27 Years, Punta Cana & Coffee: A Little Piece of Our Vacation

It’s officially been a week since Fred and I got home from Punta Cana, and I’m finally sitting down to share a little bit of our trip with all of you.

We got home last Monday, unpacked, got lots of love from our fur babies who were VERY happy to see us, and somehow didn’t make it to bed until around 3 a.m. I got up early and headed to the shop, while Fred did some computer work for Iron Bean and then headed off to his other job.

Nothing says vacation is over quite like a 3 a.m. bedtime and an alarm clock.

Back to reality.

Last week was pretty much about getting caught back up, getting back into our normal routine and preparing for everything we have coming up in September. But I finally wanted to sit down and tell you a little about our trip, because there were definitely some things worth sharing.

First, Fred and I just want to say thank you.

This trip was a special one for us. It had been nine years since Fred and I had taken a vacation like this together, and this year we were celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary and my birthday.

Well, Fred already pretty much told everybody on his Facebook how old I am, but you know, he just loves that because I’m older than him.

I learned something from a very wise woman, my grandma, who is now 100 years old and still with us. I only found out about her around six years ago, so I haven’t known her for my whole life, but what she taught me has stayed with me. She never saw much purpose in constantly reminding yourself how old you are. Something about that always stuck with me.

It’s not that I’m not proud of my age. I absolutely am. Every year I get is a blessing. Every morning I wake up and the people I love are still here is something to be grateful for. And even the people who aren’t here anymore gave me memories I still get to carry.

I just don’t concentrate on the number.

In fact, my mom called me the other night and tried to tell me I was a whole year older than I actually am.

For a second I stopped and thought, “What? Wait, I am?”

I’d rather notice the wisdom I’ve gained, the things I’ve learned and what I’m doing with the years I’ve been given than keep track of the actual number.

27 Years

Twenty-seven years.

Fred and I actually looked at each other on this trip and had one of those moments like, wow, has it really been 27 years?

We met and got married four months later.

Yep. Four months.

People thought we were crazy. They told him. They told me. We heard all the reasons why we shouldn’t do it.

And we did what we wanted to do and what our hearts told us to do.

Twenty-seven years later, here we are.

Marriage isn’t always easy. We’ve had easy times, hard times and plenty of times when we’ve gotten mad at each other. We’re two different people, and after 27 years we’ve definitely learned that being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Neither one of us had much when we met. Everything we have today, we built together. We’ve supported each other through every step of the way, and sometimes one of us has had to hold the other one up.

We’ve been mad at each other plenty of times, but we’ve never let being mad become more important than loving each other.

That’s what we’ve done for 27 years.

And after all these years, he’s still my person.

This vacation was something Fred worked very hard for. He works another job in addition to everything we do together, and he worked extra hours and saved to make this trip happen.

He kept telling me, “I just want you to be happy. I don’t want you worrying about anything or stressing about anything. I just want you to be happy.”

And that meant the world to me.

He took me by the hand and made sure I was happy. And I hope I did the same for him.

We held hands a lot. We sat together. We talked. We laughed. We soaked up the sun and the scenery. We didn’t spend our time staring at our phones or worrying about what was happening back home.

We just enjoyed being together.

And we needed that.

Sunshine, Palm Trees and an Ocean

I absolutely love warm weather. Give me sunshine, sandals, palm trees and an ocean and I’m happy.

I still wonder sometimes how I ended up somewhere that gets cold.

I love the whole tropical feeling. The palm umbrellas, the chairs underneath them, the warm air and just being able to sit there and relax.

I thought about turning my backyard into a vacation resort, but unfortunately we get snow here.

The ocean itself was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, there was a lot of seaweed coming onto the beach while we were there. We’d find a clear spot, walk into the water and think, okay, here we go.

And then here came another giant pile of it like it was trying to swallow us up and take us out to sea.

So we enjoyed the pools.

And there were plenty of them.

There were the bigger pools with the swim-up bars, and we had a small dipping pool up on the rooftop of our room. It was perfect when we just wanted to hang out in our own space, cool off and have something to drink.

We had wonderful dinners. We sat under the trees with coconut drinks and just took everything in.

And then there was the entertainment.

Sometimes You Just Have to Participate

One night they had something called silent dancing.

Everybody got headphones, and there were different kinds of music you could listen to. So you’ve got a whole bunch of people dancing together, except they’re not necessarily dancing to the same song.

At first Fred and I thought it was kind of silly.

But we were there on vacation, so we participated anyway. Sometimes something you think is going to be lame ends up being pretty funny. Sometimes the whole point is doing something you normally wouldn’t and having fun doing it.

And we did.

We even recorded some of it.

Watching the videos later without hearing the music everybody had in their headphones still makes me laugh. All you hear in the background are people making random noises, grunting and whatever other sounds apparently come out of people when they’re dancing to music nobody else can hear.

That’s kind of what vacation is supposed to be. Sometimes you participate in something you normally wouldn’t, laugh at yourself and just take it all in.

We also loved seeing the little sand crabs running around. One of them actually looked me right in the eye while I was in the pool, and then he fell straight into the water.

As soon as I saw him fall in, I think I swam the fastest I’ve ever swam in my life. I feel like Fred saved my life. He swam up, grabbed the little guy and got him out of the water.

Then you’d be walking down a hallway and suddenly see a crab just walking along like he had somewhere important to be.

At that point I was starting to get used to them, and I’d start talking to them like they were vacationers too.

But besides relaxing, laughing at ourselves and spending time together, there was another part of this vacation that Fred and I really loved.

The people.

The People We Met in Punta Cana

We really enjoyed getting to know some of the Dominican people who worked at the resort.

Fred was pretty determined to learn some Spanish while we were there, and they were always willing to help make sure he was saying things the right way.

There was a lot of “Hola!”

And definitely a lot of “Excelente!”

Usually followed by a big smile or somebody laughing with us.

They were just very friendly and kind.

And you hear people say that if you tip everybody at an all-inclusive resort, they’ll treat you like royalty.

Of course we tipped.

But I can honestly say there were plenty of moments when there wasn’t even an opportunity to give someone a tip, and we were treated with the exact same kindness.

Some of the people we talked with shared little pieces of their lives with us.

We heard stories about the long hours they worked. Some worked 12 days straight and then got three days off, and one full day of that was spent traveling home and back. So technically, they really only got two days at home before doing it all over again.

One woman we met while sitting near the ocean stopped to ask if we needed something to drink. We ended up talking with her for quite a while.

She told us she would sometimes work for around two months and then get a couple of weeks to go home and see her children. Her mother, who is in her 70s, helps care for them while she’s working.

She told us about growing up with nine siblings and how hard her mother worked when they didn’t have much. Now she works to help take care of her mom and her children, while her mom helps take care of her children when she’s away.

She talked so much about her mother that Fred finally said, “You must really love your mom.”

She smiled and said, “Yes. I love my mom.”

She never complained.

She pointed out toward the ocean and said, “Look what I see every day.”

She had food. Her children were being taken care of. Her mom no longer had to work.

She said she was blessed.

I think that part stuck with me the most. How appreciative she was of what she had.

Those are the little things you don’t plan for when you book a vacation.

The Napkin

There was another little moment that stayed with us.

When you sat down for dinner, they would pull out the chair for the women and use tongs to pick up your napkin and place it on your lap.

The first time it happened, I was a little uncomfortable.

Not because anyone did anything wrong. I just kept thinking, I can do this myself.

So we kindly told one of the women that we appreciated it, but she didn’t have to do that for us. I’d put my own napkin on my lap.

She smiled and laughed and thanked us.

When we saw her again, we reminded her, we’ll do the napkin.

Again, that huge smile.

She told us it meant so much to her and thanked us.

I still don’t know exactly why that small gesture meant so much to her. I didn’t want to put her on the spot and ask a bunch of questions.

But you could tell by her smile and the way she showed her gratitude that there was some reasoning behind why it meant so much to her.

And that was enough for us to know.

Two Little Cups of Ice Cream

There were two guys who worked around the pool in the mornings. They’d get everybody involved, dancing, joking around and having fun.

We nicknamed one of them Will Smith because that’s who he reminded us of.

And if you’ve seen Will Smith dance, you probably understand why.

A couple nights later, we saw the two of them standing outside the ice cream shop greeting people.

Fred and I were going in to get ice cream, so we asked them if they wanted one.

Their faces lit up.

Fred went inside, got them each a little cup and brought them back out.

And then they took off and hid in the dark with their ice cream.

We didn’t understand why.

The next day when we saw them, they were thanking us up and down.

“Excelente! Excelente!”

They were smiling, jumping around and telling us that if there was anything we needed, anything, just let them know.

Over two little cups of ice cream.

Now, I get that excited over ice cream too. But it’s different when you see how much somebody appreciates something so little.

Later that night, we went to dinner and were talking to a waitress while we were ordering food. I was trying to decide what to order, so I asked her if the employees ever got to try the food.

She said no.

She explained that they have certain foods available for them and certain times when they can eat.

I asked, “So you’ve never tried what we’re ordering?”

No.

And suddenly those two little cups of ice cream made a little more sense to us.

My first thought was that I wanted to order her an extra dinner. But we realized that could get her in trouble, and the last thing we wanted to do was cause a problem for someone just trying to do their job.

There were so many little moments like that.

And then there were moments that bothered us too.

Sometimes we’d see the way certain guests talked to or treated the people working there, almost like the expectation was simply, you’re here to serve me.

That doesn’t sit well with either of us.

They’re people. They have families. They have lives. They work very hard.

A smile doesn’t take much effort.

Neither does a thank you.

Sometimes just taking a couple of minutes to talk with somebody and hear a little bit about their life can change the way you look at things.

We went there to relax and enjoy ourselves, but those conversations became one of our favorite parts of the entire vacation.

Are You Guys Listening to Us?

I also have to give Excellence credit for how accommodating they were.

The funny part is that it took me a few days to figure out just how much attention they apparently pay to the little things.

Around our second day, we were looking through the calendar and information for our room and noticed some of the perks that came with it.

One of them was a tote bag.

And I didn’t have my tote bag.

So while we were in the room I said to Fred, “Hey, I didn’t get my tote bag.”

I wasn’t calling anybody. I wasn’t complaining. I was just talking to my husband.

Then later, after we’d been out at the pool, I went into the closet to get dressed.

There’s my tote bag.

Okay.

Then other little things started happening.

We’d have conversations, and later somebody working at the resort would say something that sounded strangely close to something we’d just been talking about.

After a few of these coincidences, I’m not going to lie, I spent about half an hour looking around that bedroom.

Are they listening to us?

Are they watching us?

Fred, somebody around here knows too much.

I even Googled it.

And I started realizing that part of the way they provide such personal service is by paying attention to their guests. When you’re out talking with people, they listen to the little things you mention, what you like, what you need, and they remember things.

Once I realized that, it made a lot more sense.

It’s actually pretty impressive that with that many guests they take the time to notice little details about people.

Do I still think it’s a little weird?

Yes.

But I also think it’s pretty cool.

I did get my tote bag.

Now, About the Coffee

Of course I brought coffee to Punta Cana.

Two bags.

What I didn’t bring was anything to make it with.

We got into the room and there was a little pod-style espresso machine.

So there I was trying to figure out how I could possibly get Thor into one of those little pods.

It wasn’t happening.

They also serve warm milk with their coffee, and I’m just not a milk person.

By the third day, I was REALLY missing Thor.

One of the managers who oversaw the kitchens found out about our coffee situation and got us a brand-new French press, still with the labels on it.

We told him he didn’t have to give us a new one.

He insisted.

He told us to keep it in our room for the rest of our stay and just leave it there when we checked out.

Finally.

Thor.

There’s just nothing like having your own coffee.

When we saw the manager again, he mentioned that he’d love to try it.

We still had our second bag and knew we weren’t going to drink all of it, so we gave him the whole bag.

He immediately said, “No, no, I just wanted to try a little.”

Nope. Take the bag.

He looked it over and thought the bag itself was pretty cool. Then he turned it around and saw the picture of Fred and me on the back.

The smile and laugh that came out of him were priceless.

He couldn’t wait to try it, and we hope he enjoyed every bit of it.

After a while, even room service got used to us.

We’d call for hot water and warm milk.

“You want coffee?”

“No, we have our own coffee.”

At first, I think we confused them.

Eventually it became normal. They’d bring up hot water, warm milk and two cups, all on a tray with the napkins folded perfectly and those little specialty coffee spoons.

And there we were in Punta Cana drinking Thor.

Walking Off the Resort

We also walked a little ways off the resort while we were there.

I personally never felt unsafe.

Of course, anytime you’re somewhere you’re not familiar with, especially in another country, you need to pay attention to your surroundings and use common sense.

We didn’t have any problems.

Then again, Fred is a pretty big guy.

And apparently I have a facial expression that tells people not to try me.

So maybe we weren’t anybody’s first choice.

Even the people outside the resort who wanted to sell you something every five minutes were friendly with us.

Persistent?

Absolutely.

But we never had a bad experience with anybody.

There’s Always Something With Fred

Now, if you’ve followed Fred and me for a while, you probably know that whenever we go somewhere, somehow there is always something.

Nine years ago was our first trip to Punta Cana.

We were told not to drink the water.

I listened.

Fred drank the water.

Our first full day there, I don’t think I spent five minutes with my husband.

He was dealing with the consequences of his decision, and I was out enjoying the activities because I was smart enough to listen when somebody told me not to drink the water.

I wasn’t going to let both of us miss vacation.

Nine years later, Fred almost made it through the entire trip without an incident.

Almost.

On our very last night, he woke up in the middle of the night and smashed his little toe into the end of the bed.

He broke it.

The good news was that it happened at the very end of the vacation.

The bad news was that I still wanted to walk the beach before we left.

There was a little shop off the resort that I wanted to walk down to, or at least walk around and look at things one last time.

So Fred walked.

With his broken little toe.

At that point it didn’t look that bad.

By the time we got on the plane, it was bright purple.

Nine years ago, don’t drink the water.

Nine years later, watch out for the bed.

Maybe on our next big vacation in another nine years I’ll just wrap Fred in bubble wrap before we leave Ohio.

Seeing Punta Cana Nine Years Later

As our vacation was coming to an end and we were heading back toward the airport, Fred and I were talking about how different Punta Cana looked from when we were there nine years ago.

There were more businesses. More apartments being built. New roads being worked on.

And definitely more cars.

And mopeds.

Lots and lots of mopeds.

One person on one. Two people on one. Sometimes three.

And the traffic is something else.

There would be cars coming toward you, beside you and behind you. Mopeds weaving around. Sometimes it seemed like everybody was just going whichever direction they needed to go.

I’m still not completely sure how it works.

But somehow it does.

We made the trip from the airport to the resort and then back to the airport without seeing one accident.

It was really nice to see things growing and being built since the last time we were there.

You notice those things when you’ve been somewhere before and then come back almost a decade later.

What We Brought Home

Yes, we went to Punta Cana to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday.

We enjoyed the sunshine, the pools, the dinners, the drinks, and the scenery.

But some of the best things we brought home weren’t things we could put in a suitcase.

They were the conversations.

The stories.

The smiles.

The woman who shared her gratitude for the life she had.

The napkin.

Two little cups of ice cream.

A French press.

The little sand crabs wandering through the resort.

A funny video of a bunch of people dancing to music nobody else could hear.

My tote bag.

And somehow, a bag of Thor found a new home in Punta Cana.

Oh, and we brought home Fred with a broken toe.

Those little moments made the vacation something more than just going away.

Back Home and Back to Iron Bean

We also want to give a huge thank you to Sierra for holding down the fort while we were gone.

We tried to prepare as much as we could before leaving so the whole load wouldn’t fall on her, but she kept roasting every day, packing the orders and getting them out.

We appreciate her very much.

And we want to thank all of you too.

So many of you reached out before we left and told us to have a wonderful time and enjoy ourselves.

Nobody called us with problems. Nobody emailed us with things that couldn’t wait until we got home.

Of course, we still checked our phones every now and then to make sure everything was okay. We weren’t going to disappear for a week and completely forget about everybody.

But you gave us the chance to enjoy our time together, and we really appreciate that.

We’re thankful we were able to take this vacation.

And we’re also thankful that we came home to jobs we love, people we appreciate and plenty to get back to.

We’re caught back up now, or at least as caught up as we’re ever going to be, and September is here.

Our son and Sierra are getting married, so now our attention has turned to preparing for their day and everything that comes along with it. And of course, we’ll share a little bit of that with all of you too.

And while we’re preparing for a wedding, I’ll also be working on a couple of future blogs.

We have two coming up, including introducing someone new to the crew.

So keep an eye out.

Fred & Chanell Dedrick