After not being on island for 9 years we returned with a 12/5/3 year old in tow. Wonderful to be back and looking forward to a return over the holidays.
Flight
Flew AJ without incident on the way down. Coming back we experienced a 5 hour delay in Montego Bay and a landing from hell in Chicago, but our bags followed us and we sighed about the overall state of air travel. Signed up for Americans Frequent flyer credit card the next day and focused on the memories of the week in paradise.
Accomodations.
We were greeted at the BelMar by the elegant Wilma. She was waiting for us in the street with a wave and a smile. She took us to our three bedroom apartment which was an upgrade from the 2 bedroom we had reserved. Oh my. Spiral staircase, huge balcony that was so close to the ocean we could feed the fish from the second floor. Just breathtaking. Many of the apartment owners were staying there that week and each and every one was friendly and helpful. Everything was in flawless condition. Wilma was always helpful and friendly. Just a perfect place to stay. A hearty reccomendation to anyone looking for a first class place.
Diving.
Toucan Diving supplies air and dives. We intended to boat dive out of their Plaza location but found the easy 24 access to tanks so convenient that we did only shore dives. The house dive off of BelMar is a great check out dive and has a few resident, reliable octopi that make each dive interesting. We dove mainly south, Pink Beach, Alice, etc and found the two reef system in great shape. Also saw a pod of 25 or so dolphine streak past more than once which really made the beach time special. Also dove the Sand Dollar house reef for old times sake and while Lenny changed the overall look, it has eeeeasy access and Charlie the tarpon is still a reliable nightime thrill. Cliff provided a bit of variety with it's wall. My newly certified 12 year old daughter saw lots of variety between the wall at cliff, the double reef at the south end and then really got excited with 80 minutes underwater with Dee Scarr at the pier. Wow. Dee is wonderful. The extra personal attention she gave my daughter is priceless. She is an exceptional teacher, conservationist and caretaker of the sea. Don't miss a chance to hang out with Dee. Her passion is catching! We saved the north end and Klein for our trip in December.
Resturants.
For family eating we went to the new Sand Dollar. Very open and kid friendly. We went at off peak hours and had two very good experiences and one marginal one. The food is priced great for the quality and size. Met the owner Gary twice and found him very interested and friendly. Service the first few times was outstanding. Our third visit we had poor service, a mixed on the order and were charged wrong. When I talked with the fella making the bill and pointed out that the charges for two of the five meals and one appetizer were way off he didn't want to do anything about it. I was on vacation and didn't want to get worked up and went on our way. Again though, the food was great -- even when I got what I didn't oreder a second time and ate it anyhow -- it tasted great. And I'm sure if Gary would have been around the billing snafu would hav been corrected right away. We'll go back next trip.
Richard's was wonderful, fresh fish, great wine, killer desserts and that wonderful view. Perfect date night for Mom and Dad.
Capiccio's was awesome as well. Fresh fish, great service, killer dessert, awesome wine. Elegant surroundings. Well done. Stands up to the best anywhere.
Stopped by the Lion's den for breakfast and were thrilled. fresh, creative food. Service can't be beat anywhere and a super view as well. Left a 30% tip and that might not have been enough. A wonderful treat for our last day on island.
Six months and four days til we do it all over again. But hey who's counting?! |
By Mike WEckerly on Friday, June 22, 2001 - 3:59 pm: 
