Let's Meet and Greet! - Printable Version+- Jamericans (https://jamericans.net/yellowboard)
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Let's Meet and Greet! (/showthread.php?tid=100134)RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - jitterbug - 03-23-2014
good morning folks
i've been kicking around the back roads of jamaica since 1983. . . . landed in kingston and during my 6 weeks explored a lot of the island. . . . touched on negril the same time . . . my then jamaican husband was from rockfort an area you have to pass through when leaving the airport for uptown . . .
spent time in ja every year and then started doing multiple trips . . . got real tired of negril and gave it a rest . . . love the east coast for its lushness and beauty, mountains and just the quietness . . . learned to drive the jamaican way . . . only way to see jamaica on my budget!!!
been coming to negril for the last few years about 3x during our brutal winters . . . the older i get, the less i can handle the cold.
had dreams of staying in portland after retirement . . . not so much anymore . . . the eco dwelling is still there . . .
now, i'm a tourist and that's all i can be!!! no tolerance left for anything else but being a tourist!!
i need the beach when in ja . . . looking forward to my next adventure.
RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - Raine - 03-23-2014
Sounds awesome Jitterbug......look forward to reading your adventure. I live vicariously throgh trip reports on Boards especially looking at the pictures until such time when I finish school and have money to fly off some place.
RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - Raine - 03-23-2014
(03-17-2014, 10:41 PM)'kaycee' Wrote: Hi!! I'm Kaycee!! I currently live near Olympia,WA. Like everyone else, I too LOVE Jamica!! A few years ago I found out I had family in Jamaica...how cool is that? Lol! I have not met all my Jamaican relatives as of yet. The few I have met seem to be very reserved.
In my spare time I like to read...any and everything. Recently, I lost close to 20lbs. I cut beef, rice, sweets, caffeine, and salt from my diet... I'm going to look extra sexy in my swimsuit!!
Whoaaa!! That's awesome you having relatives in jamaica
RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - JamaGinger - 03-23-2014
I'm new to the board as a person making posts, but I have been checking in here for awhile. I always know that I can get the uncensored story on this board. I have been to Jamaica about 17 times. My first trip was in 1995. I chucked my corporate job about five months ago in search of a more balanced life.
The things I love about Jamaica are grilled lobster, jerk chicken, the beautiful beaches that aren't lined with high-rise condos, reggae music (have been to Sumfest twice and going again this summer), sea grape trees, fresh fruits and vegetables, peaceful sunsets, the gorgeous flowers, the Jamaican accent, and waterfalls. I have been to many of the parishes with the exception of Manchester, Clarendon, Saint Catherine, Saint Andrew and Saint Thomas.
I live in Nashville, Tennessee and am married to someone who loves Jamaica too. He probably loves it a little less than I do, but he is still pretty keen on it.
I am less naive now about Jamaica than I was for many years, but I still enjoy it tremendously. I just have a healthy dose of realism now and always remind myself to remain wary.
RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - ohliz - 03-23-2014
Jamaginger nice to "see" you...and welcome to all the other new, or not so new, folks!
RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - JamaGinger - 03-23-2014
Thanks, Liz. :-)
RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - Schuttzie - 03-24-2014
I love this post and seeing new people and learning more about the veterans!
RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - rootswoman - 03-24-2014
I sure do too Shutz!
It is great fun - so many cool people showing up - its just great great to met you all!
It certainly makes all the work on this board worthwhile.
THank You Everybody!!
RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - Pineapple - 03-24-2014
I guess it’s time for me to jump in here. I started going to Jamaica in 1993 when my then boyfriend Bob, a Jamaican, took me. The relationship didn’t survive the trip but by then I had a new love – Negril.
I’ve traveled pretty extensively before finding Jamaica; over half of the states, England, Germany, Austria, Barbados, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, numerous places in Mexico, I even lived on Grand Bahama Island in 1980 but once I went to JA I haven’t been anyplace else. I’ve been to Jamaica 23 times most of which were to Negril. Still not sure what it is about the place that has such a hold on me.
I’m single, never been married, haven’t grown up yet. I’m retired, live in University City, MO (just outside the city limit of St. Louis), love to read (I will read anything you put in front of me) and I’m a huge animal lover. I have 4 cats and would love to have a dog if my yard was fenced. Sophie and Smokey let me spoil their Murphy whenever I really need a dog fix.
I have a love/hate relationship with home improvement projects but I always think I can do it myself. Lucky for me Sophie bails me out from time to time. Right now I should be working on my toilet but I REALLY hate plumbing work.
RE: Let's Meet and Greet! - Sundowner - 03-24-2014
Wow, Pineapple, you could have written my bio! Maybe we really were separated at birth. I haven't travelled as extensively as you have, but share your love of reading, cats, books and home decorating.
I first went to Jamaica in 1983 for Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay. I was living in Edmonton, Alberta at the time, where there is a large West Indian community. Several of my friends were Jamaican immigrants and my group of friends used to hang out at a Reggae bar on weekends and knew the owners, musicians and most of the patrons - sort of like Cheers, where everyone knew your name, lol. Anyway, on a whim my best friend and I decided to go to Jamaica for Sunsplash. I knew as soon as my feet hit the tarmac that I would have a longlasting love affair with Jamaica - and I have, albeit more love/hate over the past few years.
That first trip was only two weeks, but the next one lasted from Sept 89 through to the end of January 90, starting off in Ochi, where we spent a couple of weeks before deciding we needed to get to Negril - mainly because everyone was telling us we should avoid it because it was full of hippies! Arrived at Miss Gloria's after dark and during a current outage so we didn't really get a glimpse of the beach until the next morning. We were initially three females and another friend arrived to join us in October. I have recently scanned my photos of that trip, but wasn't able to get them to load on the old board.
Since then, I've stopped counting the number of trips. In 93, I quit my job, sold everything and spent six months island-hopping. Started with a month in JA, then moved on to Antigua, St Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago. I could write a book about that trip, but suffice it to say, none could compare to Jamaica, so have been returning ever since. Spent three months in Negril after retiring three years ago. That's the trip where I was robbed in a room invasion. Even that didn't keep me away - I returned 7 months later to marry the man who offered to buy me a bowl of chicken soup at Daddy Ron's on Negril Beach in 1989.
Our plan now is to spend six months here in Vancouver & six in Negril, where we have built a small cottage & he has a small shop/bar.