Jarabacoa

This weekend we traveled to the middle of the island to enjoy the mountains of the Dominican Republic. Green, Green, and more Green. It's the place where palm tree and pine tree meet. Absolutely beautiful and a wonderful get-a-way from the city. Our children could run barefoot in the grass....it was absolutely a beautiful thing! One of those things you miss when you live in an apartment and the park across the street is covered with more trash than green grass. In fact, I woke up this morning wishing we were spending the entire week there. City noise tends to wear on you after a while.

We traveled with our friends Nick, Rosalyn, Owen & Isabel. They are such dears to travel with a family with young children and a pup! Ros & I left on Friday morning with the kids and Sarah and the men met up with us after work. It only took 2 hours to get to Mi Vista in Hatillo. Darton managed to fall three times in about three hours and the poor thing was quite red-faced as a result of it.

The first day of travel with Sarah is always the hardest. She goes absolutely crazy when she's let of the leash (or the lead as the Aussies say). I let her off to roam the hillside with the kids and off she went passing through a barbed-wire fence after the neighbors chickens. I just knew I was going to have to restock the neighbors chicken supply...no doubt a livelihood of theirs. Sarah refused to listen to any command, especially after she found a cat to chase as well. So Owen and I passed through the barbed-wire fence and I was finally able to catch Sarah in the wetness of the ground outside the neighbor's outhouse! Sarah was so intense while chasing the other animals. It was amazing to see her work and listen for any noise in the bush that might be a fun prey to play with. She'd be an excellent bird dog for Scotty to have in Nevada. In the process of chasing Sarah I was bit by small black gnats that usually don't cause much of a reaction on your skin. However, I suffered from swollen ankles and intense itching all weekend. The itching has now passed and the swelling is going down.

Enjoying the afternoon watching the kids play on the hillside.

Minus the Doritos...this is my island girl.

El comedor - where we ate our meals.

She's realized she can pose for photos. The real reason I tookt his pic was the scenery.

Salto Jimenoa.

The waterfall in the background was one used in Jarassic Park.

Pathway to the waterfall. We only walked until it was too steep to walk with little kids. Ros & Nick went with their kids though.

Pizzeria playground...these kinds of places are a rare find in the DR. We were so happy to be at a clean kid friendly restaurant.