Random Resort
I needed a spot to fit in random thoughts. This will do.
There were kids at the Resort, but not many. We stayed in adult only accommodations and had interaction with kids of all ages in the common areas. I enjoyed watching them have a great time. It reminded me of when I'd go to Florida with our son, Chris, now 37, when he was little. More than once I stood and watched some big eyed, little kid taking it all in. I even played a few moves on the giant chessboard with the most adorable toddler just full of SPUNK. It didn't matter that she had bowled over half the board pushing around a Bishop almost as big as her lol I didn't see any kids that weren't well behaved and never once heard whining or crying. A couple were tired and looked ready to spar, but Dads had a grip on the situation and nothing a nap can't fix. Bravo to all the parents! You could keep younger children easily occupied, but unless your older kids can keep busy snorkeling or doing some Cat sailing or video games in the Black & White club, there's not a lot I could see for tweens and teens that would hold interest for longer than a couple of hours. You might be spending time and money off the resort.
We didn't go to the Spa. We could have paid US$10 for access to the pool, outdoor Jacuzzi and a small lazy river, sans tubes. Treatments were 50% higher than what we'd pay at home.
We also didn't make it to the Sport Complex. We don't play tennis or basketball and vacations are no place to work out in a gym. That's why there are pool exercises.
We did want to play mini-golf and had a dozen opportunities, but another wishlist item slipped through the cracks lol Next time for sure.
I stopped them and asked to take their photo. I think they were happy for a distraction. I did up a Scrap page for them and e-mailed it.
Surprisingly, I did not see a lot of birds at the Resort. There were some doves, 2 of which spent every night in the palm outside our balcony. There were small birds that reminded me of our Sparrows, but they never stayed put or they hid in the shrubs. I could hear others, but they weren't making themselves visible. There were occasional seagulls, but not like our seagulls. One fella told me there are usually more birds, but the wind has them "taking care of their business elsewhere" lol The large black Glossy Ibis was one constant, being on the shoreline. I'd watch them every morning hover along the shoreline, gliding on the currents. When I was up watching the sunrises and the first fishermen heading out to sea, they would fly out over the Sea and dive for fish.
Glossy Ibis
My Favourite Souvenirs
The photo was taken by a photographer at the hotel. He walked the grounds taking several random shots of people. We went to his little kiosk in the "mall" of the hotel to pick one then we got the frame in one of the 2 gift shops there. I found a $20 Jamaican coin in the bottom of my purse when I got home so I glued it to the frame :) The kiosk (Photo Hut) has one package for a cost and they will follow you around the hotel for a day taking ramdom shots of you. I think they even offered a photo book of your vacation.
On our way to dinner one night, we happened upon a Market. Once a week the Resort hosts a sale for a selection of local crafters in the lower Lady Hamilton lobby. The hotel stores had some discounted items set out as well.
The heart is a coconut shell. An older Rasta man makes and paints the hearts and personalizes them when he sells one. We picked one and he asked us what we wanted on it and told us to come back a little later while he did the printing and glazed it. We finished dinner and went back to get the heart. It wasn't quite dry enough so we checked out the other vendors.
On the way back to our suite we went to the liquor store in the mall. Some were gifts. The photo shows what's left. We've been enjoying the Coconut Rum Cream in our late afternoon coffees. It was the only 750ml bottle we got. I can't wait to try it out in a couple of drinks and recipes. We went to the Miss Lou Reader Bar for a late dessert before we left for the shuttle "home". It was set to look like an old estate library/piano bar. We'd heard they had fantastic chocolate desserts. They were pretty slim on any dessert choices by the time we got there and we settled for a piece of carrot cake that just didn't cut it. The chocolate urge was too great lol
Yes, we can be the obvious tourist lol We visited the shopping mall in the resort for gifts and picked up a couple of things in Negril. I love my little Jamaican coolie. It fits a small bottle of Rum Cream just perfectly lol Of course we got the obligatory wrist bands, T-shirts, jerk spices, coffee and coffee mugs. I also got the cutest key chain - a thong (the sandal type lol) painted to look like the Jamaican flag ;) I picked up 2 new hats (straw at the mall and my new cap in Negril) and some really nice tanning lotion. I'm ready for some hot sun so I can wear my hats again. As I type this, we are being liberated from the aftermath of an annoying 2 days of freezing rain & ice pellets. The weather is finally looking and acting a little more like Spring. I don't think it's too early to start looking at properties for our next trip.
 left for us + 750ml & lg coffee |  love it :) |
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 Cap is quilted :) only US$15 |  Perfect! |
 What it's all about! |
Finally, random photos of me and Mike.
Departing Toronto. 29 yrs since we were last on a plane together. We were always excited on take-off.
Beer Bar: We ran into a couple of new friends from Manchester. I'd met Sharyn on the GP Facebook page a few days before we were both leaving for Jamaica.
Mike started his packing on the last night. I'd done some of mine earlier. We'd had a really full day so we ordered room service, finished packing and headed to the adult pool bar and brought drinks back to enjoy our last evening on the balcony.
Departing Toronto. 29 yrs since we were last on a plane together. We were always excited on take-off.