As I said right before my vacation, jobs fill our pockets. Adventures fill our souls. My first 5 days in the Dominican Republic were at a beach resort to relieve my stress. This was the view outside my balcony.

There was nightly entertainment. On the second night 8 professional dancers selected 4 men and 4 women from the audience to compete in a Dancing With the Stars competition. Yes, I was selected. When I survived the first five rounds (rock & roll, the twist, hip hop, lambada, and salsa) I thought I had a chance. The last two elimination rounds were the typical island dances; merengue and bachata (my forte). At the end of the competition I was called back onto the stage to receive my award (a bottle of rum) and I pulled a hamstring. The very next day I received Swedish massage to ease my pain.

One of the reasons I went to the island was to see the humpback whales. These whales come every winter from as far away as northern Canada and Norway. This is a single female flirting and letting the males know she is free. The white on their tails are like our fingerprints. No two whales are alike.

Here I captured two males crashing into one another as they fought for the attention and right to be with the female. In all, there were four males fighting for the lone female. I guess she had an amazing tail.

This is my goddaughter Dibel (proounced Dee-bell). We spent plenty of time together shopping, beaching, and playing. Now, the peculiar thing about Dibel is she swears her parents gave her the wrong name. She insists her name was supposed to be Lily. So, I always make sure to call her Lily.

My good firiend Luis has a slight resemeblence to actor Daniel Craig. After years of teasing him about it, I put it to a test. One night in a beach bar, I turned on the charm and convinced two lovely ladies that Luis is James Bond’s stunt double. Well, after a wonderful night of dancing, laughing, and drinking, the two ladies left the bar with 007’s stunt double. Lonely Author went back to his room alone.

Because of the wedding, I had the opportunity to stay at this private resort for two nights. This was the table where I had breakfast and did some writing.

My long time followers recognize Ally. We spent some time together at the 75th birthday party and at the beach wedding.

I had the chance to dine at two mountainside restaurants. This one Aroma De La Montaña (Aroma of the Mountain) has a revolving floor which gave us spectacular views while me and my friends dined.

Ah, the wedding. It was my first time being a bestman. I had plenty of fun dancing and mingling. I recited poetry (English and Spanish) during the bestman speech at the celebration.

Sadly, I said goodbye to two old dear friends Maria (95) and Tato (93). Hope they will still be there when I return.

Here is a peek at one of the orange sunsets.

Life is about the memories we make. And the memories waiting to be made. So, go out there and make some memories of your own.

Can’t wait to go back.