Dominican Republic

We have been so excited for months about our trip to D.R. (as the locals say). We flew all night to say the least, leaving Phoenix at 11 p.m. with a four hour layover in Miami at 3 a.m.  Jim was smart and curled up on the most uncomfortable benches to try and sleep. 

So excited to be leaving the country.

The D.R. was beautiful.  The beaches as soft as flour. The resort was gorgeous. The people were fun. The sleep was fantastic.  The drinks endless. 

 Tim and I spent one night at a romantic dinner for two.  

One of our excursions was to tour the Dominican Country Side. We got to see how chocolate beans, coffee beans, and vanilla beans were grown and enjoyed fresh.  

 We ate some fresh sugar cane. 

 Fresh Cocoa beans. 

 Our awesome tour bus. 

Our little tour took us through the beautiful forest and to see the many colorful houses the dominicans lived in.  Their houses were on the small size but vibrant in color.  

The resort grounds were gorgeous and huge.  We spent hours walking between the main lobby and the room down the beach but there were no complaints as we walked the beautiful grounds.  

 The food was amazing and we spent every night at a different restaurant and enjoying our favorite desserts. 

Snorkeling with sharks and among the reef was another favorite excursion. 

The Ice Cream Shop was an everyday stop.  

 Monday, Tim was able to book a kiteboarding lesson (as a late birthday present) with a local company.  He had a blast.  He spent three hours on the water and managed to get up a few times on the water. He did great and loved every minute of the water. 

The beautiful Dominican Beach.  

 The view from our beachfront presidential suite.  We looked right over the pools and the beach.  Gorgeous!

 The food was divine!

Sunday, we took a taxi to church and had a lovely service in Spanish.  We met the cutest little mini missionary.  It is so comforting to attend church in another language and know that it is the same no matter who we are and where we are. Church was held in this old house in the middle of a neighborhood.

 Horsebacking riding on the beach and Quads on the beach was a blast. Running through the terrain and ended up on the beach was awesome. 

 The locals even broke open coconuts for us to drink fresh coconut water.  Gross as it was, it was still fun!

We had an awesome trip with Jim and Rosalyn and Matt and Kelsey.