August 2 – 12, 2014
On the way home from Germany we stayed at Secrets Royal Beach, an all inclusive adult resort in Punta Cana. It was a nice way to celebrate our 29th anniversary. We had a great time relaxing, eating & drinking. We had privileges at the sister resort next door which gave us more dining options, so that was nice.
Our room was a very nice, clean, spacious, well appointed room in a great location on the property with easy access to everything. 
The beach was huge and we could walk forever… really nice. 
These are the swim up bar bar-bartenders and they were great. 
What’s wrong with this picture????? No drink in my hand!! 
Once a week they brought out this really cool bubble making dragon to the swim up bar pool. They played music, tossed around balloons and everyone had a great time with it.
These are my footprints in the sand… turned out cool. 
These turtles loved us because we brought bread to them. We discovered them in this pond on a walk one day. As soon as we crossed the bridge and stopped, they swam to us as fast as they could. Obviously people feed them all the time. 
We saw these guys up in the palm trees on a regular basis clearing out the coconuts and the dead branches. 
More pictures of the huge beach. 
This scene cracked me up so I took a picture. Click on the photo to enlarge it and you can see the names of the shacks… “Wal*Mart” and “JC Penny”… yep, that’s where I want to shop! I guess the locals thought it would be a draw for the tourists…. NOT!! 
Check out this glass bottom boat… I don’t think so!! Who in the world would spend money to go out on this piece of crap? 
The local entertainment staff one evening. 
We met this really nice couple from Germany, Mesut and Tatjana and we become fast friends. We enjoyed each other’s company and ended up having a few dinners with them, as well as running into them during the day. The trip was their first “all inclusive” experience and they were having a ball and enjoying every minute of it. They had a lot of questions for us since we’ve been going to all inclusive resorts for many years, and we were happy to answer their questions. 
I met Mesut & Tatjana in the pool one day after playing an organized game. As we talked, Mesut mentioned that they had been together for 9 years, but they were not married. So I kiddingly said “what are you waiting for”. Little did I know at that time he had a plan. 
Mesut is quite the romantic. He planned a sunrise on the beach with a bottle of champagne, and an engagement ring… and he got a video of the whole proposal !! Tatjana only thought they were going to have champagne while watching the sun come up. I believe she thought the camera was just for some still shots and was not aware that he was video taping it. 
She said “JA” (yes in German). I found out that after they dated for several years, Mesut asked her Father for her hand in marriage a couple years ago. This was important to Mesut that he had her Father’s blessing. Her Father said no because he wanted her to finish her studies. So Mesut waited and recently asked again and her Father said yes! So he planned out this romantic proposal in the Caribbean. 
We exchanged contact information and hopefully we’ll be able to see them again on our next trip to Germany, or when they come to the states.
