Why Nicaragua? And our first night in Managua...

To take advantage of the fact that my husband's company gives the entire week of July 4th off as a holiday (which we did not discover until the end of May!), we decided to head down to Nicaragua for 10 nights. When we told people we were headed down there, 95% of the reactions we got were either:
"Nicaragua? Really? Um....why?" or the similar but slightly more polite, "Oh. Hmmm. Well, that should be...fun."

Thanksgiving in Paradise Part 3: Navutu Stars Resort Fiji

For the third leg of our Fiji trip, we chose to stay at Navutu Stars, a boutique resort in the Yasawa island group. The Yasawas are the driest region of Fiji, so we figured they would be a good choice in late November, the beginning of the country's rainy season. And we were right - the weather was perfect there for our entire stay!

Thanksgiving in Paradise Part 2: Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa, Fiji

Due to limited transfers between various island resorts, a night on the "mainland" (aka Fiji's largest island, Viti Levu) is often necessary at some point during a Fiji trip. Our trip was no exception, so we spent one night on Viti Levu after Royal Davui and before Navutu Stars. Since our early morning boat to Navutu Stars was leaving out of Denarau Marina, we decided it would make the most sense to spend the night near there. Denarau Marina is the jumping off point for boats to the Mamanuca and Yasawa island resorts, as well as for most day trips from the Nadi area to nearby islands.

Zoetry Agua Punta Cana - Dominican Republic

To celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary, Bob and I decided to try out Zoetry Agua Punta Cana, a luxury boutique all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic. We spent our 5th anniversary at one of its sister properties (Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita in Riviera Maya Mexico) and were eager to see how Zoetry's newest offering measured up.
http://www.zoetryresorts.com/agua/

Sonoma and Napa, California

I've recently noticed an upswing in the number of requests for information on California wine country trips, so thought it was about time I posted this review that has been languishing in the "unpublished" section of my blog for over a year! I've also added a bit of information about a day spent in Napa in December '09.