Nick & Kerry - August, 2008

Before each trip I go back and read our old reports. We tend to post one within a week or so after every time we go.  It is funny to me that there seems to be a repetitive vein running through them that it is the people that brings me back to the north coast of  Jamaica and the little corner we call Hedo 3.  This year is no different. After four trips including co-hosting for three, we decided to give it a go ourselves with our dear friends Rick and Ivy.  The success we had in building our new group, AWOL In Hedo, exceeded our own hopes and most other people’s expectations.   We were thrilled to arrive at the resort with a group of nearly 70 people.  Because of our two times a week web chats, and previous trips with some of our folks, we had a firm hope and belief that they would all get along and we would be in for a smooth trip. 

Flight over: AJ Flight 74 LAX-MBJ direct.  Met J/T in the cantina near the gate, had a couple drinks and hung out a bit. We had met them at the meet and greet in Vegas, and Kerry had been in regular text message correspondence with T since. It was great to see them again and soon we were able to board. After 3 rum and cokes from the bar and two ativan, it was sleepy time almost all the way to MBJ.  First flight in for the day, and luggage/customs was a breeze. It was something like 14 minutes from deplaning to taking a seat in the Super Clubs lounge.  A little paperwork and we hopped on the bus with J/T, V/J from the other group, and one other couple.  One stop along the way for Coca Cola and ice to go with the bottle of Captain Morgan I brought for the bus ride, and we were nicely plied by the time we reached the resort. The ride was quick, with no stops at other resorts- maybe 90 minutes from door to door.

Arrival: we got off the bus to see Rick and Ivy and M/Z waiting for us. We had not met M/Z before, and after our first face to face introductions we attempted to check in- no luck of course- and settled in to await the other AWOL members.  The gift bags were a great hit, with the awesome dog tags garnering a LOT of attention from other guests, staff, and resort management (THANK YOU C and S- they are truly unique!) Hourly buses throughout the rest of the day brought in the bulk of the group, and at 2130 we finally packed it in, seeing that the last folks on the bus for the day, M/C were not going to be in any time soon- I will let them tell all the details should they choose, but apparently Delta put them through 3 different planes, a good wait on a tarmac, and a few other problems before they finally arrived the next day at 0530.  We did manage to squeeze in one hour in the nude pool during the day, and I officially entered the prude pool for the first time in years in between buses. 

Daytime in the nude pool:  With a group this size, we always found many people to hang out with.  The weather was spotty as usual for August- alternating between hot and humid and humid and hot with occasional rain.  I think we were lucky for the most part that it really only poured a couple times during the day while we were there. There were, however, some spectacular thunder and lightning displays during the night a couple times.  Volleyball was slow- much to the delight of many- and the pool water was about as normal- a little cloudy some of the time.  The party vibe was in full swing with many PDA’s to be seen and enjoyed.  The food was good- I still find it hard sometimes to get on the island time track, and get a little impatient with Chef Jon. The food is always great, but as someone who cooks for up to 12 people on an occasional basis, could we please speed it along a bit? The bar staff, as always, worked their asses off. We enjoyed Serena’s company, and she ran a tight ship with the rest of the staff.  AWOL kicked it into high gear a couple times with multiple successive rounds of woowoo shots- so much so that the bar finally started making them in empty cranberry juice containers and handing them over.  The view of course cannot be beat from there, and my only complaint, a recurring one, is the music. It was a little better at times this year, but still somewhat repetitive and heavy on the bass.  It makes it hard to carry on conversations sometimes.

 

EC’s: Seemed to be trying hard. I really felt for them a couple times. When they arrive and attempt to get the crowd’s attention while the party is already going, being ignored has to be difficult.  We do not do many poolside activities- but they seem like nice people when encountered one on one. 

 

Food:

Breakfast:

We found ourselves to be night owls more often this trip, so breakfast was only had 2 or 3 times. The food was great. We had no complaints, and even saw some things that we had not before, including pineapple, blueberry, and other flavors of pancakes.  Very yummy.  The omelette bar was set up a little differently, I think in an attempt to decrease the wait time. It seemed to work.

Lunch: Nude grill and reggae café/scotch bonnet were great. We love the patties, jerk chicken, and coco bread.  Nachos, burgers, fries, and an occasional crab salad or grilled cheese. Lovely.

Dinner:

Pastafari- ate here 3 nights this trip- excellent. The meats were tender and portions almost too big- we did hear some complaints that they were in fact too much food.  Kerry loved the ribeye, and the chicken dishes I had were great.  More on pastafari in our excursion section.

 

Munasan-  Ate here three times- Natalie ran the grill each time. Great food. Pretty much the same menu as always.  The prep and food were good, and the staff very attentive.

 

Buffet- We ate here a couple times, mainly the grand gala nights. Food was above what we have seen in years past- far above. Chef Joseph has worked very hard to vary the menu and we were thrilled with the results. The salad bar was exceptional. The grilled pork chops in island sauce was 5 star, and the turkey with guava glaze has me considering something new for thanksgiving.

 

Midnight Buffet- Varied and not bad. Great place to hit for snacks to take back to the nude pool and hot tub.

 

AWOL Activities:  the Sunset Social was great- even the weather cooperated after a fashion. The view from the top of the bonnet is always one of my favorites.  Thanks to S/R for the awesome chocolates and cookies, very yummy.  The naughty gift exchange was a lot of fun- great toys everyone!  More paddle tryouts next year!

 

Excursions: Many members took a bunch of side trips, but we only took the daylong Negril Sunset tour. We were assured by the tour desk that since we had 8 people we would have the van to ourselves.  This meant if for some reason we wanted to stray from the H2/Rick’s Café itinerary we could. However, on leaving the resort the next morning - on a bus that seemed bigger than we needed- we were told that we would be stopping along the way to pick up other people (8 more to be exact, at 4 other resorts!). Needless to say we felt conned. None of us would have spent $75 pp to take this trip if we were not offered the autonomy we were assured of.  We enjoyed the cliff jumping and sunset at Ricks. H2 was DEAD. There were maybe 15 people in the nude pool and like us, most of them had day pass bracelets on. We will not be returning to H2. We finally arrived back on the resort just before 10 PM, after the buffet had closed. After a little begging we were finally able to get pastafari to make us some pizzas for dinner and the 8 of us has a very enjoyable meal together in the back corner of the restaurant, with former dining manager David Shaw stopping by to say hello.  Apparently he was working on his break from culinary school. Good on him for working so hard.

 

Resort Management:  We had a new point of contact in Diana this year. She was great. We have seldom encountered a Jamaican who did not subscribe to the "soon come" attitude of island life. She took care of everything we needed, was friendly, efficient, and available to us whenever we had a concern or question. Mr Levee was present some of the time as well, and was very open to us. When neither of them were around, Nehru could be counted upon to help us out.

 

Room- 716,  ocean view nude, connected to our friends Rick and Ivy’s suite. It’s funny to travel with naked friends and have connecting rooms, since unless they are getting it on you can pretty much walk in whenever. AC worked fine, the plumbing could use a little work but was serviceable. Fiona was our room attendant and she did a great job of cleaning up after us slobs. She has 2 little girls and seemed to genuinely appreciate the school supplies and little gifts we brought for her- this was our second trip with her as our attendant. We look forward to seeing her again.

 

Nightlife:

Piano Bar/Karaoke:  We always have fun here. The memory of Glenn is fading somewhat. Jon tries very hard and is truly a nice guy, but would probably be more of a hit at breezes or somewhere like that.  Karaoke with the entertainment staff was good. The music has been updated and people seemed to enjoy.

Disco: THE AIR CONDITIONING WORKED!!! We enjoyed far more time in the disco this year than last. The music was better in my opinion, and just like the nude pool, when you have a group of 30-40 friends or so, it can be a blast. My only worry was that, as a guy, the number of big clunky hooker/stripper heels threatened to perforate the tops of my flip-flopped feet. We did get to see our good friend Poopie live out his fantasy with three lovely naked ladies dancing with him in the cage (A/R/K)- a highlight.

 

Night at the nude pool/hot tub:

Very active late at night. The bar staff is a step up over previous trips. Genuinely friendly. Usually we do not hang out on the stools, but with this year’s staff it was fun to. PDA’s were plentiful and enthusiastic. Good times, good times.

 

AWOL:  As I said when I started, this trip is about the people for us. We met a bunch of new ones, including folks from the boards  and those we had only ever seen online. That was cool. As far as AWOL folks, it is turning into a yearly reunion with some, and so much fun to get to know new people. I may miss some names in the following paragraph, so please do not feel offended if you are not mentioned. Rick and Ivy- you are our best friends and we love you. In no particular order thank you to the following for making it a fantastic trip for us: C/M you are more amazing than you know.  J/T so glad you live nearby can’t wait to go camping. B/E thanks for hanging – you guys rocked it. J/L we can discuss the do over next year! S/R so glad you guys are with us- you are exactly what AWOL is about. B/S you guys are awesome, even for a pair of prudes. T/P/M/S our NOLA friends- thanks for just being who you are- that is why we like you so much. A/R from Japan- what a couple, hope you can make it again. R/K our 5 day friends we love chatting with you- more next year we hope. F/T, A/C, J/B cannot wait to see you guys again next year. E/M we hope the trip is but the first of many hedo adventures for you guys. R/A and B/B hope you guys have found a new home down on the island with us- it will be nice to see you again! To all the others, thanks for a great trip, and a nasty case of DIF. See you soon!

Nick and Kerry

sdnakiepeople@yahoo.com

www.awolinhedo.com