Vacation Daydreamin’ - The Dominican

With all of the busyness of school I’ve been spending a lot of time daydreaming about vacation. Our next vacation, our past vacations. They have all come to mind. I’ve also been searching for ways to incorporate new things into my blog (as it's one of my goals mentioned here). So along with my Thankful Thursdays…I plan to do Vacation Day dreamin’ posts. I don't know if I'll do it weekly...but definitely more than once! It might be a picture. Or maybe a story. Some (Ok maybe lots) will be of the beach. Others will be of family trips to Walnut. Or Linoski trips to the lake or Gatlinburg. But regardless it’s fun to look back at the memories and relive your favorite stories. It will also help me record pieces of my life that happened when I wasn’t blogging! Here goes nothin’!

Dominican – I'm not sure where to start with this trip. I certainly can't fit it all in one post. So for this first post...I just wanted to write what came to mind when I thought of this 7 day vacation to a beautiful place that I have no doubt God personally painted for us to enjoy. 

The Dominican.  These memories are sort of…in pieces. Like mosaics are made up of broken pieces of glass. My memories of this vacation fit into pieces…that make up one amazing week. Some of the pieces include…writing under a palapa. Writing in a journal. Having a green fruity drink at my side. My amazingly handsome husband standing back and watching me listen to my iPod and daydream. Feeling utterly carefree. Reading two books start to finish in the same week. Getting sunburned in the shade. Watching a couple make out on the beach all day everyday. Everyday.  Feeling slightly jealous that I’d never feel comfortable enough to do that in such a public place. Having my first experience with topless cultures. Interesting. Finding lizards on our wall. Watching Eddie, our tour guide, make rum and Cokes off the back of our tour bus by opening a bottle of Coke, throwing out half, dumping in some rum and shaking it up. Looking over from my beach chair and seeing Jer sleeping with his goofy brown safari hat over his face. Drinking Presidente beer on draft at a luau till dark. Taking my sandals off to walk the beach back to our room that same night.  Laughing at myself because it was amazingly difficult after drinking.  Listening to the waves crash…but not being able to see them that night because it was so dark. Feeling small next to the big beautiful, untamed ocean. Eating fresh fruit every morning. Having brown water come out of sink the first time we turned it on. Not so fun to remember. Learning exactly why they say...Don't drink the water.  Seeing a countryside where bananas, pineapples and coffee beans grew. Seeing a gas station that was literally a table with plastic jugs of gas on them. Feeling in awe of a culture with so very little, but so much richness. Putting our toes in the sand one more time…and being genuinely sad to leave, but so happy to be heading home.