Of all the dumb, drunken things you can do in The Dominican Republic, only one will get you special consideration from the airlines and immigration. An no, we don’t mean deportation. Not this time, at least.

In celebration of what will soon be our 20th country visited, we’re taking a break from Thailand-based stories this week and going with a tale before we were seasoned travel veterans. For our 25th wedding anniversary (yes, we have put up with each other for more than a quarter of a century), we spent an incredible 17 days in The Dominican Republic. While most of our time was spent in the lap of resort luxury, we did manage to get out and enjoy some local flavor.

(Note: Food in the DR is pretty bland. So that flavor was mostly beer. Which was also bland. But it was a pathogen-free water source, so we imbibed. A lot.)

This isn’t the story about the finest cigars Evo’s ever smoked. This isn’t the story of the few dozen fantastic friends and family that joined us on the getaway (although that was amazingly awesome). This isn’t even the story of a bloody bathroom (though that one is awesome in some people’s opinion). No, this is a story about Evo doing something really, really stupid on the final day of the trip that left him hobbling along for some six weeks afterwards. Yet even doing that dumb thing, we still decided to leave for a life of travel just six months later. Clearly, we didn’t learn.

That 20th country, by the way, will be The Philippines. It’s been on our list for quite a while, and Evo’s keynoting gig at TBEX Asia Pacific 2016 is the perfect reason to go. It’s also a perfect time for you to become a patron and receive a postcard from The Philippines, hand-completed by us! The support we get on Patreon.com every month is our only source of income now for the show, and we appreciate your support!

Music for our show is graciously provided by the fantastic band Velella Velella. They make killer tunes, and you should buy all of their stuff. It’s fabulous!

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This One Time (The Podcast) features retellings and recreations of the best (or worst depending on perspective) travel stories encountered in a life lived abroad. Stay subscribed on iTunes or whatever else you use to listen to podcasts and you’ll never miss an episode.