More of Catalina Island

Catalina Island

Jumping In

Waiting for Dive 2

Our Divemaster Danny

Catalina Island

Town of La Romana Where the Boat was Docked

A Carneceria in the Town of La Otra Banda

(people hang meat on the sides of their houses to sell)

Coral on the Wall Dive

Kirk Stops to Let a Fish Pass

Week 2 was very relaxing. We hit the beach, the pool and the open water for a few dives. On Thursday, we went on an excursion to Catalina Island. It's a 2 hour bus ride down south, then you hop on a boat for about 40 minutes to head towards the island. We did a wall dive on one side of the island and went down 100 ft...that's a record for me! The wall itself probably extended down close to 200 ft and it was amazing! We got back on the boat to dive the other side of the island and we saw lots of sea life. We held a puffer fish and a sting ray and we saw this cool moray eel that swam alongside of us. The diving by the island was MUCH better than the diving by the resort. We got back on the boat to have lunch and relax on the island before making the return trip to the resort. This excursion was definitely worth it!!

Views of the Hotel

Part of the Main Pool

Walkway Between Buildings

Swim-Up Pool Bar at the Main Pool

Building Where We Stayed

Horseback Riding and Bee Stings

Riding Along the Beach

Moro & Flamenco

The Group(we're towards the back)

The Bus Where I Got Stung

We had been in Punta Cana for a week and had finally decided to venture off the property to go horseback riding along the beach. We had to take a 30 minute bus ride to get to the ranch and on the way there I got stung by a yellow jacket. I'm allergic to bees, wasps, anything with a stinger, so I was starting to get nervous that something bad was going to happen. I hadn't been stung since Girl Scout camp when I was little, so I was hoping I had somewhat grown out of the allergy. I guess I had because it only swelled up and got red for a few days and it was kind of itchy. If you plan on going to the Dominican Republic, be sure to bring Benadryl because they don't seem to have it anywhere.

The horseback riding was amazing though! We rode for 2 hours along the beach. My horse's name was Moro, which means "beans and rice," and Kirk's horse was named Flamenco. They looked alike, except mine was a little smaller and scrawnier than Flamenco. Moro liked to eat a lot though! We stopped for a break and he was the only horse eating the grass.

Kirk Loses His Stomach...and His Ring

Around Thursday evening, Kirk started feeling not so great. Thinking it was food poisoning from the chicken he had eaten at the lunch buffet earlier, he avoided it the next day. When it got to be a few days later and he still didn't feel any better, he realized he drank the tap water a few times. Everyone knows you're not supposed to drink the faucet water on islands like that, but he did it without thinking. It's actually odd because they put glasses next to the bathroom sink tempting you to pick it up and get a cup of water, but then they pour you bottled water in all the restaurants. About 5 days and 3 small bottles of Pepto later, he felt better.

We were very lucky to have beautiful weather the whole two weeks we were in Punta Cana. It rained one evening the first week and then downpoured that Saturday all day long. We actually went diving right after the rain started Saturday morning and it was a really cool cave dive. I opted out of the second dive, but Kirk decided to go. Right when I got back to the room, it started downpouring with bad lightning and thunder. Kirk finally made it back to the room a little over an hour later and told me he could see the lightning hitting the surface when he was under the water. It's not exactly good to be out in the water with a metal tank on your back in the middle of a thunderstorm like that, so they had to rush through the dive. During all of this, Kirk lost his wedding ring. Now of course it was his second dive and the water temperature is colder the farther you go down and the longer you stay in the water, your body starts shrinking. He forgot to take his ring off that day, so now some fish in Punta Cana is wearing a wedding ring.

Diving Day 1

Since we finally had our dive gear, we booked an afternoon dive for Wednesday. There were only the two of us and Rodolfo the divemaster, so they decided to take the small boat. I already take Dramamine before I dive, but seeing the VERY small boat and the rough, huge waves that day didn't sit well with me. The dive started off well enough. I had to do a backflip entry off the boat, which I had never done before and we saw a sea turtle and a moray eel(pictured above). I love diving with sea turtles...they're such graceful swimmers. About halfway through the dive, I realized something was not quite right. I signaled to Rodolfo that I was going to throw up and needed to surface, so he motioned for Kirk to stay in the water and he brought me up. That picture of me diving is on the way up to the surface. Once I got there, I immediately threw up and Rodolfo and the boat captain pulled all my equipment off. He left me dangling on the side of the boat sick to my stomach while he went back down. He told me to stay out of the boat until he got back. Well after 20 minutes of barely hanging on and being tossed around by the waves(remember, I don't have my BCD on anymore which serves as a life jacket), I made the boat captain pull me into the boat. Apparently Rodolfo had wanted to finish the dive, even though Kirk didn't, and he made them stay down there while I continued to get sick to my stomach. By the time Kirk got back into the boat, I was laying face down in the boat and unable to move...not a good first diving experience there.

Let the Vacation Begin

Monday morning we were finally able to make it to the beach and it was fabulous! Our resort had a huge beach area covered in palm trees and the water was blue and gorgeous. It was nice to finally be able to relax! We hit the beach and the pool on Monday and Tuesday, and on Wednesday morning our last suitcase arrived!! Things were looking up! We had already decided to add a week of vacation since so many things had gotten messed up. Last year in Cozumel we prepurchased a week of vacation for use at any Occidental Resort and they threw in 3 bonus weeks(4 for the price of 1), so for those of you wondering how we were able to go on vacation for 2 weeks after losing everything in Katrina, that's how. It was already all paid for, plus we REALLY needed a break. And since Continental got us to our destination a day late, they waived the fees to change our flights...not bad, huh?

We Made it to Punta Cana...26 Hours Later

The airport in Punta Cana

So we finally made it to Punta Cana on Sunday afternoon and were greeted by beautiful weather and a really cool looking airport. We were tired, we were hot and we were dirty and we just wanted to get to the resort and relax. We went to get our luggage, but we waited and waited and ours never came. We had made it to the island, but our luggage hadn't. We had to fill out a report and head to the resort with our two small carry-ons, hoping our luggage would arrive soon. Three of our four suitcases showed up by that night but the one carrying the SCUBA gear(the one my Dad and sister had picked up and brought to the airport for us) didn't arrive. We had already gone to the gift shops to buy a few things we might need so when the luggage arrived, we tried returning everything and apparently on that island you're not allowed to return or exchange anything. But we finally were able to relax and enjoy the resort that evening...for the most part. Our room was really nice and big and the resort was very nice as well. We were bound to have better luck the rest of the trip, right? (Hint: forshadowing of things to come). Poor Kirk didn't have the best Father's Day though. He didn't get to spend the day with Julian or Morgan and then to top it all off, all of this happened!

Our Room

Vacation Days 1 and 2??

Ok, so travelling to Punta Cana didn't go exactly as planned. It all started when we got to the airport on June 17th and realized we had forgotten one suitcase with all of our SCUBA gear in it. We called my dad and sister to see if they would drive all the way to Mandeville to pick up the suitcase and get it to the airport before our plane took off. They actually didn't make it until we found out our flight was delayed due to bad weather in Houston. They made it just in time for us to learn the flight was delayed another hour, so thanks Dad and Mallory for the suitcase! That second hour passed and the Captain came back on the intercom and said they were going to let us off the plane for lunch and to be back in an hour. The long and short of it was that we were delayed in New Orleans a total of 7 hours before we finally made it to Houston. Of course we had missed our connecting flight to Punta Cana, so we waited in the massively long line to find out our only option was to be rerouted to Newark, NJ and get on a 9:00 a.m. flight out of Newark to Punta Cana on Sunday morning. Well the flight to Newark was also delayed, so we left Houston at 11:00 p.m. and landed in Newark at 4 a.m., slept and ate some breakfast in the ariport and then got on the plane to head to Punta Cana. The pictures are of us in Newark around 5 a.m...we look lovely, don't we???

Punta Cana...Here we Come!

In less than 24 hours, Kirk and I will be heading to Punta Cana, which is on the southeastern tip of the Dominican Republic. On the top is the Atlantic and on the bottom is the Caribbean, so hopefully we'll have the clear blue Caribbean water. Judging by the pics we've seen of Punta Cana on Trip Advisor, we'll have the good water! Kirk and I are Padi certified in Open Water Diving, so we'll be going on a few dive trips while we're there. We dove in St. Lucia and in Cozumel and then Kirk has also been to Belize and the Bahamas, so I can't wait to see what underwater life they will have in the Dominican Republic. Other than that, it'll be all about relaxing on the beach and by the pool for a week. I know you're jealous!!! Please pray that no tropical depressions, storms, hurricanes, etc. affect our trip. Last year in Cozumel there was a Tropical Storm sitting right outside of us, but luckily we only had about a day of rain and then beautiful weather the rest of the trip. I don't think I could handle another hurricane in my life!

Poydras Goes to the Vet

Poydras had to go to the vet today to get his shots updated. Also while we were there Dr. DeVun clipped his nails while I had to help hold him down. I ended up with three big scratches down my arm because he got nervous and jumped up. Poor thing...shots and clipped nails :( He weighs 54.8 lbs and is in very good shape. He also got lots of compliments for being such a well-behaved, mild-mannered dog. And he got a few treats from the vet, too!! One of them he actually held in his teeth and spit out right on the table. It was pretty funny! We have to board him for a week because we are leaving on Saturday for Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We'll miss him but I know we'll enjoy our vacation!

Morgan's in North Carolina

From what I've heard Morgan has been having a good time in Charlotte so far. She had fun playing with Ansley and Cody the day she arrived and then yesterday she was able to go to Carowinds(an amusement/water park) with Julian. I think today she played with some neighbors Phoenix and Aidan and am sure she'll have lots more fun the rest of the week. She starts horseback riding camp on Monday, which she has definitely been looking forward to attending. We miss you lots, Morgan!!!!

Dance Recital 2006

We had Morgan's dance recital today. This was her 6th year dancing and her last year at Dance Company Ltd. Since we've moved, I'll have to find a new school on the northshore for her to attend. She did an excellent job as usual and looked absolutely beautiful in all of her costumes and dance numbers. Her tap dance was to "Boogie Shoes" and yesterday I heard her singing the song at home. Of course Morgan had her own version of the song...it went something like this: "I want to put on my, my, my, my, my boogie shoes and Scooby Doo!" I cracked up when I heard her singing that! I had to tell her that it doesn't say Scooby Doo, but instead "and boogie with you." But now we all are singing "Scooby Doo" instead of the right words and getting a huge laugh out of it!!

We had our post-recital lunch/dinner at PF Chang's(Morgan's choice because of the Great Wall of Chocolate dessert she gobbled up at the end of the meal) and then Morgan got in the car with her dad Jack and Maria and left for North Carolina. They're staying overnight somewhere in Alabama before heading the rest of the way to Charlotte. It's very quiet around here right now. I miss her a lot and won't get to see her for 2 months. Needless to say, my blog won't be all about Morgan until then but you can check out her summer on Jack & Maria's blog. I'll be posting every once in a while on here for the next month and then a lot more when Julian gets in town in July. Gosh, it's quiet right now!

More Dance Recital Pictures

1) Me & Nanny Mallory
2) Morgan waiting for the recital to start
3) Morgan & Daddy

Dance Recital Pictures

1) Morgan & Me
2) Sherry & Gavin
3) Morgan & Aunt Meredith
4) Morgan

Communion/Going Away Barbecue

The Cake...yummy!

The Kids Waiting to Eat the Cake

Morgan & Grampy

Morgan & Uncle Jeremy(her Godfather)

Morgan & Gavin

We had a barbecue at our house today to celebrate Morgan's 1st Communion and also as a going away party since she leaves tomorrow to spend the summer in North Carolina tomorrow. It was a great afternoon, although very hot, and we were glad to have our family join in the day. The cake you see in the picture is from the "Cake Lady." She makes the cakes out of her house and they are so delicious. The funny thing is that everyone who has ever used her just calls her the "Cake Lady" and MANY people know who she is. She's very popular among the kiddie birthday party circuit and she can make just about any cake you'd want. On this particular cake, everyone kept wondering what the IHS meant. Now, most of us went to Catholic School almost all of our lives but the only thing we could remember was that it was Latin for something. Well, I looked online and this is the definition I found: A modern depiction of the first three letters (iota ι, eta η·, sigma σ‚) of the Greek spelling of Jesus (Ίησονς). So it's not even Latin...we were all wrong!