The day after (for real though)...

Ok so here's the day after the wedding AKA the honeymoon. I'm SO happy with how it all started out. We had a night to relax and the next day to sleep in before we made our trip to the DR (that's the Dominican Republic). We got onto our 11pm flight to JFK and here is mcLyle all bright eyed and ready to get to the motherland! After a red eye to JFK, we got stuck on the equivalent to a field trip school bus full of Dominican kids on their way to summer break with their relatives (hence we didn't sleep a wink from their laughing, yelling, and kicking).















We finally landed in the DR and it was a very interesting entry into the country. Customs made you pay to get your luggage basically. Once we finally got everything we walk out with all our stuff and there were hoards of people cheering and yelling for everyone walking out of the airport. I felt strangely like a celebrity. Now it's off to get the car. We get taxied over to a car rental place and Lyle is checking out all the cars and getting the best possible deal (of course this means we are there for about an hour). Luckily they had MTV on in spanish in the office (I say luckily b/c I know spanish right? wrong), so I watched it with the girl working there.

The beautiful trees and crystal blue waters on the drive.


































The beautiful architecture of a bridge on the way into the City of Quisquaya. I LOVED it.












The meeting house that Lyle attended as a missionary.















Our good "TOYA" out int he DR.





Finally we get in the car and about an hour later, we arrive to Quisquaya (pronounced kees kaya). This is the last area that Lyle was in and kept in touch with the most people here. We toured the village, dropped off toothbrushes and extra clothes to the branch president to give to the people, and chatted with some families. Of course I didn't really chat, but watched THEM chat since my french helps me little in this spanish speaking country. After a few hours here we took the 4.5 hour drive north to where our resort was.


We drove through these hills to get to the resort and they were MAGNIFICENT. It was seriously so beautiful.
Lyle all serious face talking to me...probably about kicking my butt in the go cart racing.

Finally we arrived to Puerto Plata at our resort: Victoria Golf & Beach Resort which I HIGHLY recommend. We arrived to the resort after dinner had been served so I think what we did was eat the salad bar scraps and called it a night. What a relaxing first day of our honeymoon right? LOL. Next on the docket was a Monday to lounge and relax (order per Ciara since Sunday was not so relaxing). Monday we slept in, lounged around, toured the resort, and took a little detour at a go cart place. This place was EMPTY. Needless to say the people of the DR are not well to do nor do they participate in recreational activities like we Americans do. They don't go to theme parks, they don't really go to the beach, and they don't go on vacation. The rest of the day was spent trying to figure out how to relax (as this had not been a part of our normal routine in the past few months at minimum). At the closing of Monday we decided we couldn't handle an unplanned day, hence we scheduled our Tuesday.

First on the docket was some beach time. Each meal we had was in an open area that didn't have walls, but more like curtain shades. I think this is typical of tropical areas, but I'm not sure. Each meal we could order from the menu and/or choose what we wanted from the salad bar. Lyle informed me that everything we ate was definitely the freshest and most rare foods in the country, because you couldn't find the same fresh fruits/vegetables anywhere else with such good quality. After breakfast on Tuesday we had beach time. After soaking up some sun we jumped in a kayak and paddled out to the ocean. This was so fun! The further we got out the further we had to come back though. Yuck. I was worked after this. After some lunch we went back to the room to shower and get ready for our tee time.

The resort was on a golf course and even though we're not huge golfers Lyle was adamant we take this opportunity. We ended up walking all 9 holes, rented clubs, and had caddies who helped us the whole way. This was the most extreme heat I have ever experienced in my entire life. I kid you not, there was not a dry piece of clothing on me (or Lyle for that matter). Walking 9 holes in humidity and heat while golfing was so dang tiring. To make matters worse, we thought it would be fun to take the long way and ride bikes to the pro shop, which meant we had to ride them back so that we could return them. AGH! We were so exhausted. That night we had a reservation at the fine restaurant at the resort. So after an exhausting day we showered, enjoyed our meal, and never slept so good as that night. Wednesday we woke up at the crack of dawn so we could go surfing at a local spot. By we, I mean I watched Lyle surf. I didn't have the necessity that he need to get in the ocean at 6:30AM no matter how warm it was. It was fun to watch him out there though. He is such a humble athlete...I love it. Next we got our gym time in, ate, checked out of the hotel, and drove back down to the capital.
Here is what the towns look like through the hills from the north of the island all the way down to the capital.

Here, we checked into the Temple housing (hotel) where we were going to stay for two nights. We get our keys and our instructions only to realize that we have bunk beds. I immediately crack up and Lyle gets upset and marches back downstairs to see if we can get a double bed. He learns that only bunk beds are in temple housing, I tell him for the deal we're getting, we are STAYING. Without hesitation, he begins maneuvering the beds so that he can put two mattresses on the floor together side by side. So here we slept for two nights. LOL...it was the most entertaining thing of the entire trip so far. That night I experienced fine dining at a pizza parlor in the college area of town and a trip to the grocery. The grocery is very small and supposedly only the wealthy shop there (which was obvious by their grooming and apparel) because they're the only ones with refrigerators. Everyone else buys fresh food daily at the comal (which is like a gas station food mart type place). Thursday, we were able to attend the Temple and go back to Quisquaya to have a real traditional poor folks lunch. After lunch we went to visit with other families and played dominoes (a huge game out there) with some old ladies. The homes in the DR "country" don't have windows. They have barbed wire surrounding their little front lawn. They don't have lawns, they have dirt. They don't have trash cans, they have the floor. They lock their front doors with chains and massive old locks. They don't have running water, and they have electricity sporadically. It was hard to see how they live.

Thursday night we went out to Hard Rock Cafe (we were aching for some American food). We did some shopping and eating...MMM.

Here is a monument. It was MAGNIFICENT. Friday was our last day in the DR. We did a LOT of driving this entire trip. Here is Lyle VERY excited about the traffic. We were able to get a session in at the Temple which was such a good experience. Then we headed out to the airport. Our trip back was MUCH MUCH longer than our trip into the DR. Our trip back was again from Santiago to JFK, BUT the catch was that Lyle had made the flights with different airlines. SO our flight from Santiago was with United (I think) and then our flight from JFK to SLC was with Jet Blue. That meant we had to pick up our luggage in JFK and check it again and go through security again. THIS WAS MISERABLE. Let's see, problem #1: I had a rolling suitcase and a little toiletry bag (you will see in a little bit why this was a problem); problem 2: our Santiago flight landed VERY late; problem 3: we do NOT know the JFK airport; problem 4: there is no way to tell our Jet Blue flight we are running late; problem 5: our luggage is coming out VERY LATE, making us even more late; problem 6: once we figured out where our luggage was, we booked it out of there (running of course) and Lyle is faster than I am; problem 7: after we took the tram and were running to check into jet blue we had to run up an escalator, which Lyle yelled at me to hurry up, but I couldn't since I had a freaking heavy ROLLING suitcase; problem 8: we find jet blue, check in quickly, and book it through security (going straight to the front of a line in JFK...not smart, but it still worked), and RUN to our gate only to find out that the flight has been delayed also; problem 9: we are starving so we buy the most healthy food we can find (sandwiches) at a close deli and spend about $25 on a dumb little meal for 2. Ok, I think that was all. So, I don't know what time we landed in SLC, but it was after 1pm I think. Our car was at a friends house so we had to get picked up, drive to her house, and then STILL drive home after that. Oh, do you care to hear about problem 10? Ok, well my little toiletry bag never made it on the flight so I went home with ZERO prescriptions, face washes, and makeup. I still didn't have this by Sunday morning, so I had to make do with random toiletry items in the house for a day and a half. It was interesting.

Overall, how was the honeymoon?

It was beautiful, amazing, interesting, overwhelming, thought provoking, relaxing, fun, funny, exotic, and crazy all at once.

I will never forget the DR, and I know we will go back soon. I told Lyle I won't go back until I learn spanish (can you believe I even said it). Yes, I am on my way to learning spanish. I love Lyle THAT much. The entire way home (from SLC) we talked about what we were grateful for in the United States. We were grateful for street lights, for clean roads, for safe roads, for paint on the roads, for safe vehicles, for refrigerators, for electricity, for shoes, for tooth brushes, and the list goes on and on. I will never forget my experiences there nor will I forget the children and their circumstances. I now have a love for the DR as Lyle does. It may not be as strong, but it's there, and I can't wait to go back.

Wedding pictures will have to wait until next week (I know I can do it)!