Happy 2012 to all our friends and family! Better late than never right?
So what have we been up to? When we finished up our house sitting assignment near North Bay, ON we spent most of November and the first half of December visiting family and friends in the Toronto, Sarnia and Ottawa areas. Got our first taste of snow in over 2 years on Nov 23rd in Ottawa. Don’t miss being in the white stuff AT ALL, thankfully it was gone in 2 days.
Then we house/cat sat for Dave’s brother in Newmarket, ON from mid December till the first week of January while they went to El Salvador. Wow have we lucked out with the weather, there’s been hardly any snow at all and it’s usually gone in a few days. Same with the bitter cold temps. Too bad winter couldn’t always be like this!
Check out our winter in Ontario pics
Since we had some time to kill before we getting back on the road, decided to look for a 2 week, all inclusive vacation somewhere warm when Dave’s brother got back. Found a great deal for the “Be Live Grand Marien Hotel”, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Left on Jan 8, got back very early, Jan 23rd.
It was great to be back in the sun and sand. Weather wise it wasn’t super hot, highest it got was mid 80s F but better than freezing. Most days were sunny but we had a few overcast and rainy days so very glad we were there for 2 weeks. Windy on the beach so it got a bit chilly in the shade some days but other than that, quite comfortable. The kite surfers were loving the wind...Terry you would have had a blast here!
The resort was beautiful, clean & the staff were friendly and hardworking. As far as guests go, good mix of ages, singles, couples and nationalities. Made the vacation, conversations & people watching all that more interesting. Dominicans also vacationed on the weekend there so it just added to the character of the resort. One young, maybe 17 year old local guest played Volleyball with us for a few days and he was amazing. A sweet kid with a wicked serve and spike. Extremely polite!
Didn't bother going on any excursions, we were content just to hang out at the beach & play volleyball. If we can find a similar deal next year for 2 weeks, we'll be back for sure.
On the down side, I managed to get giant blisters on the bottoms of both big toes first day after walking on the beach. Made walking and playing VB pretty painful for the first week while they oozed and attempted to heal. Not easy when you’re barefoot and in sand all day. Then, a few days later, I stepped on bee playing VB and it stung me in the bottom of the foot. F&%$ that hurt! Luckily it wasn’t sore for long. Beginning of the 2nd week came down “funny” in the sand and my knee went in a direction it shouldn’t. Didn’t stop me from playing VB but it should have.....so now it’s still sore, hope I haven’t done any permanent damage. Now I just need a good massage to work out all the kinks and cramps in my legs from walking weird due to all my foot and knee mishaps. Oh well, that’s 3 bad things, done and over with...I hope! :-)
Check out the Puerto Plata ALBUM
So our plan is still to get back on the road mid to late next week. Here’s hoping the good weather continues and we get a good stretch of traveling weather to head to Texas. Keep you posted!