At the last minute we decided to take a trip to the Dominican. We called our travel agent www.caribbeanvacations.ca and like always they found us a great deal at a super resort, $706/pp including taxes for 7 days/nights. The resort we went to is called Gran Bahia Principe Samana. We’ve never been to this part of the Dominican before b/c they’ve just built an airport that’s close to the resorts. Before this it would have been a 4-6 hour car ride from Punta Cana or Puerto Plata. It was beautiful there and we were so close to the ocean that if you opened the french doors to your balcony you could hear the waves crashing against the rocks. The room came complete with housecoats, slippers, iron and ironing board, satelite tv, coffeemaker, coffee, mini-fridge with water, pop and beer and everything replenished every day. It offered 24 hour room service, a generous buffet and 2 a la carte restaurants that included lobster on the menu! The staff were great, very accommodating and the group of people there were fantastic! It’s a small resort, private and if you’re looking for a quiet get-away then this is where you want to be. There aren’t any vendors bothering you but has a little store where you can purchase some souvenir’s. There aren’t any other resorts around although you can get a ride or walk (20 minutes) down to the local harbor where they have a free shuttle over to their sister resort that’s located on an island called Gran Bahia Principe El Portillo. It has a nice white sandy beach and cruise ships stop there so if you’re looking for a vendor you can usually find one there. We took a tour to see the humpback whales. They swim to Samana from the maritmes every year to have their calves. It’s a tour operated by Kim Beddall, orginally from Toronto but has lived in the Dominican for 23 years. Unfortunately we missed the whales by one day but she gave everyone a raincheck that is good for 5-6 years. We also took a tour and rappelled down a 200 foot waterfall. That was a very cool experience since I’ve never done anything like that before. All in all a great little get-away!

In February I bit the bullet and at the last minute booked a weekend flight to Charlottetown for the weekend to take in the Matt Minglewood birthday bash.  The veteran blues rocker celebrated his 60th birthday at the Charlottetown Civic Centre with East Coast blues star Matt  Andersen and Charlottetown’s own Joey Kitson along 1700 well wishers! A great group of friends and some very special cousins from all over hooked up and to attend the concert and had a GREAT time !! Definately a weekend for the memory books!

I love to travel, preferably to warm sandy beaches but I’m not fussy I just love getting away even for only a few days. A couple of weeks ago we drove to Atlantic City, New Jersey for the weekend and it was fabulous. Toured a few of the very popular Casinos in town and donated $$ along the way. Taking advantage of the bright warm sun we strolled along the Boardwalk taking in all the sights, stopping at boutiques along the way and indulged in some chocolate-covered strawberries and sea foam fudge. It’s a great little get-away!