OCTOBER
In the beginning of October, Aaron and I went to the Dominican Republic to visit my Great Aunt Petrona and to see a beautiful country. My Mom also went with us for the first half of the trip. Late at night we landed in Santo Domingo and the first thing we saw was my Aunt's open arms. We drove in to the city and got our first expereince with DR driving. Basically not rules except "he who is the most aggressive wins". Thankfully my Aunt's son, Oscar drove the trip and quite well I might add.
The next morning we began to see what a beautiful place she lives in and how humid it is. We visited during the rainy season (also hurricane season) so hot and humid where the norm. THe food is fabulous and the fruit, crazy good. We visited the colonial city which was built by Christopher Columbus and governered by his son Diego. In the Colonial City is the oldest church in the new world. This church has been through everything including being the base for pirates at one time. It is stunning.
We also shopped for coffee, fun gifts, and Lari mar (great local stone). We spent a day at Boca Chica a beach just outside of the city and tour some of the facility that MLB teams have built for their farm teams in the DR. Fun fact, 76 major league baseball players are Dominican, wow.
One day we headed to the village where my Aunt's husband Nini was raised. Nini has a large family and many still live in the village. Some of his family made us lunch which was incredible. We try our best to communicate and very much enjoyed our time there. Once again we visited the local beach and swam even though it was raining. Humid weather is cool that way. That night we got to enjoy an incredible thunderstorm. I believe it rivaled those in the mid west.
If you stay at an all-exclusive resort you may not know what the DR is really like. It is definitely a 3rd world country trying to improve. Power and water are not given at all times in homes. Even when the home is very nice. People live off very little but love family and take care of one another. We were treated very well and many wanted to speak with us. Santo Domingo does not have as much tourism so we got to see how people really live.
After a week with my aunt Aaron and I bid them farwell and started on our own little adventure to the north side of the island. THe north side of the island has a lot of tourism so it is gear toward the western traveler and there are many expats. We stayed in a little town called Sosua. There were some beautiful beaches and great snorkling. We spent most of our time laying around and eating but did go on two guided trips. We went snorkling and got some great picture and then did some canyoning. Canyoning is walking, swimming and climbing up a stream gorge to then turn around and hike, jump, slide and swim back down. It was great fun. There is a video on my last blog entry that shows the trip. The hotel we stayed in was very laid back and simple. We were right on the beach and only paid $38/night. Pretty sweet. After 6 days it was time to return to the US. Below are links to photos of our trip. Enjoy!
General Photos Dominican Republic photos
Snorkling Photos-coming soon!
When we arrived back in the US we went to a wedding in Florida for Aaron's family friends, Bob and Jen Ross. The day before the wedding Duane, Peggy, Alexis, Wade, Aaron and I went to EPCOT Center. It was the International Beer and Wine festival, so we drank our way through the center. The wedding was beautiful and it was great to meet some many of Aaron's family friends from his childhood. I do not have many pics from the wedding but do from EPCOT so the link is below.
Pictures-EPCOT!
NOVEMBER
Right after Thanksgiving we did some skiing in the Teanaway (were I use to work at the horse camp). The skiing was awesome and a great start to the season. The first day was Aaron, Pete, Bram and Sarah. Then the next was Aaron, Sarah, and Me. If you want a peak into our trips check these links.
November 30, 2007 Bean Basin Photos here
December 1, 2007 Bean Basin Photos here
DECEMBER
This year I got to be with Aaron on Christmas since it was not snowing. We spent Christmas on the westside of the mountain with our parents. Christmas Eve we went skiing with my sister and her husband and then had a great dinner with my family. We opened presents with my niece and nephew on Christmas morning then headed to Tacoma to be with the Opp's. It was a great couple of days. Below are some more pictures.
Christmas 2007 Photos here
On New Years eve we skied with our friend, Jonathon in the Icicle near Leavenworth. The avalanche danger was high so we stayed low and in the trees and got some amazing turns. After skiing we head to our friends John and Adrienne's house north of Leavenworth in Plain, WA. It was the prefect way to spent New year. Incredible atmosphere and good people made for a great night.
Icicle Ski Photos here
