There and Back Again: Puerto Rico Day One

Hola!

We have just begun our mini vacation to Puerto Rico and so far we love it!

Our trip began at 3:30 this morning since we had to catch an early flight. Will and Jon were so excited that not only did they have a hard time falling asleep but they both woke up in the middle of the night asking if it was time to go. My hope was that they would sleep in the car on the way to the airport but a combination of excitement and the noise in the car made that impossible.

We are traveling with two of my brothers, Jacob and David, as well as with Camille, my mother in law. Apparently we all get a little silly when we are tired because we were laughing the whole way down. We did, however, run into a little car trouble. Because of the number of people in our party we had borrowed a friend’s car to transport us to the airport. On the highway one of the windshield wipers came loose and moved up just a bit. Perhaps not thinking clearly I decided to turn the wipers on and off so that it would settle back into the correct position. Unfortunately, in one swipe, the first wiper blade came loose, caught the other blade and ripped it completely off the car sending it flying up and over the car. I confess that our moods were such that we all burst into gales of laughter. (And yes, we will replace his wiper blades)

Jon in his bathrobe wandering the airport with daddy.

Will, David and Jon watching the sun rise

Jon on the airplane

Saying goodbye to Boston

Our flight was uneventful and when we arrived in San Juan we were greeted by a light drizzle. We took the coast road to our hotel so that we could admire the beautiful beaches and for lunch we stopped at one of the dozens of roadside stands along the way. Some were no bigger than a hot dog cart but all of them were frying food over an open fire. We don't speak any Spanish and the cashier didn't speak English so we had to order our food through the international method of pointing and smiling. I couldn't tell you what we ate (aside from empanadas) but we all enjoyed it. Jon ordered a shish kabob of chicken and what I think were fried plantains but my favorite was a kind of deep fried bread. It was much more adventurous than my usual fare but it was all delicious!

San Juan through the clouds

Lunch at a roadside diner

The boys fell asleep once they found a comfortable pillow

Once we reached our vacation apartment it didn't take us long to check out the beach outside our door. I was wearing a new beach dress and as we walked over Jon told me "Mommy, you look beautiful! I really like your black dress." He knows how to make my day. :-)

It was too cold to swim in the ocean but we had a great time swimming in a couple of the many pools in the condo complex. It was great to watch the boys play with their uncles in the water, they were all having so much fun. Even when their lips turned blue no one wanted to get out!

Will and Jon seem to have lost some of the swimming skills they had learned in Germany but I think they will pick them back up in no time. Jon did have a close encounter when he went in too deep but he was able to keep himself afloat until I got there. He was less than a foot out of reach and it was only a few seconds but it was one of those moments that feels like it will last forever. That was the end of swimming for Jon and as I was holding him afterwards he told me "You should have saved me sooner"