Vacation-Dominican Republic

Matt and I planned our wedding date really well. You see, our wedding anniversary lands right around Memorial Day Weekend every year so we can go on an "anniversary trip". We had originally thought about taking Highway 101 from San Francisco to Vancouver  but it turned out that Matt didn't have enough vacation time left this year due to other trips for us to be able to do that trip with any reasonable amount of time at the stops we wanted to make.

There was a couple in Midland that we really liked. There were several couples we liked, but we really liked these people. We started to hang out with them sort of frequently and Matt and I decided they were going to be "our couple" (assuming they liked us as much as we liked them). Well of course shortly there after Matt got a job offer to move back to OKC. We were going to miss our new friends! These friends are named Nicole and Steven.

Not long after they actually ended up moving to Houston so I guess it worked out that we came here. From time to time Matt and Steven will email each other and check in. About 5 weeks ago Steven emailed Matt and said we should all plan a trip to Costa Rica because we had all been there (separately) before and all loved it. We had already booked a trip to the Dominican Republic (which was sort of a random choice) but we told them that if they wanted to they should totally come with us. There's a lot of people in this world that will hypothetically totally agree to go on a trip with you. There are few that will actually go. Even fewer that will leave the country. And nearly no one who would four weeks prior to departure. We have those friends.

Despite taking different airlines and flying out of different airports, we arrived within five minutes of each other. It turned out that they had a better room than us and so with some negotiating and $120 we were able to upgrade our room to be near theirs and get the better amenities (better beach, private alcohol pickup, nicer room, closer to the pool and beach). We always laughed at this sign. First they called it "privileged" which had to make the people who didn't pony up the extra cash feel like total crud (even though it wasn't really widely advertised) and "Because you deserve it". Deserve it? How 'bout paid for it. Geez.

Oh- and in case you're planning a trip and want to know about resorts, we stayed at the Hotel Catolonia Barcelo

The first day we just hung out at the resort and caught up. We also ate a good dinner at their Italian restaurant. Of all the country themed restaurants at the resort (there were four) the Italian tasted the most like the country to me. Or at least the most Americanized version of the country.

Lunch. They had everything at a buffet. Everything.

On day two we golfed. Well, the boys golfed and Nicole and I rode in another cart and had fun and watched. 

 And we also stole all the beer from the VIP room. They kept getting mad at us but that leads me to ask two questions. 1) Why isn't there a beer cart for golfing? Hello! Propinas!  2) Why did they only refill the beer in the VIP room 8 beers at a time????

 Nicole and Steven. They're so fun. And nice. Rare combination...at least at the level they are at both.

And when we got back they left some champagne and chocolate in our room for our anniversary. 

 They had cool cabana type beds all over the place.

 The sushi and Japanese food left something to be desired. Not bad just not... great.

 But at least I got a huge plate of sea food. Mmm!

Day 3 We went off shore fishing. It turns out I knew nearly nothing about what off shore fishing was going to be like.

And Matt no likey how much the boat rocked. poor guy. 

 And the bathroom situation. Whoa. Whole new world. This is my brave "I am going to see the bathroom now" face.

And if you look close in the water you can see the Mahi Mahi we "caught"

And Steven reeled it in!

 And later at the end of the trip Nicole helped reel in the bait like a boss.

 And the group with our catch.

Day 4: Macao Beach

If you go to Punta Cana and do not go to Macao Beach I won't be able to respect your trip. It is the most beautiful beach I have every seen and I am starting to wrack up some beach views. It was incredible. It's a public beach but the rumor from a local was that it had been bought by Westin and development will start soon. So go see it while it's perfect while you can.

This isn't even a good picture of it.

 William my surf instructor. Really good guy.

 Post surfing pic. LOOK AT THAT BEACH! The waves are tiny and the temperature is perfect on top of everything.

 And some man came by with a lizard. Matt's about the last person that would want some stranger to put an iguana on him. Yes, I realize it's an iguana.

 What a trooper.

 And some local fisherman came in and caught way more fish in their tiny boat than we did on our huge one.

 And I talked to the jefe and we negotiated a lunch from a fish that just came in. This was the fish preparing station. I am happy to report that none of us got sick.

 Guy in the grey shirt was the jefe. I remembered and used way more of my Spanish knowledge that I thought I could. Way to go Spanish minor!

 Check out these cooking stations for the fried food!

 Our spread. 3 lbs Mahi Mahi. 1 whole lobster. 1 lb Capitan fish. Salad. Plantain. Rice. French Fries. $57. Served 7 people. Mmmmmm hmmmm. Afternoon of beers for 7 people $56.

 Holy cow it was delicious.

After we got back from Macao Beach Nicole and Steven went to another hotel because they were staying several more days and we had to leave the next afternoon. I would have liked more time because a 5 day trip really isn't enough in another country. However, I am stoked that we went and it was a lot of fun. It was so great to catch up with our friends...and in paradise! Punta Cana is really nice and I recommend going. Our travel agent said it was a hot destination right now. Don't forget to check out Macao Beach!

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