Browsing Category

Adventures

4 In Adventures/ Life

The Dominican – Part 3 – Flora and Fauna

I’m still not over my trip, mmmmkay? But I ‘think’ this is my last blog post about it.  There was just too much to say all in one post!!  And this is will be a short one, I promise.  Basically I’m writing this post to share the story of the ‘black flamingos’ and how this country girl felt at home with them. 

You’re probably thinking there is no such thing as black flamingos.  And you’d be right.  Well, almost right…I did a little research and came across THIS… so you’re mostly right, but that’s neither here nor way over there…

Dominican, me, my husband, and chickens.  Our first morning waking up in the resort, I go out on our balcony to enjoy the morning and low and behold, there are chickens pecking around the grass below me!!!  I can’t tell you how happy it made me, to see something so ordinary in such an extraordinary place.  I’m sure they’re there for bug control but who cares!!  They provided great entertainment, especially when the staff had to chase them out of the sitting area of the pizzeria!

Before I’ll tell my story, I’ll say that I knew somewhere on the resort there were flamingos, of the pink variety.  We looked for them the first day and couldn’t find them, but that was because we didn’t realize the resort had a whole other section that we didn’t know existed!  Eventually we did find them and enjoyed watching them in their bizarre behavior.

So, imagine Michael and I walking along one of the lovely paths, watching chickens off on the grass, when he pipes up to say something along the lines of, ‘Oh, there’s some of those black flamingos’…. Now, if you know him, he might strike you as a serious fella, but let me tell you, he is always trying to get a rise out of me.  So, his comment was said loud enough so the lady in front of us heard us, and you could see the pause in her step, her sideways glance in our direction and of course, we lost it!!!  For the rest of the trip, we always referred to the chickens as black flamingos.

I wanted a souvenir to bring home to remind my of our trip.  I bought the prettiest red mug but also loved the carved wooden pieces, I had narrowed it down to a flamingo and of course, Michael picked the black flamingo….

I’ll also sneak a few flower and palm tree pictures in here, too, because I don’t want to bore you with a FOURTH post from our trip.  We spent a lot of time talking about palm trees and coconuts as we lay under them, trying not to burn our fair winter skin.  Am I the only one who thinks they look very prehistoric and that dinosaurs should be coming around the corner at any minute?  Anyway, flowers in February seemed like such a treat!!

This thorny plant reminded me of a plant mom had tucked in the corner of our living room as kids.  It was tall and had thick thorns on it but it had the prettiest blooms.  As soon as I saw this, my mind went back to my childhood and that plant in the corner.  Funny how things make you remember, eh?

And how could I not share the cuteness that was this sweet little three-legged kitten???  I caught him mid-yawn as he sat, washing in the middle of the path.  We saw a few cats around the resort, again, probably pest control but engaging, regardless.  There was a tall, lanky mister that seemed to enjoy hanging out in the theatre, he’d be on the stage, curled up in a seat or sitting by the doorway, expecting some affection from a passer-by.  Funny how little things like cats and chickens can make the world seem a little smaller and home not so far away!

Well, I think that finishes off all my posts about our trip to the Dominican…I think…. And if you missed the previous parts, you can find them HERE and HERE!

To be continued,

Lori

 

1 In Adventures/ Decorating

Dominican – Part 2 – The Design

When you live in a tropical climate, the design vibe is so very different than East Coast Canada.  And I have to say how much I loved it! So I thought I’d share some of the things from our trip that caught this designer’s eye!

The biggest thing that struck my about the architecture was how open to the outside everything is. Here in Canada, we need to protect our homes from the snow and cold temperatures and be able to protect ourselves from that, as well.  But in the Dominican, since it is a tropical climate – snow isn’t an issue!!  I know that tornadoes and hurricanes are an issue and I can’t say I know how they prep for that kind of extreme weather.  But the average day to day life is lived in a very close connection to the outside. And it was pretty easy to get used to!

When we first walked into the airport is when I started being aware of the aesthetics of Punta Cana, even though it was dark out.  There seemed to be so few solid walls, and the roof? Well, palm fronds, of course!!  Amazing.

Arriving at the IFA Villas Bavaro resort, the lobby was directly off the cobblestone drive and it was wide open.  A soaring roof, criss-cross timbers and the most beautiful, weathered copper pineapple light fixture made for such a warm welcome.  I want all the weathered pineapple light fixtures now.  { Goes to Etsy and looks copper pineapple lights…finds nothing….goes to Ebay….still nothing… }

The buffet restaurant had more pineapple lights, as well as being very open air, too.  The tables around the perimeter sat against stone walls that looked out over gardens and maybe the occasional cat.  Again, soaring ceilings, terra-cotta roof tiles, plus the tasty food, made for wonderful dining experiences.

The buildings looked so nice lit up at night, too.  It was nice to wander through the resort with everything so nicely lit.  It was so peaceful at night, given how busy and bustling it was during the day, just as enjoyable, just so different.

When we went to Saona Island, we dined under shelters without sides.  And the rooves were palm frond.  The structures were lashed together with rope.  They braided palm fronds up some of the poles and even hid the ‘dish scrapping’ area with a palm frond woven wall.  It truly gives the tropical vibe and it was amazing.

Because we stayed an extra night due to a nor’easter back home, we stayed in a different resort and it had a more modern feeling than our resort and I have to say I like the vibe of ours.  It felt more authentic and traditional and because it wasn’t as big, it felt cozier and more welcoming.

I’m throwing this one blurry picture in of a garbage bin – don’t think I’m completely crazy – but look at those colours!!!  Aren’t they just so perfect??  I love that colour combo.  Sigh. Design inspired by the garbage bin…. Doesn’t that wheel-less wheel barrow just get you?? 😉

Do you find inspiration every where you go?  I can’t be the only one who travels and gets inspired, right?  Tell me about a trip that inspired you!  Extra points for pictures 😉

To be continued,

Lori

2 In Adventures/ Life

The Dominican – Part 1

Well, we are back and way more tanned after spending a week under the tropical sun in the Dominican Republic.   Winter here seems a little harsher and the cold seems a little colder now.  But it was well worth it.

This was the trip I won back in November when I attended the Blogjam conference, given away by the sponsor, Sunwing.  Never having gone south before, I didn’t know much about travelling in the winter to a tropical island.  I asked a lot of questions of friends, was given lots of advice, some of which I followed and some I didn’t.  And, lucky for me, my co-worker, Rachel, was at the exact same resort just a few weeks prior so she was a wealth of information!

Michael and I flew out on a lovely Spring Nova Scotia day, and landed in paradise.  Our resort, IFA Villas Bavaro, was so lovely.  We had a great room, with a balcony, on the the third floor.  Although I’ll admit I was a little worried about the loud music blaring next door at the Teatro (theatre) but it shut down at 11 each night and we were in the audience most every night anyway.  Besides, I sleep with earplugs in anyway 😉

We ate like kings the entire time.  The buffet on-site was packed full of such a variety of choices, it was hard not to fill your plate to overflowing at each meal.  One of our favourite things to do was get a cup of coffee after supper and send one of us up to the dessert table and pick a plate of treats to try.  We got to eat so many yummy things!  And I made sure to enjoy the fresh, tasty fruit at every meal – lots of papaya, mango and loads of fresh pineapple.  One night we went out to one of the A La Carte restaurants at the resort and enjoyed a fancy meal of Chinese food.  We got all dressed up for it, but trying to get a picture of the two of us together looking swanky was trickier than I thought…but not to shabby looking regardless of the awkward angle…lol!!  Because, hello, my $15 dollar Banana Republic dress I scored at Winners!!!

We went on one excursion while there, we took a trip out to the Saona Island, part of the National Park system in the Dominican.  It was a gorgeous island surrounded by the most beautiful turquoise waters which were filled with huge starfish.  We took a wild speed boat ride out the island, with a stop in a waist-deep lagoon.  Once on the island, they served us a tasty BBQ and buffet before letting us swim and lounge around on the beach for a few hours.  Then we were shuttled onto a catamaran for a leisurely sail back to the mainland.  Well, I say leisurely, but some of us danced our little souls out.

 

On our excursion, there were loads of people from around the world.  But at one point, I was following a guy with a Nova Scotia flag tattoo on his calf, so when we got the chance, we went over to them and introduced ourselves.  Sure enough, Rob was born on the East Coast and had moved to Ontario where he met his sweet wife, Jen.  We ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the excursion and really enjoyed getting to know them.  Of course, I failed to get a picture of them, except this one of Jen dancing with one of the tour guides on the boat!

The rest of our week was spent either poolside or on the beach, over looking the palm trees and turquoise seas.  In the evenings we went to the entertainment and then enjoyed leisurely mornings, drinking coffee on the balcony.  It was a very relaxing trip, I read 3 books, did some chalk pastel drawings and just enjoyed the company of Michael.  The wifi was sketchy at best, so phones stayed tucked away for the most part.  So we didn’t even have that distraction.

We found the service to be excellent, even if there was barrier in our ability to communicate – the staff being Spanish and us being English.  But we managed to muddle our way through it.  Going into it, I knew that English was going to be an issue, but it wasn’t too bad, we always were able to get what we needed, whether it was a cup of coffee, a tasty meal or even something as basic as toilet paper.

The thing that surprised me was how little English was spoken by the other guests!  Lots of Spanish amd French and very little English!  But it was neat, it almost gave us a lot more freedom because we were so anonymous and conversations were so much more private, even if there were people near by.

When I finished my first book, I turned it in at the little kiosk, not wanting to drag it back home, not thinking there were so few English guests that might be looking for a new book to read.  And after I did turn it in, I was kicking myself for not adding a little note in the margin somewhere to let the reader know the journey the book had been on already.  That problem was solved when a Canadian lady from Ontario stopped to chat our last day at the resort and we discovered she had my old book in her possession – so she knew exactly where it came from!

I loved the coffee there.  So rich, dark and strong.  I looked forward to every cup I had!  I bought some coffee to bring home, because that was one of the things I was going to miss a lot about the Dominican.  I was pleased as punch with myself, only to discover on Sunday afternoon that our local Sobeys store is wise enough to stock Dominican coffee.  I guess I won’t have to miss the coffee after all!

Everyone had warned us that once we went south and had a taste of it, we’d want to go again.  And they’re right.  I’d love to go again but this time I’d take the girls, it was too long apart from my girls for this momma’s heart!

I have more to share about the trip so look for another Dominican post over the next few days!  So much to share!!

To be continued,

Lori

PS Just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to the Blogjam crew for this opportunity and for the hard work they do lining up awesome sponsors for their event such as Sunwing!!!  So, Renee, Kerra and Krista – you ladies rock!!

 

 

 

4 In Adventures

A Winter’s Beach

One would think that a trip to the beach is more of a summer event.  But, honestly, I think a winter’s beach is even more captivating.  Chillier, yes, but worth it.

Last weekend when Michael and I escaped to Oceanstone Seaside Resort {which you can read about HERE } we spent some time on the beach below our cottage. It was cold out but with mitts and a toque, we were just fine.  I, of course, ended up carrying my mitts a lot so I could use my camera and capture some of the beauty I found on the beach that morning.  Pictures to share with you, of course!

I’m always amazed at the variety of geography that makes up our province.  The beaches on the North Shore are very different from the beach at Oceanstone.  Ours are sandy, whereas this was made up of small pebbles and big rocks.  And different seaweeds, too.  But enough about that, here’s a whole series of pictures to show you just how pretty it was!

See?  Isn’t it beautiful?  I love everything coated in a layer of ice, like it’s protecting it from the harshness of winter.

To be continued,

Lori

In Adventures/ Life

A Seaside Getaway

Michael and I escaped this past weekend to Oceanstone Seaside Resort.  And we never wanted to leave.  Have you been there? Did you have the same problem?

I first went to Oceanstone for a blogging workshop back in June { which you can read about HERE } and had fallen in love with the seaside cottages, the sweet interiors and nestled-among-the-trees location.  I knew I wanted to go to spend the night with the handsome Mr. Byrne.  Between work schedules, raising kids and life in general, it had been quite some time since he and I had a night away.  In fact, on our drive to Oceanstone, we determined that our romantic getaway to Beef Expo back in 2012 was our last solo, kid-free trip {which you can read about HERE}

Michael picked me up Friday afternoon and we headed south.  The sun was setting, the roads were clear, it was all good.  I knew my girls were in good hands with Heidi and her girls and Dad was in charge of the menagerie of animals we left behind.  We could relax and enjoy ourselves.  Just us.  Phew.

We had planned to grab supper along the way and happened across Vernon’s T-Bird Diner in Hammonds Plains.  There was a line-up for the restaurant so we grabbed take-out and continued on our way.  We drove the winding road towards Peggy’s Cove and Oceanstone, keeping an eye out for our stop since by this time it was dark.  But the well-lit sign welcomed us and we pulled into the wooded oasis and went to check in.

Guys – we all love an up-grade, right?  Well, due to a slight water issue, we got upgraded to the Captain’s House.  I had been through the Captain’s House on our tour in June, I knew how lovely that cottage was and I had been showing Michael the various cottages, too, so he knew what a great upgrade that was, too! Wahooooo!!  We let ourselves into the cottage, to find chilled wine, Lure Caramels and a nice note waiting for us.  Michael unloaded our bags and got right to work of lighting a fire in the woodstove.

I have to say, I love wood heat.  I laid on that couch and did very little.  Wood heat makes me drowsy and lazy, which is exactly how I wanted to spend my time away.  I’m not one to sit still and do nothing.  But give me a wood stove and I’ll turn into a lazy lump.  I miss the wood heat from our past houses, but I probably accomplish more now without it 😉  But relaxing was the name of the game this weekend!!

I snapped some pictures from around the cottage to share with you.  This cottage has lots of room and could sleep up to 8. And all the rooms had a lovely view of the water, too!  When it was getting light in the morning, I raised the blinds and crawled back in that king-sized bed and enjoyed the ocean-view.

After some coffee, we took a walk down to the beach and around the resort.  It was a beautiful morning even though it was fresh out, but thankfully there was no wind.  I took a ton of pictures on the beach, but I’ll save those for another post!

I love this picture of Michael, you can take the boy out of the fishing boat, but it is never far from his mind or heart.  He also spent lots of time watching a fishing boat checking his traps just out in the cove.

It was so nice to have the chance to explore Oceanstone together and have a relaxing time away from kids, home and life in general.  We left reluctantly, but it helps to know that we’ll be back some day again, but probably with the girls in tow!  Or maybe a bloggers retreat is in order?? Hmmmm – so many options and I’m looking for any excuse!

To be continued,

Lori

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary night’s stay at Oceanstone, but my take on it is just that 😉

Want to book your own stay?  Click HERE for their website!