Hey all! Happy Sunday! At least, I think it is Sunday. Chris and I had the great fortune to spend the last 4 days in the Dominican Republic! Back in January, Chris found out he earned a trip through work. And the week finally arrived.
We set our alarm for 3:15am on Wednesday morning, first for a flight to Chicago, and then a surprise (to me!) first class flight to Punta Cana.
After landing and a slow slog through customs, we hopped on a bus to our resort…the Paradisius Palma Real.
We settled in and wandered around the resort a bit. That night was a welcome dinner for all the employees who earned the trip…over a hundred of them plus their guests. It was a lovely time on the beach.
On Thursday morning I woke up and ran on the beach just in time to see the beautiful sunrise…and then a little rainstorm.
A bit later, we headed to the breakfast buffet. It was AMAZING. Then Chris had the one and only work meeting, so I spent some time by the beach, and then the pool, and then back to the beach!
When he was done we went to get a quick snack.
And then it was time for our first excursion…a catamaran tour! The ocean was beautiful and we had a fun time on the boat and in the water.
We had a bit of time to shower and FaceTime the girls before heading to dinner with some of Chris’ co-workers/friends. We went to a Hibachi place, which was SO FUN and SO DELICIOUS. I even ate some actual real sushi! Later we wandered around the resort and ended up getting dessert at the buffet. YUM.
My run on Friday morning was once again beautiful. A little dog even joined me for a bit.
Before heading out for our second excursion that morning, we got breakfast. This time I got 2 full plates, because we learned from the catamaran experience the previous day that promised a “light lunch”…that it likely means wonderbread and warm cheese sandwiches. So we didn’t have high hopes for the “light lunch” promised that day.
The “light lunch” was definitely gross on our FLOATING PARADISE…but we didn’t care because we had a blast! We went on a long snorkel, got short massages, and just relaxed on the floating docks. The water that surrounded us was just gorgeous.
We got back around 2pm, so we went straight to the pool for some more relaxing time before our 4pm couples massage!!
Then we had a very quick turn around and made it to the planned cocktail hour and then dinner. We definitely still smelled like the massage lotions.
For evening entertainment, we stumbled upon these gymnasts that performed in the pool.
I went out for my Saturday morning run a bit later (6:15am instead of 5:45…) and decided to go the opposite direction from the beach at the start. I wandered around the other side of the resort and learned it is just massive. But I had to end up on the beach, of course. And then while I waited for Chris to wake up, I enjoyed the view from our balcony.
After another delicious breakfast, we spent the morning at the beach!
Chris had fun bartering with local salesmen and we mostly stayed in the shade because the sun was intense.
Then there was an afternoon of watching people play volleyball, shaved ice, lunch, and pool time.
Later in the afternoon, clouds rolled in…and with them, some rain! But nobody cared. The pool water felt warm and wonderful
On our last night, we had some drinks with friends at a bar called Ginger (I had a delicious Espresso Martini), and then were bussed to a different resort for a closing dinner. It included a very sweaty dance party at the end, which was SO FUN.
On Sunday morning I went for a final beach walk. It was a bit cloudy…and then we had breakfast (no photo of that meal…it was the same as every other breakfast!).
We packed up our stuff and hung out in the air conditioned room and then out by the pool for the morning before leaving for our long travel day.
In fact, if you are reading this when it is posted, we are likely on an airplane. Our expected arrival time back home after two flights is about 11pm.
Meanwhile, our village stepped up to help with the girls and Luna! Thanks to G-ma, Boom, Pa, Auntie Yoda, and Auntie Cat for all their help this week! Callie and Boom even got to take our tickets to Hamilton! And Maya got lots of cousin time
Have a great week!
