Monkeys, Coconuts, And Relaxing, Oh My!

Today I'm taking you back to the Dominican Republic to tell you about the rest of our March Break trip. We had two days of relaxing and then decided to do an excursion. We chose to do an all day visit of Puerto Plata. The interesting thing about this tour is that most of the other people were from Quebec so the tour was conducted in both French and English. It was a good challenge for me to see how much French I understood, which was a surprising amount!

We stopped at a store first and learned about how to tell real amber from fake amber (real amber floats) and we were also introduced to Larimar, a mineral found only in one part of the Domincan Republic. We did buy a piece to get framed for our travel wall as we thought it was so interesting!

Then we went to a cigar making factory. While the process of seeing them make a cigar was very interesting, all the workers were smoking cigars and it was very smelly. Also, all I could wonder is how many of the employees might end up with cancer :(

I was very excited to see Calle de las Sombrillas (Rue de Parapluies in French). I snuck away from the cigar factory to walk down the block and capture this picture.

We ended up on the town square and it was surrounded with Victorian wooden homes which were so pretty. After this, we had about an hour to walk around and explore.

We visited Paseo de Doña Blanca (known as Pink Street). While we were there Rachel got the opportunity to hold this monkey. She had one briefly on her shoulder a few days previously on the beach but the owner wanted $20 if you wanted to take a picture with it. This owner only charged $5 so Rachel got her photo shoot. It was so adorable because at one point the monkey reached out and grabbed onto a piece of Rachel's hair. Awwwww. Adorable.

 

We also headed back to Umbrella Alley for some pictures. Rachel and Sam really wanted to try a coconut so we bought one for us all to taste. 

 

I enjoyed seeing all the murals and we also explored this cathedral on the square which was so pretty.

After this we headed to a place where we walked through a beautiful garden and ended up at a rum factory. We were walked through the process of how they used to make rum (on the right is a picture of an old still) and then we had a rum tasting. I didn't taste all of them but the pineapple rum was especially good. And I'm not a big rum fan.

 

We then ended up at a restaurant for lunch. I don't know what it was about this meal but we all agreed it was the best one we ate all week. It was so good! We also enjoyed the grounds of the restaurant.

 

I also really liked the various art installations they had on the grounds of the restaurant. (The photo on the left is flowers made out of plastic bottles.) We also got to walk through a cocoa grove and learn how chocolate is made. It was very interesting. After that we explored some grounds near a fort in Puerto Plata, where I clearly took no pictures, and then we headed back to the resort. I think we spent more time on the beach for the rest of that day.

The next day was our last day at our resort. In the morning, the groundskeepers were pruning the palm trees. I asked if I could lift a palm branch. They were surprisingly heavy. Later that morning, I was hanging out on our patio reading, and a groundskeeper offered me a fresh coconut! He cut the top off and then handed it to me. How often does that happen?!?!?!

 

This was the patio off of our room and I loved to sit here and read and watch the woodpecker pecking a hole in the palm tree. (That's what the picture on the right is!) This offered a nice change of pace from the beach.

 

One thing we loved was watching the cruise ships sailing out of port every day. They became a good back drop for photos!

We did wish we were sailing away on them though. We tried an all inclusive this trip because we needed time to relax and we had never done one as a family. While this vacation was very relaxing, we all agreed that we much prefer cruises so that was good to find out.

Rachel being silly with a lime on the beach!

You could walk past the other resort and follow a short path to a look out. From there you could see one of the two places where the cruise ships dock in Puerto Plata. This was the view from the lookout to our beach.

One last view of the pool, with palm trees, with the beach in the background, and a picture of our resort at night. It really was a lovely place to stay.

On the last morning, after we had checked out, but before our airport transportation arrived, we took one last walk to the lookout point to enjoy the view, and the warm weather. And then we flew home.

So that was our March Break getaway. Like I said, it was just the relaxing vacation we needed after a winter of renovations, and I'm so thankful that we did it.

Friday Favourite Moments #13 2026 (On A Monday)

These are my favourite moments from last week. I decided to not post on Friday because it was Good Friday and it didn't feel right to me to post. Last week was full of so many favourite moments!!!

 1) Attending Opening Day!!!

I've been excited about this day for months! I was thrilled to get Jays' tickets for Opening Day and I was especially excited because I knew they would unveil the AL Champions banner. I didn't realize that it was also the kick off to their 50th season of playing ball so the opening ceremonies were extra exciting!

 

We were all so excited to be at the Dome again! And I used some Christmas money from my parents to buy an "AL Champions"shirt. My spring training shirt was getting a little worn out!

 

Because it's their 50th season, the Jays have a lot of memorabilia on the main level for fans to see. The case on the left is filled with World Series and American League Championship Series items. And they projected videos and photos on the diamond which was super cool to see. All in all, it was a very memorable night and I cried with happiness and pride at my team.

Speaking of my team, I'm trusting they will get their act together and start winning some games because this last week of play has been terrible. Ugh.

2) Canada v Iceland pre-World Cup Friendly game

As a part of his birthday celebrations, Sam and I went to see Canada play Iceland in a pre-World Cup soccer friendly. It was such a fun game and I really enjoyed being there with Sam. The only downside is that it was so cold. The weather was hovering around freezing and, at one point, it snowed on us. The game was really fun though! I told Sam I wasn't taking him to a World Cup game (as the cheapest tickets start at $2,500) but I was more than happy to take him to this one!

 

3) Sam's birthday & bean bag chairs

Sam turned 17 last Monday so we celebrated him all day! One of the things we did was pick up our new bean bag chairs. They're super fun and Sam has spent a lot of time watching Jays' games in his. 

 

4) Yoga in a greenhouse

 

My favourite local greenhouse was doing a fundraiser and offered a yoga class, followed by tea, in their space. I told Janice about it and she signed up too. It was so amazing to be lying under all the growing things and stretching out my body. And the tea which followed was delicious! I really hope they offer it again because it was a really nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

 

 

 

5) Beef & Guinness Stew

 

I was sad to not be home for St Patrick's Day because I love the (vegetarian) Beef & Guinness Stew that I make. So I decided to make it this past week instead and it was so good! I really need to make this more often than St Patrick's Day because I really love it!

 

6) My glass cupboards

 

We unpacked some of the Fiestaware last week and I put it in my glass cupboards. It looks as amazing as I hoped it would and I can't wait to unpack some more colourful dishes to continue to fill this cupboard up. Have I mentioned how much I absolutely love our new kitchen?!?!?!? 

  

7) Passover

 

We had a really good Passover seder with Dave's family and some of his family friends last week. I really enjoyed getting to see people we don't get to see all that often. My favourite part was when Dave's mom asked how many matzoh balls each person wanted. Other people answered "between 1 and 3" but I said, "As many as I can get" and Dave's mom took me at my word! I love matzoh balls! Hahaha!

8) Maundy Thursday

 

We went to the Maundy Thursday supper at church and sat with friends we hadn't seen in awhile. I took no pictures because we were too busy visiting but it was an excellent meal and a great catch up visit with friends we hadn't seen in way too long so it had to make my "favourite moments" list :)

 

So that was our past week -- sports with Sam and celebrating all the holidays interfaith life brings at this time of year.

Currently: April 2026

Let's start April off with "Currently" as it's not only the first day of April, but it's also the first Wednesday of the month. This link up is hosted by Amy at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa and you can find her here.

 

[Planting or hatching (literal or figurative – like planting an idea or hatching a plan)]

Are you completely shocked that I'm "hatching" a plan to buy two of these lantana tree pots and have them in our backyard this summer? I will talk more about this on Friday, but Janice and I did yoga at a greenhouse on Sunday. Afterwards, we got to wander through the growing greenhouse (nothing was for sale in it yet) and I spied these pots. I love them! I think they will add so much to our backyard this summer.

[Cleaning (spring)]

We're not "cleaning" so much right now as we're still unpacking and sorting and reorganizing after the reno. This weekend we'll hopefully be able to unload the last storage unit and empty out our neighbours' garage and then all our things will be in our house for the first time since October.

Sam's old room is becoming Dave's new office and this is the last space we will have to set up. So, for now, it's a holding place for all the things! And yes, it's gotten worse since I took this photo :)

[Eating and drinking]

I was thrilled to be "eating and drinking" at a baseball game again on Friday!!! I got my veggie hot dog, a side of poutine, and a signature drink to celebrate!

I also belatedly made Beef & Guinness Stew on Sunday so we could have one of my favourite dinners. St Patrick's Day happened while we were in the Dominican this year but I didn't want to miss out on one of my favourite meals.

[Reading and watching]

I'm not "reading" anything too exciting right now but we are "watching" a lot of baseball. Are you shocked?!?! Also, last year for his birthday, Sam asked for a beanbag chair. By then we were beginning the renovation process (meetings with contractors, etc) so we asked him if he was willing to wait until after the reno was over to get one. Earlier this month, we bought two chairs and on Monday, Sam's 17th birthday, we picked them up.

 

Sam, watching baseball, in our new rec room/family room, in his cow beanbag chair, wrapped in his burrito blanket. This kid loves a novelty pattern! Hahaha!!! 

[Loving]

I was "loving" being in the Skydome on Opening Day this year. We got to see the AL Champions banner unveiled and there were a lot of opening ceremonies as this is the start of the 50th year of the Blue Jays playing baseball. They projected videos on the diamond, as well as the Jumbotron, and it was so cool. Yes, I cried tears of happiness and pride during the ceremonies and cheered my heart out during the game. I just love baseball so much! And to be there on Opening Day was such a bucket list item for me.

The next day, Sam and I went to the Canada versus Iceland pre-World Cup friendly match. I loved watching the game, and spending time with Sam, but it was freezing out. At one point, it snowed on us. Brrrrr. But the game was so fun to watch! We're planning on going to another soccer game (but not the World Cup) when the weather is warmer.

And this past week, we ran our first load of dishes through the dishwasher and I put my Fiestaware away in my glass cupboards. This cupboard will get fuller as we unpack more boxes but I am "loving" how colourful this looks! 

So that is what's up with us "currently" -- Sam's birthday experiences, Opening Day of baseball, and more post-renovation work. Thank you to Amy for continuing to host this fun link up and I'm looking forward to reading the other posts this weekend, in between unpacking more boxes.