This first map provides a general location of the Dominican Republic relative to other places we've heard of. It shares the Island of Hispaniola with Haiti, a rather difficult neighbor to share a border with these days.

We'll be staying in three locations more-or-less equally over the three week trip: Santo Domingo, Boca Chica, and Juan Dolio. The latter two are little beach towns.

We're going to exchange this beautiful snowy backyard scene for ......

..... stay tuned.... wheels up in four days...