COUPLE THANK SANDALS FOR BRINGING THEM TOGETHER ~Celebrating 25 years of friendship~

W hen Thomas and Nancy McGann visited Sandals Negril in 1994 on their honeymoon, they were expecting a luxury-included, romantic getaway with a generous serving of sun, sand and sea. They got that, but with only two days left in their vacation they came upon something more; a chance meeting with Sharon Amrose that would blossom into a 25-year friendship.

“We had gone out waterskiing when we met Sharon out in the water and struck up a conversation with her,” said Nancy. “We learned that she would be moving to Boston, where we lived at the time.”

“Personally, I wasn’t trying to meet anyone, I just wanted to connect with my new wife,” said Thomas. But Sharon introduced the couple to her husband, David, and something just clicked.

The couples soon learned that not only were they both on their honeymoon, but they had both gotten married just one day apart.

“Those two last days of our vacation spending time with Thomas and Nancy were the best,” said Mrs McGann. “We exchanged numbers and promised to stay in touch.” Now, we know how those promises often go, but not this one. David and Sharon Amrose didn’t have a phone, as they were moving. But the moment they got one, they reached out to the lovely couple they met in Jamaica.

“We were so happy to have David and Sharon living in Boston,” said Mrs McGann. As a matter a fact, still a little homesick from their amazing Sandals vacation in Jamaica, the couple invited their new-found friends over and prepared a Jamaican meal. This would be their first dinner together.

“That food turned out to be the worst meal we had ever prepared’, said Thomas McGann. ‘It was so bad we had to order takeout.”

However, not even a terrible first meal could put a damper on this budding friendship, and not only have they lived to laugh over that meal, but they’ve had many amazing dinners together over the years.

“Every time we get together it’s a fun time, a great memory,” said Mr Amrose. There have been many more great times, many memories and many firsts.

Between both couples, there are five sons of which Toddy, the McGann son, is the first. “I’ll never forget the day Toddy was born, and I held him for the first time, or changed his diaper,” said Mrs Amrose. “He was the little practice child for me and David.”

When she became pregnant, she says her friend was her go-to mom. “I think I called her every minute,” she says, laughing.

Currently, the McGanns live in Idaho, Colorado, and Sharon and David live in Washington, Florida. They’re approximately 2,000 miles apart, but according to them no distance can keep them apart.

The Amroses both work in the health sector; David Amrose is a doctor and his wife, a physical therapist, while Thomas McGann works as a university administrator and his wife is a lawyer by profession.

Perhaps their most notable difference is their approach to travel. David and Sharon Amrose have spent a considerable amount of time island-hopping across the Caribbean, even putting down anchor in Sandals Royal Bahamian for their 10th anniversary. Thomas and Nancy McGann waited on the super special 25th anniversary to make the trip back to Jamaica.

And for such a milestone, where better to celebrate than Sandals South Coast!

“When Tom and I are back home we play hockey together, but when we’re in the Caribbean we drink together,” says David Amrose. And with all the memories these two probably have to mull over, it’s a good thing that Sandals keeps the drinks coming without the worry of running up a bar tab.