A Little R&R in the DR

To commemorate our first Thanksgiving back in the states, we said ‘adios America!’ and headed to the Dominican Republic with our friends, Jill and Noah.  Instead of celebrating the good old fashioned way, we opted for a relaxing beach vacation in the Caribbean.

We flew out on the busiest travel day of the year, the Wednesday before Turkey Day, but had no issues getting from Austin to Dallas to Miami to Punta Cana.  We arrived at our all-inclusive, adults-only hotel, Excellence Punta Cana, by mid-day to enjoy the sun and warmth.

It had been years since we stayed at an all-inclusive resort and we enjoyed every minute of it!  Everyone at the hotel was so welcoming and friendly.  Every time we said ‘Hi, how are you?’ the staff responded with, ‘Excelente!’

The resort has a world-class spa, a running trail around manicured gardens, multiple restaurants and bars, a casino, various pools, beach, and gym.  Everything was complimentary – from nightly entertainment to full-sized bottles of wine and liquor in our mini-bar to 24-hour room service. 

From the moment we arrived, we felt relaxed.  We were greeted on Wednesday afternoon with glasses of champagne, which the Excellence check-in desk encouraged us to drink quickly so they could refill.  We took a self-guided tour of the resort and then had dinner at Chez Isabelle, the French restaurant on-site.  We enjoyed bowls of bouillabaisse, potato leek soup, and then plates of Chateaubriand steaks and seafood.  For dessert, we had crème brulee and personal chocolate fondue pots with fruit for dipping.

That night’s entertainment was a live ‘Dating Game’ show.  We had fun watching four different couples make complete fools of themselves before heading into the casino, where we quickly lost some money…  To cap off the night, we ordered room service of nachos, quesadillas, and pizza at 2AM!  We took advantage of the free 24-hour room service every single night.  I don’t know where the guys were putting it!  Even after Thanksgiving dinner, David and Noah ordered pizza and sandwiches!  I guess that’s what happens when you’re at an all-inclusive resort – you feel compelled to keep eating and drinking to get your money’s worth.  Plus, the food and drinks were delicious!

We spent Thanksgiving Day lying around the beach and playing in the pool.  First, though, we had to work off all of those late-night cravings by sweating it out in Pilates class.  I encouraged everyone to join me, and while Jill was all for it, the guys weren't so sure.  But it turned out to be an intense 30-minute workout that we all enjoyed.  Plus we felt like we’d burned enough calories to go all-out on Thanksgiving, as Excellence was hosting a traditional Thanksgiving dinner next to the main pool later that night!

From the gym, we went to the beach and tried to jump the waves.  The riptide was so bad that there were red flags up and down the beach.  But Jill and I were both swimmers, and David and Noah could handle their own, so we began to wade deeper and deeper into the ocean to get to the big waves.   As we tried to get out past the break, the lifeguard blew his whistle at us to come back…  Not even our first full day in the DR and we were already causing trouble!

From then on, we decided to stick to the pools.  We played a game of pool volleyball, and then the Fun Club sponsored a diving contest.  The objective was to hold our breath and dive for as many dominoes as we could.  Whoever collected the most dominos, won!   Jill and I destroyed the other girls, and tied for the female win with 34 dominoes each!  But then an older man named Bobsy came along last and beat us with 41.  Bobsy (shakes fist in air)!!

We also played a game of putt-putt, which Noah won, and a game of foosball at the sports bar, which the Houses won.  With Jill taking the title of Phase 10 champion on the flight home, we were all winners on this trip!

The only true loser of the trip was Noah’s button on his baseball cap, which managed to get eaten by one of the Excellence macaws.  The hotel was home to two macaws, Big Red and Old Blue, and a family of flamingos that wandered the grounds (there was even a special cross-walk for them).

Big Red seemed to be the friendliest bird, and climbed up on Noah’s arm to say hello.  Little did we know he had spotted the button on Noah’s hat!  

'Wait... what is Big Red doing up there?!'

Once we realized it, I was afraid Big Red would choke on the plastic, so I rummaged around in my bag for the peanuts I’d taken from our mini-bar.  I traded peanuts for the button and all was well in the world (we didn’t want to get into trouble again on the first day for killing a macaw).  Big Red loved the peanuts I gave him, and started to dance to get more.  So naturally, we had a dance party!

That night, we were greeted by real turkeys (and of course, cooked ones) at our Thanksgiving feast!  We were served potatoes, cheesy veggies, and homemade rolls, with cupcakes and cake balls for dessert.  But the real stars of the meal were the turkeys!  The cooked turkeys were tender and juicy, while the real ones were sweet enough to pose for pics with crazy David and hungry Noah… 

Jill couldn't believe how soft the turkeys were!

Those turkeys were either too scared to move, or just really good sports!

Yep, we totally put those tongs back in the buffet line after we were done taking pics

On Friday, we decided to venture off the resort.  We took a short bus ride to the Caribbean side of the DR, and then hopped on a speed boat to a nearby man-made island, nicknamed ‘Miami Island.’

Once on the island, we were free to do whatever we wanted for the afternoon.  Jill and Noah tried paddle-boarding, we snorkeled, swam with sting-rays and sharks, and even got shell massages from the island’s team of masseuses.

To cap it off, we pretended we were James Bond and the Bond girls by gliding through the water on Sea-Doo underwater scooters.  It was really the only way to keep up with the sharks – those guys were fast!  We raced each other and took videos with the GoPro until it was time to head back home for Fiesta Friday, an all-we-could-eat taco bar set up on the beach for lunch!

That night, we had tapas at the Flavor Market and headed to bed early, as the guys had booked a deep sea fishing trip the next morning.  Jill and I slept in before heading to the spa for a day of relaxation!

Who wore it best???

The Excellence Spa was ahhhhmazing!  They were able to make same-day appointments for us, and book us in for the same time.  We were told to arrive an hour early to enjoy the amenities… or so we thought.  Little did we know the ‘relaxation’ area was also a torture chamber!

After being greeted by a man named Antonio, who directed us to the locker room for our robes and slippers, we were led into a couple of rain showers to rinse off.  After exactly one minute (it was a strict schedule we were on!), the showers turned off and Antonio burst through the doors to escort us to the steam room.  Here, we were to ‘relax’ for 10 minutes. 

10 minutes in a steam room is awful.  After just a few, I was finding it hard to breathe.  The couple already in the room across from us was also suffering and told us that our cold towels would come after five minutes.  Jill started counting down the seconds to distract herself, but our towels never came!  Finally the other couple couldn’t stand it any longer and got up and left, before their time was up.  Jill and I held out for the full ten minutes before Antonio came in to pick us up.  I’d never been happier to see him… but I was fooled again!

Antonio tricked us into entering another room that looked like a shower, but it was filled with ice.  He handed us two towels covered in ice and told us to scrub off the sweat.  Ouch!  Jill toughened it out by holding her breath, while I complained loudly.  Then we visited the sauna, which was nice.  We lied down with menthol towels over our faces, which cleared our pores and sinuses.  Jill had a cold earlier in the week, but after that treatment, her stuffy nose was gone!

We thought the torture was over and we’d continue to enjoy ourselves from then on, but next Jill and I were told we were going to take a rustic shower.  Hmmm… what did they mean by rustic?  We were about to find out!  We walked into another shower room with a wooden bucket suspended from the ceiling.  Curious, I asked what was in the bucket.  ‘Ice water.  Now move in,’ Antonio said.  Nooo!  I stood cowering near the door while Jill contemplated pulling the string to tip the bucket and release the freezing cold water.  When Antonio didn’t hear a splash, he opened the door and again, told me to move in.  I did as I was told and before I could move back, Antonio had slammed the door and Jill had pulled the lever.  We had completed our ice bucket challenge! 

Finally, we could relax.  We were allowed to soak in the hot tub, get a massage from a couple more showers, and even had a mini-head massage before heading to our treatments.  We both had 80-minute massages scheduled and we savored every second.  Oscar, my masseur, kept calling out, ‘Saarrah…’ to make sure I was awake.  He even sang to me (I wasn’t sure if that was part of my ‘native tradition’ massage or just because he liked to sing).

After our massages, they braided our hair with local flowers 

Meanwhile, the guys were catching mahi-mahi and even managed to rescue a huge sea turtle from a giant shark.  They noticed the sea turtle at the surface of the water, flapping around in distress, and moved the fishing boat towards him.  When they got there, they saw the shark circling underneath and quickly scooped up the turtle before he became lunch.  The turtle chilled on the boat with the guys for a while before being dropped off in the safety of shallow waters. 

Our heroes!

We met up for lunch on the beach and swapped stories of ice showers and heroic rescues, before doing what we did best on the trip – lounging in the infinity pool drinking Dirty Bananas (chocolate banana smoothies spiked with island rum).

That night, we had dinner at Agave, a Mexican restaurant known for its hella-strong margaritas.  After just one, we were making up words to songs, coming up with chants to cheers with, ordering way too much food, and then gambling the night away with Bobsy in the casino!  Margaritas are good luck for David – who won $40 at the black jack table!

We also met Michael Jackson that night after his tribute show. 

The next morning, we said goodbye to Punta Cana with a horse-back ride along the beach.  It started raining, so we didn’t feel as bad leaving because we couldn’t lie in the pool or swim in the ocean anyway.  

Oh, Bobsy!

It rained so hard! It's a good thing Jill was wearing her swimsuit underneath those white pants!

We found a Dominican Target and Home Depot and Sears... shacks along the beach selling local products like bracelets, paintings, and other souvenirs

But good news for us – we got to extend our vacation by one extra day when we missed our connecting flight in Charlotte!  It could’ve been a terrible situation, but none of us were Debbie Downers and decided to look on the bright side – sleepover in North Carolina! 

When we got back to Austin on Monday, we still didn’t want the vacation to end so we saw the latest Hunger Games film that evening.  When the movie was over, we were sad to say our vacation was also over.  But we vowed to travel together again soon!

This year for Thanksgiving, David and I are thankful for long-lasting friendships.  Even after being away from Texas for four years, we still managed to not only keep the bond with our close friends, but also grow our relationships.  And we’re glad we did because this vacation would not have been nearly as much fun without the Vennesesesesess!