The flight to LA was without incident, and very enjoyable traveling in first class. It certainly changes your outlook on travel. Unfortunately, the flight wasn’t long enough for any kind of decent nap, so I read instead.
No long treks were needed to find the gate for our next flight from LA to San Juan; a little reading, a little review of the itinerary and we were boarding, just a few minutes later than scheduled.
Our seats were WAY back in the plane, and after some shifting around, a nice young man from Vancouver, a Boston Bruins fan, who was traveling to Dominique to attend medical school, was seated next to Dana.
After an announcement "encouraging" passengers to get situated and seated, they announced that our plane was ready to leave, but a last-minute inspection of a strut was called for and repairs iminent. Finally, after sitting on the tarmac for another 45 minutes, we were cleared for take-off.
Dana and the medical student launched into a hockey discussion while I quickly nodded off, even before take-off. I slept on and off through the night, although sleeping in coach is MUCH more difficult that sleeping in first class. Somehow I managed to get a few hours, though your spine tends to collapse on itself when you attempt to sleep sitting upright and there’s absolutely NO room to stretch out at all.
We arrived in San Juan bright and early this morning around 10:40a.m., and trekked down to baggage claim. My luggage came out right away, but Dana’s decided to worry us for a few minutes before it, too, appeared. Dana rushed out with his to have a smoke, while I was stopped for ANOTHER security check to ensure that my luggage tag matched my boarding pass. You know, I’ve been told I look mean, but never un-trustworthy!!
The weather in San Juan was balmy and in the 80’s, and I could smell the ocean, even at the airport. They have a pretty cool system of catching cabs; all arriving passengers line up, tell the attendant where they’re going and how many bags and they are given a slip with the expected cost to give to the cabbie. All the cabs were playing Latin music, and it sounded just like Miami. They use their car horns a LOT here, much like NYC, and, since there’s no smoking in the cabs, our cabbie used his windshield wiper to hold his cigar while he’s driving.
The flavor of the city is very Miami, though if you say that out loud, you are quickly told, "No, Miami looks like Puerto Rico!". La Concha Resort was a short drive, not much to see, but a really pretty hotel, very modern furnishings. Our room is at the corner of the hotel with an ocean front view, meaning, if we fell out our window we’d hit sand. The waves break outside our window big enough for surfing.
We quickly unpacked and headed down to the lobby to explore a little and get a bite to eat. I really wanted breakfast, but settled for a tasty salad with grilled gambas (shrimp). We ate outside next to one of the two pools.
After lunch we met up with Scott and Gayle --- tried to take a little rest on the beach, but it started raining as soon as the beach guy got our lounge chairs and towels situated. At first it looked like it would only sprinkle, but the dark clouds soon rolled in and we took refuge in the bar.
After several drinks and some lively discussion, we decided to head up for a short nap and to meet back in the lobby around 6:15p.m. for dinner.
I had only planned on napping for an hour or so, but was rudely awakened by Dana saying it was 6:00p.m. --- no time for anything but to throw on a dress and flip flops and head downstairs. We decided on the Lotus Blossom (like our Benihana, with the option of sushi). Not traditional Puerto Rican food, but well made, lots of it, and you couldn’t beat the company!!
You can’t stay at a casino/resort and not gamble a little, so we headed in to try our luck. Dana and Scott did well at craps, Gayle and I had fun playing some slot machines (I tried a panda machine in honor of "Kung Pu Panda" as Caleb calls it), and although I managed to win a few larger pots, I pumped it all back in. I didn’t feel too bad, though, because it was only a nickel machine.
Jet lag hit and we headed upstairs. Tomorrow we’re exploring old San Juan and its history.
No long treks were needed to find the gate for our next flight from LA to San Juan; a little reading, a little review of the itinerary and we were boarding, just a few minutes later than scheduled.
Our seats were WAY back in the plane, and after some shifting around, a nice young man from Vancouver, a Boston Bruins fan, who was traveling to Dominique to attend medical school, was seated next to Dana.
After an announcement "encouraging" passengers to get situated and seated, they announced that our plane was ready to leave, but a last-minute inspection of a strut was called for and repairs iminent. Finally, after sitting on the tarmac for another 45 minutes, we were cleared for take-off.
Dana and the medical student launched into a hockey discussion while I quickly nodded off, even before take-off. I slept on and off through the night, although sleeping in coach is MUCH more difficult that sleeping in first class. Somehow I managed to get a few hours, though your spine tends to collapse on itself when you attempt to sleep sitting upright and there’s absolutely NO room to stretch out at all.
We arrived in San Juan bright and early this morning around 10:40a.m., and trekked down to baggage claim. My luggage came out right away, but Dana’s decided to worry us for a few minutes before it, too, appeared. Dana rushed out with his to have a smoke, while I was stopped for ANOTHER security check to ensure that my luggage tag matched my boarding pass. You know, I’ve been told I look mean, but never un-trustworthy!!
The weather in San Juan was balmy and in the 80’s, and I could smell the ocean, even at the airport. They have a pretty cool system of catching cabs; all arriving passengers line up, tell the attendant where they’re going and how many bags and they are given a slip with the expected cost to give to the cabbie. All the cabs were playing Latin music, and it sounded just like Miami. They use their car horns a LOT here, much like NYC, and, since there’s no smoking in the cabs, our cabbie used his windshield wiper to hold his cigar while he’s driving.
The flavor of the city is very Miami, though if you say that out loud, you are quickly told, "No, Miami looks like Puerto Rico!". La Concha Resort was a short drive, not much to see, but a really pretty hotel, very modern furnishings. Our room is at the corner of the hotel with an ocean front view, meaning, if we fell out our window we’d hit sand. The waves break outside our window big enough for surfing.
We quickly unpacked and headed down to the lobby to explore a little and get a bite to eat. I really wanted breakfast, but settled for a tasty salad with grilled gambas (shrimp). We ate outside next to one of the two pools.
After lunch we met up with Scott and Gayle --- tried to take a little rest on the beach, but it started raining as soon as the beach guy got our lounge chairs and towels situated. At first it looked like it would only sprinkle, but the dark clouds soon rolled in and we took refuge in the bar.
After several drinks and some lively discussion, we decided to head up for a short nap and to meet back in the lobby around 6:15p.m. for dinner.
I had only planned on napping for an hour or so, but was rudely awakened by Dana saying it was 6:00p.m. --- no time for anything but to throw on a dress and flip flops and head downstairs. We decided on the Lotus Blossom (like our Benihana, with the option of sushi). Not traditional Puerto Rican food, but well made, lots of it, and you couldn’t beat the company!!
You can’t stay at a casino/resort and not gamble a little, so we headed in to try our luck. Dana and Scott did well at craps, Gayle and I had fun playing some slot machines (I tried a panda machine in honor of "Kung Pu Panda" as Caleb calls it), and although I managed to win a few larger pots, I pumped it all back in. I didn’t feel too bad, though, because it was only a nickel machine.
Jet lag hit and we headed upstairs. Tomorrow we’re exploring old San Juan and its history.
P.S. The coolest thing about blogging from Puerto Rico is that some of the pages come up entirely in Spanish and some in English!! Glad I took that refresher course with you, Ness!!
Awesome! I'm so glad you guys made it safe and sound. Can't wait to hear more. : ) Too bad the fresh sea air doesn't cure snoring. lol.
ReplyDelete~ P
P.S. Love the idea of a "vacation purse"!
P.P.S Jackson says "ah-goo", which means "have a wonderful time mima and poppa!".