Out Of The Blue - Into 2025

 Well, wasn't that a year? 12 months seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye! 

As I think about the past year, all I can think is that life is good. I know that sounds a bit cliche for a New Year's Eve blog post but it is a true sentiment.

Countries travelled this year : 6 including an epic road trip from Honduras to Canada. We watched a total eclipse over a sacred ruin in Mexico,  we got stuck in hotel without power or internet in Mexico (Cartel Hotel is a story for another day), stayed at a Finca (farm) in Guatemala, went birding on an Island in Belize via golf cart, rode a chicken bus through Belize, drove for miles over the bayou in Louisiana, toured Washington and most recently we have been touring Dominican Republic.

We arrived in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic the end of November. Roatan, albeit beautiful, had started losing her charm for us and we decided since we were snowbirding, adventure called. It has been a good choice for us.  

Stephan immediately found an ideal dive shop and they are a great group. This was our first dive family BBQ at Guido and Firo's. Most of the crew are from Germany or DR and it's a very welcoming vibe. He is really enjoying his dive time here. We will be here until the end of March and looking forward to seeing Simon and Bridgitte in February. The weather is warm and the coffee is excellent, by excellent I mean maybe even better than Honduras. I have definitely become a coffee snob. Thankfully Floyd's in Jemseg does a great job.

OH CANADA :  Our arrival was a bit earlier than usual this Spring. We arrived back in May and I have to say, after 21 days and several thousand kilometres, I was more than happy to see our RV and lake view.  I had flown back and forth a couple times over the winter. Once for dad's 70th birthday, don't ask me how he can be 70 and I am only like 30.... but I was there for it.  The second time was for the arrival of our sweet grandson. 

We were blessed with 3 grandchildren between September and March. Casey (Kassidy & Dan's son),  was born in March, while August and Ivy (Jared & Holly's girls)  celebrated their 1st birthday in September. I have no words for how much we love those little turkeys.

Jared & Holly, Kassidy & Dan are all doing well. They are doing exceptional jobs as parents and as providers for their families. Simon and Bridgitte are working hard, forging their pathways forward in their careers. Bridgitte graduated from UNB this year and Simon is doing some really interesting work providing mental health treatment. We are so proud of each of them. 

While in Canada we purchased the most beautiful chunk of property, that we have called The Windy Hill....... We have a vision for the property and Steph really worked hard on the 120 acres this year. The  rewards served Jared well, when he harvested a beautiful 6 point buck at the end of hunting season. 

We are in the midst of final details for our next project, a small retirement home on the hill. The view encompasses the Saint John River across the Grand Lake. It is currently a "hurry up and wait" project, but we will be happy to see it take shape.

Life at the lake was mellow this summer. I enjoyed my gardening and the harvest was excellent. I did realize I forgot to plant my garlic before we left but I will chalk that up to being unaccustomed to late fall weather and old age. My photography hobby was very busy this year. I captured some beautiful moments and of course am honoured to have done so.  I spent time volunteering, eating sushi, playing music trivia, kayaking, road tripping, touring vineyards and having coffee with friends.  Reconnecting with a childhood best friend was a highlight for me this year. Time passes, but if they are truly your people, time and miles don't matter.

I recognize how very blessed I am to have the circle of people that I do in my life.

If you were following along on the Great Bird Count Competition of 2024, between us, Simon/Bridgitte & Claude/Lise , the results are in....... we kicked butt! It was close though and I have a feeling we are in for it this year. It was a serious competition but so much fun.

Our health is good, despite me having a struggle with anxiety for awhile. Ladies, why are we not talking about menopause? (Another song for another day). All is well in our world, our families/friends are healthy, we are happy and continue to look forward to upcoming adventures. 

I am not much for making cringy New Year's Resolutions. Am I going to eat cake, um yes. Will I walk 10,000 steps every day and eat salad for lunch, doubtful. Are these knees of mine going to allow me to run 10k anymore, definitely not. 

I have decided to embrace the opportunity to do things I love. That includes reading books, doing yoga, walking, making memories and just being brave with my life. 

If you have read this far, holy crap, you had no plans tonight either. Just kidding, there is something to be said for sitting in your comfort zone and enjoying it. I am glad you stopped by to spend a few minutes reading my rhetoric.

If you are celebrating with your circle, cheers.

A positive and peaceful 2025 to each of you. 

Chapter 2024 is almost done but the story continues. 

Happy New Year!

Gigi, xo

Out of the blue ........ to Barrios Chino

 Like many big cities, Santo Domingo boasts a thriving Chinese community near the Colonial section. For over a century there have been waves of Chinese population here in the DR. In 2008, El Barrio Chino (Chinatown in English) became an officially named Community in the capital city.  

We have been planning to hop on the bus and catch the weekly market, that we were told is a "must see". To be honest, it did not disappoint. About 1/2 a block back, we noticed people standing with their shopping bags on the bus, ready to hit the ground running. There tends to be this difference between cultures in the Caribbean, when it comes to exiting a bus, plane or anywhere really. You stand up and get the hell out.... no patiently waiting until your turn, no smile and nod to acknowledge the person ahead of you. You get up when you feel the bus slow to less than 50km/hr  and knees to chests baby....  It almost feels like the bus stops and literally spits you out, disoriented on the sidewalk. The doors opened and we made our way out on the sidewalk and towards the tents. El Barrios Chino - Sunday Market, where you can buy anything.

 We swam along the sea of people and found ourselves amidst many, many tents, all offering various versions of asian street food. There seemed to be no end to the things you could choose. From boboa tea, gelato, kimbap, dumplings, seafood, bulgogi, jianbing, meat skewers (no I did not try it), ramen, spring rolls, noodles and hundreds of things that I cannot name. All of which smelled amazing. Our heads were literally on swivels, there were so many interesting things to see. As per our usual agreement, when eating street food, we typically stick to things that are deep fried and only a small amount. This has served us well and kept us from getting traveller's belly in most places. Also, we carry pepto everywhere.  The oil tends to be hot enough to ward off bacteria. We also avoid places where there is not a lot of people waiting. People waiting indicates the food is not sitting in the heat for long periods of time. It would blow your mind how some have iron stomachs. It is not uncommon to see mayo left on the table or potato salad, seafood etc. left out in the sun. 

Steph chose some kind of chicken skewer and I chose battered queso.....both were tasty. However, 3 bites in I realized there was a pink hotdog like configuration in the centre of my deep fried cardiac log. Thankfully, we had made plans for lunch at a special location close by. 

We wandered on through the market and found fresh veggies, fruits, meat (butchered onsite), fish mongers and just about anything you could possibly imagine, except cats..... we did not see one.

There lots of monuments, honouring different elements of the Chinese culture, most of which I am not familiar with but they were interesting and added to the adventure.

Again, the artwork in Santo Domingo is stunning. 

We did quite a bit of walking and although we are quite conditioned to getting our 10,000 steps, the heat tires ones out and you can easily become dehydrated. So it was time to head to the next part of our planned adventure .

For those of you who know us well, it will come of no surprise to hear that we have watched every episode of Anthony Bourdain's shows.  No Reservations, Parts Unknown, The Layover etc.... the man was the epitome of adventure and a culinary genius. Every country we have ever been in, we have searched for an episode where he may have visited the same to take note of special interest places to visits and restaurants. DR has several places visited and proclaimed to be amazing by "Uncle Tony", as dubbed himself. Sadly, he left this world a little dimmer, when he took his life in 2018.

I give you one of the coolest adventures yet, lunch at a 24 hour sandwich shop called Barra Payan. Home to Anthony Bourdain's favourite sandwich. We could smell the homemade bread as we approached (there is a bakery but it was not open on Sunday). 

It may sound silly to you, but having watched and heard him boast about this restaurant, it was crazy cool to sit where he sat and order what he ordered. Steph sat in the actual seat he filmed in. 

Steph had Uncle Tony's favourite El Special - roasted pork, cheese, onions, sliced green tomato, sauce on a homemade bun, grilled.  I opted for a local favourite, salami, cheese, green tomatoes and mustard. These were incredibly huge sandwiches and probably the most delicious concoction on a bun that I have ever eaten. We will definitely try to recreate them at home. 2 sandwiches and 2 bottles of water - $12 CAD

I know it has been a bit of a longer blog this evening but this adventure was so much fun. We are looking forward to taking the kids when they visit. This ain't your mama's school lunchbox sammy. LOL 

Back to the bus we headed, hopping on when we saw it slow down and settled in for the drive back. The traffic is absolutely outlandish here and I am not convinced there are rules, genuine licensing requirements or any thought of safety. Much like embarking or disembarking the bus, you put it in drive, beep the horn like a lunatic  and get the hell out of the way.  Just a little view of the street, leaving the city. Make it make sense.

Until later,  

Gigi

Out of the blue .... Zona Colonial, Santo Domingo

 When one thinks of the Dominican Replublc, generally the thoughts are of Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, Sosua, Carbarete etc.. the city of Santo Domingo is not the first locaton to pop into your head, at least not for me.

Santo Domingo happens to be the 1st city of the "New World", discovered by Bartholomew Columbus (yep, Christopher's brother). It is home to many firsts..... including cathedral, university, castle and monestary on this side of the globe.

We hopped on the bus to get to the city as we are about 35-40 minutes away. I bet you are thinking greyhound, comfortable seats that recline and air conditioning.....nope. By bus I mean a a vehicle that looks straight from an episode of Young Sheldon, complete with fancy curtains to block the sun from beating on your face, while you share a seat with another traveller, trying desperately not to drip sweat on each other. My tailbone is still recovering

The bus brought us to the Zona Colonial, which is a series of cobblestone streets containing many originial buildings, reminescent of old world Spain. The architecture is really quite stunning compared to the other areas of the DR. It is as if there is another world here. Given that it is a Unesco Heritage site, the area is well protected and clean. The Christmas lights and decorations dotting the streets and structures, gave it a very Hallmark movie vibe, which I loved. 

 

We wandered this area of the city for a couple of hours, taking in the fortress, cathedrals, bird and people watching. Lunch was at a small restaurant known for its chicken and it did not dissapoint. Despite it being on the water, there are no beaches in Zona Colonial, ramparts and fortresses impede that but there are many statues and interesting things to see, even if you are not well versed in the history of Dominican Republic. I fully admit that I have not done much research, but as with most of the places we visit, I will do some reading while we are here. 

I am certainly intrigued by the DR and Haiti history as we have become very accustomed to seeing large "Inmigracion" trucks. The dive shop owner told us it is a constant cycle of deportation. Approximately 30,000 Haitians are escorted back to Haitit each day. Haitians are often on the Dominican side in search of an option to make money, I assume because they are in a state of severe poverty. They are known for their fried fish stands throughout DR. More on this in another post. 

                                                  

It is Domingo (Sunday), which is commonly family day across Latin America, so we are off on another adventure. Will it be China Town? Los tres ojos park? Will it include the bus? I must run along as the travelling spiritual music truck is close by and I have not had the chance to see it yet. Enjoy your Domingo, folks!

Until Later, 

Gigi

Out of the blue ...and not vacay mode

 What is life really like when we are not in New Brunswick? 

I know many of you envision an all inclusive,  resort and beach vacation, where beautiful drinks are served at your beck and call. Buffets of food, dressed up dinners in a-la-cart restaurants and of course, not a chore to be seen for miles........ not the case.

The reality of being away for the winter is very different than being on vacation. Do we have beautiful weather? - most of the time. Dominican seems to be a different heat than Roatan, drier I would say, making the heat feel hottttttt.

Do we spend time lounging on the beach or at the pool with cocktails, everyday? - No. We do go to the beach or pool for a bit regularly (although I have been too busy to actually lounge on the beach yet). We don't drink so that is an easy one. Also the Coke Zero and diet sprite hit different here, I don't know why but it does not taste the same. 

Do we have hobbies that consume our time and give us responsibilities? - Certainly. Steph dives regularly and has been fortunate to find a group of like minded individuals to spend his time with, both in Roatan and Dominican. I work on my photography, read and of course use this blog to connect with all of you! 

Are we in a resort where everyone else does everything? - Hard no.... I mean I wish, but if that were the case we would not be able to afford trading the cold climate for the warm, in the winters. Laundry gets done and hung out every morning. Dishes, cleaning and floor sweeping, you guessed it, on us. We have a small, 2 bedroom Condo (more on that in the New Year), so it is not that labour intensive. We cook at home most of the time. Although, I will say that with the prices in DR, we have been eating at restaurants a couple of times per week. When 2 people can have a complete meal, with drinks and tip included for $15, who would not? 

Are groceries expensive? - No, our cost of living is much less here. We will tally the end of the month our total but right now, it appears to cost us around $120 CAD per week.

Do we love what we are doing? - For the most part. Like anything in life, there are positives and negatives. Our physical and mental health are improved here compared to cold winters in Canada. We are much more active, because who really wants to sit inside when the weather is beautiful? Our nutrition is better here due to the abundance of fresh foods readily available on each street corner. We miss our family, particularly the kids and grand babies. We are grateful for FaceTime and the babies interact better than you can imagine when we call, however, we are accustomed to visiting them regularly. I enjoyed being able to give the mamas a break whenever they asked all summer and fall. It is rather taboo to do that via FaceTime. Despite the fact our things are well managed at home and the neighbours/kids monitor everything,  there is always a little worry when the security cameras ding. Then there is the adjustment factor of learning the culture and lifestyle of a new place. My Spanish is much rustier than I thought having been without practice for 7 months. It is essential to take the time to learn some Spanish if you plan to be in a Caribbean country for any length of time. The culture here is very forgiving if you at least make the effort. No effort....you struggle, that is the bottom line. 

All in all, we enjoy this nomadic lifestyle. We do spend our days learning about the country, sightseeing, tasting food that we normally would not have at home and of course, revelling in the delicious coffee  that this part of the world offers! Seriously, if you just order a double double at Tim's every morning or pop a k-cup from Sobeys in your Keurig...get yourself a bag of coffee from any Central/South American country ( Floyd's Coffee in Jemseg does a great job with their coffee) and taste the difference.

Until Later, 

Gigi

Out of the blue - and back again.....

 Wow, life got busy there for a minute....or should I say 8 months?

If you were following along on our adventure from Roatan to Honduras to Guatemala to Mexico to the USA and finally into NB, we made it! Ole Dolly loves her retirement life in Canada. She has been babied by Lakes Auto in Jemseg, studied the vast landscape of Queens County and settled into the garage snugly for the cold months. She's not a fan of the cold. How do I know? Well, she has a little wheeze when she is asked to start, once the temp drops below 0. No fault of her own, I too have a little wheeze and grumble when the winter approaches. 

The remainder of the drive was relatively uneventful, aside from the border crossing in Woodstock. I am not sure we have ever been made to feel so much like criminals as the day we were "pleasantly greeted back in to our home country" by one particular agent. Thankfully, the gentleman inside was helpful and far kinder than Lord Farquaad at the window. Alas, I digress!

The spring, summer and fall seasons seemed to fly by with our days spent gardening, food plotting on our new property - The Windy Hill and of course playing with our 3 beautiful grand babies. If you haven't had grand babies, it is not something that life ever truly prepares you for.  If you thought your heart could not love anything like your children, buckle up......the babies of your babies are a whole different chamber of the heart.

I know, I know you are all wondering where in heck are you now.... well we left NB when the weather got cold and hunting season was winding down. Neither of us had a successful hunting season, but we are super proud of the work that got put into the Windy Hill property. It made our hearts happy to see our oldest son responsibly harvest a beautiful 6 point buck after all the work put in. 

Since it the chill was in the air, we flew to Roatan for a little diving and visiting our Roa family. We spent 3 weeks there, with the first week bringing a whopping tropical storm, the second week a northerner (think Noreaster but with rain), then intermittent rain. The rain is warm, the people are kind and I loved being able to spend some time with some special people. From Roatan we flew to the Dominican Republic, where we will spend the next 3 months. The weather is hot, the food is delicious and the cost of living is low. We miss the kiddos and the babies but FaceTime for 3 more months will work. 

My Roa girl gang. Of course we went to our favourite restaurant for Sushi and laughed until the place closed down. The restaurant owner is a friend of Salome's, they are used to our 3 hour sushi nights. It happened to be an Island fundraiser for an acquaintance with cancer, so we were happy to be able to support her. The world is a big place, but I believe we can find family when we are meant to. Jane is a Canadian who has been on the Island for 20 years. Salome, from a neighbouring island and Isabela (photographer) from the mainland, all call Roatan home. I don't have the space to tell you about how amazing these ladies all are. 

Until Later, 

Gigi   

Out of the Blue and across 5 states

Hello Samantha dear, I hope you're doing fine......

If you are a Garth Brooks fan you will immediately know what city we drove through yesterday morning. Sad to say there were no monumental landmarks for me to take a photo of, on the highway. Regardless, Baton Rouge was an easy passage and we elected to stay outside of New Orleans. Was I curious, of course but after Houston I was a bit suspicious about the magnitude of traffic we might encounter. 

We made a stop at the largest Bass Pro Shop that I have ever seen. It was like the clouds opened up and sucked my husband in. Remember the wonder of the Sears Wishbook, when you were a child? That was the look on Steph's face as we entered. 2 levels of every conceivable item one could want for any outdoor activity as well a Bayou replica. They even had critters in their Bayou. We saw ducks, turtles, fish, a giant snapping turtle, all living there. 

The "marsh"

We ended the day in a little town called Slidell, Louisiana. Great little town, with nice people and a Cracker Barrel. If you have never been to Cracker Barrel, just go. If you have been, you know what I am talking about. 

We were tired yesterday, stayed in a no-tell motel and had no wifi. So suffice to say I did not get a chance to blog or load photos. It did mean that we got a good rest and were able to gas up and hit the road early today and passed through a small section of Mississippi. Most of Louisiana and some of Mississippi, the highway is literally on stilts for miles and miles over the Bayou. There is no getting off of it, no fuel stops etc.. 

Then it was a Dixieland Delight, kind of day, through Alabama. The roadkill was less interesting than the 8 foot gator that had been hit in Louisiana, but none the less armadillos are clearly not speedy creatures. Also, first time I have seen a wild hog and he must not have been very fast either. A short trek through Florida and we were heading North!

Next thing you know, we were way down yonder, on the Chatahoochee! I would like to remind you that we are accustomed to warmth, and I attest that it is not hotter than a hoochie coochie. It is getting chillier by the state, as we continue North. Today I realized that I took all my "warmer" clothes back to NB when I was there in March. A Walmart stop may be a requirement by the time we get through the Carolinas.  LOL

Tonight are just outside of Savannah, Georgia. We travelled some very rural areas today and enjoyed the view. We have a stocked cooler and snack basket in the truck, so we stop when we feel like it, or when we need fuel. Usually we choose our hotels close to the highway, with a restaurant close by. It is nice to be able to stretch our legs by walking to dinner.  Tomorrow we will hit the I95, which means stopping when we get tired instead of calculated stopping points. We have 1, maybe 2 adventures left to go on our route. 

Until tomorrow, 

Gigi

Out of the Blue and through 16 lanes of traffic

 Hola Amigos!

We both woke up feeling fine this morning, despite the 3 am sleep interruption by a motorbike in the parking lot. Seriously, who revs a bike engine, in a parking lot at 3 am? I could have throttled him, pardon the pun.

We hit the road early so we could do a bit of bird nerding at Arsansas National Wildlife Refuge on our way through. What a magnificent park, right on the Gulf coast. 

Not going to lie, the fact that you could see the gator tracks throughout the walkway was a bit unnerving. Regardless, I only had to be able to out run Steph. We saw quite a few gators and marvelled at the fact that the ducks, birds, turtles and frogs seemed to hang out in the same spaces. I am sure they make for a tasty meal when they least expect it. 

Cute, right?

The park had several walking trails and then a one way auto loop at the end, with an active Eagle's nest. We could not see them close enough to identify the species and did not think to ask. 

It was a great way to break up the day of driving and gave us a good stretch. Nice to get your steps in, even if you are on the road. 

Uh-oh!

   Our day passed pretty quickly and we decided to aim to go beyond  Houston, since it was Sunday afternoon. We liked the odds of there being less traffic and it turned out to be a good plan. Now when I say less traffic, I have no concept of what to compare it too but I am left to assume it must be way worse during the weekdays. The road system is unlike anything I have driven before. Smack dab through the centre of Houston, on the freeway.  We avoided the toll road, used Waze and of course I had to turn the music off so I could see. LOL! Steph and Dolly waltzed through the traffic without issue. I, on the other hand,  do not understand why the brake pedal on my side does not work. At one point there were 7 lanes of traffic going each way, but alas, I kept my mouth shut and continued to try to operate my brake pedal. 

He survived

We settled in to our hotel and are planning our route for tomorrow. We have about 3500km behind us, by land and I have no idea how many nautical miles it is from Roatan to La Ceiba. We have figured that we are a little more than halfway home. I am missing not having my camera with me, but Steph has been good at sharing his. 

We keep forgetting to take our little Buhos out of the truck when we stop. Today we remembered to bring them along for a photo op by the alligator swamp. I dare say they were the only things the mosquitos did not try to eat. Man, when they say everything is bigger in Texas, they are talking about the mosquitos! Land Sake!

Until tomorrow, 

Gigi