Find Me In Jamaica #3

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17 June 2002

Sunset at the Rock House

I woke suddenly in the middle of the night. David wasn't there. I couldn't remember going to bed and wondered if something had happened. I vaguely remember him talking to me, saying he wasn't tired and that he wanted to checkout some nightlife. I'm not sure what woke me, but I got scared and got up to check the room to find my things: my watch (Rolex), my engagement ring (big diamond), my purse and my wallet. "A place for everything and everything in its place." Mom did teach me something after all. Even in a state of drunkenness and sheer exhaustion I managed to keep it all together. I didn't recall brushing my teeth, but my toothbrush sat as evidence on the ledge by the bathroom sink.

David came home shortly after, and I was still awake. I made a promise to myself that I would sleep late, but woke up at 8:00 a.m. I have no idea why. The room was dark and quiet, and David was sleeping silently. Damn, I can never get a break. It seems I will never get enough sleep. As I tiptoed around the room to get dressed for the day, trying not to make too much noise, I started remembering things from the night before. I remembered taking a shower before bed. (How did I miss that before, I will never know?) I remembered washing my hair and enjoying the sweet smell of the shampoo I had bought specifically to bring on the trip. I never know what kind of mini-shampoos places provide and how it will affect my naturally 'wavy' extra fine head of hair. I didn't want to be stressed the whole time and risk every day being a bad hair day. Now I wished I had brought my guitar so I could play as David slept.

I tiptoe out to the closed-in patio where there is a lounge chair, table, and partial view of the ocean. A couple of birds play in the trees and the snorklers have disappeared. At first I thought they were dolphins, but no, just the locals on an early morning dive. My back is stinging from mild sunburn. I'd better be careful today. I see hawks circling, there are dogs barking in the distance, and hear the gentle sounds of the surf rolling over the rocks below. A strong head wind blows through and I start craving salt fish and bamee pancakes. I am ready for wherever the day may take me.

I gather my things and decide to venture out to the pool deck, but the door to the room is locked. I am stuck on the outdoor balcony with no escape. David is sound asleep. Shit. "David?" I speak in a loud whisper hoping he hears me and I don't have to bang on the door. "I'm locked on the balcony." No answer. "Can you open the door?" No answer. "David?" Door opens. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you. Thanks."

I gathered my things and snuck outside. David went back to sleep. The Rock House is a beautiful resort. It is high up on a cliff and has the most amazing views. Aside from the pool, there are little walkways built over the rocks taking you to a remote little rock 'island' overlooking the cliff. There are two lounge chairs, an umbrella, and lots of privacy. I found the perfect one. It was early, so I had my pick of the lot of them.

Vincent's Glass Bottom Boat

Famous Vincent's Glass Bottom Boat drove by. I waved, and wondered if I should take a ride. I spent the next several hours writing down ideas. Ideas about what I was going to do next with my life. Write a novel, "Excavating Amy". I would be the narrator, observing life. All my friends would be the other characters. I could write independent chapters introducing background information of each character interspersed with scenes of the present day. It would be a journey of self discovery through the lives of five women. Next I would turn the concept into a reality show and follow the lives of "real" women.

Or I could perform a one-woman show. I have always been inspired by Sandra Bernhard and more recently, Margaret Cho. I could still call it "Excavating Amy", and I would tell stories. The material would consist of observations of life and my opinion of truth identified. Maybe I could put 'plants' in the audience to keep it lively and provoke audience participation in the discussion. Like a real time CROSSING OVER, "sometimes you need to know". Then I would have to call it something else. "Uncover the true you". Not catchy enough. I want to expose truths to people about their problems by sharing my experience. That sounds like a tall order. How could I get it produced? I don't know anyone in TV. Maybe I should stick to Stand-Up Comedy and work on material for a one-woman show. I wrote a long list of all the characters I have done in the past that could be a part of the show.

Now it is getting near lunch and I am starving. Should I wait for David to eat? I've been married so long that I'm not up on travel companion etiquette. Plus, I need to lose about 15 pounds, so I'm trying not to eat anyway. I go to the bar and get a fruit smoothie. Yummy. That will tide me over. When David came down I apologized again for waking him up. "I knew that would happen," he said. The door automatically locks from the inside. "I got locked out there last night. Don't you remember?"

I had no clue. He told me when he came back he went out on the balcony and got locked out as well. He said he had to yell my name for twenty minutes before I responded and then it was so dark in the room and I was so out of it that I couldn't find the door to let him in. There are three doors in the room: one to the bathroom, one for the entrance, and one to the patio. He said he had to direct me to the door in the dark and after I opened it I just laid back down and went straight to sleep. I must have been sleepwalking.

The Rock House also has steps from these little cliffs down to the ocean. It is really cool. David came down and we went swimming all the way to the other side and hiked up to the restaurant. The neighboring bar has an outdoor water slide that looked so fun, but it wasn't open. I guess June isn't the height of tourist season.

Then Famous Vincent came around again. He said he would take us snorkeling to the reef for $40. "Each?" we asked. "No, forty dollars for two." Cool. I was totally into snorkeling. We gathered our things, went to the bar for some bread to feed the fish and picked up a six pack of Red Stripe for our afternoon adventure.

View of houses from the boat

It was just like I had felt the day before at Jake's. There is something about being on the water with the wind blowing through my hair and the smell of the sea. I love it. There was not that much to see through the glass bottom, but the other resorts and homes on the shore were spectacular. When we got to the reef there were a lot of tourists all in one area. Vincent took over and set down the ground rules: if Vincent touches, you can touch. If Vincent doesn't touch, you don't touch. Stay close and follow Vincent. The first thing he does is dive straight down, grab what looked like a huge slug and hand it to me. It was amazing. It was a like a big cushy pillow. I loved it! We followed Vincent around the reef and he knew exactly where to go. We saw schools of brightly colored fish, a sting ray, a manta ray, and lots of jelly fish. I had been snorkeling before, but never had a guide, and this was by far the best time I'd ever had.

When we got back to Rock House, the general manager was at the desk when we asked for a recommendation for a local joint for dinner. I had already eaten in the restaurant twice, and that was plenty for me to see the chef's capabilities. He recommended a place down the road called LCU. When he realized that we were journalists, he got all excited and insisted that we let him drive us there. He explained that this was a new job for him and that he was working really hard to increase business. He would meet us later for a drink. I had the Escavitch Snapper. It was not as good as the roadside steamed version, as the filets were deep fried and topped with scotch bonnet peppers instead of being marinated ahead of time. It always amazes me how much people like fried food. It could have been anything fried under that thick breading; it kills the flavor of the fish. But I was starving and it tasted wonderful.

Upgrading rooms at the Rock House

We ended up at the bar and had about a half a dozen Rum Punches. Matthew showed up and we told him how we got the lowest room when we arrived and that they 'upgraded' us to the next level, but that we were disappointed that we wouldn't be able to stay in one of the villas while we were there. The villas are cute huts nestled throughout the resort, and the other rooms are considered 'economy'. Matthew insisted we move to a villa that night. He upgraded us to Villa number fourteen and apologized profusely for our mistreatment so far. He insisted on treating us to breakfast the next morning and I finally got to satisfy my craving for Ackee and saltfish with bamee pancakes. Ackee is a vegetable that looks like scrambled eggs when it's cooked, and it is delicious. An excellent choice of a traditional Jamaican meal.

The breakfast was a wonderful end to a fabulous stay at Rock House. Shortly thereafter we left for Montego Bay and Round Hill.




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