Silver linings

I can't say this winter made me a lover of snow and cold. I hoped I'd embrace the season, maybe take up snowshoeing or xc skiing... Just enjoy it more, since having your own house and dog make everything better, right?

Maybe if we had less actual feet (yes, plural) of snow... Because I can honestly say I don't remember EVER having this much snow around in all my 26 years. I fell through today (in the balmy slushy 35 degrees) and it was past my knee! Mid-thigh. I was actually appalled.

Anyway, this was supposed to be focused on the bright side of things. So. In spite of this never-ending season, I had a Tuesday off this week thanks to good old-fashioned town meeting day and being outside that afternoon was actually o.k.

After around the 8th snowstorm, the back marsh no longer became really walkable....the week or two when it was consistently below zero (sob) made the snow crust hard enough to support us, but lately Pippa's started falling through, so we don't do our usual exploring through the marsh into the woods. Too. Much. Snow. BUT this week was sunny, and I braved the tundra and Pippa frolicked around while I realized how pretty it all still is.

Jesse's been clearing out the barn and found two long boards, which he dragged down and made into footbridges for us to easily cross the river stream.

Pippa's nervous crossing the first bridge, so she sometimes finds narrow spot to leap over. But coming back she's ok! And she is getting better. 

She was hoping I'd come back before she had to cross :)

That blue sky! I just need to remember to look up once in awhile. And keep thinking Spring!

DR

Also can be called, Better Late Than Never.

It feels like we were in this warm, sunny, beachy gloriousness YEARS ago, when really it's been only a couple of weeks...

We stayed in Cabarete, a beachside town on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. It's known for kite-surfing and wind-surfing, and it was unbelievable seeing the long beach completely swarming with the mini parachutes that surfers use to kite-surf.

I think the beach is known for the plethora of mojito varieties. Jesse enjoyed many, and I mostly stuck to frozen margs and coladas.

As much as I hate to admit, Jesse and I got a bit sick of beachside bar food and frozen drinks....of course it was amazing and delish the first couple days, but on our last full day we decided to rent a moped and get out of dodge/the tourist trap.


 We discovered some cute small beaches...

... and had the most delicious snacks at a lady's little roadside stand---empanadas and yucca logs! In other words, fried dough with cheese and what I can only describe as the corndog equivalent of the DR--but with cheese. Just yum.

And this was one of the many, many adorable pups that I fell in love with! They were a highlight of the trip for me for sure...it actually helped with our Pippa withdrawals.

And some others:

We also spent a day in Sosua, a town formed around WWII when Jewish people from Poland left Europe and settled here...it had the feel of a resort town, with lots of Europeans, but we loved the beach:



 and even went paddleboarding! After filling up on a fish...


...and a bev in a pineapple.

I think it was after this that I decided I'd reached my year's quota in frozen fruity drinks.


One day we took a moto---a motorcycle taxi--to a hidden beach where it was a surfer's paradise...it felt like Samara! Complete with attractive surfing families, yummy warm black coffee, and precious pups.

Our hotel was right on the beach, almost a mile from the beach bar center of town. It was beautiful, and had a great cafe between our room and the water (seen under the open roof below):


We had a reeeeaaallly early flight home (my mistake! accidentally clicked on the 2am departure instead of the still-early-5am) but we actually were so happy to be getting home with a whole Friday ahead of us that it wasn't so bad...especially when we discovered these Big Gulps-sized lattes at the aeropuerto! Ha.

missing this view: