Dominican Vacation Recap

Hello, hello! I’m alive and well- despite my absence from the internet and all social media this past week. I unplugged and took a much needed vacation with Emmett for our friend’s wedding in the Dominican Republic. After a couple incredibly busy months, it was absolutely amazing to disconnect and enjoy living, relaxing, and exploring in the moment. Click through for a peek at our travels… 

I’ll start by saying- destination weddings are where it’s at! If we could redo our wedding- that’s totally the route we’d take. Too bad we can’t travel back in time six years and tell our younger selves to go elope in an amazing location. We both agree that would’ve made so much more sense.

I took my nice camera and paid for an international phone plan- fully intending on documenting our vacation and sharing it with you guys, but I couldn’t bring myself to immerse in social media or pull my nice camera out of my luggage. Between Emmett and I, we probably took a total of 10 photos with our phones and I sort of loved that. In my opinion, sometimes it’s better to have the experience and memories in the moment rather than looking through a view finder or at a screen. Does anyone else feel that way?

We started our journey in Santo Domingo, rented a car, then drove to Punta Cana for the wedding. We stayed with a bunch of our friends at a gorgeous resort that was nothing short of amazing, but half of the fun was venturing off the beaten bath. We loved driving into what the Dominican is actually like and experiencing the culture firsthand. The resorts are pretty Americanized and we both love a good adventure.

At the resort, we did a lot of relaxing at the beach. The water was the most beautiful turquoise hue and the white sandy beaches were pretty spectacular. There were also plenty of pools, swim up bars, restaurants, and entertainment available at all hours of the day. I’m a beach lover through and through, so I always choose the beach and ocean over a pool. Emmett and I parked it at a cabana most days, sipped tropical cocktails with friends, and got in some games of beach volleyball… all while living on island time.

The bride and groom arranged a snorkeling excursion that was SO much fun. I’m totally a water person and love diving, so that might’ve been my favorite thing from the entire trip. We ventured out to a sandbar and spent the afternoon swimming alongside the tropical fish.

Emmett also went on a deep sea fishing excursion with a giant group of our guy friends and it didn’t end well. Ha! I know I shouldn’t laugh, but it made me happy I didn’t join them. 95% of them ended up sea sick due to incredibly rough waters and they didn’t catch a single thing. Better luck next time?

It was about a 2.5 hour drive into Santo Domingo from Punta Cana, but it was really cool. I’m glad we decided to rent a car (thanks for your tips!). The highway runs right along the coast and you get a good view of culture, mountains, ocean, and all things local. I always recommend driving in foreign countries to experience the best of the best- just do your research first.

When we arrived in the city, we visited Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor (aka the first cathedral in the Americas), Los Tres Ojos National Park (so gorgeous!), as well as some local artists to score a few shelf styling artifacts.

Of course we had plenty of local cuisine in the city as well! Below, Emmett and I walked around a historic colonnade courtyard after a delicious brunch.

We had the longest travel day yesterday that consisted of hours of driving and a super long flight with terrible layovers, then arrived back home in Utah to a bunch of snow. It was actually sort of fun walking out of the airport into a winter wonderland, despite the fact I still had on my birkenstocks. Ha! All of that to say- I’m back, I’m exhausted, but have lots of blog posts planned for next week.

Check back on Monday for a week of regular design / diy / and interior stuff. Here’s to hoping we can tile the kitchen this weekend! How has everyone been? Hope you didn’t miss me- or maybe you didn’t even realize I was away. Let’s tough out the rest of the week and I’ll see you back here after the weekend? If you have travel questions or experiences of your own to share- I’d love to hear your comments below! xo