(since I never had good wifi on vacation- everything will post about a week late)

The second day of vacation brought us another beautiful day. We took our time getting ready, knowing there was a gap between check out time and embarkation time that we would have to deal with. The guest house manager kindly agreed to keep our luggage after we checked out so we could walk through old town unhindered before going to the pier. We browsed several cute shops where we considered buying white linen clothing and Panama hats, but reason won out and we left empty handed, Such purchases can seem fun on vacation but unused clothes in the closet from previous impulse buys have taught us a lesson. Our next stop was Starbucks, which we only visit in other cities besides our own, to have coffee and yogurt for breakfast and not ruin our appetites for the famous Guy Fieti burgers waiting for us on the ship. We returned to pick up our luggage and pulled them the mile to the pier, it seemed a little too early but we could wait there as well as anywhere. We actually boarded the ship around noon and set off to find Guy’s Place- undoubtedly the best burger restaurant on the planet. Christian was proud to be the very first guest on this cruise to order a guys burger (we are easily impressed). The rest of the day held exploring the ship and napping (for me). Mallory and Olivia entered a raffle in the spa and we returned late in the afternoon for the “must be present to win” drawing. With 50-75 people crowded into one small corner of the fitness center waiting for the drawing, one lady decided this would be the perfect time to try out an elliptical trainer, which she did not seem familiar with. So while waiting for the drawing to begin, we all (I mean all 50 of us) watched the 60-something lady learn and slowly ride on the elliptical, all while holding onto her purse. I admired her courage (or maybe it was cluelessness as to her audience). Sadly, we did not win anything in the raffle, but we unknowingly developed a new game that would last all week, we called it “spot elliptical lady”. A little like finding Waldo on this size ship, but it would prove entertaining. We headed to dinner, ordering whatever you want off of a menu and not paying for it afterwards is always fun (for Christian and I anyway- that describes the girls dining experience anywhere they go). Before the ship sailed, we are required to participate in a safety briefing. The safety briefing is always a somewhat dreaded but necessary evil where we gather at our assigned lifeboat station and learn the procedure in case we hit an iceberg like the titanic, which seems unlikely in the Carribean. Sailing away from San Juan was a beautiful sight from the top deck. We could see that enormity of San Juan with is brilliant lights surrounding the harbor from which we were leaving. Before bed we gathered all our dive gear in preparation for the early dive in St. Thomas in the morning. The anticipation of the myriad of fun activities in tropical locations we have never before visited danced through our heads as we turned in for the night, excited to be in the Virgin Islands the next day….

The first day of vacation! That eagerly anticipated, almost magical, day that anyone going on a trip looks forward to. Ours began very early when my alarm buzzed at 1:15 a.m. Booking the early flight from New Orleans seemed like a great idea several months before, but now I was doubting my decision. Spending the night before the flight was out of the question because of my nephews graduation last night. And having done that before, I know it can be more hassle and expense than it’s worth. So with 3 hours of sleep to my credit, I hopped out of bed and concentrated on the fun we would be having very soon. Getting everyone else out of the bed was surprisingly easy, thanks to what the day had in store for us. Our planned departure time was 2:15 a.m. and we hit our first snag at 2:05. Christian was trying to fit our considerable luggage into the trunk of my hybrid. I had considered gas mileage but not space, and there was no way it was going to work. A change to Mallory’s small SUV cost us about 10 minutes. I drove the first hour of the trip and then Christian took over. We were both more alert than we would have thought possible at this hour. Of course Mallory and Olivia didn’t make to Chrystal Springs before they were sound asleep. Our next snag came as we turned into the New Orleans airport. Our intended parking lot seemed to have been converted to a rental car lot. After a few loops around the airport we ended up parking in the long term parking garage, which would cost us a little more money but we deemed it to be totally worth it to avoid further frustration. We checked in and boarded the Atlanta bound plane at 6:30. The trip was smooth, but we were beginning to feel our lack of sleep. And having had breakfast at 2 a.m., we were also getting hungry. As we stood in the aisle waiting to deplane in Atlanta, I heard Olivia say (in a slightly disgusted voice) “did you just lick my neck?” There are some things you never expect to hear, and this may be in the top 10. But “lovingly” annoying each other is common behavior for my children. When we made it to Atlanta at 8:30 (9:30 eastern time), we decided Mexican for “lunch” sounded perfect. We we killed some time until our next flight with nachos and quesadillas. The San Juan leg of the flight went smoothly and we made it there around 4 p.m. We grabbed a cab to get to our hotel in Old Town. Riding in a cab outside the U.S. is always an adventure. We must have a lot more traffic rules in the US than most of the world. I tried not to watch most of the ride but I did manage to see several near misses anyway. Our driver was somehow chatty and helpful with information, directions, and points of interest all while avoiding about 72 wrecks. When we arrived in Old San Juan we were awed by its charm. Rows of colonial style buildings (most connected) on each side of narrow cobblestone streets. We finally found our guest house; we had to enter inside a silver shop. This turns out not to be so unusual, there are apartments and guest house behind and above most of the shops and restaurants lining the streets. After settling in, we set out on foot. We soon found the restaurant recommended by our driver. We dined on authentic Puerto Rican cuisine of chalettta kon kon (translated super giant pork chop) and toranado (steak stuffed with mashed root vegetables and topped with shrimp) and mofongo on the side (plantains fried then mashed with vegetables). It was all delicious. After dinner we walked the crowded streets. We watched people taking comical pictures with a flock of parrots, an artist doing performance art with spray paint, and a young troop of extremely energetic dancers. It was all so festive and so fun, but the long day was seriously wearing on us. We turned in for the evening, looking forward to boarding our ship tomorrow and starting the next adventure!