It had been just over 5 years since I went on an extended vacation. . .which meant it was about time for one. I went to the Dominican Republic with my friends Meredith & Melissa. We left at the crack of dawn Wednesday morning because we had a 5:40 am flight out of Dallas to Punta Cana (with a brief stop in Atlanta).
We stayed at the Occidental Flamenco, all-inclusive hotel. . .it was alright. . .nothing special, but I can’t really complain because we were less than 5 minutes from the beach. My plan for this trip was to relax so there really isn’t a lot to tell about the trip other than our excursion.
My sister had gone to Punta Cana a few years ago and highly recommended the Saona Island excursion. The only day we could do it was our first full day in the DR and it was a great way to start the trip. We were picked up at 7 am and had a 2 hour bus ride. . .that was a bit of drag but once we were on the water we forgot about it. Check out the view:
We took a catamaran out to the island and then had time to enjoy the beach and the water. While we were on the island we got to know the other people on our excursion that were a lot of fun. In fact if you are up in Montreal and looking for something to do, check out our new Stand-up Comedian friend Daniel. After lunch they loaded us up on this huge speed boat and took us to the “natural swimming pull” and got to play with starfish.
It was the best day, after that we spent the rest of the time chilling on the beach and reading. I couldn’t have asked for a better vacation and most definitely will not be waiting another 5 years for my next vacation!
One thing I was definitely tardy to the party on in life, was floating the river. I’m really not sure how I never knew about it; it’s so much fun!
Not that long ago we decided we wanted to float the river this summer and picked last weekend. So I went in search of a place to stay. After scouring numerous vacation rental properties, I stumbled up what I think was a great find; a cute little house in New Braunfels that sleeps 10 called Hausita.
It was perfect less than 10 minutes from both the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers. Last year we floated the Comal so this year we decided to float the Guadalupe. It was high this year so we didn’t have to get up, lift our tubes and walk around rocks. . .for the most part the water took us right over them, every once in awhile a few of us did get stuck.
We did the 5 hour float and had a blast, just a few bumps and bruises and a little sunburned. Can’t wait for next year! Here are a few pictures I borrowed from: www.RiverFotos.com.
If you haven’t ever floated the river you should. Although let me recommend you go with someone who’s been before and hopefully you won’t lose anything like we did (take rope & tie everything down). Last year my friend Joe recommended taking a Camelbak instead of worrying about a cooler. . .best idea ever!
So. . .it’s been 5 years since I have been on a trip that was longer than a weekend getaway. . .which means when my friend gchatted me and asked, “Do you want to go to the Dominican Republic in August?” I said yes. That was back in May, a whole 70 or 80-something days away. . .
Last week I realize I should probably get off my butt and go get my passport because I’ve already paid for the trip and I’m not going to miss it because of my passport and it is just over a month away. It’s a good thing I went when I did, because the cost of a passport just went WAY up. And since this procrastinator waited so long, I had to pay double and get it expedited, yuck!
As I stare out my window (on my lunch break), this sunny day in July I can’t help but wish I were, here:
I have always wanted to see New York City at Christmas time and finally got to do just that. Meredith and I flew up to New York early Saturday morning and met Adam at our hotel. Then we headed out to see all the decorations.
Unfortunately the weather was awful; originally we had thought it would be it would be snowing and we were excited. But instead it was raining and freezing! I was the only one that didn’t bring an umbrella with me so I’m pretty sure my hair froze to my head.
Just as the rain turned to snow we found a great wine bar and grabbed a table right by the window so that we could watch the snow fall. Then we headed out to find all of the fun Christmas decorations around the city. These pictures will be from Saturday night and Sunday morning:
Sorry, that’s all you get for now because I’m not on my own computer and this Mac is a little smarter than I am so I can’t figure out how to rotate pictures. Enjoy!
So much for the fall like weather, it has been downright hot here, which can only mean a chilled white wine was what I needed.
Back in 2005 on my first trip out to Napa I visited Artesa with my friends. I thought the winery was absolutely beautiful covered with fountains and providing a beautiful view of the Napa Valley.
Here are a few shots from that trip:
When I visited Artesa, I was strictly a white wine fan and hadn’t yet learned to appreciate red wines. I actually fell in love with their Riesling and actually bought a bottle to bring home. But other than that I don’t really remember too much about their wines.
This week’s wine is the Artesa Chardonnay. I really liked this wine; it was a refreshing mix of sour and sweet. I shared this bottle with Meredith over the weekend and we had absolutely no problem finishing it off just the two of us. On a hot summer day this wine definitely hit the spot!
There is this really great gas station/wine store not too far from my house that always seems to have a great selection of wines at a great price. The Artesa Chardonnay is normally about $22.99 but I was able to pick it up for $14.99.
Here is your warning, that this will once again be a long post. . .don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Friday (where I left off):
Here we are waiting on the T to the Samuel Adams Brewery (photo courtesy Meredith)
Once we finished the Duck Boat Tour we decided to head straight to Jamaica Plains for a tour of the Samuel Adams Brewery. This is definitely must if you are in the area; plus it is absolutely free!
After having the opportunity to taste some hops and barely (I passed on that), we were taken into the room with all the vats where the magic happens. The “tour” guide was hilarious but that might be due to the fact that he drinks beer all day long and may not have been entirely sober; he went through the tour as fast as possible to get us into the tasting room where we received our complimentary glasses and tried 3 different brews.
A toast to start the tasting (photo courtesy of Meredith)
For the inquiring minds we were given the Boston Lager, Summer Pale Ale and the Boston Lager Brick Red (only available on tap in Boston).
When the beer drinking was finished we headed over towards the Boston Commons, wondered around a bit and then ended up on the Beacon Hill side, so we attempted to go into The Bull & Finch Pub, also known as Cheers.
Meredith and Tatiana in front of Cheers
It was so crowded we just used the “facilities” and then pushed our way out. . .maybe next time we can actually sit down and have a drink.
Oh, I almost forgot. . .while we were in the Commons we decided to go for a ride on the Swan boats in this teeny tiny pond. As soon as we set sail on our journey, I asked our driver (who was probably 20ish) if he was going to tell us the history of Boston as we went and he responded, “Well what do you want to know? I mean I could tell you the history of Boston but it would probably all be a lie.” I appreciated his humor and decided to ask him the history of the Swan boats. . .his cousin’s family started them over a 100 years ago. For $2.75 we definitely had a good time!
See the fancy swan behind us! (picture courtesy of Meredith)
We finally decided to take a break from sightseeing and since Meredith and I spied “Best Cellars” on Boylston and wanted to go there for a glass of wine. . .well, after wandering down several blocks we were there and sad to see that we could only purchase bottles of wine there. . .so, sadly we wandered back to the Charles Mark Hotel and sat on their patio. Look at these fun martinis, they came complete with a gummy bear garnish. . .
(photo courtesy of Meredith)
We slowly worked our way back to home base to call it a night and hang out with a few new friends. It was a great first day in Boston!
Tired of reading yet? Sorry! But the next few days are low key and there aren’t a lot of details. . .so keep on trucking along!
Saturday:
We were definitely worn out from our super busy day and 4.5 hours of sleep the night before, but were very graciously woken up at 10:45 by Pepe who brought us coffee and wanted to say goodbye because he was headed back to Houston. We totally slept through Tatiana’s early morning departure. . .but they both made it back home safely!
Dr. Meyer was finally home from his 30 hour shift but we let him sleep for a bit and headed out to this really great little restaurant called “The Other Side.” Then we ventured down towards Fenway. The game had already started so we stopped into The Baseball Tavern and had a couple beers and watched the game.
Adam called us when he woke up and we headed back to his place, to figure out our dinner plans. We decided on a restaurant called Giacomo’s and walked over so that we could have a quick dinner and get back for the fireworks. We went to the Giacomo’s in the Southend but there are two locations (and they are cash only), the food was amazing!
(photo courtsey of Meredith)
Adam’s building was in the perfect spot to watch the big fireworks spectacular. Unfortunately we couldn’t hear Neil Diamond performing with the Boston pops, but we still had a great time watching the fireworks. Here are a few of the pictures of our view that Meredith took:
Sunday:
After seeing Fenway, Meredith really wanted to go to a Red Sox game. The weather was beautiful so Adam and I couldn’t object. We tried to buy last minute tickets on Craig’s list but didn’t have any luck and decided to walk over to the field and try our luck there.
And it worked. . .but we couldn’t get three seats together so Meredith offered to be the brave one and sit alone. Fortunately her seat mates felt bad for her and told her to text us and they would go try and find better seats. While Adam and I were sad to give up our shaded seats, we moved into the sun and sat with Meredith and look at our view:
(photo courtesy of Meredith)
After the game we headed down to Faneuil Hall and the water but not before watching this hilarious street performer at Quincy Market.
(photo courtesy of Meredith)
Here were are down at the water (photo courtesy of Meredith)
We took the T back up to Adam’s apartment and since he had to be at the hospital bright and early the next morning we took it easy. Meredith and Adam went to have dinner at a seafood restaurant and I stayed home to take it easy.
Monday:
We didn’t have a lot of time before we needed to head to the airport to catch our flight home, but first we decide to head up to Cambridge and look around. We walked through Harvard Square and found a great jewelry store: Tis-Tik then headed to Bertucci’s for lunch.
Then we had to say our goodbyes and head home. . .I can’t wait to go back and roam through the city again, I don’t think either of us were quite ready to leave.
Hope it was worth it for you to read this novel of a post. . .next trip I’ll be better about posting on a daily basis, I promise!
I know I have been M.I.A for a bit, and for that I am sorry (Mandy!). . .but the last week has been a little crazy and I didn’t have internet connection on my computer on my little adventure which made blogging a bit difficult.
Warning, this will be a long post so that I can get all caught up, but I’m going to divide it into 2 parts; I’m going to start where I left off and:
Thursday:
I ended up taking the day off from work because my friends Kevin and Matt were coming in town for the weekend and my only chance to see them was going to be lunch. At noon, Meredith and I picked up Matt and Kevin and then we headed to Jake’s in Addison for a hamburger. Then we headed up for the simple task of returning Meredith’s rental car. Who knew that would become an hour long ordeal. . .for those of us watching it was actually a bit humorous but it wasn’t for her.
Then we headed off to the airport around 5:00 for our 8:00 flight, super early I know, but my sister was kind enough to be our chauffer and we didn’t want to mess up her evening plans. After a quick bite to eat at the airport we headed to our gate only to find out our flight was delayed. We ended up leaving about an hour and a half late and didn’t end up making it to Boston until about 3:00 am. . .yikes!
We took a cab to Adam’s apartment and Pepe met us down in front to let us in. We headed straight to bed so that we could get started on our Boston Adventures bright and early the next morning.
Friday:
Pepe signed us up for the Duck Boat Tour at 9:30 am which meant we all had to get up by 8:00 to walk over to the meeting place. We had the patriotic bus that was driven by a tour guide that was acting as a pirate.
We drove all over Boston, and even though I had already been to Boston it was really fun to be told the history of the city as I saw it. We drove around Copley Square, Beacon Hill, Bunker Hill, the Commons and Newbury Street.
Now why is it called a duck boat tour? Well, that is because the bus actually becomes a boat and at one point you drive straight into the water and go out into the harbor.
Here we are going into the water.
One of the first things we saw once we were afloat (and our tour guide pointed out multiple times) was the jail:
While we were in the harbor the little kids on the tour got to take turns steering the boat and got a kick out of it. But I really enjoyed the view of the harbor.
Once back on land we got a great view of the cable bridge; apparently it is the largest cable bridge.
I definitely recommend the Duck Boat Tour we had a blast!
Okay I’m going to leave it there until I get some more pictures from Meredith. . .so I will pick up where I left off later on this week.
