When I first got a call from Rebecca, the conference planner for this ultra high-end beverage industry conference, I remember wishing I could take her up on her offer to bring a guest (my Cathy of course) for a long weekend if it were anytime other than 2 weeks before our wedding.  But when I arrived at the Grand Lido Resort on Friday just in time for an awe-inspiring Negril sunset, I wished it even more. 

At first I thought it would be kind of weird being a single male traveler at a “couples-only” resort, but then I soon realized that iMi/Spirits had actually commandeered the entire resort for the weekend.  After hooking-up with the event planners at the pool, and meeting Tony Saragossa of NFL's Ravens and HBO'sThe Sopranos, I got in the groove pretty quick   But once night fell and I found myself walking freshly showered and slightly sunburned to the theme party that night I knew it was going to be a special event when I came upon the iMi/Spirits logo projected upon the biggest Fichus tree I’ve ever seen.

Despite bumping into my buddy Steve Barth, the hotel industry's top expert in the field of hotel law, also on the agenda, who has a long history of being a bad influence on me at such events., being the disciplined conference speaker I have learned to be, I walked away from this still-rocking event at 10pm thinking I probably wouldn’t have many of them turn-out for my optional break-out session that started 8:30am the next morning (Saturday.)  And yet there they all were, including the corporate F&B directors from prestigious lodging companies such as Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Delaware North Corporation, and beverage companies such as Southern Wine & Spirits and Bacardi. Not to mention that the President of iMi, Don Billings, was there to personally greet me and check on everything.  Don took this picture below of me with Rebecca White, one of the meeting planners for iMi. 

                                               

Too bad that right after the event I had to head straight back to Montego Bay, which is a 2 hour drive, to  ensure that I would be where I needed to be for my 7:15am wheels-up flight back to Miami, where I was scheduled to arrive just 3 hours before the departure of my next flight – out of Ft. Lauderdale airport 45 minutes to the north.  I have to say it was a bit of a shock to move from the luxurious all-inclusive environment of Grand Lido to regular hotel in MoBay where I found myself hosing down the shower with steaming hot water and washing the previous guest’s toothpaste down the bathroom sink.  The only good part about this hotel was its location, which most importantly was only 5 minutes from the airport but also 2 blocks from the most happening bar scene on the Island which is Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant, where you can see me pictured below in the same spot where I stood with my Cathy 18 months prior when we were on vacation in the area.