Honeymoonin': Part 2: Punta Cana, Dominican Repbulic

So our first 5 days in Cabarete were AMAZING. & Action filled. The last 5 days we relaxed on the beautiful beaches of Punta Cana & recovered from all of the billion things we've had going on these last few months.

Day 6:
We drug ourselves out of bed, had breakfast & got in the car to start our what-I-thought-would be 5 hour journey to Punta Cana.
The first 3 hours were easy. Chris read, I journaled, and napped. I also spent an obscene amount of time staring out the window debating on if it was beautiful because of the beaches & mountains or sad because of the rampant poverty.
Anyway. About half way there, we went through *another* toll with scary looking men with machine guns & as soon as we were on the other side, our driver pulled over, told us to get out & we switched cabs with some other random couple. Hmmm. Thankfully this wasn't the first time that this happened to us, so I was a little prepared.

Taxi-man numero dos offered to stop somewhere so we could eat. YES. He stopped at a weird gas station/cafeteria place. Whatevs. We ate. It was on the water, & the view was nice.

A bunch of hours later when I was getting restless, I also started to get car sick. I was really close to vomiting in the van. Maybe I shouldnt have eaten at the gas station....

But, we finally arrived at the Hard Rock. Our check in was WONDERFUL. It only took a few minutes, and we were served drinks within 5 minutes of walking in the door. Outstanding front desk service.

& when Chris asked if there were any upgrades to the concierge level rooms the man said

"I cannot upgrade you to the concierge level. But. I will put you in a presidential suite." WHAT. PARTY AT OUR ROOM. I was excited then, but I was REALLY excited when I saw our room!!!

& this was the view from our balcony!

After I took in every bit of our room, we took a walk around the property to check out the beach & find some dinner.

That night we ate at a Brazilian Steakhouse. Yum.

Day 7:

Tuesday we woke up early and hit the pool... and beach... and bar...

After a few hours of sun, we showered & headed to the spa. I loved loved loved my pre-massage experience. Steam room. Sauna. Weird Shower. Ice Room. Mud Room. Shower. Snacks. Then massage. It was perfect. & Chris made a lady friend named Awilda. Uh-wil-DUH. Ask him about her.

& when we made it back to the room, they had us a honeymoon cake & champagne waiting. Holllla.

After more showers & getting ready, we attempted to go to a hibachi dinner. I say attempted because we showed up at 8, and they wouldnt put us on a waiting list because "they close at 10." Well, lady. You dont know who youre dealing with. After I threw a little pity party, we walked across the street to the Italian place. It was fine. We ate veal. & drank a bottle of wine.

Day 8:

Ohhh day 8. What a bitter sweet day.

Chris & I got up EARLY to go to the Eden pool. I really really wanted to snag one of those fancy little swinging beds... So we did. & when the bar opened at 10 am, I was first in line. Caipirinahs will be the death of me.

By noon I was passed out in the swinging bed. Chris woke me up to eat, I napped some more, and then we hung out in the pool all day. & since we didnt have any small bills & noone would give us change, the bartenders were like our bffs.

I stopped drinking after lunch, because I was so hammered that I could ride out the rest of the day with no problem. Chris however.... lets just say by 5:00 we had to get out of the pool because I was scared he would drown.

I promised some other honeymooning couple that we would meet them for hibachi at 6:30.... we barely made it...

So we start eating our sushi app, and it was delicious. & then someone asked "Does anybody want mine?" OH YES. US. DRUNKS IN THE CORNER!! RIGHT HERE.

We made it through dinner, found our way back to our room & called it a night.... Or so I thought.

20 minutes later, I started to feel realllllly bad. I was pacing around & sweating. About the time I yelled loud enough for Chris to wake up, I was vomiting everywhere.

I though I would feel better afterwards, and then I could go back to sleep... I was wrong. GOD I WAS WRONG. I threw up every few minutes for the next 5 hours. Sushi was probably a bad idea.

Chris was so sweet though, he made me us a pallet on the floor so we could sleep next to the potty. Around 3:30-4:00 we were able to go back to bed. Ughh. It was a long night

Day 9:

6:50AM: *RING RING RING RING* "Excuse me, sir, your honeymooners breakfast-in-bed is being delivered" *CLICK*

7:00AM: *BANG BANG BANG BANG* *!#$%

I finally dragged myself out of bed and made it to the table ((liars- they said it would be in bed... they were probably repulsed by the smell of our room and threw it down at the closest available spot)).

Breakfast was salmon & cream cheese bagels, an egg, bacon & ham omelet, fruit, bread, juice & champagne.

Normally, Id be like YEAHFOOD! But I mostly just pushed my food around & tried not to puke anymore.

I went back to sleep until lunchtime & then we headed to the beach.

That evening we had our honeymooners dinner. It was okay. The shrimp were good. I almost punched the waiter when he asked Chris how I wanted MY steak cooked. Excuse me, but I can order for myself. I am not a child.

Day 10:

Our last day in Punta Cana we decided to go on a snorkle/party boat. It was pretty much awful. But we made the best of it. We got to meet a few other couples who were also making the best of it. & a few people who had clearly never been on a boat and or see a fish.

We also met some people FROM MOBILE. & it was some crazy ass story about it being the girls wedding day & calling off the wedding & still going on her honeymoon & "Mami" was beyond toasted. But no matter how hard I try to relay the story, it will never be funny to anyone who wasnt there.

We did end up partying with them that night though.

Day 11:

Saturday we spent the whole day traveling home. We had a super long layover in Miami, but it was all good. We were both ready to be home & see Mobley!!

Punta Cana was great, but I have to say, I enjoyed Cabarete more. Our resort was very, very nice, but we didnt get to see any of the "real Dominican Republic" there.

Although, I DID enjoy the all-inclusive part of it.

I think we had a perfect honeymoon. I know we will cherish these memories forever. :)

Paradise: Take 1: Cabarete, Dominican Republic

Our honeymoon was the most amazing experience of my life. We stayed in beautiful resorts & ate (mostly) great food. We were able to do things I never imagined I would do in my life, but the best part was hearing Chris call me his "beautiful wife". It was a dream come true.
I've already shared some of my photos, but Id like to share some of our favorite moments, and stories.

Day 1: Getting There
On the first day of our adventure, we flew from Pensacola to Miami to Puerto Plata. & We arrived early enough to enjoy our first day.... Except that American Airlines lost Chris's luggage... I was SO PISSED OFF. It wasnt the best start, but what can you do? I eventually said Screw It. & we headed to our hotel.

As we drove down the streets of Cabarete, I was nervous terrified. I kept thinking, What the hell did I get myself into? It was an extremely poor area, with children/people running around barely clothed and many didnt have shoes. A few times, people approached our car trying to sell us whatever they had collected on the beach, or some fruit.

But when we turned into our hotel, I was amazed. It was beautiful. At first, I was relieved, then immediately I felt like I needed to adopt some babies. I stopped worrying about the luggage...

The first night we watched the sunset, and had drinks at the beach bar. Perfect ending to our first day!

Day 2: Exploring Cabarete
We had nothing planned for day 2, so we hung out by the pool & ate breakfast at the beach bar.

After a few hours of enjoying the pool, we decided to take a walk on the beach. I loved watching the kite boarders & wind surfers! On our way back to the hotel, we decided to stop somewhere to grab a bite to eat. & When I saw a giant sign that said ceviche, I was in!

Lunch was delicious! & the owner of Cabaha, John, was so pleasant to chat with while we were eating. & I when I mentioned I wanted to try Stand Up Paddle boarding, John offered to take us himself!

SUP was easier than I thought it would be, but was super difficult to paddle over those damn Lilly pads. :)
When we got back in from our paddle, they had organic snacks waiting for us- coconut water, sugar cane, fruits, and sun baked almonds.

When we returned from our SUP trip, we found that they AA had delivered our luggage!

Day 3: White Water Rafting
At 6:30 AM we were picked up for a 2+ hour drive into the mountains of Jarabacoa to white water raft.
It was such a great experience. I'd never been WWR before & I thought FOR SURE that we were going head first into a boulder more than once. But it was exhilarating. I loved the class IV rapids. FUN.

That evening, we had an AMAZING dinner at a placed called Bliss. & we passed out early. WWR was exhausting.

Day 4: Hiking & Zip lining
At 8:30, we went on a hike through El Choco National Park. We went into several caves, including one that our guide had NEVER BEEN IN BEFORE that we were lead to by some local man living in the park. Not joking. Probably one of the worst ideas we had. But the hike was okay...we survived.

After the hike, our guide took us to an AUTHENTIC Cabarete place to eat. It would be a giant stretch to call it a restaurant. It was a small, open air place on the side of one of the poorest streets, where they were serving food cafeteria style. The 3 of us got more food than we could finish for less the $4 per person. It was quite the experience. I wish I had photos, but i didnt want to be rude.

When we finished lunch, we headed to Monkey Jungle. BEST EXPERIENCE EVER. I LOVED THE MONKEYS. They didnt like to be pet, but they loved to jump all over you and play in your hair. I need a monkey.

Ziplining was fun too. But I couldnt get past the monkeys, really.

After zip lining, we went back to Cabaha for dinner. That ceviche, and those fish tacos were too good not to eat twice.

Day 5: Canyoning Supremacy/Big Bastard/Hardest thing Ive ever done in my life

A few minutes after 8, we were picked up by our guide, Alejandro, to head to start our waterfall tour. We suited up in wetsuits, life jackets, harnesses, and helmets & began our tour.

It was crazy, intense, gorgeous, difficult, exhausting, insane, and just amazing. Our highest jump was almost 60 feet. INSANE.

But the craziest part of our tour was the hike out. Literally the hardest thing Ive ever done in my life. It was almost vertical. We may as well have been rock climbing. I knew that eventually id have a donkey to carry me out the rest of the way, but making it 30 minutes to the donkeys was nearly impossible. At one point I offered to sell my body for a donkey. I was joking., but it was actually that bad.
I know they fed us after we made it back to base camp, but after we got back to the hotel, i was ready to eat again.

After we ate, we kind of half ass packed our things up & got ready for part 2 of our honeymoon!

Overall, Cabarete was an INCREDIBLE experience. I am so glad we got to see some of the real Dominican. It made me so grateful for all of the things we have.

Our Vows

Our wedding day was the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing day of my life! & the only problem I heard about was that a few people sitting towards the left, couldnt hear our vows.
Chris & I wrote our own vows, and didnt know anything about the others until we heard them, for the first time, at the ceremony.
 & Since we both spent so much time, and Chris's vows were so moving, I wanted to share them, again.

Chris's vows:

Whitney Nicole,

When I first met you, I had no clue what I was getting into. 

I couldnt take my eyes off of you. 

You are the most amazing person I've ever met, and youve changed my life.

You are the perfect combination of love, kindness, strength and beauty. 

You've filled voids in my heart that I didnt know existed, and everyday, you make me want to be a better man. 

I promise to always be open minded and understanding. 

I promise to try to be on time... for most things 

I promise to make you feel special everyday and to hold you above all others. 

I promise to always be by your side through anything we may face. 

I will be forever yours.

My vows:

Chris, 

From the moment I met you, youve been my partner. 

In the past 4 1/2 years, youve supported me, believed in me, and loved me. You've made me your equal in all things. 

Because of you my heart is so full, and as we stand before our family and friends today, I pledge to you all of my hearts love. 

I promise to never forget this moment. 

I promise to encourage you and to fortify your dreams. 

When times are hard, or we are faced with a difficult decision in life, I promise to remember that Love is Stronger Than Fear.  

There is nothing that we cannot accomplish together. 

I promise to be a true & loyal friend to you. 

And above all other things, I promise to try everyday to be worthy of your love.  

Today, and everyday, these are my vows to you.