Welcome Note

Terminal 5 O’Hare 3:20 am

I mean, I know it’s early but we’re in Chicago. I feel like it’s Covid again…..where IS everyone?

We have an empty seat next to us- superscore! Also just booked two of the flights for AZ with my companion certificate that I somehow still have despite not having the AMEX card anymore. Awaaay we go!

Nice face Johnnnyyy

2:14 pm local time we land!

3:45 pm- Still in transfer- John accuses me of egging on the driver (aka being nice and making conversation) and says it’s making the journey longer…..lol …driver was very nice- had a sign and gave us beer. Airport after baggage claim was insane. John is tired and totally not interested in his conversation and John’s short replies are killin me. 😂

Bronly our super nice driver!

OH Presidente how I missed you

Welcome to DR!

Not sure I need a caption here- sunset!

Arrived to hotel to a very weird and long check in process. Were greeted w cold towels and “champagne” which was nice. Nobody speaks good English so we were t really sure what we were doing or where they were taking us but whatevs! Finally got to our room got settled and walked around to get the lay of the land. Surprisingly good dinner at Noor- their Mediterranean restaurant. Lots of activities around the resort and lots of options for vegging out tomorrow! Toodles!

Totally forgot to add that on our flight between ATL and PUJ- Some 19 year old boy decided to go to the bathroom during the descent with turbulence. He was about to leave the bathroom but the flight attendant told him to stay in there😂 so he did. Flight attendants were in their seats. Guy opened the door and was like “can I come out now” and the flight attendant pointed that he had to still stay in there. Good lord it was so damn funny- he was trapped in there for a min 15 minutes!!!

View of Enclave pool/garden area- View from our balcony.

We elected to upgrade to “Enclave” which supposedly gets us better benefits than the average hotel guest- but we have yet too see any enforcement of this policy and unsure as to why we paid extra…..hmmmmm….it hasn’t even been a full 24 hours- so I guess we’ll see how today works.

Breakfast - ✅

Time to relax …..they did check our room number to verify we were allowed in the special area.

Essentials

My 25 cent 1980s book from the library

Tried the Mama Juana today…..very potent…they only serve you about one shots worth.

https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/what-the-heck-is-the-dominican-drink-mama-juana/

Caribbean Sea

Waiting for sunset..soon

And there it is!

Dinner at Chinola- local Dominican cuisine

Jen had stew, John had mahi mahi / live band - fun time

Hello Shining…..

Current view 1 pm

The guy next to us was full on loud snoring- relaxation at its peak! 😌

2:30 pm- we’ve moved to the sea side- still cloudy. But OK!

Current View 230 pm

Sunny- 😎

Took a dip in the sea! Couples seem to like to make out and float each other- we think it’s so silly lol - what is it about the water that makes people want to do that lol….pool ocean or sea- can’t escape it!

Kid alert! Kid alert! I’m calling the Hilton police- we are at the adults only side.

A lot of Europeans here- we are def the minority. Can’t figure out why they would travel all this way- isn’t there anything closer for them?

Crabs! The simple things are so exciting right? The \240beauty of vacay.

Video of 🦀

I LITERALLY just broke John’s lounge chair- omg lol lol - he was trying to show me something- so I went to sit on his chair and it BROKE! The guy next to us was laughing!!!

John also said- maybe I don’t need to eat dinner tonight ……

Tonight’s sunset

Tonight’s Dinner

Beautiful flowers above

Our amusing sushi chef

Current View- 11 am

Trying out the main pool / infinity side where all the action happens! Which means it will probably drive us nuts cuz we’re old. We’ll see how the day goes.

Yaaaaa we moved - back to the sea side.

11:40 am change of location

We learned that today is Independence Day for DR! Parade in the lobby at 2:30 pm.

Just a tree I like with the red leaves.

Hotel herb and veggie 🪴

Parade through the hotel

We saw a terrible set of fake boobs today to which my dear hubbie said- they didn’t even bounce! Guess she couldn’t afford anything better….

Except for you Michelle Maas- we don’t see anyone utilizing their lounge chair in the water off their hotel patio- I just saw one person and that was it!

Paradise is not always perfect- tonight’s sunset

I will say though- it’s still nice.

Found a quiet side on the FAMILY side no less earlier this evening ..

Renewed our vows! NOT! kidding but a beautiful secluded view.

Dinner at The Grill on the family side tonight. Very good and excellent wine! Watched a bit of the evening show post dinner.

Lunch Spot- Click to play video and hear the waves 🌊

Our awesome local lunch in Bayahibe

Table for 2! @ El Patio Beach Club

FRESH fresh fish! Head and all!

Oyyyy beach life is exhausting…trying to find just the right spot for princess Jenny..under a thatched hut, front row, not full sun, good view of palm trees- away from noise…..I’m not picky…..

Today has been a good day- Started at the spa with massages and whirlpool , plunge pool , sauna and a beautiful outdoor lush serene setting…..well, minus the garden staff with their red garden hose all over and wiping down the whirlpool….saw some duck like birds with what had to be 2 days old baby chicks- so small! And still fuzzy! And got a pick of mama feeding baby.

Teeny Tiny Birdie

Mama feeding baby

Spa Garden

Hibiscus in real life! Not a pot at our house

John does not like the fact that people call bathrooms “toilets” here- thinks that’s gross which I find amusing. I told him it’s the international way.

I can’t believe how time flies. Only two full days left after tonight.

Anytime you say how are you to hotel staff they always respond with “excellente” only one person said good. I think they are programmed to not be any other way! lol

Current View- 520 pm- waiting for sunset of course!

Impromptu rum tasting- we told bartender we missed the scheduled rum tasting for guests the night prior, so he gave us one. He was very good and informative. We purchased a bottle not for sale (exported) to the states.

Three rums for tasting

This is PASSION Fruit! Yummmm w sugar - makes it better.

Fresh herbs from the garden for cocktails

Beach town next to the Hilton - shipwreck supposedly happened 3 weeks ago

Pina Coladas

Lunch spot with good local food

Tonight’s sunset!

John’s shoes for the week

VS Jens shoes for the week…

Dinner Time

Mahi Mahi and Cod- tomatoes were sautéed and SUPER spicy 🥵

Wedding going on tonight- super loud! On the beach- we will crash it soon! Ha!

While on our excursion we learned that Dominican Champagne is sprite mixed with cheap rum AND it was warm- even better…..gross

The allure of the excursion we did was we were able to stop at more places than other tour operators due to the boat size- instead of a huge catamaran - it was a speed boat that accommodated 26 people and it was tight! Especially after you have your life jackets on.

Stopped at a place where the starfish hang out- THAT was cool- and then I accidentally stopped on one- wooopsie

Shell with crab still in it!

Found this beautiful HUGE shell the size of a hand and John scraped off some of the algae to reveal its beauty. Now I know you’re not supposed to take stuff, so we thought we would do the right thing and ask our guide. When we did they IMMEDIATELY took it from my hand and walked away with it. I am so pissed. He DID not throw it back in the water- he took cleaned it and kept it!!!! 😡😡 probs going to sell it to some tourist trap store to sell! It was really cool. Last time we try to do the right thing!!!!!

Current State - 1130

Hilton is tightening down- the lounge that is for the upgraded guests is now locked and you need to access with your room key. Also being asked room number again even though they haven’t been. We think the rowdy Americans with their matching trucker hats are probs the source of the crackdown! Smack down!

Bachelorette party alert at the quiet pool - hot pink theme

Michigan boys- memory jogger

Just a beautiful orchid I presume?

My cabana boy saves the day after our server did not understand something other than cerveza or Agua- but it’s all good!

Successful last day so far- made sure to hit pool bar on quiet side- infinity pool and now waiting for sunset 🌅 once again on the beach itself. Our usual way to end the day.

Johnny is full on snoring 😴 right now on the beach! 🏝️❤️❤️ Vacation success lulled by the sound of the sea. And I’m going to read my book!

Love this sloppy mess of beach life

I saw three fish jump out of water this trip- 2 tonight and one on spa day. ☺️

Final night!

So prettty so grateful

❤️

Dreamy

So our second impromptu night for dinner- we did not shower (again) or get all ready and wear a nice outfit- we went with the flow- which is NOT the norm! Walked from our hotel to Bayahibe for dinner and experienced true local culture and food on a Friday night. Very boisterous and verrry long….dinner took forever but it was great.

The hotel security guard was cracking us up- wasted 15 mins for “obligado” translation nightmare. He was so nice - the whole thing was so comical.

View of the restaurant deck

Restaurants deck alongside Marina

Biggest Aperol Spritzer ever with complimentary starter

Tuna Tartare and ham and cheese croquettes- we were stuffed after that but ordered a main to split.

Fresh seafood! Shrimp whitefish squid 🐙 octopus and mini lobster w vegetables. I did not eat squid 🦑 or octopus- tooo rubbery 4 me!

Mare Nuestro

Stopped at local Bayahibe bar for drink before and after dinner to soak in the real local life.