Miss Jubilee at Evangeline's

Miss Jubilee entertains diners at Evangeline's during a Sunday jazz brunch in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Valerie Kirchhoff,  @ http://miss-jubilee.com/ the lead vocalist, sings from a great set list of music from the 1920s and 30s. Ethan Leinwand @ http://www.ethanleinwand.com/  is a St. Louis-based barrel-house blues pianist. GREAT FUN! GREAT BRUNCH!

GETTING FIT WAS NEVER SO MUCH FUN!

Diana gets the whole pool rocking during her water workout class at the Cordova, Tennessee YMCA.  This fun video clip says more than I ever could.

Casa De Campo, Dominican Republic, Caribbean Resort

Luxurious Caribbean living can be enjoyed at Casa de Campo Resort and Villas in La Romana, Dominican Republic. This Dominican Republic Luxury Golf Resort, has 7,000-acre, lush, tropical grounds, pools and beach access. Casa de Campo Resort & Villas boasts some of the best polo in the world. The Dominican Republic is one of the top destinations for high handicap polo in the world they say, following England’s Queen’s Cup, the US Open in Palm Beach, and Sotogrande in Spain. The resort is also home to Teeth of the Dog golf course, the #1 ranked course in the Caribbean.

Each guest gets a golf cart to roam the grounds. The beach is lovely with chairs, towels, a handy restaurant and pool nearby. There is also another beautiful pool near the hotel. A fantastic fresh breakfast buffet overlooks the ocean and golf course. Breakfast includes some local specialties, fruit, breads, cheese, meats, cereals and made to order egg dishes. All of our meals were excellent and there are several places to choose from without even leaving the resort. 

Its a nice way to wrap up the day watching polo.  Horses are available to ride including an adorable miniature horse.

We visited at the end of May and it was not crowded at all. Off property we watched ladies with Tabacalera de Garcia hand-roll Vega Fina cigars at a small off-site facility in LaRomana in the Dominican Republic. In a lengthy and complex process, tobacco leaves are cut, dried, and aged, and categorized by taste and strength. The rollers then use a leaf binder to wrap the cigar's filler, then wrap with a solid leaf.

What we enjoyed most at this resort was the staffs desire to please their customers. I don't recall ever finding a staff that was so eager to please, so friendly, accommodating and helpful. This made the stay extra nice.

We got the all inclusive, which I think was a good idea. Our meals would have exceeded the cost each day and it was nice to just eat what we wanted and not worry about it.  There were a few things that were not included so be sure to review the details before choosing a place to eat.

What do you see?

“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.” Henry David Thoreau