I woke up this morning at 5am EST in a hotel just outside of JFK, and spent the latter part of my afternoon strolling along the beaches of Barbados with my Dad and sister. Travel still amazes me – the ability to wake up in one place and go to bed in another – yet with every trip I take I love the journey more and more every time. While it’s lost its magic, flying on the big plane and such, it’s definitely comforting to think of international transportation in a much more functional and understandable way. I’m much happier knowing what’s going on, even though I was quite a happy child, lost in the mystic nature of it all.
I haven’t been back to Barbados since the summer before my sophomore year of college, (August 2007) but I’m glad to see that nothing’s changed. The airport is still as welcoming as ever, with the remodeling project just about complete, and the red caps are still there hustling to assist you with your bags and earn a good tip. My grandma still showed up an hour early, just in case our flight landed before the scheduled time as our arrival to the tiny island is a major highlight for her every year. We still hail a mini bus to accommodate the fam, grandma, and all our bags (4 for us, 3 for her). Note: no one returns to the islands without gifts for their family and friends, hence, the 3 extra suitcases my mom filled with stuff for her mom, as well as the friends she sees only during this annual trip.
We get to the timeshare, Bougainvillea Hotel & Resort, only to be greeted by the same guy who’s helped our family for over 5 years. As we make our way to check in, I’m excited by my newly obtained ability to have a legit rum punch, and Barbados’s own, Banks beer. To start your vacation off right, they serve complimentary rum punch and juices in the lobby. You already know what I had Once we get our room keys, I notice that it is “5326”. The last time we had a room starting with a “5” (at least 6 visits ago) it was an ocean view apartment like suite with a common area, and separate bedrooms with private bath. This got me excited. Jessie had no idea what I was talking about until I reminded her of the room we had when she fell off the bed during a game of cards. That sparked her memory, and a bunch of laughs.
Me: the 5 is for the awesome ocean view suites, and the 3 is for the third floor
I couldn’t have been more right. When we get to our room there is a staircase, a STAIRCASE! Jessie and I got super excited. It’s like living in an upscale 2 bedroom apartment. Loves it. I called it a party pad. My mom thinks I’m like Snooki on the Jersey Shore. I scoffed at the idea, but still believe that this would be a great place to hold a beach bash. Sweating bullets, we unpacked, donned our swimsuits and shorts, and then hung out on the balcony till Dad was ready to head down to the beach.
We did our usual beach stroll down to the far end where the rocks are too many to climb, and then turned back towards the hotel. It was the middle of happy hour and now that I’m 22 I’m allowed to drink (even though in Bds most ppl are allowed to drink at 18, my dad stuck with the American legal age of 21) I got a Real Mount Gay rum punch x2, since it was happy hour! Dad said, now be careful with these, they are sweet so you don’t notice the effects until after. . . He has no idea what it’s like to party at Michigan. But that being said, I’ve been drink free for quite a while and if I had 1 or 2 more of those, I would be ready for a night at Ricks.
After the drinks Jessie and I lounged on the beach, me reading cosmo, she reading a book for school. I remember those days, so glad that the books you read in college are so much more interesting and relevant. Cosmo, as entertaining as usual, made me really miss my boyfriend Domenic, so I called him once it started cooling off and I went back up to the room. I’ve decide that along with New Orleans, this is a place that we need to put on our list of future vacation/trip/adventures. He’s quite wonderful you know.
Now as I wrap things up here, I’ll probably wander down to the kitchen to eat some more flying fish. My dad mentioned going out to the club later, which may be an interesting family dynamic . . . but we’ll see!
Peace, Love, and Happiness,
~Jenna
No comments:
Post a Comment