Hi again,  On December 1, we left Punta Cana  and headed to the big-city and beach in Santo Domingo; the capital city of the Dominican Republic.   We took an APTPRA bus to Santo Domingo.  It costed $9 per person to ride about 3.5 hours through the countryside.  Ticket purchasing was super easy with the assistance from our super helpful taxi driver.  We couldn't figure out why the bag porter was acting weird with our bags.  Lightbulb moment....we didn't pay for bags.  He sure had a big smile on his face when we grabbed our bags and gave him a nice tip to compensate for our mistake.  We also did not know we had assigned seats. We discovered this before the ride started.  The bus was pretty empty, but each stop more and more people got on and in the end the bus was full.  Second floor seats for us.  We were surprised that everyone on the bus plays their stuff out loud so there was music and videos playing and people talking o...

  Hi again,   On November 26, we left for a 23-day trip to the Dominican Republic. This chapter will blog our first stop; 5 nights in Punta Cana at the Ocean El Faro Premium H10 all-inclusive resort with Ron and Mike, grade-school friends of Corp’s, along with their wives Jennifer and Becky, and new friends Brett and Kristi.   Left to right - Brett, Kristi, Becky, Mike, me, Corp, Ron, Jennifer We discovered a great private airport transportation option in Punta Cana called Jayride.  Jayride partners with over 3,000 transfer providers around the world.  Online booking in advance of our trip was super easy.  Shuttle Central actually provided the private car and it only cost us $19 to get from the airport to resort.  It was really nice to exit the airport and easily find them with a sign with our last name in the sea of transportation providers.  No dealing with the mass confusion that comes with finding a taxi. Reminder to self.  We ha...

Hi again -  On November 4, we left on a road trip with no particular destinations in mind, except the first stop was Chicago. We went there with Corp's cousin Brady and his girlfriend Taylor.  We stopped at the Norske Nook in Osseo, WI for lunch.  I have been there many times when my mom and I would go to Cranfest in Warrens, WI.  They have the best pie ever!  The Hawaiian cream pie is my all-time  favorite.  Corp got French Silk.   It was so rich and yummy too! We rain into horrible rain along the way.  Guys were in Brady's truck.  Girls were in our 4Runner.  At times we couldn't see Brady's truck in front of us or the lines on the road. We stayed in Oak Park, IL about 30 minutes by train to Downtown Chicago.   I loved Oak Park and the train (L) was so convenient.  $5 per person both ways. Charlie's first train ride. It was so windy in Chicago.   Overcast, drizzly weather, but not super cold. We always...