The Dominican Republic, in review.

My second try at this post...

Catie, Tommy and I have returned from our adventure, slightly ill but alive. I had a great time, the sunshine was good to me and I return with a head full of memories (and mucus). I thought I would devote my Ten on Tuesday to a Diez de DomDom and attempt to cover the most important points of the trip.

1. Our 18 hour layover in Panama wasn't so bad. The Panamanian government wasn't too thrilled about letting us out of the airport without a real purpose for being there, but we made it work. The taxi man (turned on the radio and the Jay-z song was on) recommended a great hotel with a restaurant. We had some good food, some good sleep, and returned to the airport the following morning. Fun fact: beer and a bottle of water were both $1.50.

2. We arrived at the Melia Caribe Tropical resort on Monday afternoon. Our flight came in with some friends and family of the bride and groom, but mostly everyone arrived earlier or trickled in on the following days. It was great to spend time with those we already knew and to get to know others that we didn't. Those Cubans/Ecuadorians are crazy, I couldn't keep up. I have no complaints though. I had some quality travel time with my Catie Joy, and walked hand in hand with my Thomas on the beach on a warm night. That was all I needed.


3. Our resort was all-inclusive food, drink, and non-motorized water sports. This is resort code for "you will overeat, you will think you're drinking a lot but there's not really alcohol in the cocktails, and kayaks and pedal boats are all yours but anything else will cost your limbs and firstborn child." We did fall in love with a passion fruit martini which was more like a pinkish-orange slushy served in small amounts.

4. One of the days a group of us took a trip to the nearby island Catalina. The water was clear, the sand was white, and it was the perfect opportunity to catch some r&r in the shade of a palm. The only downside was the complimentary endless fountain of alcohol and the serious lack of food.

5. I was sad to miss Thanksgiving in the US of A. We were promised a Thanksgiving dinner at the resort, but alas, it fell short. There was an inflatable turkey outside the buffet that night, and a chef carving turkey while we watched. And that concluded Thanksgiving. No pilgrims, no alphabetical gratitude and most importantly, no mashed potatoes. Four or five gentlemen were dressed up like the village people and spontaneously danced in choreographed movement in the bar later, but I'm not sure if that was related.

6. The wedding rehearsal took place on Friday afternoon on the sand. The bride and groom wore white swimsuits, while the bridesmaids wore coral swimsuits in the same style, and the groomsmen wore the same boardshorts in teal. This was the moment I had been dreading since my winter body is not swimsuit-approved, but it turned out that several people parading on the beach in fluorescent colors was enough of a freak show that I didn't even notice. We drew quite the crowd of onlookers as well. It was silly, but very memorable.

7. The ceremony was the following day. It was perfect. Chris looked like a strapping young gent and Jesenia looked absolutely gorgeous. I definitely cried when she walked down the aisle. I also cried when they read their vows, and when they took communion, and when they were announced at the end. Call me a sap. The ceremony was on the beach at 4pm on a Saturday, and attracted probably twice as many uninvited guests as invited guests. A security guard was trying to keep people from getting too close, but I'm sure at least half of their ceremony photos have women in bikinis and fat men in speedos in the background.

8. Cocktails in a gazebo followed the ceremony while pictures were taken. The sun was setting and the backdrop of an orange and purple sky with champagne and hors d'oeuvres in hand was just amazing. A band led the parade of guests down the beach to a wonderful outdoor reception complete with lights strung between palm trees and a glowing dance floor that pulsed disco colors. Everyone, including Jes and Chris, was super relaxed and had fun dancing and socializing. The food was also fantastic. We sent the bride and groom off through a tunnel of sparklers and into their future.


9. Catie, Tommy and I left the Dom on Sunday afternoon. We all got on the plane perfectly healthy, but by the time we disembarked in Los Angeles, we had each fallen ill in some way. Thanks to time travel (or time zones.. same thing), we arrived around 11pm on Sunday. Tommy's wonderful father picked us up and by the time we made it to our beds, we were less than human. But again, no complaints.. such things are an inevitable part of traveling.


10. I took a healthy amount of pictures on the trip. Perhaps I will share some in an upcoming blog, and no doubt an album will land on Facebook pretty soon. I have to give some recognition to Tommy for being very camera happy and making sure my camera came home with pictures of absolutely everything. <3


Kudos if you made it to the end. Thanks for reading. Xo and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.