Puerto Rico

Man, it's been awhile since I've blogged. I must admit, I've really missed writing nightly, but there hasn't been any "fun and interesting Boston experiences" lately. However, I am in paradise and decided to blog [brag] about my trip. Now first things first.
1- My cell phone works here!
2- They use American money
3- The outlets are the same as on the US mainland
4- I'm in America
5- Everyone speaks English, even though many signs are in Spanish [but remembered I have phone service, so I could always download an app for translating if I needed to].
6-my home page and the blog main screen are in Spanish so it took me awhile to figure out how to post since I didn't know the Spanish word.

Ok, now that I cleared the up and got that out of the way...here's how my day went.

I had to get up before the sun this morning for a 8:25 am flight. I left the apartment at 5:30am and had no problems. I strategically picked the security lane that did not have the x-ray machines [check next to "opt-outer" on my list of a successful flying experience]. The fire alarm did go off in the terminal, but we just kept going through security. I got a Starbucks, ate my breakfast and walked to me gate with an hour to spare. Got to see a lot of firemen in their gear walking through the terminal, but clearly it wasn't something that would force an evacuation [thank goodness].


We took off on-time. We hardly hit any bumps, not even when we came in for the approach to San Juan with some big puffy clouds. We arrived early, so the flight was about 3.5 hours. [Can check of "take direct flight" on my list.] I did pack a dress in my carry-on in case something happened to my checked bag. My checked bag arrived safely [that took gets checked off on my list]. I waited 2 hours for my friend who was flying in from Atlanta, waiting for her to text me so we could take a cab to the hotel. I started to worry when her flight arrived and I couldn't reach her on her cell. She ended up texting me saying she was at the hotel. So, $19 cab fare from the airport to the hotel. It wasn't a bad ride, flat rate and we did hit some traffic.


Hotel. Hilton Conrad [I only know about Conrad because of Mad Men]. The hotel is totally my style. I love the hotel room and the view of the ocean is amazing! I toured the grounds. Found the gym, walked around and found the salt water and regular pool with a swim up bar and dipped my feet into the ocean. Oh my! The water is soooooo warm. I'm totally looking forward to swimming in the water here. It's like bath water! I'm in heaven. I also spent an hour in the casino, playing on $1 on the penny machines. I cashed out at $5, which is better than I ever do when I used to go to Vegas!

Speak of Vegas! I love this hotel. There's no smoking! Not in the pool areas, not on the beach, not in the casino, certainly not in the hotel or bars on the resort. Now, I haven't had a drink yet, but there's no free drinks when in the casino [point for Vegas] and I can't wait until my beach day on Sunday when I am going to get my drink on!



When I got to the hotel, my friend and I went out for lunch. We had Cuban/Puerto Rican food. I had fried plantains stuffed with crab meet (it was delicious) and some fried risotto balls (also delicious) and for dessert...Tres Leches. I love Tres Leches and haven't had a piece since my birthday a few years back when a coworker in San Diego made me one for my birthday. Oh yeah, I am going to get my fill of Spanish/Mexican food here.


I missed the sunset, I was a bit too early when I took this photo and after losing some time when I got lost in the penny slot game I was playing in the casino, I'm hoping to catch a sunset sometime over the next 3 nights. And boy, once the sun sets (around 6:20pm today) it gets dark fast! Looking forward to seeing the sunrise tomorrow (unless I'm still sleeping) as the sun should rise outside our room.

For dinner we walked around and found a Chinese place. I was super excited b/c they had mock chicken! Something I have been craving since leaving San Diego and can't find in restaurants in Boston. Soy bean sweet sour chicken! It was so good that I ate every last bite! I will probably eat there one more time before leaving.

On the itinerary for tomorrow: 8:40am wake up call. 9:15am pick up at hotel to go on an all day waterfall/rain forest/beach tour we signed up for.

I'm so exhausted so no alcohol today and in bed before 10pm. Until tomorrow...