Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Shoegate 2010

On Wednesday in Jamaica it rained on and off all day. We ventured out between rain showers and explored the other side of the resort and the other gift shop. During an afternoon lull in the rain we slathered on our suntan lotion and sat in the clouds for a little while. The sun never quite made it out. Finally we decided to get on a shuttle and go to another Sandals Resort (Dunn's River) about 20 minutes down the road. We wanted to check it out, especially a Teppanyaki Restaurant called Kimono's where Pat wanted to eat.

Supposedly, you could make reservations at Kimono's through our concierge service. We tried that and they made it sound like it was really hard to get reservations and they would do their best and let us know. We never heard anything, so while we were at the other resort, Pat decided he would try to get us in. Me...I would have just accepted that we weren't going to eat there. Pat...he talked to about 5 people and finally convinced them to give us a reservation that had just been cancelled by someone else. He really wanted to eat there.

We had an hour and a half until dinner so we headed to a windy bar on the beach. After a few drinks, we walked around the resort. It was a little nicer and more modern than the one we were at. While checking out the open-air gym a rainstorm moved through. There were some good magazines so I sat down and started to read, waiting for the rain to stop. Pat thought he should take a nap on a bench...in the gym. Granted, it wasn't a weight bench, more like a massage table. The pina coladas made him a little tired I guess.

The rain passed, we checked out another gift store and then it was almost dinner. As if it wasn't enough that we wiggled our way into reservations, Pat thought we should see if we could get in early. As we told the lady we had a 6:30pm reservation, she said, "Do you think you could go back and change your shoes?"

There was a dress code. We were dressed nicely, but apparently our finest flip flops were not fine enough. I was even wearing my leather ones. We explained that we couldn't go back and change our shoes because we were from the other resort. She then suggested we go down to the front desk and see if they had any shoes.

They have shoes at the front desk for such an occasion? It sounded like this was done all the time. I was momentarily intrigued with what shoes they might bring me. I had a vision of rows of beautiful shoes in all sizes in a back room. Kind of like at a bowling alley but without the multi-colored panels or laces or slippery bottoms. Or maybe like the Blue Fly accessory wall on Project Runway.

Or not at all, since the girl at the front desk kind of gave us a funny look when we asked to exchange shoes. At this point, I am mortified. I continue to be mortified when she brings out a pair for me and tells me I have to leave mine in exchange. They were a little small, but since they had no back strap, I made it work.

What are the odds that they have a nice pair of men's size 14 shoes back there? In fact, they have no men's shoes at all. They make calls! They're calling all around the resort for men's dress shoes! We sat there for 15 minutes while they apparently put out an all points bulletin for men's shoes. More mortification!

In the meantime, we were able to watch our fellow diners with a 6:30 reservation head up the stairs. One man in his 60s with khaki shorts, loafers and white socks pulled up to his shins. One man in his 60s with workout shorts, leather sandals and black socks pulled up to his shins. One man with Birkenstocks.

At one point, Pat said the the guy at the front desk, "Not for nothing, but did you just see the shoes our fellow diners are wearing?"

The resort wide search produced no shoes for Pat. We finally headed back upstairs and someone signaled the hostess that we were allowed in. Apparently we just needed to be embarrassed a little bit to earn our dinner. Pat would say it was all worth it. He finally got some sushi (albeit only 2 pieces) and the dinner was delicious. I agree that the dinner was delicious but in hindsight, I would have worn my own heels.

After dinner, I slunk back to the front desk to exchange shoes. I just know the two couples sitting there watched the whole process and wondered what I was doing. I made no eye contact and just hurried over to the shuttle to take me back to a resort where we had yet to have a problem with our shoewear.

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