Dominican Republic 2009

Trip report and pics as promised. This year we went to La Romana, Dominican Republic. It was a relaxing and interesting 9 days. Dominican Republic is a huge European holiday hot spot. We were suprised to not see that many American's. The resort was nice. We stayed at the Dreams La Romana. English is not the first, second, or third language on the island or at the resort. Because of that, it made it somewhat hard to communicate (both ways). Fortunately, Frank does speak some spanish, so that helped some. We are glad to be home after a layover Sunday night in Miami (unplanned of course). Here are some of the pics!

This is the little lunch place we ate nearly every day.

View from lunch


This is a private little pool over by one of the spa gazebos looking over the beach


Day 2 - Catalina Island. Frank did some diving and I did some snorkeling and laying on the beach (which I found is something I am super good at!)

"I'm ScubaMan"...

ScubaMan and his trusty sidekick (at least for the day)

ScubaMan - getting the girl, savin the day!

Shakira's house...according to Gri Gri divers.

Marina at Casa De Campo (the neighborhood Shakira lives in)

View from my lounge chair on the beach


Other random images from the trip






We also did a Jeep Safari into the mountains and a catamaran sail to Isla Soana. I will try post those pics tomorrow because this is already a long post. Since we are on the topic of vacations and if you are planning a cruise, my friend Shannon has a cool new blog with some good info on it. It's not just for vacation tips, but it also has other life tips aswell. You can find her at remarkablyclever.com!

Vacation 2009

We just got back from our vacation today. It was a long 9 days(make that 10 with our unexpected lay-over in Miami last night). I have some good pics and I will be posting a trip report sometime this week.

Side note: I read the 1st two Twilight books and now I see what all the hype is about. They were amazing! I am definately hooked. How hooked you ask? So hooked, that I ran up to Blockbuster and bought a used copy to watch tonight. Sad. Sad.

Aloha!

One place I have always wanted to go is Hawaii. We have almost experienced all of the Caribbean (that we care to, at least). So sometime in the next few years, I hope we will have a chance to go to Hawaii. I saw an episode of Bridget's Sexiest Beaches the other day, and everything she did on the show looked like so much fun and right up my alley! Here is a breakdown of all the fun!

~Underwater Scooters in Honolulu
~Shark Encounter in Haleiwa
~Air Powered Hang Gliders in Haleiwa
~4WD Tour & Waterfall Hike
~Helicopter Tour in Waikoloa
~Manta Ray Night Dive in Kailua-Kona
~Tons of super yummy restaurants

Now I really have the itch to go!

La Romana, Domincan Republic

We booked our vacation! I am so excited. 9 days of all-inclusive, lazy when we want to be-adventurous when we want to be-good times. We are staying at Dreams La Romana in the Dominican Republic.

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

I am so excited to get back to the beach. Although it's been just less than a year, for some reason it feels like a lot longer since our last trip. This year...Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We have narrowed it down to Dreams All-Inclusive or Sivory. Sivory is not all-inclusive, but it only has 55 suites and is very private at the end of the island. Both look really nice. We stayed at Dreams in Tulum for Todd and Kristi's wedding and we loved it. We have done all-inclusive in the past and hated it. The food was below par and they just were not as nice as what we are used to. Dreams broke the mold for us and we definately recommend it. When we went to Belize, we stayed at a small boutique hotel, Victoria House, and loved the how private and quiet it was. This will be a tough decision.

Aquariums

There are some great aquariums across America. I have been fortunate to have gone to one of the best, Monterrey Bay Aquarium in California I would love to go back. The Georgia Aquarium is another one I would like to visit. I was looking online and you can dive or swim with a Whale Shark. Everyone knows these fish are gentle giants and don't pose any threat to humans, but holy hell I would be terrified! I would do it though. When we swam with dolphins in Mexico that was kind of scary in a way because of their size. What doesn't make sense was when we swam with Nurse Sharks in Belize and large Stingrays in Cayman, I wasn't uneasy at all. What brought this up was Frank and I were talking about his Epcot scuba diving experience at Living Seas and how slightly unnerving it was to be in the tank with all those sharks. I am so ready to go on vacation. I need to get back in the water.

Click here for information on some good causes to stop shark finning and save the sea otters!

Places I've Been

In no order and not limited to...

Broad (and outside of Texas):
Los Angeles, CA
Winterpark, CO
Vail, CO
Denver, CO
New York, NY
Great Neck (Long Islnd), NY
Greenwich, CT
Reno, NV
Las Vegas, NV
Miami, FL
Atlanta, GA
Alpharetta, GA
Orlando, FL
Tucson, AZ
Albequrque, NM
Kansas City, MO
Wichita, KS
San Francisco, CA
Carmel, CA
Monterrey, CA
Little Rock, AR
Nashville, TN
Oklahoma, OK
Norman, OK

Abroad:
Aruba
St. Lucia
Bonaire
Grand Caymen
Martinique
Turks and Caicos
Puerto Vallarta
Belize
Bahamas
Playa Del Carmen
Tulum
Cozumel
London, Ontario

Dubai, A Giant Toilet

Eww, eww, eww...this is nasty. One of the websites I read on a regular basis is the Underwater Times. I read an article today that basically said that a famous stretch of beach in Dubai where the rich and famous play, is essentially a toilet. Raw sewage, chemical waste and toilet paper have forced the beach to close and events to be cancelled. If you want to read the article, click here.

Houston Trip

I was an idiot and forgot my camera so this will be a rather boring trip report. Frank and I went to Houston this weekend to visit his sister and her family. His dad ended up being there to visit as well. It was a quick trip, but was nice to see everyone. Frank took the boys out on Saturday to buy toys and video games while his sister and I went to get pedicures and go shopping. We all went out to dinner Saturday night and left around lunchtime today to come home.

Our nephew Mikey, the ham of the family (next to Uncle Frank) picks up on everything he hears or sees and makes it his own. For example...Frank made the mistake of exposing the boys to "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords (Click here if you have not see this yet) while showing his sister. So all weekend Mikey (8 years old mind you) walked around singing "it's business time, it's business time" and telling everyone "business hours are over baby" whenever they would leave a store or go to bed. Mikey also told us how his teacher makes him sign a red book when he gets in trouble, so Frank told him to tell his teacher next time she makes him sign the book, that "I wrote the red book"...and I am 200% sure he is going to actually do it. AND another piece of wisdom Frank passed on was for Mikey to write his teacher's name in the red book instead of his own. His poor mom. LOL!

Driving around Houston, you could still see a lot of damage from Hurricane Ike. There were piles of debris in front of almost every house awaiting pick up and several houses with blue tarps where there was roof damage. When Frank took the boys out on Saturday, they tried to go to Toys R' Us and they were still closed due to storm damage. We also tried a couple of different restaurants on Saturday night only to find they were also still closed. We ended up at Churrasco's. I had never heard of it before, and it was really good.

Wichita Fun!

It has been a fun weekend here in Wichita Kansas! I am visiting my friend Shannon and will be going home tomorrow morning. We packed a lot into these 2 days. Yesterday (Saturday), I got in around 12:30 after a 5 hour drive. Traffic was surprisingly light, which was nice. Shortly after I arrived, we went to eat lunch at Bella Luna. It's a really good Mediterranean restaurant about 2 miles from her house. After that, Shannon drove me around and gave me a tour of the town. Saturday night, we went to Old Town in downtown Wichita. The advertising agency that Shannon works at is right in the heart of Old Town. We took a tour of her office, then went to a super cute gift shop for some shopping, then it was on to Oeno Wine Bar.



There we had a fabulous crab and gouda fondue with bread and apples. I started with a cucumber martini (which was won-der-ful!), then moved on to a yummy New Zealand wine called Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. http://www.kimcrawfordwines.co.nz/
After dinner at the wine bar, we went to "Keeper of the Plains", an interesting monument with fire and water and a very architectural bridge.





Today was the perfect girly day. We started our day off with Sunday brunch and then went shopping at Bradley Fair,a great outdoor shopping center in East Wichita that sits on a little lake. It was very picturesque. We hit Williams-Sonoma, White House-Black Market, J. Jill, Eddie Bauer and Gap. After shopping, we went to see Mama Mia (the sing-along version!). It was so good. If you have not seen it yet, you must. It was campy, and cheesy, and gay. Loved it loved it loved it!
Here are some pictures of the shopping center lake and fountain:




Anyway, I am excited to get home to Lucy tommorow. Frank says she is doing well. He sent me a few pictures of her with her little shaved back. I will post again tomorrow to let everyone know how she is doing. Good night!

Lucy Comes Home Tomorrow!

Lucy gets to come home from the doggy hospital tomorrow. Frank will pick her up in the morning because I will be en route to see Shannon in Wichita, KS. I feel bad I won't get to see her until Monday. But with everything going on, I really do need to get away. Todd started his Thyroid medication today so hopefully with that, and Lucy coming home, things can start (slowly) getting back to normal.

Trip Report - Turks & Caicos Islands

Frank and I just returned from an 8 day trip to the Turks & Caicos islands. It was beautiful and relaxing. Crystal blue clear water and white sandy beaches, you don't get much better than that. We stayed at the Royal West Indies and had a great room fully equipped with a mini kitchen and washer and dryer.

When we arrived on Saturday we had lunch at the resort restaurant, Mango Reef, and then went to the local IGA grocery store to stock our mini kitchen with some basic essentials. After that we headed right for the beach to take in the scenery and caught a great sunset.

On Sunday, we spent time laying on the beach and taking it easy with some beachy cocktails. We also explored our options for some fun excursions. We ate dinner at a very trendy (and very overpriced) restaurant at the Grace Bay Club called Anacona. Great bar/lounge area.

Monday, Frank went Scuba Diving with Caicos Adventures and I laid on the beach and by the pool soaking up the sun and reading magazines. It was very relaxing.

Tuesday, we went Kayaking with Big Blue Unlimited. I have never been kayaking before and I had a blast! It was more of an eco tour than just kayaking. The guide took us through the Mangroves and we got to see several baby lemon sharks and a baby nurse shark along with other marine life like puffer fish and strange species of jellyfish. The baby sharks and other fish use the mangroves for shelter from bigger predators until they are big enough to survive in the unprotected open waters.

Wednesday, Frank went diving with Big Blue and I went snorkeling. We had to take seperate tours because there was not room on the dive boat for me. Big Blue takes very small groups on their excursions and I liked that much better. The group of snorkelers I was with were very nice. I never would have been able to go alone a couple years ago.

Thursday we took it easy again and lounged by the pool after sleeping in.

Friday, Frank and I went Scuba Diving/Snorkeling again with Big Blue. There was room on the dive boat so I was able to go with him and snorkel around while the divers did their thing. It was pretty cool. The guides were very nice and it was fun watching all the divers.

On Saturday it was time to return home and back to reality.
(Be sure to check out the this video of a frisky dolphin . It was filmed by the ladies at Big Blue about a month ago on a snorkel tour....Ha-ha!!!)

Disney World and Epcot Dive Quest Pictures

As promised and out of order...here are the pics from Disney World and Frank's Dive Quest adventure. We stayed at Disney's Contemporary Resort and in addition to going to the parks, Frank did Epcot's Dive Quest at the Living Seas aquarium. It was pretty cool because while the group was diving everyone could watch them from insude the restaurant and the exhibit.

Afterthought

Photos to Disney to come plus a short trip log of exactly what we did. Sorry this post is a little out of order. I just thought about it. Good night! :)

The Wonderful World of Disney

Ahhhh, Disney World...for most people those two words evoke an array of happy emotions. As it sparks happy emotions for myself, it also brings mixed emotions. We spent four fun filled days at Disney this past weekend. We went to (almost) all the parks and saw all the attractions on our list. We rode all the rides we wanted. We even got to eat at all the restaurants we wanted to. We had a good time. The mixed emotion part comes in here...Frank and I do not do well with schedules and crowds of people not knowing what direction to move in. Although it was fun, it was not very relaxing.

It all started on a very early flight on 3 hours of sleep. The children sitting behind us were not well behaved. Frank had his seat kicked a lot. Even asking the parents to make the kid stop wasn't enough. The parents would not do anything about it! Awful! Not only was the younger of the two kids kicking Frank's seat, the kids were also watching Star Wars on a small DVD player, which normally would be ok. But NOT ok without headphones. Trying to sleep on Frank's shoulder I was forced to hear about the force! So needless to say the flight wasn't a pleasant one, but we made it in one peace and that's always a good thing.

I was just shocked at how many parents let their kids be rude and run amuck. Now I know I can't really complain about kids, because we did go to Disney World afterall, but what I can complain about are all of the adults who rent lark scooters because they are to lazy to walk around the park (and get some needed exercise). There were people that legitimately needed to be in them, but there were more people who just rode in them to ride in them. I know this because I would watch them get up and walk onto a ride with no trouble or get out of their chair to go get food. I know it might sound rude of me, but when you are trying to walk to a destination and you are held back by a moving barrier of strollers and larks in 95 degree weather for 4 days, it can get a little frustrating.

Anyway, aside from the people and things we have no control over, we had a really good time. It's been 8 years since we went last and it will probably be another 8 years before we go again. We definately won't go back unless we have children. Then we will be the annoying parents blocking the paths with our stroller and being too beaten down to punish our kids. Gotta love the "Circle of Life".