Let’s go to Jamaica and be alright!!!!!

That’s a catchy title and television commercial. I do need to mention in its on space about the food in Jamaica. As in the previous post, jerk seems to be spicier here in the states than in Jamaica. I thought it was us, but my cousin mention something about it when we came back, he said he notice the same thing when he was there. We search all over for some good Jerk, one of the best places we found was a place called Jerky’s (see pic). They had good Jerk chicken, pork, and this shrimp they had was off the charts. Another was a street vendor after we went to a club one night.

The food at our hotel was ok; well the buffet food was ok. As good as it could be for buffet food. We wanted to make reservation at one of the restaurants at the hotel, but we kept forgetting about the 2 p.m. cut off. Well we finally made it to "Pimento", the Caribbean restaurant, in our resort. And OMG!!!! This place was amazing; we had a five-course meal. The “Fi Wi Oxtail (see pic)” was probably the best thing I tasted while in Jamaica, when she order it, I was hoping that she order the Jerk because I got the “Rum Runners Chop”....and since we always eat off of each others plate.... I am not crazy about oxtail (my mom use to make oxtail soup), but this was different. It had oxtail in some type of sauce, risotto, and vegetables. We kicked ourselves knowing we should have eaten here each night, and I almost kicked her and took her plate. But I was nice because I know she would share…lol

If you ever stay at the Sunset Beach Spa and Resort in Montego Bay, make reservations for this restaurant every night.

Respect Mon (Montego Bay, Jamaica)

I heard that phrase over and over when I was in Jamaica. Mostly or mainly from guys, it was form of a greeting. They would come up and say “Respect Mon” and give me a pound/dap (for the ebonicly challenged, that’s when you bump fist), not a pound of weed. But I did have a bet before I left; to see how many times I would be asked to buy some of the Ganja. The over/under was 7 ½….it came out to be 3. I bet if we would have ventured into town more, it would have been higher.

What can I say about Montego Bay? I had an awesome time, went with “the one”. All inclusive is always a good way to go. Food was decent, drinks were wonderful; I think we had some of the best pina colada’s we ever had. The resort that we stay in was very nice with a lot of activities, games, nice beach, and events to participate in. Overall, I think the resort was good; my only problem was with the bed. The rooms were nice and since I am spoiled on HDTV, I see how TV looks not in HD; back to the beds…..it seems like the fitted sheets did not fit so well. They would unravel when you turned over, plus it was very humid so it was like they were sticking to you also.

Shopping in Jamaica is an adventure itself. We went to the craft market that is where they have a bunch of little shops all clustered together and you can get some good souvenirs and nic nacs. Well everyone once you to come into their space, their favorite expression is “I patient, I will wait for you to come in”. But after going to 3 or 4, they are basically the same and we could not please everyone. Some wanted you just to come in and look but it was like a sweat box and then they would try and make you a good deal on something. It got to be too much and we had to go. Going to the Hip Strip was a lot better, places there were more like stores….so all of that pulling and trying to go to each place was eliminated.

Things I learn in Jamaica
The colors on the flag...green stands for the earth, yellow for the sunshine, and black for the people.
Learn how to say “no”, no I don’t want my hair braided, no I don’t want a ride in your taxi, no I don’t want to buy any ganja.
Everything is somewhat negotiable
If someone asks you for $50, they are probably asking for Jamaican currency and that is about 80 cents USD
The jerk chicken is more spicy here than in Jamaican and I am assuming that is because people here just go crazy with the seasoning.
Take extra clothes, because it is humid and you will take lots of showers and need more clothes.

Beware of the Dawg

Who could have imagined that Butler would make it to the final four? Who could imagine that they would make it to the championship game, play in their home town 5 miles from campus, take Duke to the wire, and almost hit a 30 foot bank shot to win the game? I am not sure too many people, unless you are in Hollywood filming “Hoosiers II: the Qwest of the Dawg”. On a cool night in Indianapolis, Butler almost pulled off the improbable (learn a long time ago, nothing is impossible). Indianapolis would have exploded if that last shot would have dropped.

Theme song for this adventure, in memory of the home town boy (Michael Jackson) “going back to Indiana” for me going back home and Butler going back home to play in the final four. I got to see good friends, have a bbq, hang with friends from IU, have a white castle, and one of those Steak n Shake shakes (strawberry and banana), one of the best shakes on the planet.

Boston Chowder Party

Since I didn’t drink any tea while in Boston, this became a chowder party. I never been to New England, so on my way to the final four, I decided to stop in Boston to see the city.

Even though I only got to spend about a day in Boston, I really had a good time. I got to see Patriots’ Park (where the Pats play and the joining Mall), that was very nice. Went to go see a movie, if you follow me on facebook, you know what happened there. We stayed downtown and ate at one of the famous steak places on the harbor. The steak was good, for some reason when I get a steak at a famous place I don’t get that wow factor. But let’s talk about the Clam Chowder, OMG! It was so good and rich, I think I should have just order a troth of that and I would have been good to go. Even though I was only to experience one bowl, I know Boston has some amazing chowder and seafood; only if there was a way to pipe some in to Phoenix.

I will have to spend more time in Boston to experience some of the history; I did get to drive past Fenway Park. Towns like Boston really fascinate the history lover in me. I imagine how it was in the 1700’s and all of the people before us, doing what they did to build this country. Thank you “the one”. I will hopefully be back and be able to take in more history and venture out to see some of the other New England states.