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Jamaica 2017
December 8-13, 2017
Our trip to Jamaica started out with a bang. After all of our flights this
year being on time- or even early- 'The Rick Factor' kicked back in. At
6:00 the evening before our flight, Delta cancelled our 5:45am flight from DFW
to Atlanta, and booked us on a 6:00am flight from DFW to Cincinnati, with a 39
minute connection time for our flight to Atlanta, where we had only a 40 minute
connection time for our new flight to Jamaica. Despite two calls to Delta,
they insisted that there were no other options, but the connection times were
well within the requirements, and we should be fine. WRONG! Our
flight from DFW to Cincinnati was delayed 45 minutes due to mechanical issues
(refer back to our connection time in Cincinnati). When we landed in
Cincinnati we raced to the next gate because the pilot had radioed ahead to let
them know that several people on our flight were to connect on the flight from
Cincinnati to Atlanta, hoping that they would hold the flight. Maybe due
to the weather in Atlanta, they did not want to chance being told they could not
take off if they waited, but in any case, we did not make it.
We were then
booked for a 12:20pm flight from Cincinnati to Atlanta, and moved to the next,
and last, flight from Atlanta to Jamaica, at 5:59pm. Our flight from
Cincinnati was delayed several times, but we did get plenty of exercise walking
between the Delta club and the gate. Our flight finally left at around
6:25pm (refer back to our flight time from Atlanta to Jamaica). When we
landed in Atlanta it was 8:35pm. I turned on my phone and checked the
flight to Jamaica, ever hopeful that it had been delayed because of the weather.
We were in luck- it was now set to depart at 8:40pm. Not yet at the gate,
and with only five minutes to go, we could only hope that it would get one more
delay, although being only five minute prior to departure, it was doubtful.
We raced to the train, and over two terminals to our next gate. The doors
to the jet way were closed, but I looked, and saw a plane, so Dawn asked the
people in line if they were there for the Jamaica flight. They were all
there for the next flight, so she asked if she could butt in, as we were
supposed to be on the plane that was still sitting there. They were all
very good about it, and let us jump in to speak to the gate agent. He said
that it was too late, as the flight doors were closed, but Dawn told him that
despite her short legs, she could move quickly. A little more begging, and
he went down the jet way to speak to the pilot, as only he can approve
re-opening the doors. Finally catching a break, the pilot was very good
about it, and opened the doors for us. We rushed onto the plane... and
waited. We waited for over an hour before it was our turn to be deiced,
and finally took off at nearly 11:00.
It was nearly 2:00am when we landed in Jamaica. As we had expected, our
luggage did not manage to run as fast as we did, so it did not make the flight.
That's alright, Dawn always packs one change of clothes in the carry-on, so we
would be fine. We still had to get in line (we were not the only ones
without our luggage), and complete some paperwork for the missing luggage.
It was already booked for the first flight out in the morning, at which point
Delta would get it to Ocho Rios for us.
Finally in Jamaica and through Customs and Immigration, we went to the
Sandals desk. It was nearly 3:00am, but they had someone waiting for us.
I had texted my brother, who called Sandals for us, gave them our information,
and confirmed that they would have a driver for us to get us to Ocho Rios, which
is 90+ minutes drive from Montego Bay. Unfortunately, the people that got
out a couple of minutes before us took that ride, leaving us stranded until the
lady at the Sandals desk could find us a driver or at least get us a room for
the night at one of the nearby Sandals resorts. The latter was not an
option, as the person to approve it would not be in for several hours, so it was
back to Plan A- find a driver. Not an easy task, as all of the drivers
that she called refused to get up at that time of the morning to drive us all
the way to Ocho Rios. She finally found us a driver, and we were on our
way at 4:30am.
Finally on our way to Ocho Rios, late, but at least the craziness of getting
to our destination is over, and we can just sit back and relax until we get to
the resort. Ahhhhhh.... What the?? I cannot sleep on a plane,
but I was able to partially nod off in the van, although I felt that we were
bobbing and weaving a lot. After about a half hour I finally opened my
eyes, looked at Dawn, who's eyes were wide open and glaring, and I looked at the
speedometer. 80km/h is the speed limit on the highway, and 60km/h through
much of the cities and towns, so I was pretty sure that the 130-140km/h that we
were doing was not advisable. He would not even slow down for most
corners, and had to cross into the oncoming lane to keep us upright. I
guess he rolled the dice, figuring that at this time of the morning he would not
meet much oncoming traffic. Fortunately, he is a good gambler.
Nearing Ocho Rios, he gets pulled over (surprise!). As he pulls up
beside the police, he rolls down the window and hollers out, 'Hey, Chief.'
He hops out of the van, goes back and speaks to them for a few minutes, then
gets back into the van and explains that he is an ex-cop, so he did not get a
ticket. He then proceeds to say that he will get us there safely, as he
shows me the gun that he is packing. Now, being from Texas, that did not
bother me at all, but Dawn was somewhat more taken aback. As I said to her
afterwards, in Jamaica, on back roads, at that time of the morning, it is
probably a wise thing to carry a gun. Fortunately, he was on our side.
:-)
Sandals Ochi- FINALLY! Yes, it is 6am, and yes, we have been on the go
for 26 hours (side note- it only took 24 hours for us to get to China)
We didn't end up taking a lot of photos, and only have a couple videos of Jeff (one
half of Jeff and Jeri, our good friends that we met up with), and he may not
appreciate us sharing those. *L*
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