Dominican Republic

So, a bit about our trip to the Dominican Republic (DR) ... I have to say, after all of the sunny warm weather it has been very difficult to be back in the Pacific Northwest rain. Boo hoo. Anyway, at the start of our trip we spent a few days on the coast of the DR in Punta Cana. I can't tell you how beautiful this place is. All that you would expect from the Caribbean ... white sand beaches, warm clear blue water, warm breezes, and lots of open air buildings. We got a great deal at the Punta Cana Resort and Club which was amazing. It was a slow time for them so we often had the beaches and pools to ourselves. Ethan loved the water in any form, pool or ocean, and had fun playing in the sand. I do have to say, even with all of the Europeans tourists, I was still the whitest person in the resort even as we left and I had "color"!

Following Punta Cana, we returned to the capital city, Santo Domingo, and spent a day touring the colonial district. What a beautiful area. Lots of historical buildings dating back to Chrisopher Columbus and his first trip to the Americas. This particular picture is one of Christopher Colombus' homes built by his son Diego.


Of course, the wedding. Our main purpose for this trip was to attend Olivia's wedding. Despite a few gliches, the original time of the sealing being changed, my parents getting lost for 2 hours beforehand (in a 1 mile radius mind you ... sorry mom & Dad, I still don't know how that is possible!), and the groom running a good hour late (at least this allowed my parents time to make it back) the sealing was a beautiful, relaxing event. I only wish I spoke better Spanish to be able to communicate with Elias and his family better. Jairo did a great job translating and mingling with everyone, which exhausted him by trip's end. Thanks hon!

During our stay in Santo Domingo we stayed in the temple housing. It was inexpensive, clean, had air conditioning and clean water!! This allowed us to be on the temple grounds a lot which were beautiful and a peaceful break from the noise of the city. We met a lot of great people while we were there, including a family from Jamaica who we hope to keep in touch with. The interesting thing for them is that the DR temple is the closest temple (there is one in Florida but that would require American visas which are difficult to acquire), but there are no direct flights from Jamaica to the DR so they have to fly to the DR via Panama!! What could take about 45 minutes by air ends up taking 8 hours after their stop in Panama. Certainly dedicated people.

I am happy to say that Jairo, Ethan, and I were all able to make it through the trip without the typical stomach viruses that Jairo and I both endured on previous trips to Latin America. The people in the DR are very welcoming and fun loving. I have to say that I felt a bit like a rock star there - at least in the capital city anyway. One day we attended an international children's book fair that was taking place a few blocks from the temple. They had bussed in thousands of kids and the place was a bit insane. The funny thing was when we got there all the kids were very interested in us. They were taking pictures of us and circling around Ethan's stroller. It was quite funny. I thought, I would love to come here with my blond haired blue eyed friends, that would cause quite the spectacle. Overall a great trip and we would love to go back and see more.

If you're interested in more pics from this trip, check out our photo album link under 'our pics'.