MoBay is Heavenly

[NapiHead327]

Sista Obra suggested I write a trip report. I have written it but I would like to add photos. Can somebody tell me how to do that, please. I tried cut and paste and that didn't work. Apparently, I'm not as technologically literate as I thought I was.

By the way, I want to give shout outs to Miguel, Richard, Wayne, Adrian, Davian, Sharon, Kevin and Lynton & everyone else I met at Breezes, Doctor's Cove Beach, Pier 1 and the craft market across from the mall. Love ya!

[SassyRas]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

Author Topic: Posting Pictures
queenb

Citizen
Member # 894 posted February 23, 2003 11:27 AMFebruary 23, 2003 11:27
I have been asked to post my instructions for posting a picture here, so various moderators can link instructions for travelers who want to post pictures. Before you follow the directions, you may want to reduce the size of the photo, in order to reduce the bandwidth consumed by extra large photos. I use several free programs that I have downloaded from cnet or zdnet. Asquare makes the images square, but you must crop some of the photo--this may be undesireable for some photos. Another program is STGThumb, which makes thumbnail photos. I like PictureIt Express, because I can brighten the photo, sharpen the image, and crop out unneeded parts. Another good program is JPEGCompress, which allows you to choose how much compression you want.

Okay, here’s the instructions for posting pictures:

1. Save your pictures on your computer, either by downloading from a digital camera, scanning into the computer, or having them put on disk when you get them developed. (I download directly into my PictureIt Express)
2. Go to Shutterfly or Imagestation or Snapfish . (I personally prefer imagestation; fewer downloading problems and the server seems more reliable.)
3. Upload your pictures into an album—name it for your trip so you can find the pix later.
4. Open another browser window, keeping imagestation in the background.
5. Open your thread on ja.com that you want to post pictures in & “post a reply”.
6. Restore the imagestation window by clicking on the taskbar box, click on a picture to be added to your post which enlarges it.
7. When the picture enlarges, right-click the picture, and scroll down to “properties”.
8. Left-click “properties” and a box pops up. In the middle of this box is Address: (URL), the code for the picture. Left-click & drag the cursor over the entire URL for the picture, which highlights (selects) it. Be sure you get it all. Right-click/copy the URL.
9. Click on the taskbar box for ja.com, which returns you to your post reply. Beneath the box for your reply, next to the smilies, are a series of buttons. Look for the IMAGE button and click it.
10. Ctrl-V (paste) the code for your picture into the box and click “ok”—this inserts your picture into your reply.
11. Repeat steps 6–10 for each picture.

[ February 23, 2003, 11:30 AM: Message edited by: queenb ]

--------------------
Jamaicaholics Anonymous, Negrilaholics subchapter http://jameriqueen.20megsfree.com/

--------------------
The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched - they must be felt with the heart~Helen Keller

[Island Girl]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

I am really looking forward to this trip report, it is not often we get trip reports from MoBay. IRIE! *IG

[Grandmother]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

Oh I am so glad you are going ro post your trip report. We will be patiently waiting.

[sheanlee]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

Bring it On!!

[NapiHead327]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

MoBay is Heavenly:

Part I:

We’d been so excited about going that we booked the trip last minute. We left 2 weeks later. Of course, as excited as we were, we had no idea what exactly to expect. We had no idea that we would experience a cultural and spiritual rebirth – no idea that we’d both fall in love. We thought we’d go to Jamaica just for a little vacation, and that we’d return to the states refreshed, exhilarated and rejuvenated. We were so wrong. We would return disoriented and broken hearted, feeling even more out of place than when we left. We would return knowing that Jamaica truly is Home, and we now make every effort and sacrifice to get back Home.

Our flight left St. Louis at 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning. The night before, we packed our bags figuring we would need at least 3 outfits a day: one for activities (sightseeing, touring, etc.), one for dinner at the hotel, and one for clubbing. We were staying four days, so we packed a minimum of 12 outfits. We packed extra for unexpected costume changes and emergency situations. We each took about 5 pair of shoes. My little sis was excited, but somewhat nonchalant about the whole thing. She was more anxious to get away from home than anything else. She packed quickly and was in the bed by midnight.

I, on the other hand, was up all night. I had spent all week worrying about everything: taking my first vacation out of the country w/o my parents, being responsible for my little sis, how I would look in my swimsuits, how safe is Jamaica? The list was endless. But truly, I was ready to go. I had studied Jamaica in college. I was a journalism and Black Studies major and I studied the Caribbean from social, political and literary aspects. I love reggae music. I was briefly interested in Rastafari, and while I didn’t completely convert, I did adopt some of the principles. I’m a dreadlocked vegetarian, a “Rasta-style flower child” (thanks, Erykah). I was anxious to go. To experience Black people as far as the eye could see. I would be the majority. A first for a Midwestern-born Black chick living in the suburbs. But as optimistic as I was about being culturally embraced, I still had fears that Manifest Destiny was real and Jamaicans would be as westernized, superficial, and materialistic as some of our people in the states. If this was the case, my vacation wouldn’t be a vacation at all. I would be visiting the exact society that I was trying to escape. All this was on my mind as I lay in bed waiting for 5:15 a.m. to arrive. I guess I fell asleep around 4 a.m., so I got a good hour of shuteye.

We get to the airport (I – half asleep, my sister – bright-eyed and bushy-tailed) and I double and triple check my bags for our documents. After the usual ‘airport activities’ we were off. Neither of us could believe we were flying to JAMAICA! We were actually doing it. What started as an idea, a fantasy mentioned in casual conversation, was actually taking place. We, the broke grad student and broke undergrad, were on our way to the trip of a lifetime. And the plane couldn’t have landed fast enough. Flying over Cuba was amazing! That may be the closest I ever get to seeing the other land I love so much. But finally, we were in Jamaica.

From the minute we stepped off the plane, we knew this would be the trip of a lifetime. Sun, trees, water and Blackness everywhere. (Some of you may feel like I’m over-emphasizing the ‘Black thing’ but it’s really a big deal for me.) As soon as we step into the airport, I hear, “Hey, Rasta.” I turn around with a, “Peace, Brotha.” We got through immigration pretty quickly, got shuffled into the Breezes shuttle line, and shuttled off to the resort. Because our room wasn’t going to be ready for another hour, we left our bags at the front desk and went to the buffet for breakfast. We were starving. And I don’t know if it was because we were starving or because Breezes has the best cooks in the world, but that was the best breakfast I’ve ever had – French toast, fried plantains, potatoes, fresh fruit… Even the water was good – yes, I drank the water. Twenty minutes after we sat down to eat our room was ready. I have to admit, we were shocked by how the room looked. It was the smallest hotel room I’ve ever seen. The beds were small. It was hot. It was dark. Everything was old. We started thinking that maybe we’d made a mistake by staying at Breezes instead of the Holiday Inn Sunspree. We were so disappointed with the room that we decided to put on our swimsuits and go to the beach. We would unpack later.

Our first day in Jamaica. Our first time on the beach. The first guy that approaches us asks us our names, then asks my sister if her chest is real. Wha! He said his name was Big John. (Later, some people told us he was once run out of Jamaica for being a chi-chi man.) Big John tried to get us to go to his “big house” in Negril. “Let me spend some money on ya’,” he said. How many times can you say “No thanks.”

(above: Me and my lil' sis. Photo taken by Big John)

That’s when we met Wayne and Kevin and Richard and Rohan and Adrian, the guys from the Breezes water sports team. They saved us. They ran Big John away and we spent the afternoon talking with them. I don’t even remember exactly what we all talked about, but I remember feeling like a kid on a stoop. Remember back in the day when you and all your friends used to sit on the stoop or the porch and talk and laugh all night. That’s what it was. Talking and laughing. All innocent, for the most part. Wayne tried to get us to eat almonds off the tree. Richard and Adrian offered to take me and my sis snorkeling. It was all good. Then, I began to feel all that sleep that I hadn’t gotten the night before. It hit me like a ton of bricks. All of a sudden, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, so we both went back to the room for a nap.

What was supposed to be a short nap lasted about 3 hours. But dang, that was some of the best sleep I’ve ever had. Well, it was off to lunch and back to the beach. This time, the sun was setting and we took a minute to enjoy the beauty of it all. Jamaica is poetry. Jamaica is creation. Jamaica is perfection. Jamaica was born of Mother Earth and Father God, colored by the sun, baptized by the ocean, powdered with sea salt, and christened with a reggae prayer set to djimbe rhythms.

(Me on the beach behind Breezes in MoBay. "That's how I know that God is Real, all of this is not by chance...India Arie)

My little sis and I had a real bonding moment there in the sunset. We decided to walk out on the pier. I had been in Jamaica for hours and still hadn’t seen a fish yet! With flip-flops in hand, we walked the pier, looking over the edge trying to spot anything moving. It was dark by then, so we really couldn’t see anything underneath the surface. We did, however, see a boat coming our way. The boat pulled up to the pier. One guy got off, the other stayed on board. He reached out for us. We looked at each other like, ‘What should we do?’ But unlike in the states, we felt safe in Jamaica. We took his hand and got in the boat. The guy introduced himself as Miguel. “I’m Miguel. This is my boat. I will not hurt you ladies. I just wanna take you for a ride and show you Jamaica”
“Okay,” we said simultaneously. Were we being naive or just feeling that brotherly sisterly love that we expected to find in Jamaica. Luckily, it was the latter. Miguel took us up to the Dead End and explained that the Jamaicans swim there every night b/c the water is warmer, calmer, and it was shallow. Many people recognized Miguel and gave him a holla. He holla’d back. Then we turned around and went up to Pier 1. Again, some people there knew Miguel. They holla’d. He holla’d back. We had some small talk on the boat. “Where ya from?, When did you get here? How long will you be here?” And we asked the same question we’d been asking since the plane landed. “Where do the locals hang out?, Where’s the party at?” Miguel said he’d be happy to take us out to do some ‘real Jamaican stuff’ later that night. We had dinner reservations at 8. So he took us back to the pier behind Breezes and told us to meet him back there at 10:30. Again, we wondered if it was safe, but something about the whole situation felt very safe, so we told him we’d be there waiting for him at 10:30 on the dot and we skipped (literally skipped) back to the hotel, giddy about what we’d just experienced and what we would experience later that night. Our first night in Jamaica looked promising!


(My lil' sis on the left and me on the right on Miguel's boat)

[Marilyn]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

I'm going to read this better when I get to work [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img] , but from what I can see you are enchanting.

Big John [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

[Marilyn]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

Ok
I read it all....but me.....who always has something to say.......can only say....I bow to you, and I envy you for having "it", and finding "it" so young.

[Marilyn]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

Angie two cards please

[sammy]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

ohhh this is a REAL treat....i'm so glad orbra talked you into posting...i'm hanging onto your every word

i can really relate to visiting a place and most everyone looks like you....such a wonderful feeling and one that is not felt often

and you wondered what you would like in your swimsuit.... let me answer that FABULOUS

did orbra speak with you about GFT? we're in Negril July 8-13th we would love to have you hang out with us for a few

keep it coming!!

[Vi]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

oh my! This is wonderful! I wish I were with you on that boat!!! I truly, truly do!! Thank you for sharing..please hurry back!!!

[Seveen]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

Those small rooms at Breezes are called "cabins". Yes they are small and dark. I hated them as well. I guess they are designed to keep you on the beach and out of your room.

Doctor's Cave Beach used to be my favorite. It is still a very lovely beach. I am glad you met some folks to show you some of the real Jamaica and your trip will bring back to Jamaica again. There's a lot to see and do all over the island.

Write on!

[sheanlee]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

Thanks for the PM! I rushed to get here and start reading.
I have to say...your words touch my heart...I know how you feel.

Flying over Cuba was amazing! That may be the closest I ever get to seeing the other land I love so much. But finally, we were in Jamaica.

Cuba is my other love that is unattainable. Yemaya and Oshun are calling me there but I know it will be years or maybe never. Until there comes a day that I could visit...Jamaica is my first! But I know Cuba will be another spiritual trip.
Don't apologize for mentioning "black" and "your people" so often. I and many of us here, knows how it feels to be the only black face in a crowd, a class, an office meeting, a community! To be surrounded by everyone that looks like you for MILES...your heart melts and a warmth comes over you, there are no words for it! Only other time I had that was when I went to a HBCU in Virginia...changed my life. Please...keep going..I'm loving this!

[Sugar Shug]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

I just need to say thanks for the pick me up. Work and life have been super depressing for the past couple of days(so much so that I had to leave work early yesterday). I have been desperately clinging on the every word of Vi's and now yours. Did you say you were an English major-It shows. Your writing is so melodic.
Keep it comming!!
Peace [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Nice time]

Re: MoBay is Heavenly

NapiHead, I'm really loving your trip report and I agree that your writing is like poetry. I just feel as if I'm there because your words just take me there. Trust me I can truly relate to that feeling of as soon as you land and come of the plane you feel a different kind of feeling come over you like I'm at home because it happens to me every time I go to visit my family there. I also get that awful feeling when I have to leave.

Can't wait for the next installment.