VACATION NEEDED NOW

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This has been the longest winter of my life! It is extremely cold and I am in much need of some warmer weather. I started investigating some resorts in the Caribbean came across a really nice resort in Jamaica, so we asked our friends the Parker's if they wanted to join us. After researching things a little more, it became clear that if we went to the Dominican Republic, we could spend quite a bit less, so we started looking at some different resorts. We went back and forth on which resort to book, we even changed our minds after we booked the resort. We were able to fly standby on Jet Blue because Dan's sister Michele was nice enough to let us use a few passes. The great thing was, Jet Blue stops in New York, so we changed our plans a little bit to spend a couple of days there too. (The best of both worlds - sun and Broadway)

This was are first experience going to an all inclusive resort - there were several things we liked about it and others we didn't. My favorite part was having a pina-colada in the pool while sun bathing. (We even added ice cream to them to make them extra special!) There were several restaurants to choose from at the resort - our favorite place was the Seaside Grill, we went there a couple of times and ordered 3 to 4 desserts. (The benefits of All-Inclusive). The grounds on the resort were immaculate; in addition to being right on the beach! We kayaked in the ocean (I beat Dan in the race, he claims it was because his kayak was full of water - but i don't believe him) we also enjoyed the lounge chairs and beds on the beach!

Our favorite day was going on a dune buggy excursion! We drove around the island and went to Macao Beach (one of the prettiest beaches I have even seen) We went to a chocolate plantation, drove around in the mud puddles and then cooled off by jumping into a fresh water cave. The water was cold, but crystal clear! It was absolutely amazing!

The resort also had surprisingly great entertainment at night, the performers ranged from circus acts, to magicians, to singers and dancers. They also had a karaoke night (which of course I participated in - I sang Katy Perry's Hot and Cold. I won't be singing that song again - very difficult!)

The funniest part of the trip was when we thought we had purchased bug spray and in all actuality we were spraying Raid all over our bodies - including our faces. We thought it felt a little weird as it tingled our skin, but the bugs didn't bite! This all happened when we went to the store in the hotel (everything is in Spanish) and we found a bottle of bug spray. Ryan speaks Portuguese, which is similar to Spanish and saw that it said no bugs. Later that week we were back in the store and I saw Off, which wasn't in the store before. I told Ryan I thought that what we bought might be Raid, and he said "No, its not," so we took a bottle up to the cashier and asked her if it was bug spray, she said "NO, NO, this is for your room." Ryan read the bottle a little closer and it said keep away from small children and animals. Dan had nightmares that night thinking we were all going to die from poison. We all had a good laugh about our blond moment!

We had a couple of missionary experiences on the trip (something we hadn't planned on) A preacher came up to us on the beach and tried to persuade us that Joesph Smith was not a prophet. He told us that anyone could write a book and claim it was from God. We agreed, but also made a point to say, how do you know the Bible is true then? Prophets wrote that book and claim it is of God. He told us he could receive revelation just like Joesph Smith and we basically agreed in the fact that we also believe in revelation and that we have a latter day prophet who receives revelation today. We told him that if he thought he could receive revelation, why is is so hard to believe that Joesph Smith could receive revelation too. He couldn't convince us of his beliefs, so he left us alone, but i think we gave him something to think about. The second experience happened when we attended a time share presentation while on the trip. We started talking about how we don't drink and it is for religious purposes and it raised some questions with our tour guide. We talked about the missionaries and he spoke very highly of them. He said they are always so happy and persistent! If you tell them you are busy, they come the next day. He also said how willing to help they were and how they loved the children on the island. He then asked how much they get paid to be missionaries and we explained that they have to pay to be there, and that they choose to go on a mission and serve for 2 years. We also explained how many of them save up to go on a mission and pay for their own expenses. He couldn't believe it! "They pay to come here and to serve the Lord." he replied. I know it resonated with him and I wonder what he will think next time he sees the missionaries, will he be more willing to listen to their message?

We had beautiful weather for the majority of the trip, the last afternoon it rained; however we made the best of it and swam in the pool in the rain and even played volleyball - it was a lot of fun!

When we headed back to the states, we booked a hotel on price line - Dan was so excited because he found a 4 star hotel in Times Square for $120 a night. The hotel was awesome, I would stay there again in a heartbeat (Crown Plaza)! The following night we booked the same room for $159.00 a night. Jaime and Ryan missed their flight, so they stayed the night with us in New York. We all went to see Rock of Ages that evening - it was such a fun and entertaining show - the music was stuff we grew up on as kids and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

The following day we rented bicycles in Central Park and ate lunch at the Boat House (one of my favorite restaurants in NYC) We also took the subway down to ground zero and spent some time on Canal street shopping and eating yummy pastries in Little Italy. Jaime and Ryan took off for their flight, while Dan and I stayed the another night and went to see Avenue Q. It was a very, somewhat crude puppet show, which poked fun at all types of people. Not nearly as good as Rock of Ages, but still a great evening.

On the last day of our trip, we went down to the docks and took a tour of the Intrepid. It was fleet week in NYC, so lots of people were there to celebrate. We learned tons of interesting facts about World War 2.

What a fantastic time we had together! Ryan and Jaime were so fun to travel with; in addition it was fun to get away and spend some time with Dan. This trip did exactly what it was intended to do - put me in a great mood in the midst of a long, cold winter!