How #OTBN happens while on vacation in Dominica~#WinePW

Open the bottle night was on February 25th.  David of Cooking Chat invited us all to open that bottle of wine that we have been hoarding for a special day.  Sometimes you just have to celebrate for the sake of celebrating and that is what OTBN is all about.  You can learn more at David's preview post.

It just so happens that February 25th was our first night having dinner during our dive vacation in Dominica.  We had actually arrived late evening the night before but it followed a full day of travel and we were given a BBQ and Rum Punches upon our arrival.

We had gotten up and had two wonderful dives in the morning and then just kind of lounged around recuperating until dinner time.  When we went up to dinner we requested the wine list.  It was a short list but it did have a white bordeaux that I wanted to try. However, it was listed at nearly $200 and I didn't want to blow my travel budget on the first night.  The only reasonable bottles were Beringer wines at $55, which I still thought was outrageous.  I did want to partake in OTBN though so we ordered up a bottle of Beringer Chardonnay to pair with our dinner.

It wasn't until the next day that we realized the prices were in EC dollars.  The bottle of Beringer was actually around $20 US LOL.  I blame jet lag. The good news is that it was a very nice $20 bottle of wine and it paired very well with the Lion Fish that I enjoyed and the Mahi Mahi that Frank had. I never did get a chance to order up that white Bordeaux though.....sigh.......

We drink Beringer wines at home as an everyday wine so it isn't really what I would have chosen for OTBN had I been home in front of my wine fridge but it was still a special bottle since it was part of a wonderful dinner and vacation.

I am very excited to see what bottles the others chose to open.  I am sure to find some bottles to put onto my wish list.  C'mon you can come with me to the other links.

Open That Bottle Night Pairings from #winePW bloggers

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm will post How #OTBN happens while on vacation in Dominica
• Jen from Vino Travels will share Baked sausage rigatoni with Vignavecchia Chianti Classico Riserva
• Sue from A Palatable Pastime is pairing Pork Carnitas with Saint Cosme Cotes-Du-Rhone
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog is writing about South of the Border for Open That Bottle Night
• Cindy from Grape Experiences is posting Wine and Dine: Two New Zealand Pinot Noirs and One-Pan Chicken
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla is pairing Red Wine Chorizo + 1994 Argyle Reserve Oregon Pinot Noir
• Nancy from Pull That Cork will post Our OTBN Celebration: The Château Léoville-Las Cases Stole the Show
• Lori from Dracaena Wines is sharing Wine is in Boxes. It's OTBN. Still turned out to be a night not to miss
• Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog will post Batting A Thousand for OTBN Vol 8- A Celebration With Friends
• Jill from L'occasion is opening A Gigondas from the Cellar
• Julie from Wine-N-Friends will share A memorable pairing with 2012 Kenzo Murasaki
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator is posting Cheers to Open That Bottle Night 2017 with Champagne from Bollinger
• David from Cooking Chat is posting Chanterelle Beef Stew with a Special Wine

No blog post about #OTBN, no worries! You can still join the conversation about Open That Bottle Night Pairings by joining our live Twitter Chat on Saturday, March 11. Simply tune into the #winePW hashtag on Twitter at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT on 3/11 and join the conversation. Please also make plans to join us for the April Wine Pairing Weekend event, when I will be hosting on the topic of “My Old Standby” on April 8. You can get a list of all the past and upcoming #winePW events by visiting the Wine Pairing Weekend page.

Two more days of fun in the sun.....

So when I left you on Tuesday morning we headed out for two morning dives, which again were just spectacular.  I can't wait to share the underwater photos with you.  Frank will work on them this upcoming weekend so stay tuned...you won't be sorry.

Tuesday afternoon we were going to do a land excursion but napping won out over hiking.  After our nap, though, we went into town to check out Carnival.  Carnival is the Island's celebration of Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday/Paczki Day.

It consists of VERY LOUD music, lots of alcohol, street food and dancing in the streets.  It was fun and I'm glad we checked it out but not really my cup of tea.  My aversion to crowds started to get me claustrophobic so we headed back to the resort and enjoyed dinner and drinks in the bar with some of the others in our group.

Yesterday was  our final day of diving.  Our flight is at 8 am on Friday so we don't have time for diving today and the 24 hour no dive period before flight.  It was a fabulous day of diving, however. Two morning dives, followed by lunch on the beach and an afternoon dive.  

How could the day not be perfect when it starts off with a double rainbow?!!

We cleaned up all of our gear and set it out to dry before our flight and then headed off to Mass for Ash Wednesday.  The church was packed.  I love attending Mass on the Islands because their music is so awesome.  The locals are very welcoming and friendly.  We had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant, Pallisades.  I had a warm beet salad and smoked marlin pate.  Frank had the fresh catch of the day, Mahi Mahi.  

This morning we are going to take a walk to the Botanical Gardens in town and then this afternoon we are going to Titou Gorge and Trafalgar Falls.  I will be back to share those adventures with you very soon.

Our First Land Excursion

We arrived on the wonderful island of Dominica after dark on Friday night.  It was a very loooonnnggg day.  We had gotten up to head to the airport at 3 am.  After 3 flights and an hour long bus ride through the mountains we were greeted with rum punch and a meeting with the hotel management where we were given our room assignments and invited to have a buffet dinner before turning in for the evening.

Saturday we had two morning dives.  The diving photos will be shared after we return home.  Frank is using the Go Pro and the program for it is on our PC at home.  We spent the rest of the day recuperating but did stay up long enough to see this beautiful sunset.

Sunday we enjoyed two more dives in the morning and then spent the afternoon on a whale watching excursion.  We didn't see any whales this time but we did have a whale of a good time.

Monday, again we enjoyed 2 morning dives and then we went on a land excursion to three different waterfalls.  Each one better than the last.

First stop was Spanny's Falls.  A short hike through the rainforest brought us to the lower falls on the bottom left.  To get to the upper falls you had to pull yourself up the mountain with the rope.  We chose to forego the upper falls.

Next stop, Jaco Falls.  I could've sworn our guide called these Hibiscus Falls but the sign says Jaco and I have been known to hear things wrong.  Jaco, Hibiscus....not even close LOL.

Our last stop was Emerald Pool.  A beautiful short hike to the falls and pool with lookout points over the Gulf side of the Island and the Atlantic side of the Island.  Just breathtaking.

Tonight we are going to Carnival and having street food for dinner.  Tomorrow is 2 dives in the morning, lunch on the beach and a third dive in the afternoon.  See you very soon.