Trip Introduction
Another year had passed and we took a tropical trip leading up to Christmas. The way we booked the trip there were three distinct chapters: Time in Tampa, an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic, and back in Tampa for Christmas. The first chapter started the evening of Wednesday, December 13th, when we took an Uber to a hotel near the Des Moines airport so we didn't have to pay for 2 weeks of parking and knew we'd have a ride for our early morning flight on Thursday. Some of the common names are (in order of appearance):
Darcy - James' brother-in-law
Cheri - James' sister
Sherry - James' Aunt
Jim - James' Dad
Gayle - James' Mom
Cindy - James' Niece
Kegan - Cindy's husband
Kellie - Cheri's youngest child
Summer - Cindy/Kegan's daughter
Thursday, 12/14/2023 – First Flights
The alarm went off around 4a Thursday morning so we could get ourselves put together before catching the shuttle from the hotel to the airport. Everything went smoothly and we were at our gate around 5:15a for our 6:30a flight to Charlotte, NC. The flight was full, but we left on time, and it was a smooth flight. Per our experience when we have longer layovers, the gate we debarked from was close, directly facing the gate for our flight to Tampa. We had about 2.5 hours to kill before boarding and spent most of it doing stuff on our phones. The flight to Tampa was also close to full, but everything went smoothly, and we only landed a few minutes late. We picked up our checked bags and walked out to the pick-up lane where Darcy had just pulled up. We spent the afternoon and evening talking with Cheri and Darcy catching up on what's going on in our lives. Travel always makes us sleepy, so we went to bed around 9:30p.
Friday, 12/15/2023 – Visiting Lakeland
We slept in a bit before getting ourselves put together and heading out around 10a. We drove about an hour east to Lakeland where James has family. We first stopped at Aunt Sherry's house to pick her up before heading to the community where his parents, Jim and Gayle, live. After a quick visit to their apartment, we headed out for lunch. We returned to the community where we drove around the drive loop looking at several facility improvement projects. We spent more time chatting until James and Julie decided they should probably leave so they could maybe beat the rush hour traffic heading back into Tampa. We dropped Sherry off at her house and picked up some things to take to Cheri and Darcy's house. Once back, we spent the evening watching TV and doing some miscellaneous tasks to help Cheri and Darcy get ready for guests.
Saturday, 12/16/2023 – Earning Our Keep
We woke Saturday morning and got ready for a day around the house. The weather forecast was for rain all day as a storm developed offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. We spent the morning cleaning the patio area and making sure the newly installed cook top in the outdoor kitchen worked. After lunch, we got all the gifts we had brought out of our suitcases and stuffed in giftbags to go under the tree. This allowed us to also reorganize our suitcases for the next chapter of our trip. After some time playing a multi-player cooperative game on the Nintendo Switch, we ate dinner. James and Darcy worked together to assemble a Darth Vader mask LEGO set while Julie and Cheri talked. We took showers in the evening before going to bed because we had another early trip to the airport on Sunday.
Sunday, 12/17/2023 – Heading Farther Southeast
We woke around 4:30a Sunday to get ready before Darcy took us to the airport a little after 5a. We dropped off our bags and made it through security with no hiccups. Our flight from Tampa to Miami was a little late departing, but there were 11 people who required wheelchair assistance down the jetway which slowed the boarding process. With the weather that was still hanging around the Tampa area, we expected a fairly rough flight, but it wasn't bad, and we made it to Miami with plenty of time to get some breakfast and make it to our connecting gate. For our flight from Miami to Punta Cana, we were lucky and got upgraded into business class. It would have been nice if the gate agents had told us before we boarded the plane, but we had seen we were third and fourth on the list with seven open seats. Julie kept watching after we boarded and noticed the change, so we waited for a break in the other passengers and moved from row ten to row one. We experienced more turbulence on this flight, but we also got lunch, so we weren't hungry when we landed. We made our way through passport control and picked up our checked bag. We then passed the agriculture check and found the transfer company to take us to our resort. The drive was about 45 minutes through mostly rural landscape
We finally arrived at the resort around 4:30p. However, when we went to check in, they notified us there were no units available of the two-story suite with private roof top access type we had reserved. They gave us an "upgrade" that included a different suite type with their "Excellence" package benefits. We didn't feel we had much choice at the time, so we accepted the change on the condition that if we didn't like the room, we would be coming back the next day to see if a suite of the type we'd paid for was available. As it turned out, the room we received was on the ground floor near the elevator and ice machine with a swim-up pool shared with 3 other suites. James had been feeling a little off all day and this put him in a somewhat foul mood. After settling in with the full intent of asking for a different room on Monday, we headed out for a walk around the property. We noticed there were a couple buildings that appeared to be under renovation and wondered if that is why there was a shortage of rooms. We then went to one of the restaurants for dinner. We walked a little more before returning to the room where James took some allergy pills that knocked him out for the rest of the evening.
Coming in for a landing in the Dominican Republic
Sunset lights the clouds above the beach at our resort
Monday, 12/18/2023 – Just Chillin'
We woke up around 8a on Monday. James felt a little better after figuring out the shower controls. After we got cleaned up, we headed to the breakfast buffet. The weather was warm and there was a nice breeze as we walked. After eating, we returned to the front desk and let them know we were not happy with the change in room. They indicated there was an available room of the type we'd reserved, but its location was less than ideal as it overlooked an adjacent property. We didn't care since the room we received didn't have any of the amenities we were looking for when we booked our stay. They set up the change of room and asked us to call back around 4p to have a bellhop bring us the new keys and help us transfer to the new suite. We then headed back to the room to pack up what we had taken out of the bags and rest for a bit.
We hung out around the room reading and playing cards until it was time to switch rooms. A bellhop came, helped us move our bags, and brought us our new keys. After that, we got ourselves situated while getting to know the new room. We ate at the Italian restaurant option before returning to the room. We read and watched a little TV before turning in for the night.
A rainbow from the patio of our room the first night
Tuesday, 12/19/2023 – Relaxing
Tuesday was pretty uneventful. We got up around 8:30a and had pastries and hot chocolate from the coffee shop. We wandered a bit before ending back at the room for more reading and Uno. We headed to the beach for the lunch buffet. James spent some time in the private plunge pool on the roof level of our suite while Julie relaxed and read in the shade of the early afternoon. This was followed by more cards and reading before we headed to Dominican Night for dinner. There was a buffet that included some local traditional dishes as well as live music. We spent a little extra time enjoying the show until they started asking diners to get up and dance. Back in the room we read some more before enjoying a warm soak in the Jacuzzi tub before getting ready for bed.
Looking west from the roof area of our suite
Looking east from the roof area of our suite
The courtyard of our building; our suite door is on the third floor
Dancers and the band at the celebration dinner
Wednesday, 12/20/2023 – More Relaxing
Wednesday was a lot like Tuesday, except we ate breakfast at a different restaurant, skipped lunch, and arrived too late to get a Bingo card mid-afternoon. We ate supper at the French restaurant which required James to get out his long pants and one of his collared shirts.
The roof area of our suite with the private plunge pool
Looking at the balcony of our room
Our room from the balcony door
Thursday, 12/21/2023 – Even More Relaxing
Thursday morning it was rainy and windy when we woke. The rain stopped around 10a, but we decided to skip breakfast. We played cards and finished books before eating lunch at the seafood place (James had flank steak). The sun came out while we were eating, but the winds coming off the ocean were still brisk. We decided to walk the perimeter of the resort since we had heard about tennis courts and archery events but had no idea where these things would be held. The afternoon and evening were much like Tuesday and Wednesday except we ate at a Mexican Tapas style restaurant.
Friday, 12/22/2023 – And the Earth Shook
In reality, Friday wasn't any different than the rest of the week. The only real excitement was around 2:30p when a 5.7 earthquake occurred about 60 miles offshore while we were sitting on the balcony of our third floor suite. There was no damage at the hotel, and most of the guests in the water or on the beach may not have noticed it. Those of us higher up definitely felt the building move a little. We did spend some time in the afternoon reorganizing our luggage for our return to Tampa on Saturday.
There were plumeria around the resort
The epicenter of the 5.7 magnitude quake we felt
Our last sunset at the resort
Saturday, 12/23/2023 – Returning to the Continent
We got up Saturday morning and ate breakfast at the buffet. The bell staff picked up our bags around 9:30a and we headed down to the lobby a little bit later. Our ride to the airport picked us up a little before 10a and we were at the airport in plenty of time to get our bags checked, pass through security, and get to our gate about 90 minutes before flight time. The flight into Miami was uneventful and, besides a lengthy wait for our luggage, getting through customs was fine. We had time to grab a bite before boarding our plane to Tampa. Because of all the family at Cheri's house, we got an Uber instead of having someone come pick us up. We arrived around 6:30p and were greeted with hugs from Aunt Sherry, James' parents, Cindy, Kegan, and Kellie. Summer was a little more reserved, offering only smiles and giggles.
Sunday, 12/24/2023 – Fútbol and Football
We slept in a little on Sunday and spent time with the family. English Premiere League soccer was on in the morning and NFL in the afternoon. Around 3:15p, James, Cheri, Cindy, and Kegan headed a little over a mile down the road to Raymond James Stadium and watched the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Everyone except James was wearing Jaguars apparel, but that wasn't enough as the Bucs prevailed. In the meantime, Summer decided Julie was the person she wanted with her and carrying her so Julie got quite the workout. Those who had left the house returned around 8p just in time to put Summer to bed. There was more fun discussion and snacking before bed.
The Tampa Bay Bucs decorated their galleon for Christmas
Monday, 12/25/2023 – Merry Christmas
James woke early to help prep the smoker and turkey for Christmas dinner. He and Darcy also peeled the potatoes (regular and sweet). There was more soccer in the morning before Summer unwrapped a few gifts. There was snacking and the adults opened gifts when Summer napped. This was followed by a flurry of activity to finish the meal which included, smoked turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans with mushrooms, and corn. In the end there was far more food than the 11 of us could eat. James was pretty wiped out and took a nap while others helped clean up and watched Summer open the last of her gifts. In the evening there were card games and TV before bed.
Tuesday, 12/26/2023 – Heading Home
We finished reorganizing our luggage again to accommodate the gifts we received and enjoyed the morning with family. Julie went to the Humane Society with Darcy to look at cats while Cindy, Kegan, and Kellie took Summer to a nearby park to burn off some energy. James enjoyed time with his sister and Aunt. There was more snacking before Darcy took us to the airport a little after 1p to get checked in for our flight. We boarded and left a few minutes late but arrived in Chicago right on time. We then made our way across the United terminals and waited a couple hours before our flight to Des Moines. Everything was on time and the Uber driver dropped us off just before 10:30p. We didn't bother to unpack much, we just wanted to fall asleep in our own bed.