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: