On Day 3 of our vacation we woke up at our hotel in Old San Juan (Caribe Hilton) and had a light breakfast at the Starbucks in our hotel. Then it was time to pack up our things and bring the rental car back before catching a cab to the pier.
The adult pool and spas.
The main pools and hottubs.
The captian and co-captian's perches on the ship.
When we arrived at the pier we went through the security line which was fairly quick and boarded the boat where we promptly settled in for a nice lunch in the Windjammer Cafe while we waited for our cabin to be ready. After eating we explored the boat (which was laid out exactly like the boat we took on our honeymoon- Voyager of the Seas), found our dining room table, played some mini golf, and then headed for our cabin on Deck 9.
The main dining hall as seen from the 3rd story. We sat on the first floor.
The mini golf course at the front of the ship.
Our cabin was a junior suite just like we had on our honeymoon with sitting area, a real tub with shower in the bathroom (for those that have never cruised before- normally you get a shower stall that leaks all over the bathroom), and a balcony. As a special treaty for my husband on our anniversary trip I got him a special romance package so we were greeted with chocolate covered strawberries and non-alcoholic champagne for our own sail away party. Later in the cruise we also enjoyed petit fours, breakfast in bed, and some canapes on the first formal night as part of the package. We were also very impressed that our luggage was in our room at 2pm when we first got there. It never even had to wait in the hallway, which is a rarity!
The Promenade deck on our boat
After dinner in the main dining hall we explored the boat some more and hit the sack early as we both were exhausted. On Monday we had a day at sea. After a delicious breakfast in the Windjammer we hit the adult pools to relax, read, and soak in the sun. Later on we had lunch again at the Windjammer and then went to the arcade and played some air hockey before getting ready for the first formal night. The show after dinner that night was a tribute to the Temptations and it was actually really good! I even got a short video clip of the song "My Girl".
We clean up pretty good!
Next stop: Barbados
The island is beautiful and our hotel (Caribe Hilton) was by far one of the best I've stayed in. The view from the open-air lobby was to die for: one of the hotel's several pools followed by the crystal clear blue ocean on the horizon. Our room also had a view of the ocean and of one of the forts in Old San Juan. The weekend we were there the hotel was hosting basketball teams from all over South America for a tournament. We rode in the elevator several times with some players from Venezuela and I have to say that my almost 6' husband looked like a teeny speck standing next to them.
We arrived early Friday afternoon and checked into the hotel before venturing out to find lunch on the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan. We found a nook in the wall bistro and had a delicious lunch but the dessert was to die for...traditional Spanish flan laid over chocolate cake. Heaven. Then we went back to the hotel and ventured to the private beach complete with beach lounges and cabanas. After a swim in the warm ocean we discovered our hotel had a grove of palm trees with at least a dozen hammocks for the guests to lay on. We took full advantage of them during our stay!
On Saturday we woke up and had a delicious breakfast at the hotel's restaurant before hitting the pool and hammocks again. For lunch we ordered burgers poolside as a passing thunderstorm rolled through. Then we got ready to drive to Cidra to visit with Alexi's aunt and some cousins from his mother's side of the family. We ended up having to start the drive in the pouring rain which was no small feet with the flooding highways and scary drivers on the road with us. During our short stay in Puerto Rico we saw at least a half dozen accidents on the highways- all of them were rear ended cars. Signals are not used at all in San Juan and you WILL be cut off while going 60 down the highway. I also still kick myself for not getting a picture of the Puerto Rican horse "trailer" as we drove down the highway...it was the smallest Mazda pickup truck you can picture with a horse basically in the bed of the truck tethered to the cab. One sharp turn and that horse was a goner!
The visit with Alexi's family went well. Their homes were nestled on a mountain in beautiful Cidra and they were all very welcoming towards me despite the language barrier. On his Aunt's property there were HUGE avocados growing wild along with bread fruit, bananas, papaya, coconut, and star fruit (which we tried straight off the tree!). They also raise their own chickens for eggs and meat and had a pet cow as well. It figures that I traveled all the way to Puerto Rico hoping for some really good home cooking (much like Alexi's mom cooks here) only to have her make lasagna and potato salad because A.R.'s aunt called his mom to find out what I liked! It was a sweet gesture, though, and I did get to have my favorite tostones (smashed plantains just before ripe- fried) and spanish rice to go along with it. ;)
A.R. and I had been debating whether or not to get the rest of our lot mowed or not as we knew it would be quite a bit more work for him come next spring/summer especially with a newborn. Curiosity about the true size of our lot got the best of us and we started exploring our options. We spoke with the company that's been spraying our yard for ticks all summer and fertilizing the small patches of grass we do have and come to find out they had the equipment necessary to mow and finish the last piece of our lot. Also, we learned that the best time to seed and start a new lawn in New England is right NOW! We got some quotes and took the plunge and holy crap were we surprised...
It's hard for me to visualize distances and square footage unless it's just right there in front of me to eye. I knew where the stakes were on our lot as we walked them many times before moving in, but the ones marking the back corner have long since been buried beneath waist high grass, weeds, and wildlife. When I crested the hill and looked behind our house last Wednesday I was shocked to see our yard mowed. I walked it with Tomas and he promptly settled in and took a dump in the middle (I think he knows it's his play ground now!) with a lowered jaw from shock. Our yard is a lot bigger then I had envisioned it! I love it and so does A.R. until he realized how much he'll be mowing next year!!
I think she's reached her terrible twos in doggy age as she has been a terror as of late. She chewed a hole (2-inch diameter) in our carpet yesterday morning. A.R. was so mad at her he couldn't look at her for a good hour. Luckily, the builder left us some extra carpet scraps so we can patch the spot and it'll look like new again. She has started trying to take off while in the yard chasing whatever is of interest to her (birds, butterflies, grass moving in the wind, absolutely nothing but thin air, etc.) and has gone into the street- we live at the end of a cul-de-sac- a few times so we now have to leash her at all times.
Lily is in for a big surprise when our baby is born...she won't be the baby of the family much longer. I don't really think she has a clue that I'm pregnant (she is a bit ditzy), but Tomas has gotten a lot more protective of me and follows me EVERYWHERE I am in the house. I just know one of these days I'm going to trip over him! It's funny to see how our dogs interact with us, as well. Lily really has taken more of a liking to Alexi and is a complete Daddy's girl (except for when she knows she's in trouble!) whereas Tomas is all Momma's Boy. I wonder if our human babies will do the same thing??
Stay tuned for pics and an overview of our vacation with lots and lots of pictures. I think the most beautiful islands we saw (besides Puerto Rico) were St. Maarten and St. Lucia. I was least impressed with Barbados, but snorkeling with sea turtles there was incredible.
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