Dominican Republic 2020 Part 2

DR Part Two

Early morning sprinkles 



We started the day with a little bit of rain and a whole lot of Mimosas

So far, we have been having a blast!!!  After the first few days, I completely forgot about my initial review.  The one where I said it felt like a time share???  All of the staff has been nothing but accommodating and helpful. I have said to Brad numerous times that I have never in my life met a more happy and excited group of staff members.  Yes, they live in paradise, but come on...It's still work!  I asked one worker if he liked his job.  He told me that he loves his job, because they make the best wages in the area and the resort takes great care of them.

I ended my first post with the second night, so I will begin with the third day!  The third day started out a bit rainy.  Not a big deal!  Why worry?!  It's not home and it is paradise.  Soon after breakfast, the clouds cleared out and it was a beautiful day!  We met our friends for breakfast at Casabella quite early again.  We started out with numerous mimosas..  Again, no big surprise. 

The view from our beach chairs

Selfie on the beach! 

Beach Day! 

The afternoon was sunny and warm.  I sat out while Brad and our friends played a beach volleyball tournament.  I had to sit out because I have a ruptured disc in my back, unfortunately.  They all had a blast and I was a cheerleader and I made sure they had drinks!  Lunch for today was at the Blue Marlin.  Later in the afternoon, there were some gardeners that had some coconuts.  They lobbed off the top so we could take them to the bar for some rum.  It was quite tasty!  Saturdays are the typical time slot for the foam pool party.  We had never done this at any of the other resorts we had stayed in.  We jumped in and started dancing!  They gave out balloons and drinks.  We seriously had THE BEST TIME EVER!  We actually were wishing that they had another one during our time there. 

Coconut drink filled with rum 

Shots from dinner at Mamma’s

Dinner was amazing and we had the BEST servers!  Even the bartender was so much fun! When dinner was over, we took customary Mamajuana shots.  This was a local shot made from some sort of root, bark and liquors mixed together.  I wish I had gotten a picture!  I did get a picture of our other shots, though.  They were also quite tasty!  Once dinner was over, we walked over to Sanctuary Town. The theme tonight was “White Night” and they had some shows and a painting group there to entertain the crowd. We closed down The Pub, again :) 

Night 3, Dinner at Mamma's Forno & Pasta



Day four started just like day 3! Plenty of mimosas and food! As you can see from my photo, even the waiter thinks I’m a lush!

Breakfast of Champions! 

After breakfast, we made our way to the Castle and we played some card games by the pool. In the afternoon, we took a short walk off property to the Cap Cana Beach. It was gorgeous. There was a port where cruise ships can come in and dock. I would have to say, this beach probably gets quite busy sometimes.

Cap Cana Public Beach


Lunch was enjoyed at Casabella again. They had a huge random assortment of items to make sure everyone could find something they would like. For dinner, we chose The Wok. I guess in an old Kardashian episode, the family rented this restaurant out,  and ended up getting into a fight. Just a fun fact. Brad and I have never been to a teppanyaki table. While here, we had our own private chef for our group. It was quite enjoyable! We found that we actually enjoyed the cooked sushi and all of the meat prepared. We had a blast! After dinner, the resort had a belly dancing show that we caught the end of. And again, we closed down The Pub that night! 

Ready for dinner at The Wok

Our last full day was perfect and started the same exact way as the others! Even this many days later, the mimosas still flowed quite well! We spent the entire day on the beach. I got in a few naps. We had plenty of drinks and laughed all day! It was fabulous. The photographer came around and took our pictures. That evening, we had reservations for The Steakhouse. We enjoyed the dinner, but it was probably our least favorite of all the places we had gone. Again, we closed down The Pub. Since it was our last night, we didn’t stay out quite as late, because we had to finish packing. 

The professional beach picture 

Ready for The Steakhouse

View of the Pool from Casabella 

On our last day, we met some of our friends at Casabella for breakfast and the other couple had already taken off early to catch their flight. The monkey finally showed up today! My husband told me I didn’t need a picture with a monkey. I told him that I did need one, so we compromised and I got my damn picture. We ate, packed some more and just lounged by the pool. We had lunch at Casabellas and then caught our ride to the airport. The ride was smooth and were were at the airport within 20-30 minutes. We went through customs and security. Our flights were smooth and perfect. When we flew into Charlotte, I saw the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen. Overall, we enjoyed our little getaway. We would definitely give it a high rating! 

Enjoy the pictures below!

 

XOXO...Becky

Cap Cana Beach 

Beach Grill

The Love Bar

Monkey! 

DR airport 

The sunset flying into Charlotte 

Dominican Republic 2020 Part 1

 

First off, the Dominican Republic was not really on our radar of places we wanted to visit, but we are so glad that we did.  We are pretty easy going as far as vacations go, so we don't necessarily care whether we do all inclusives or off the beaten path type getaways.  Our only requirement is that we enjoy ourselves and we are surrounded by good company.  As long as we are on a beach, who the F cares?? 

We booked our trip through Vacations To Go.  Two other couples asked us to go with them, and since we all get along, it was a no brainer!! Our friends did some research and this was the best deal out there.  One of the couples are very seasoned travelers and go numerous times a year to different all inclusive resorts on different Caribbean Islands.  We flew out on February 20th and got back home on the 25th around midnight. One couple from our group flew Southwest and we flew American Airlines.  The other couple....Well, they lost their passports and had to fly out the following day after dealing with driving to Chicago for emergency passports.  The were booked with AA like us.  The troubles they went through to get to the DR could be a whole blog all in itself! I love flying American Airlines, but I do wish we would have all had flights together.  Not flying together did have some drawbacks.  We got in at slightly different times and we couldn't book a transport company with them, even though we flew in only 20 minutes apart.  Our flight to Charlotte from Indianapolis was one of the worst flights I have ever experienced.  There was some winter weather going on around the Carolinas.  We had turbulence so stinking bad.  The flight wasn't very long at all, but it had me sick, and by the time we landed, I couldn't even think about eating.  I bought some Dramamine.  That's definitely getting put on the packing list for next time.  I don't generally get sick like this, so I never thought to bring it!  Our next flight was great, and I was able to get my stomach settled and we got a small nap in.  It was around 2pm when we landed in the DR.  We went through all the security lines fairly quickly and our driver was waiting with a sign with our name as we exited the secure area.  We booked with Dominican Airport Transfers.  I booked with them ahead of time and it was fairly cheap for a private van.  The cost was $62 and was round trip.  The driver handed us waters and a Corona as soon as we got to the vehicle, was polite, handled all of our luggage and got us there in about 20 minutes. 

Our arrival drinks

Enjoying the beach

 


When we got to the Sanctuary Resort, they were very quick to grab our luggage and they greeted us with champagne, as pictured above.  The hostess explained the property, went over any rules and talked about activities.  To be honest, if I was going to judge a resort by the greeting, this wouldn't have been a good rating.  It had a time share vibe to it and we both noticed it.  The other couple arrived halfway through us going through our spiel. They felt the same vibe.  It was also a lengthy process.  It took about 45 minutes.  We were starving, needed a drink and we wanted to check out the ocean.  By the time we got done and got to our room, we were exhausted.  If we had laid down in the bed, we wouldn't have gotten back up!  We were able to check out the ocean and we made some reservations for the Blue Marlin before it got dark.  I honestly couldn't tell you what meal I got, but I can tell you that they had THE best Caesar salad and view of the ocean, hands down.  The ambiance of the Blue Marlin was awesome.  The sounds of the ocean and the breeze were very welcome.  When we got done eating, we went to the bar inside the resort.  We had a round of fireball shots and then called it a night!  Day one was over too quickly, but we were exhausted and couldn't wait to see our other friends the following day. I do regret one thing about that first day.  The entertainment for the night was the Dominican Night activities.  There was lots of music, food and dancing.  We should have at least walked down to the beach and pool areas to check it out.  A few days later, I heard a fellow traveler talking about how it was the best night of his trip.  A tip for myself, for next time we travel, would be to take a nap the day before, and have everything prepared.  We stayed up way too late and only got a few hours of sleep before we had to leave for Indy to fly out.  I think we would have been able to stay up a lot longer had we gotten some rest. 



The view from the Blue Marlin

   On day two, I woke Brad up at the crack of dawn.  I mean...Why waste a totally perfect day?! You can nap on the beach later!  We took a walk around the property because we didn't do it the night before.  This resort has some shops, a medical office and many places to eat.  There was a shop for souvenirs, jewelry, clothing and necessities.  One big suggestion for things to pack would be sunscreen.  In the shops, they were charging over $30 for it!  We couldn't believe it, and luckily we had our own!  We always try to get something handmade from destinations instead of little trinkets that weren't even made there.  We found some really neat paintings made locally.  They were very affordable.  The only caveat was that the canvas had to be taken off the frame, because the wood cannot be taken back into the United States.  The worker rolled up our canvas and tied it neatly for us. In the jewelry store, it was mostly Larimar, which is a stone specific to the area, we were told.  I did end up getting some earrings.  We walked around Sanctuary Town, which is part of the resort, but also accessible to locals.  Almost everything there is included in our price, except the Beers of the World and the Tobacco and Rum Museum.  You can go into these establishments, you just have to pay for items.  There was also a place for pizza, a taco truck, a sweet shop, The Burger Factory Restaurant, a Smoothie place and the Fusion restaurant. The only downfall to Sanctuary Town, is that it doesn't open until later in the evening.

Taco Truck 

Wood fire pizza

 After walking around for an hour or so, we met our friends for breakfast at 7 at the main resort buffet, Casabella.  Since it was our first day, I went a bit overboard on the Mimosas.  I lost count after 6. Breakfast was great.  There was a little bit of everything for many cultures. After breakfast, we went to the beach and basically enjoyed the day sunning, drinking and laughing.  I did get in a nice little nap.  We enjoyed lunch on the beach, where they served fries, lamb, nachos,  hotdogs and burgers.  We loved the beach bar.  Every day there was a drink special.  The drink menu consisted of typical tropical drinks, like pina coladas, margaritas, rum punch, etc.  We had heard a tip to bring a tumbler from home so that we could cut down on waste, and it worked out perfect.  We got bigger drinks and they were kept colder for longer!  On the beach, Brad found the perfect spot for finding sea glass.  He spent quite a bit of time searching and ended up finding some really great pieces.  A guy came by with some parrots and we enjoyed getting our picture taken with Romeo and Juliet.  He said that later on in the week, a monkey would come.  Our friends got in during the afternoon, so we enjoyed dinner and drinks in Sanctuary Town as a group.  Some of us chose pizza or burgers and some of us chose tacos.  Overall, we were all pleased with our meals. We all sat outside together and enjoyed the evening.  Once we were all done eating, we tried out some sweets from the dessert shop. That night, we went to The Pub and enjoyed some drinks and dancing.  Some of the entertainment staff was there dancing and getting people out on the dance floor.

I made matching cups for us three girls

        

Brad’s beach Finds! Check out the blue glass at the bottom!
We bought the flag pin and just threw it in there. 

Stay tuned for part two of our vacation!

XOXO

Becky

Universal Studios 2017

      We had the most amazing vacation! We were able to spend 4 amazing days at the park. It was nonstop walking, rides and fun. Getting there is quite a lengthy drive. It takes us about 18 hours from where we live in Illinois. We had four kids with us, so we had to stop quite frequently. Each of our two kiddos had a friend with them.

The first thing my daughter wanted to do when we got to Orlando, was to visit the World’s largest McDonald’s. We got to use touch screen ordering, which we hadn’t used before. So that was exciting for the kids. Brad and I ordered pastas. The kids got typical McDonald’s food.

   After McDonald’s, we headed to Cabana Bay to check in. We got the family suite with the pool view. It was quite nice. It had a 1970’s vintage feel. There was a door that we utilized to close the bedroom portion off in the room. There was a small kitchen area and the sofa pulled out into a bed. We really didn’t spend a whole lot of time in our room. Next time we will opt for a cheaper room. There was a nice pool bar and pool area  Our favorite part about the pool was the movies they would show at night and the little campfire sports to make s’mores.  There was a bowling alley, a Starbucks, and a nice cafeteria style dining hall. The souvenir shop was huge. 

Before we went to the parks, we were told it was a good idea to get some ticket holders. It was a good thing because it was convenient with as many times as they checked them. . 

The kids were so excited for our first day. We chose to go to Universal Studios the first day. Our very first ride once we got into the park, was Shrek. We had a great time jumping from ride to ride. I believe the longest we waited for a ride was around 45 minutes. We never felt like it was too long, because we were just enjoying being there and the ride lines had stuff to look at and do. Our most favorite ride in the entire park was The Mummy and Escape from Gringott’s, but, our favorite part of the day was Diagon Alley and performing the spells. Each child had a wand, and I regretted not getting myself one!. The details that went into everything Harry Potter was phenomenal. They even had a portion of the alley for dark spells. My daughter and I found out that we have a passion for Butter beer and chocolate frogs. The whole experience truly makes you feel like you are in a different place. 

The dragon was seriously the neatest thing ever. You could feel the heat blasting off of it. Before he would shoot the fire, he would have some grumbles and groans to get the crowd ready for it. 

Lunch was at “The Leaky Cauldron” and we enjoyed it. I worried about my daughter liking anything because she is so picky, but even she enjoyed the meal. 

We were also able to get butterbeer with our meal. 

One of the funniest things that happened, involved Lucy and Marilyn. The kids had their birthday buttons on. We were there in July, so that’s how we celebrated. Marilyn sand Happy Birthday to Braden like she was singing to JFK. Braden was embarrassed, shy & couldn't take his eyes off of her! It was hilarious! 

We got some other great pictures as well! 

On the second day, we hit up Islands of Adventure and Universal! We had an early breakfast at The Leaky Cauldron, which was quite tasty. The King Kong ride was probably our favorite. We rode every single ride that we wanted and we made a full day of it. One thing that stands out, is the lady who was doing the card reading. My daughter begged me to do it. I agreed as long as she used her own money. I in no way shape or form mentioned my career during any of it. When the reading was finished, the lady told Sophie that she would be a nurse just like her Mother. I was shook! She made me a believer! 

The kids were assessed with Hogsmeade and did all of the spells that they could. And again, I was wishing I had my own want! The details are just incredible. We took the train there and back, which I suggest doing, because it is a different experience each way. 

The third day was spent at Islands Of Adventure. We ate at the Three Broomsticks, which was a hit! We could get butterbeer with our meal, which was a plus. 

Again, the kids loved the HP stuff and doing magic. 

On our last and final day, we went to Volcano Bay. I basically spent most of the day napping on my lounger. The kids had their bands on that was basically a bracelet for them to check in to rides. The bracelet would then give them a return time so they didn’t have to wait in line. They were free to do other stuff. My son did the ride that shot him straight down. 

Overall, keep had a blast. We will definitely make a return trip at some point. We could have used a 5th day to just explore our resort and spend some time there, though. Our resort was awesome and we didn’t get to enjoy it like we would have liked. 

XOXO...Becky

Fall Happenings at the Elliott Home

The Fall season for us this year has meant the end of football and the beginning of softball.  Braden was a lineman and he did pretty well.  He played a lot during the games and really came out of his shell.  Braden was pretty sad when the season ended.  I feel like we have FINALLY found a sport that he likes so we were pretty sad when it ended.  He has grown up so much in the last year and as a Mom, I just want it to slow down!  I do enjoy his new found independence, though!  Coming up soon, we have a banquet so that will be exciting to get all of the boys together again!  Sophia has gotten much more agile and athletic this year.  Her hitting has improved a ton and she made it onto the Marshall SheCats traveling softball team.  This team has had much success in Marshall through the years and we are pretty stoked that she made it on the team.  It will be expensive but well worth it.  Yesterday, we finished our last tournament.  The girls dressed up as Dalmatians and were pretty stinking cute!

My Vacation times were just set for next year.  I took two weeks for my kids' spring break and two weeks in July.  Unfortunately, Brad and I will probably not be able to take a week vacation for just us this year like we had originally planned.  We wanted to try to go to either Dominica or St. Martin.  We MAY be able to squeeze a week in at the end of the year but it will depend on work.  It sucks, but the kids are more important.  We are planning a trip to Disney the end of July.  We would LOVE to take the kids and we want them to have the experience of going.  I am already starting to plan it and I am pretty sure we will do 2-3 days at Universal Studios and at least 4 days at Disney.  Of course, we will work some sort of beach vacation in, so I'm planning on St. Augustine for a few days.  I did some research and I am pretty sure there will be some sea glass waiting to be found on some of their beaches!  I'm also thinking the bioluminescent kayak tour on Indian River Lagoon.  I think the kids would be mesmerized.  I know I was when we got to do the bio bay in Vieques! Overall, I'm excited to share my planning with everyone in the months to come, so get ready for loads of Disney!

XOXO...Becky