My 34th and the 2024 Annual Lovin' Life Group Trip Report

February 24 - March 2, 2024

Pre-Trip and Arrival

Jamaica has had an online customs form for several years, but I had always found that having the paper one you get on the arrival flight was faster....until this trip!  So DO fill out the online form you find at:  https://enterjamaica.com/  You do not need to print the email confirmation you receive (yes, you actually receive one now), though I did store it on my tablet.

Being a volunteer host, I always get a bit nervous about everything getting there for our fun week at 'home'. Forget the crazy group goody stuff I had in my checked bags, this time they pulled my beach bag/carry on. I was thinking ok, maybe the metal in the name necklaces or the metal insulated sipper cup with stuff packed into it (gotta make use of any/all spaces when hauling fun stuff...). Nope, it was a small cardboard box with trip business cards that the scanner couldn't see through - who knew?!

I ended up sitting next to a couple on the flight who were going to Sandals in mobay and at one point the flight attendant dumped like 20 chex mix type snack bags in the lady's lap. She was thrilled.  I found out that while they were celebrating with a few drinks early, they also hadn't had a chance to eat much.  She gave me a some of the bags and said they would be great for midnight snacks. I looked at her, showed her a picture of what our midnight snacks were like (aka midnight pizza) and handed them back saying she may need them more than I did.  LOL!

Otherwise, everything went very smoothly. I had club mobay arrival and the rep took my passport and we went directly (no line) to the new cluster of immigration kiosks (guessing there were about 25-30 of them) before going to the immigration booth for a quick check. We were so fast that there was a wait for baggage, but none for customs. Rose at the SunHoliday desk once again started smiling when she saw me and I sat in the mobay lounge for a bit while I waited for the shuttle to be ready. And lo and behold they were waiting for 2 of our awesome peeps who were bringing a 'body bag' full of group stuff as well. Heard a rumor they wanted to carry a lovely lady from H2 home in it...  😉  Traffic going to H2 was crazy due to it being Jamaica day and elections week. But, in the end that just made getting there that much sweeter and the pool never felt sooo good! 

Resort Experience

• The resort staff are always amazing and really do become part of our framily. Kudos to everyone – both those we see every day and those behind the scenes.

• The new GM, David Graham, came over and introduced himself on Saturday while I was in the lobby waiting for our peeps - very nice/social personality. He walked a loop around the main areas of the resort every day.

• They have a pastry chef, which means lots of yummy donuts, cinnamon rolls, etc. for breakfast.

• While Eldon is truly missed, Michael (piano player) in the piano bar now has the place as hopping as peeps want it to be. 

• On Wednesday, Harrysan was closed and the dinner buffet loaded with all kinds of Asian flavors.

• The after dinner entertainment shows are awesome and this time they added a Silent Disco area to the courtyard on Casino night.  They handed out headsets with 3 different DJ options you could listen to while dancing.  The headsets change colors based on the DJ option and you could see when peeps were more synced with the same one both looking at their moves and the colors changing.

• The foam party is now at 3pm at the prude/C/O beach bar pool on Thursdays. 

• Rooms had new safes and a comforter style blanket vs the older one.  That new comforter really made a difference this week.

• Midnight grill had pizza, fries and grilled cheese sandwiches this week; however, if peeps want chicken wings, etc. the main midnight buffet up in the main dining room has a lot more options.

• Harrysan has been enclosed (see pics) and looks very nice inside.  Note: the entry way took over the easy access pathway to the courtyard - it was missed this trip.

• Once again suggested that peeps put towels at the bottom of the curtains and the room door to block light/noise. When up until 2-3am, 6am sun comes a wee bit too early! 😉

• Also ended up using the resort body wash as shampoo - the shampoo/conditioner version doesn't work well and I bring my own conditioner.

Another week of amazing memories (names excluded to protect the not-so-innocent)

• It is always interesting to watch newbies react to the place and this week did not disappoint:

  • 'I'm good to go All night....or the next 30 minutes'  {after saying that they may want to moderate drinks a bit more if they wanted to be up for midnight pool and snacks.  I think they may have made it one night... 😂}

  • 'I can't feel my legs'  {someone thought they could take more than 1 hit...then no more🦵s  😆}

  • First pool conversation was related to real world babies, 🐴genetics (new H2 topic for me!), etc. then by Thursday they were asking about the craziest things ever seen before - brains were truly on vacay!  {still learn something new every trip 🤯😁}

  • 'This place Sucks'  {so badly that they have to repeat it next year! 🥳}

• A few other things I heard:

  • I thought it was a 'Nightlight' 🤣 {rose/gal goody that glows when plugged in}

  • 'That's so thick...I've never seen it like that before'  {Chef's Special/everything and the kitchen sink pizza}

  • 'It fits in the hole, nice & snug'  {when putting a cup into a giveaway drink float}

  • 'I feel more nekkid when I am dressed than when not wearing anything'  {body conscious/clothing fit vs no worries when free to be}

  • 'That's a different version of kick ball'  😳

  • 'Oceans of Fun' 🌊 {nighttime poolside entertainment}  

• One of our vivacious peeps is deaf, this trip she was able to 'hear' what peeps were saying using her phone's accessibility feature. It displayed what it 'thought' was being said around her and what she herself said. When it was fairly quiet, the translation was good and a real benefit. Other times....not so much:

  • Ordering a 'Cuba Libre' = Give me a baby, please, thank you  {shown to the bartender while we all laughed}

  • 'Quickie' = Cookie {which was 'quickly' delivered from the buffet dessert table 😄}

• I have watched over the years many 'solo' peeps (never 'alone') turn into 'Stella' {from the 'How Stella Got Her Groove Back' movie} and this year was no different. It doesn't matter if it is a guy or gal, the difference in posture and confidence shown the first day vs the end of the week is awesome to 😍

• Laughing until my belly hurt with peeps in H-block who I had seen during other trips, but who had never been in our group before. I know you now! 👀 No more 'hiding'! 🤣

• Getting to know my neighbor(s) by asking a nice gent to take pictures of me and others in my 'room' a couple days {we were fully dressed - not sure what you were thinking! 😆}  I later gave him one of the WTF/guy goodies as a 'tip' 😎

• I also gifted them to the other group hosts who (like most, including me before I found it) had no clue how it was used.  Not sure if I will be able to find anything close to it next year, but we shall see... 😉

• We have many talented members in various ways, but not all of them perform on stage... Kudos to one of our amazing peeps who got his booty up there for talent night and sang a wonderful rendition of Disturbed - The Sound Of Silence 👏

• Several of our members this year scuba dive and enjoyed the free resort diving. Ya know when H2 peeps go diving because they seem to attract naughty sea life sightings and they have no shame in capturing it on video. Nice & yet Very Naughty dolphins were spotted this time around enjoying a 🥉-some 🐬 'quickie'!

• Having yet another uber fun Lovin' Life pool party with peeps dancing on the pool deck, drunken gummies, jello shots, lip sync games, tons of free giveaways and happy vibes all around. Thanks to all of the peeps who came up to us with compliments on the music choices and upbeat vibes. We are planning on having 2 next year! 🥳

• Drinks I had never heard about before:

   🔥 Fireball mixed with champagne

   🍌 Dirty Filthy Banana (chocolate syrup added)

   🍹 LL Peep Special: Sauvignon Blanc, coconut rum and pineapple juice

• Sitting with Harry in the piano bar when Michael asked him to sing one of his songs to me and it came up that we have a 20-yr history.  Or as Harry told him, 20 yrs of 'no 😈-history'. 😄

• A Very successful 'Take Me & Wear Me Out' free outfit event. It started at Sunday's Meet & Greet and then I had a table setup near the bar on Monday so everyone (including staff) could take what they wanted - everything was gone by the end of the day. Note: this will be repeated in 2025 and will include outfits from anyone who wants to bring them. 

Our group feels like a Framily reunion with new peeps welcome to our naughty yet nice vibe!   Each trip is what we make it and we keep making it extra happy!  Sooo....

Cheers to extra 😈 & 😍 Lovin' Life 2025!

Ya Gotta Go to Know!