2 hours. This is working well.
We have learned that it is important to eat before you venture off to say Hi to everyone; otherwise you get too busy chatting and drinking to eat. That can result in a much shortened first day. We had a quick lunch in the dining room and then went off to make a quick trip down to the pool and beach to say Hi to everyone, after which we were going to take a short travel day nap. That was at 2:00. Next thing you know, it was jerk chicken time! My how time flies when you are seeing old friends, and making some new onesoh it is so nice to be back home! We made it until 10:30 that night, pretty good for travel day.
Actually, most nights we called it a night before midnight and then we would be up around 6:30 every morning. It is so nice to go down to the beach, secure some chairs and watch the sun come up. The resort is so peaceful at that time of the morning. Once I had the chairs and made myself presentable, it was time to head up to the dining room for breakfast.
Hedo is the only place that I take 2 hours at breakfast. <Note from Deb: And this ladies and gentlemen is a miracle in the offing.> Its nice to sit and chat as others wake up and hit the dining room for breakfast.
From this point on things dont blur, but they do keep getting better and better.
Oops, I almost forgot about the Sunday Morning Tragedy. One of my favorite things to do at Hedo is to lie on an air mattress and float in the bay. Since it was my job to take care of the essentials part of my job was to get the two person float, so I spent countless hours and did side by side comparisons on the internet before selecting our float for this trip. I get it out of the suitcase and take it down to the dive shack and they blow it up. Now either it was over inflated, had a manufacturing defect or it was an Act of God that occurred, because by the time I had walked back down the beach with it, it had deflatedwhat a bummer, a huge hole at a seam! <Note from Deb: Yes it was a sorrowful time that we spent mourning our beloved, yet unused raft.> It was beyond repairall that effort and comparison for naught. But we did find out that they do sell one person air mattresses (not top of the line) in the gift shop. They were narrow and not very comfy, but at least a person could float. The good side of the story is that the next day we were able to secure a double raft for the remainder of the trip.
Now back to the good stuffgetting the door decorated. You know it has to be just right. Once completed, even Deb thought it was cute. While it didnt win valuable prizes, it did give me the opportunity to show off my big inflatable.
The Welcome Reception in the disco was nice; this is about as close to organized as I like to get during the week. It is nice to have a review the events/activities for the week and to run into to people that you havent found on the beach or at the pool yet.
Since we missed last year, we missed the inaugural MMB on the beach, so we didnt fully understand all of the discussions about it after the trip. This bash sure is different than the MMT in so many ways, and the auction is a great idea. After the fact, I really wish we would have brought a die-cast for the auction. Jim, Nissa, Steve and Nancy did a great job with it. Having a band on the beach was so much fun and Deb was more than willing to show off her purchase from Lainas sexy lingerie selection, or was it the martini that Jake and Hazel introduced her to that made her that way.either way, it was a blast.
After such a great Saturday and Sunday, Monday was pretty much a lay low, sit and gab day. At dinner it was wear your country colors night, so we had the red, white and blue on. Note to self.always remember, our Canadian friends only wear red and white on Monday Night. <Note from Deb: DUH!!!!>
The next big adventure was Tuesday. We try to go off the resort at least once per trip, shopping, sight seeing, eating or all of the above. Since you can no longer get lobster prepared at the grill we decided to go off resort to have some, no big deal. We had heard about the Office of Nature and the grilled lobster you can get there, so we decide that would be fun to try. The Office of Nature is over on Bloody Bay, so we got a small group together (Todd, Kathy, Patti, Chris, Deb and myself) and had a boat drop us off over there for lunch. Good thing we were going for the experience as it was quite the experience Silly me, when they said rustic, I expected an older shack with a few tables, chairs, a bar and a good view of the ocean. Well, it did have a great view of the ocean because you were sitting outside. There are no walls, the bar is a cooler and the chairs are one long bench with one long table. The kitchen is a table and grill 20 feet away. As far as a dining experience, it is unique. One draw back is that you do have the pleasure of table side service by the locals trying to sell their wares during your meal. Be prepared to have much patience with the experience as it can be very entertaining. The lobster was worth the inconvenience. It was very good, but make sure to negotiate the price before sitting down, otherwise the price does tend to fluctuate. In fact it even fluctuated within our group. The best part of the whole experience occurred after the meal. We had about 45 minutes to wait until the boat came back to get us, so we all just waded out into the bay and enjoyed the beautiful sand and sea together, it was probably one of those you had to be there moments. Bloody Bay has some of the best sand and it just goes on and on and the bay is only about waist deep!
Tuesday afternoon Deb left me all by myself while she went to stuff stockings for the school children. So while the wife is busy, I get to go sailing. <Note from Deb: At least he doesnt turn the boat over when hes by himself.>. It is so relaxing to be out in the bay, if you havent tried it, you should. If you have tried it and had technical difficulties with the boat or the wind, dont give up...if I can over come these things, then so can you.
Luckily, I didnt get blown over to Cuba, so I was ready for the Tuesday Night fun, Naughty School Girl Night. Since Deb made the effort to get a sexy school girl outfit that she looked sexy in, I figured I would have some fun and dress up like the class nerd/dork. My inspiration was Master Obi Jake. Using his photo from last year as a guide, I packed the appropriate attire. I was the nerd/dork and Deb was the Sexy Naughty School Girlnot much of stretch for either one of us. It was a lot of fun, but there were a couple of unforeseen things. Next time, Ill remember to pack the hair gel. There is nothing worse than getting all dorked up and realizing that you forgot the hair gel to slick back your hair. Being the resourceful person that I am at Hedo, I found that lube will slick your hair back just as well and it has so many other uses. (INSERT JOKE HERE). Also, those thick glasses really dont get any easier to see out of after a couple of drinks. Please, if you have any photos of Deb and the nerd/dork please feel free to e-mail them to us. <Note from Deb: Im so sorry Tammi, Ill try to keep him under better control next time. LOL!!!>. BTW Serall, with you and Deb in the same school girl outfit, it doubled the viewing pleasure!
Of course what fun is being a dork if you cant eat with some wonderful people? We had dinner at the Jamaican restaurant with John, Diane, Les and Chris. I dont think I have laughed that much in ages. It is so nice to have the restaurant down at the prude grill; it does make it a unique dining experience. The food and service was outstanding.
After that if was time for PJ night. A quick trip back to the room to wash the lube out of my hair and change into our PJ outfits. It was so nice to have PJ night in the dining room. The event was well attended and you could still move around, talk to people, and it seemed so much easier to get a drink. <Note from Deb: Yes, it was very nice and I could breathe well. Some of my health issues involve problems with the lungs and the ticker so it was nice to have some room.>
Wednesday was the Wet T Shirt Contest. All I have to say is that next time I get to lick chocolate off Georgette, I want to take it nice and slow, even with Gary helpingLOL. What a hoot that was.
Thank you Hazel and Georgette for all your efforts with the Erotic Gift Exchange. Some of the gifts were awesome. I knew that I should have used the steal option to get the Pooping Santa when I had the chance, I had to get one when I got home. <Note from Deb: THIS was a riot! My sides hurt from laughing when we left.>
For some reason we didnt get an invitation to the repeaters party under our door, and we forgot what day it was, so we missed the party. Thats one of the perks about Hedo, if you are having a good time, you can easily forget what day it is. Oh well, no problem mon well just have to catch it next year.
Wednesday night was Black and Glow Night, so off course we had to glow. It was also the one romantic meal that Deb and I had together in Pastafari. The food and service was good and the company was great. After such a good meal, Deb needed to call it an early evening, so I tucked her in and then went back to the dining room to enjoy the entertainment. <Note from Deb: Eh, actually I had one of those Gotcha bugs thats gone the next morning. It was a great night with my beloved hubby. >
Thursday comes and I get time to go sailing again while Deb accompanies Denny, Georgette, Diane, Robin and Scott to deliver the Christmas gifts and stockings to the school kids. This is your part dear..Thank you, Ill try to continue this trip report in the spirit in which it was started.
<All from Debs point of view>: This year was the first year I was able to help with the stocking stuffing and visiting the school. It seems like in years past I was either too early or too late, so this year I made it a point to make it priority. Same deal with the school, in the past Ive always wanted to deliver the presents, but it never did quite work out. I am so happy that I got to do both this year, especially the school part. It was a wonderful experience and much different than I expected it to be. The excitement, the smiles, the curiosity and the love from the children was so pure, it is very difficult describe in words. I guess Ill just try to share the experience and you can close your eyes and imagine the experience and those beautiful little faces.
When we pulled up in front of the school, I wouldnt have known it from any other building along the road side had it not been for the name plate on the front of the building that read SANTOY BASIC SCHOOL.
In this school they have around 80 boys and girls ages 3-5 years old. The school isnt very big for the number of students they have. All 80 kids are in one room for lessons. They do have a small sick room and a tiny kitchen for food preparation. Lunches are taken at their desks or at the tables in the classroom. The kids really got excited and most got up when we came in. Mrs. Patterson, their teacher, was able to keep everyone orderly until after we had passed out the stockings. The older kids remembered this from last year and the year before, the little ones werent sure what to expect. They all had those big smiles and much excitement in their eyes. They couldnt wait to look into their stockings once they received them. The gifts which we brought were going to make their Christmas Party more special, Mrs. Patterson was keeping the gifts to hand out at their Party Day on December 17th which was their last day of school before Christmas break. Sadly, for many of the children, this may be their only present at Christmas.
If was fascinating to interact with the children, the little ones were curious about the different skin color and the different hair color, they kept wanting to touch my skin and hair. Im certain that they havent seen too many blonde gals from the Midwest before, let alone close enough that they could touch. It really hit home that they have a different view of the world and experiences than my own children. ALL of the children were so loving, it just came pouring out of them, they kept giving hugs, Ive never really seen a more loving group of children. It was almost like we were celebrities being mobbed by fans. Scott had a huge crowd around him. He was taking the kids pictures on his digital camera and was showing each child their own picture in an instant. They couldnt get enough.
It was really a touching experience for me. My own children are very affectionate with me, but this seemed somehow different. Knowing that many of these children would only get one gift for Christmas definitely made me reevaluate how much our kids get for Christmas. The absolute joy in the eyes of the children at that school was priceless.
I want to thank everyone for letting me tag along to help, and Georgette thank you so much for letting me know when the stocking stuffing was. That was a lot of fun and a whole lot more work than I had originally thought. I would like to volunteer myself for all of this next year too, it was all so special. J
Thursday night is toga night. Last time WWW had purple togas Deb made some really nice ones. Now I dont know whether they got lost in our house move last year or if little elves came in the middle of the night and stole them, but I could not find them anywhere at home prior to leaving. So we had to improvise. Our outfits werent as good as on Naughty School Girl Night, but it was still fun and we did have purple on. Of course Deb looked awesome! Toga night is fun but they need to get it going a little earlier. By the time it had revved up, Rick, Cindy, Patti, Deb and I were over having too much fun shooting pool. Its probably just as well, shooting pool seemed safer at that point and it was easier to keep track of your drink.
Friday, time to go home. When we arrived on Saturday, Friday seemed so far away and now Friday was already here. Luckily, we dont have to leave until after lunch, so plenty of time to get some final sun, fun and float time in. Then like that before we knew it, it was time to board the bus to the airport. It is so sad to say good-bye to so many people. But it is awesome that we got to share so much fun with everyone.
Now the only thing left was the bus ride back to the airport and the dreaded wait in line at the ticket counter and immigration. Let me tell you about our wait, that whole 10 minutes that we had to wait in line at the ticket counter was a killerand then at immigration, there was one whole person in front of us, so that took about a minute. Needless to say, the airport was no problem and our flight actually took off on time. <Note from Deb: They boarded and took off early to make up for the relative lateness of our departure from OHare.> I was pleasantly surprised by the timely service of Air Jamaica on this trip.
Things that dont work for us (The list is small):
Late night at the hot tubdont ask us what goes on at the hot tub late at night, as we just arent late night people. <Note from Deb: If Im up past 9:00 then its a late night for me. Need to work on that.>
The TV in the room. At first we thought it wasnt a problem, and we were pretty good about keeping it to the news channel and that educational channel. But towards the end of the trip I realized I didnt feel so out of touch with the real world as I usually did. It used to be fun to hear the news or weather through gossip and sort of forget about the real world for a week. On one night there was a major news story happening in Chicago, so instead of spending time with each other, we got sucked into following that story. Next time we go, no news. The novelty of the educational channel wore off very quickly as sharing with the wife is much more enjoyable (see Mike, I can say nice things about my wife too!). Besides I can see variations of that at home, but I just cant replicate what Jamaica does to my wife at home. <Note from Deb: Put a beach in the back yard and see what happens.>
The Jerk Chicken was BBQ Chicken instead.just not the same.
The salad bar in the Main Dining Room didnt have the variety of real salads that it has had in years past. <Note from Deb: Salads were just Ehthe rest of it wasnt bad but we are salad/fruit lovers and didnt see much but apples and oranges in the way of fruit on a consistent basis.>
Other comments:
To me, the resort looked the best it has looked in our 7 trips. The staff also seemed on top of their game, now either I bring out the best in people or they are pretty happy because I didnt run into any bad attitudes the staff was all GREAT!
Towels were not a problem; we never had any problem with towels. <Note from Deb: The towels were so new that we had little fuzzes all over us whether we wanted them or not.>
The piano bar.on one occasion, I heard one of the band members playing some smooth jazz along with the piano, that was nice to hear.
The private room Jacuzzis are nice, we had one of our best times just sitting in one chatting with a good friend.
In closing
A big thanks to Denny for coordinating this great group. It was so nice to spend time with Mike and Lady Di, Rick and Cindy, Dick and Patti, Todd and Kathy, Bob and Heidi, Andy and Patty, Bernie and Elaine, Steve and Char, Bill and Patty...what no more nightly chats? John and Renee, Jerry and Edie, Mike and Michelle, Scottits about time to see you at a Chicago Hedo Club Party, Larry and Lauraso when are we going to go to a race? Jake and Hazelgood job getting Deb turned onto martinis. <Note from Deb: Im going to try real rocket fuel some day and see how it compares.> Diane and her room mate whats her name <Note from Deb: Yeah, who WAS that whacko, goofy chick anyway? LOL!!!>. Rupe and Pattyisnt that the same towel youve worn every year? Iggy, it was so nice to meet you after six other trips with you. Chuck and Cindy, we have to get you up to a Chicago Hedo Party. Gary and Georgetteif you guys do make it to Chicago for a Hedo Party, Gary and I have to go maul someone. <Note from Deb: Might that be that whacko goofy chick we already mentioned?> After all those Sunday Night Pretrip chats with Mike and Tammi, it was finally nice to meet the timid little darling! <Note from Deb: Again, Tammi you have my sincerest apologies for letting the dork get loose. LOL!!!! Hes going to try to do better next time.> Sorry that those we missed listing anyone but it was all great!
Lastly, thanks again to Jim and Nissa, Steve and Nancy for the MMB fund raiser. I told someone at work about it, how much money was raised and the scholarship.so now they think I go on a legitimate vacation.LOL! <Note from Deb: Still a weirdo for going to the same place over and over again, but yes, they think its legit now. LOL!!!>