fat vegan baby

This was my view for the last 5 days while I dozed watching Judah make sandcastles in the shade and waiting for my bones to thaw from what has been no less than 6 months of winter!  I would have had a fabulous time anywhere that climbed over 70 degrees, but the palm-thatched umbrellas, crystal blue (warm) ocean water, and silky golden sand made for a spectacular mini-trip. Here are some of the highlights from our short Domican Daze–our first tripto the gorgeous Domican Republic.

1.  Forced Downsizing.  

The airline lost our bags as soon as we arrived in Punta Cana, but I could hardly be upset standing in the tiny open-structure airport under one single, huge palm-thatched roof with the cool warm breezes welcoming us to the Carribean.  The planes land in Punta Cana, line up, and the passengers exit straight onto the tarmac before passing through the two room, open airport en route to their Bali beds.

We didn’t know when our bags would arrive, so we each bought 1 swimsuit and 1 outfit at the gift shop (I got a cover-up that doubled in the evening as a dress), 1 sunscreen bottle, 1 toothbrush and 1 small toothpaste, and a travel-size face wash for me.  My husband and Judah each got these little speedos (how cute are they); and luckily I had all of our hats and sunglasses in my bag.  Our luggage didn’t come until the evening of the 2nd night (we held out on getting extra diapers as long as we could–until the afternoon of the 2nd day–after my husband had to hand-wash my son’s speedos following a certain incident–if you catch my drift.  Judah’s in the middle of potty-training, and it sort of worked sans diaper on the beach–until it didn’t.)

Surprisingly, I loved the weightlessness of not having all of our “stuff”, wearing absolutely no make-up each day (which is why there are no pictures of me in this post), or even using the extra mind space thinking about what to wear.  Both of us felt ridiculous when we did get our luggage and realized the superfluousness of all the extras we brought–did I really need a different work-out outfit each day when I have never, EVER, worked out on vacation?

It was refreshingly liberating–with the one exception of what I really do need every day–my La Mer moisturizer–and maybe my Aveda deep conditioner!

2. Family of 3.

It’s been so entertaining and fun to have a 2 1/2 year old who now understands conversations, makes jokes, and has his own ideas and agendas.  Not to mention super adorable.  Judah played for hours in the sand covering my shoes, making sand castles, and loved feeding the pink flamingos after breakfast.  We met a lovely couple on the trip who had a 5 year old daughter named Maya–the two of them played together everyday, helped each other through phobias, and had a mini-date complete with Ipad watching before and during dinner, dancing, and holding hands.

3. There Are A Dozen Ways to Slice a Coconut.

….And apparently a machete is one of them.  This fellow showed up one morning on our patio, as I opened the curtains first thing in the morning, he was standing there holding a bag of cocunts in one hand and a machete in the other.  Before I could wonder why this fellow was facing me first thing in the morning with a machete, he started carving up one of his coconuts and then handed it to us to drink.  I took these photos on the last day when we started expecting him to come by and Judah would run up to him to get the first sip of the water. They cut down the coconuts every morning to put them fresh into the pina coladas! Yum!

Especially on the east coast, DR is such a short trip and worth its value for a few days to decompress, slow down, and inhale the peaceful scenery (while smoking a cigar).  We stayed at Paradisius Punta Cana–which is known to be kid-friendly and comprises a huge compound that you commute across via bikes or little trolley cars (another fun aspect for the kiddos).

Wishing you a blissful week!

xx