2023 - Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
It wouldn't be a Parrick trip without some extra "fun" thrown in!
We started our 2023 anniversary trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Wednesday flying to Charlotte, spent the night and the next morning continued the trip to the DR. All of that was normal and went as expected - the start of a great new experience; our first time at an all-inclusive and this island. Our daughter, Annie is a travel agent and wanted to get in on our fun of surprising each other.. so naturally, this trip was booked and put together by her, for our special day. Punta Cana is beautiful with perfectly sculptured landscaping and amazing beaches.
When we got to the resort, similar to a cruise, your check-in to your room is not until the afternoon around 3 p.m. so you leave your bags and wander around or belly up to a bar. Smart people, or those that have done this before, pack swimsuits and shorts in a carry-on bag to change while they wait.
We walked around, had some drinks and got a feel for the layout of the place and when we got our room, we changed and went down to the pool and beach. A very nice first day!
Thursday was a free day to see the sites, try the many restaurants and bars and just relax! Oh, we also didn't say "No" to several of the vendors on the beach, selling souvenirs and getting pictures with some exotic animals. all good. Those birds were a lot heavier than we thought they would be!
Friday, we woke up late (so nice!) And did a lot of the same - eating, drinking, lounging by the beach or poolside then that evening we had a romantic dinner on the beach. It was very romantic, listening to the surf, watching the sun setting, while you are personally served a 4- course meal by a waiter. So nice! The food was amazing. As we finished up our desserts and headed back to the room, we both started feeling extremely full. The closer we got to the room, I was thinking I need to just let this food settle, change clothes and we can head out for a concert or poolside partying. But that never happened because we were pretty sure we got food poisoning. (To no fault of anyone!)
Needless to say, we were not going to make the deep-sea fishing trip the next day, and I felt horrible about that. Ronny changed it to Sunday- fingers crossed!
Saturday Ronny went and found some food and by the evening, I felt well enough to get dressed and look for some food. I ended up eating plain rice and two small, cooked carrots. The staff was very nice and willing to prepare whatever I needed. Thank God we weren't flying out for a couple days!
On Sunday, I was really hoping we could try again, but I was still not sure I wanted to be on a boat if anything hit again so... we cancelled. We did let the staff know about the reason and they were apologetic and asked if I needed to see a doctor etc, but it just needed to work itself out.
We did go out to the beach and poolside and spent the day relaxing and soaking up the waves and atmosphere - I just didn't indulge in the drinks and food as much as I wanted. (The upside is I came home 10 pounds lighter and not sunburnt )
Monday our flights home was to be an afternoon flight from Punta Cana to Miami then connection to KC, getting in about 11 pm, then drive 2 hours home. That didn't go as planned either - but if we've learned anything on all our trips; You have to be flexible!
We made it through the Punta Cana Airport, but our flight was delayed coming in, so naturally we left late and missed our connection to KC. The airline gave us a voucher for a hotel, but Annie was also monitoring our flights and helped us book a room at a Holiday Inn prior to getting to Miami (in hopes of beating the crowds since we were all late/missing connections). The voucher was not for the same hotel, so we waited for the shuttle but since everyone was late, 3 full shuttles passed us, and we decided to skip the vouchered hotel and stick with the Holiday Inn that Annie had booked for us. We got all checked in at midnight, back up at 5 am to catch the shuttle to the airport. Good Lord I need more sleep!!
They had rebooked our flights from Miami to Dallas and then KC, since there was no straight flight from Miami to KC until late that next evening. But we should be in KC by 130. Nope, our flight was delayed in Miami and gates were changed in Dallas so, we missed our connection by 2 mins - ugh! Finally, at 4 pm we got to KC! Another whole day wasted.
We were happy that our bag magically appeared on the carousel - one positive thing! Now we were all good and just a 2-hour drive away from HOME!
We have NEVER had a so-so trip and although I don't wish food poisoning on ANYONE, I'm so happy to spend all these moments with this man - good, bad and otherwise
I love you Ronald Parrick - Happy 22 years of US!
And thank you Annie and Up in the Air Travels!