Hi everyone, I thought I would give you a report of my trip.
I took Metro, as advised, and was very pleased with the quality of the bus itself and the driver. I got to the station way too early (over an hour), but better early than late. I didn't have to share a seat either way so that was a plus. I finally figured out how to get the bathroom door open -- jerk it! -- but I nearly didn't get back out! Coming back, I rode in the very front left seat behind the driver so I got a first-hand look at the obstacles he encountered on the road. He did a great job anticipating problems and was good at knowing when to pass (at night). Not everyone would want to see what I saw, however. It could be scarey at times. Also, it was fun watching the driver's seat bounce up and down (a lot).
I stayed at the BQ Hotel on Sarasota in an adequate and clean room for $88 US. I ate at Outback. The taxi was no problem to the hotel from Outback -- 250 pesos -- and the taxi driver the next morning to the Guzman office was the same. I gave him the map.
The actual residency renewal and then cedula renewal was long and tiring, especially since the paralegal and I had to backtrack from the cedula office to migration because my residency card had the wrong cedula number on it. (My sister and I did our residencies at the same time and they got switched.)
Now, I'm legal again for another year and look forward to another trip to Santo Domingo next year to do it all again!
Thanks, everyone, for your help.
Jucy