Our Extended Christmas Vacation Part 2

This post is a wee bit late and the events are much fuzzier in my head now but pictures speak a thousand words, right?

NYC from Newark Airport

Ok, so on our 14th day in Phoenix we flew out at 11:30pm and headed to Newark, NJ.  We had a couple hours to chill, get breakfast, and talk to a very nice man from NYC who grew up in the DR before moving to the U.S.  He knew the area we were going to be in and gave us instructions on how to best get into NYC for dinner during our layover on the way home.

As soon as we stepped off the plane in Santiago you could feel the overwhelming humidity instantly!!  It was crazy warm and I felt so dumb walking out in the sunshine in my sweatpants, sweatshirt, and tennis shoes.  When we got our luggage we were bummed to find out that two of the bottles of root beer we brought for Josiah from Trader Joe's had busted and soaked most of the goodies for the fan and our clothes they were wrapped in :(  Oh well.

Santiago airport has a really great arrivals terminal!  Right after getting your luggage and going through the last security checkpoint, you walk outside to a covered sidewalk and HUNDREDS of people are waiting behind a barrier for their family and friends!  It didn't take long for me to find the smiling faces we were there to see :)  After many hugs we hopped in the campus' Daihatsu and began the upward mountain climb and then descent to the coast.  The drive was very bumpy with lots of curves and motorbikes zooming past us but I felt very safe in Dad Schu's experienced and capable hands!

We arrived at our beautiful place of residence for the next few days in Cabarete on Kite Beach!

 Wonder why it's called Kite Beach?

Lots and lots of kite surfing!!  It was so neat to watch all of the really good and not so good kite surfers from that nice little deck :)

We spent most of our time playing games.  Zach brought his new favorite game, Smash Up, and taught it to his family.  The loved it too!

 On the sunniest day we drove down to coast to a more relaxed beach where laying out in the sun isn't quite as dangerous as it is on Kite Beach.

Sosua!  This was my kind of beach!

Fulfilled my tween dreams of getting my hair braided on the beach :P

I was only brave enough for 7 braids!  I had fun whipping my hair back and forth :)

 Pool at our condo

 Remember that nice little deck by the beach with the umbrella?  Yeah, it's not so nice when you get a splinter up your foot :(

Leaving the beach condo and heading to Jarabacoa and Caribbean Mountain Academy!

The rest of our trip was spent at Jeff and Tina's home on top of a mountain overlooking the city of Jarabacoa.  They are currently working for Crosswinds at the Caribbean Mountain Academy, a residential treatment campus for troubled teens.  The trek up the mountain was steep!  Their home is perfect, so inviting and private with incredible views!

We went into town about everyday for exploring.  We bought some lovely necklaces from their favorite jewelry store, Pachi's.

The house where the visiting mission teams stay

The car wash where Zach hung out and played pool with Josh and some of his work friends.

Chinola and strawberry ice cream

Thursday night we met Jeff and Tina's new friends, Neal and Darlene.  Neal is a solo yacht racer who has an incredible story about growing up in South Africa during Apartheid and overcoming obstacles to achieve his dream of racing around the world.  He shared his story with the campus!

 Afterwards, we headed to the top of a nearby mountain to Jamaca de Dios (God's Hammock).  It's a beautiful restaurant owned by the Schu's new friends, Mike and Lisa.  They too are Americans and have been missionaries/business owners in the Dominican for about 15 years.

View of Jarabacoa from the deck at Jamaica

J and T's house

"Tina, let me get a picture of you on your porch!"

On Saturday we said tearful goodbyes as we prepared to leave for the States and leave our family behind.  We got one look at the long line at check in and thought we'd for sure miss our flight but there ended up being a 2+ hour delay.  Sadly we decided to skip going into NYC and just went straight to the hotel to get a few hours of sleep before making the long trip back to Fort Wayne, IN.

Two of the three flights I had no one sitting next to me.  Score!

With our sun-kissed tans and joy abounding, we returned to the snowy Midwest energized and ready to stick out the worst months of winter.  It was such a wonderful adventure and time with loved ones that we will always be thankful for!!