On the Beach in the Dominican Republic

One of the best things for us this year is that we discovered lots of new places - South Padre Island in January,  the Oregon coast in September.  Over Thanksgiving week we spent a few days in Punta Cana, a resort area as far east as you can go in the Dominican Republic.  Neither of us has family obligations here in Wisconsin, so we decided to go somewhere sunny and warm, and be thankful for the chance to be warm.

The beach here was soft and white, with very few rocks.  One resort after another lay at the edge of the sand and turquoise water.  Right after our breakfast, which included lots of tropical fruit and local coffee, we went for long walks on the sand.

At home our colors are all gone, and everything is shades of brown, black and gray (today there's white snow).  But in Punta Cana skies were cerulean, the water was bottle green, and most of the flowers were hot pink or orange.

We woke one morning to what sounded like migrating geese, but turned out to me flamingos cruising the lawns and streams for breakfast.  There also was a snowy egret and, oddly, a chicken.

Our building at the Iberostar Punta Cana resort was undergoing renovation, so one annoyance was the constant sound of buzz saws and pounding hammers.  But nothing could spoil the peaceful happiness of mornings before the workmen started, when we could look out over the grounds at the level of the tops of the palms, listening to the birds and drinking coffee on our balcony.  Paradise.