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Random Wistful Note
Jul. 19th, 2007 02:06 pmFor several years when I was young (5 years old until I was 11-ish), my family did an annual trip to Barbados, usually during Christmas break. We'd go with my mother's side of the family (back when we were still speaking to most of them; and when my grandparents were alive, of course), all get ajoining rooms, and enjoy a week of breakfast buffets, afternoons by the pool, and really amazing fried flying fish sandwiches.
This ended sometime before middle school, when a traveler's advisory was issued for Barbados, I think because of crime-related issues. Then my grandfather died and my mother stopped talking to my grandmother; and high school activity schedules made such a regular trip problematic regardless. But the trips remain a happy point in my childhood memories, and on later ones I can remember seeing a couple of other families several years running. They had boys about my age, and I remember playing arcade games in the game room (Galaga or Glaxaian, most likely--that was also where I discovered Don't Go Alone) and running an intro game of D&D, which I had only recently dscovered myself.
We'd stay at a Marriott resort called Sam Lord's Castle, built around the manor of the aforementioned pirate lord. On a whim, I googled the castle--turns out that Marriott sold it to a group of locals (when is unclear, but definitely before 2001) under whose management the resort declined until it was closed (sometime in the last two years).
Apparently a venture fund is planning to demolish everything but the castle and build a new 5-star resort on the property; which is good for the area and all, but feels a bit sad. I looked at satellite photos of the resort, and could tell where the rooms we used to stay in were, and which of the pools we usually sat by.
Ah, childhood memories.
This ended sometime before middle school, when a traveler's advisory was issued for Barbados, I think because of crime-related issues. Then my grandfather died and my mother stopped talking to my grandmother; and high school activity schedules made such a regular trip problematic regardless. But the trips remain a happy point in my childhood memories, and on later ones I can remember seeing a couple of other families several years running. They had boys about my age, and I remember playing arcade games in the game room (Galaga or Glaxaian, most likely--that was also where I discovered Don't Go Alone) and running an intro game of D&D, which I had only recently dscovered myself.
We'd stay at a Marriott resort called Sam Lord's Castle, built around the manor of the aforementioned pirate lord. On a whim, I googled the castle--turns out that Marriott sold it to a group of locals (when is unclear, but definitely before 2001) under whose management the resort declined until it was closed (sometime in the last two years).
Apparently a venture fund is planning to demolish everything but the castle and build a new 5-star resort on the property; which is good for the area and all, but feels a bit sad. I looked at satellite photos of the resort, and could tell where the rooms we used to stay in were, and which of the pools we usually sat by.
Ah, childhood memories.
