You know, I don't know!

Well, that was interesting! I spent the night trying to sleep in a 'bed' made of two armchairs pushed together. I say trying because the only way to lie down was on my side curled up like a shrimp. That would last long enough for me to doze off, when my hip would start to ache and wake me up. I would then flip over and repeat the process on the other side. At one point I made the mistake of stretching out, which caused the chairs to slide apart and left my butt hanging in mid-air. That necessitated a complete repositioning of both the chairs and myself. Good grief!

5 AM arrived, and apparently I had actually fallen asleep at some point because 2 of the soldiers and their cots were gone. They may have simply fled in terror after glimpsing me in my sleep mask, earplugs, and bedhead. But Tumbleweed was still there, albeit groggy. (The nickname came from his disjointed story about a tumbleweed changing his life. No, I have no clue.) I said goodbye to him and Renee and left for my next connection.

I felt almost human again after brushing my teeth and drinking a cup of hot tea. We flew out over a sleeping Dallas, the city lights brilliant in the pre-dawn. I hadn't realized Dallas was so flat. No, actually I had never even thought about it before until I saw it stretched out for miles beneath me. It's odd how there are things you don't even know you don't know until you know them.

I watched the sun rise from 30,000 feet. After a short layover in Charlotte and a quick breakfast, I was back on a plane - this time for Jamaica! As we descended to the island, the dark blue of deep ocean water gave way to the lovely aquamarine of shallower seas. The kids in front of me were giddy with delight, planning how quickly they could change into swimsuits on and get in the water.

Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be very quick at all. With 4 planes arriving within 30 minutes of each other, the crush of incoming tourists caused an immense bottleneck at immigration. I spent over an hour in line, and another 30 minutes at customs. The delay caused me to miss Rucker, Sharon, Mark, and Chrissy who actually arrived on a later flight but got through customs faster. (More on that later!) By the time I found a ride to Negril, I had been at the airport for over 3 hours. Not gonna make the beach today, I'm afraid!


One for the road!

The drive from Montego Bay to Negril takes about an hour and a half, over a narrow winding road full of potholes and bad drivers. We stopped at a roadside bar (with a goat) for a Red Stripe beer. There are obviously no open container laws here - we grabbed our drinks and kept on going. When I finally arrived at Blue Cave Castle, it was raining. Sigh. I joined the Poseys and Souzas for warm hugs, lively conversation and cold drinks; we toasted Ralph and Mel who were unable to make it. We miss you, Ironman and Lady Iron!

Over peanut butter crackers, rum, and Diet Pepsi, I found out that the reason everyone made it through immigration and customs ahead of me involved speeding wheelchairs and big tips. All those handicapped tourists in wheelchairs - they're not handicapped at all! Who knew? And the peanut butter crackers were all there was for dinner because the hotel restaurant was closed due to the
waitress not showing up. Seriously. You can't make this shit up! But somehow Sharon used her Southern charm to get somebody to make us some dinner, and he even delivered. Fried chicken, rice and peas, and coleslaw never tasted so good! (And peas aren't what you know as peas - they're red beans.)

Tomorrow we will explore. And there will be pictures! Goodnight, mon!