Punta Cana is the perfect place to go for a winter getaway
“The trip to the airport was just as exciting as the plane as the whole entire trip!”
Have you ever wanted to leave a cold frozen over environment, for one full of sun and a fresh breeze? We did as well! This trip was planned months in advance for a training that Vanna was attending and I was to do some filming for the training to make short videos for the company putting on the training. It was an opportunity that I could not pass up to help expand Hi Neighbor’s portfolio. I mean come on, you didn’t have to twist my arm so hard to go enjoy paradise. I’m really excited to try out my 40-150 lens I picked up to record the training. This lens would let me get close ups without being in the front of the room taking pictures and video. Bags were packed a few days in advance to avoid any mishaps or forgetting any equipment. Cool stress was kept at a minimum until we saw the weather……..
So we knew there could be some bad weather in store for us, but we were hoping that it would hold off at least until we left the area. That was not the case, the day into the night before we left we got a constant pelting of sleet. Freezing rain and sleet are the things of nightmares. Freezing rain is not quite frozen yet but when it hits the cold ground it freezes in a matter of minutes to form a thin hard layer of ice. This ice will have you dancing on it like a Looney Tunes character. We looked outside and saw a steady stream of cars traveling along the highway so we figured it would be pretty safe……. Oh boy were we in for a ride that we wouldn’t forget!
We ordered an Uber because we didn’t want to take a chance of damaging our own vehicle or paying for high parking fees. Our driver pulls up in an AWD Rav4, sweet so it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable and the SUV handles decently. Out hops this little Asian guy that spoke just enough English to ask about the best routes to not get stuck in East Saint Louis because it was a sheet of ice down there. The driver followed Uber’s instructions and played ice hockey down there once. We guide him to Interstate 64 and it was pretty smooth until we got to ESTL. All roads were left to chance. You could tell where the trucks stopped plowing and dropping salt, because the only available lane to drive in was the one left by cars and trucks passing prior. From our Lady of the Snow to the new 70 bridge, we just held onto each other hoping this driver would not decide to speed up every time he saw a little clear patch of road. In Missouri on highway 70 it was a little better. We were so happy that we picked the early morning departure, because if there were more people on the road we don’t know if we would have made it.
The airport was a different story. We made it and figured TSA would have been a breeze to get through with pre-check……Ha! Vanna had a walking boot on and you would have thought she was coming through with a radioactive boot set to explode. They put on quite the show. They made Vanna take the boot off and walk with a cane through the scanner, just to wipe down the boot with the chemical pads to see if it was explosive…….I just stood there and watched this happen. Nothing I could do or say would make it go any faster or cause them not to make her jump though more hoops. We left STL and barely got to land because “The Orange One” was just in the process of leaving Miami after he got done playing golf at Mar-a-Lago…….. Let’s just say there were a lot of people wearing his apparel that were not too happy their flights got delayed up to two hours. They shut down half of the airport and no flights were allowed to leave or land on that side of the airport. We finally leave Miami after rushing to make our connecting flight. We landed at Punta Cana international airport and it was gorgeous! Nice wide open concourses, local and native artwork, history of the airport and what it means for the island and much more. It was quite a distance from where we got off to the front of the airport to meet our ride. If you have not traveled to a major airport in the States or overseas you can be in for quite shock. It is always packed with lots of noise and people moving all over the place, horns blasting to let people know it’s safe to move in front or a friendly “thank you.” The trip to the hotel we got to see some cool sites and buildings being worked on. The city was full of life.
I wished I would have taken pictures of the airport when we arrived but you never know how strict some airports can be about photo usage. We walked, well Vanna got rolled through the airport. We traveled what felt like a mile but it was probably a half mile to get to the security check point. We fly through that even with Vanna in a wheel chair. Now this is where things get fun. We have to find our driver with everyone trying to get us to use their services. They know you need to get out of the airport so there are taxis and transit services all around, all with various degrees of safety and comfort. While we were waiting one of the porters came up to me and handed me a card and whispered in English to me ” We can get anything you want or could need, you name it and we can get it to your hotel door.” Ok………….If I was looking for “off the resort” fun I know where I could at least find some. I tossed his card in my bag and waved down our driver. He was very knowledgeable about the surrounding area and where we were headed. He also pointed out all of the new construction going up in the area. In our usual fare we asked about local places and places to get a bite to eat that the locals enjoy but was safe for visitors. We stopped at a gas station not too far from the hotel to get some gas or petrol as it was called. It felt like we were traveling at a high rate of speed on the highway but in reality we were traveling about 50 mph which at home is really really slow on the highway. Most resorts are positioned far away from the main road, one for safety and two it provides a sense of exclusivity. We pulled up to a grand but very plain security gate to enter the resort, there were a few of the worker’s vehicles parked outside of the gate. There was one guard standing there in the standard issued security uniform which looks more like a police outfit. The resort we are staying at is the Brava Suites which is supposed to be a small upgrade from the family rooms. We ended up staying in a room that was a nice size with 2 queen beds.
