Seeing Red

On October 9, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge9 Comments

We have always been big fans of burgundy and rust colors. There is something rich and soothing about those colors, perhaps it is just that they represent our favorite times of year, which is autumn and the Christmas season. In fact, when we recently bought a new sofa, we even chose a burgundy color for it, which is now in storage while we are staying in Germany. This past week was a pretty significant one in our lives as not only did we move to Germany, but we closed on the sale of our home in Colorado Springs this past Friday. To say that our lives have changed would be an understatement. Who knows, perhaps we will find a burgundy couch for our new apartment just to make it feel like home. 😀

For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge of Dark Reds, we chose to share some different photos with dark reds, including one of our couch that is patiently awaiting our return.

Berries from Our Trip to Punta Cana around Christmas Time

Red Peppers that we Roasted on Our New Gas Stove

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

On December 4, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Caribbean5 Comments

A year ago at this time, we were spending a week at the Paradisus Palma Real in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. If you get the chance to travel to the “DR” as it is often called, you should definitely do so. The beaches were amazing and the resorts are spectacular. The only downside to our visit was that it wasn’t really close to any local towns, so it was a rare trip where we didn’t get out of the resort. Needless to say, that didn’t stop us from having a very relaxing and enjoyable stay.

The resort offered royal service, which apparently is quite common in Caribbean resorts. It entailed us getting a beach front room in a private, all adult, area of the resort, with a private concierge. We were able to eat at any of the restaurants on the vast compound, which is really three different resorts in different areas of the overall property. We were given a cell phone with a direct dial number to our concierge who would make reservations for us to any of the restaurants or various shows. We were quite spoiled. It was an all-inclusive resort, but based upon the research that we had done prior to choosing this resort, it seems that pretty much all of the resorts in the Caribbean are all-inclusive.

Probably the best part of getting the royal service was the staff in our private area. On our first day, we picked out a cabana on the beach where we could sit in the shade and they brought us a couple of lounge chairs for sitting in the sun. That became “our” cabana and chairs and every morning Pedro would put towels and magazines out so that our spot was reserved. No reason for us to rush to get a prime spot on the beach. We had a private, secluded pool and we also had our own pool bar where they took very good care of us.

We will definitely try some other resorts in the Caribbean, but Punta Cana, with beaches that face both the Atlantic and Caribbean, is definitely worth a visit. We would also recommend the royal service to anyone who has the opportunity. It is a bit of a splurge, but truly worth the extra expense, especially if you’re not travelling with children.

Plenty To Be Thankful For

On November 30, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Travel Tips7 Comments

If you’re asking yourself “where do I want to travel next” instead of “where is my next meal coming from”, then, like us, you have an awful lot to be thankful about. Neither of our families travelled much when we were younger, which is probably the main reason that sharing travel experiences with our children was so important to us when the kids were younger. Now that we’re older and are fortunate enough to be in a position to travel, we often think back to the days when we struggled to take time off, let alone go anyplace for vacation. We’ve come a long way from the days when we worried about getting food on the table, but we’re well aware that life can change in a heartbeat, so we never want to forget how far we’ve come.

With the hectic day-to-day life as well as planning another trip, it is easy to forget how blessed we are to have the opportunity to see the places that we have. We often see other posts from sites that we enjoy and think to ourselves, “wow, I wish we could go there”. It is easy to get caught up in travel envy instead of simply being thankful for the experiences that you have been able to have. More importantly, for the opportunity to share those experiences with the ones that you love.

We recently purchased a digital picture frame where we’ve loaded pictures from places that we’ve travelled, concerts that we’ve been to, and special occasions and holidays with family. It was really eye-opening to see all of those memories in a single place. It really gave us the opportunity to look back and think about how fortunate we truly have been. And that only includes the places we’ve seen since we entered the digital age, there are still photo albums filled with pictures yet to be scanned and added to the library.

Hopefully we’ll do a better job throughout the year of being thankful for our opportunities. It is easy to be thankful during the holiday season when it is forefront on people’s minds, but it is something that we want to remember the whole year-long. Hopefully next year will provide as many travel opportunities for you as we hope to have for ourselves. We truly are a lucky couple.