Puerto Rico - HO!

Puerto Rico – HO!

I know, I know, I am SO LATE! Our trip to Puerto Rico was so, like, last month. Still, I couldn’t let such a wonderful (and comical) occasion go by with documentation. So here goes:

Our decision to go to PR was driven primarily by the fact that:

Hubby said the trip MUST have a beach
Mommy said the trip MUST be no more than 4 hours away
Roman demanded the trip include an airplane ride

Previous readers of the blog are familiar with Roman’s obsession with airplanes, and we though this would be just the thing to bring it to life. I’ve been to PR no less than 5 times (EJ – our trip was still the best, no offense Mom – though we DID have the best guacamole!), but I enjoy it so much and think it’s a perfect quick getaway so we were all on board. We invited my mother-in-law bc she has actually never traveled to the Caribbean and hadn’t been on vacation in decades (yes, decades) unless you count trips to visit family. She was thrilled to join us and to have so much time to spend with her grandson. Our flight left Saturday morning, and as you can see, Roman is NOT a morning person.

Once we reached the airport, things changed dramatically. He has been known for being able to “spot” planes from a distance by simply hearing their sound, so visiting the airport was visceral overload. The many planes flying overhead was exciting for him and caused a bit of a struggle just to get past security check. But once we hit the terminal – excitement ensued!

The flight was relatively uneventful once we boarded, and Roman jumped from seat to seat between us and Grandma Pat. He slept the balance of the flight and woke up just as we were touching down.

Since Maurice is a road warrior for work, we used his Marriott points to stay at the Marriott Stellaris Casino and Resort, a 5-star family hotel that boasted a beautiful view from every room and the 2nd best part of the trip (at least for Roman)…a kiddie pool. The first day was primarily spent exploring the hotel, since we arrived at almost 3pm.

I initially underestimated how good the kiddie pool would be. Not sure who was the actual inventor of this creation, but the key ingredient in a true kiddie pool is a graduated entry and a maximum depth of less than 3 ft. This one had both, which meant Roman could walk in and pretty much go anywhere he wanted without needing to know how to swim. It also had a few “lips” that let you sit in 9 inch water and play with the hotel-provided tools. JACKPOT!

By day two, we were ready to venture past the hotel doors….to the secluded beach behind the hotel. I assumed that Roman would be fascinated by the sand and expansive ocean, but both were only lukewarm wins. The sand was fun until he realized how hard it is to get it off of your hands when they are wet. As for the ocean, well, I think it was a little too “wide open” for him, though he enjoyed a few healthy dips with Daddy until the tide came in. Then it was off to the comfort of the beach chair and a few graham crackers to soak in the sun. Apparently the graham crackers were not sufficient, so he filled his belly with something less "conventional"



That afternoon, we high tailed it to Old San Juan to tour the city and the fort, El Morro. Even with the stroller umbrella and numerous bottles of water and Gatorade, we were all pretty tuckered out by the sun once we reached the fort. I thought it might be a “bust” of an afternoon, until Roman spotted the kites.

For those of you who have never ventured to Old San Juan on a weekend, El Morro is flanked on both sides by a sea of green, rolling hills that are inhabited by kite fliers of all ages. I figured that kites couldn’t be that far behind airplanes in terms of interest, and I was right. As soon as he saw them, he went ballistic and shot out of the stroller. Luckily, my mother brought me a “backpack strap” for my trip to help keep up with him.

If you’ve never seen this contraption, it is a backpack that you wear around your chest like a harness, with a twist….a long strap that extends of the back that acts like a “leash” to help you keep tabs on your kid while letting them also have the freedom to wander at will. When she initially showed it to me, I declared that there was NO WAY that I would be using such a thing. My mother chuckled and proceeded to tell me about how both my brother and I had them when we were little, and I particularly due to my propensity to run off like a maniac at inopportune times (read: in the middle of the store with many people watching). I had a brief vision of Roman’s first contact with the kites and determined that the backpack DID serve a good purpose (it held his Goldfish and cup) and couldn’t be too bad if it also came with a handle.

In the end, it wasn’t really needed, as the fort itself is pretty steep in most places and required Roman to be carried by Maurice or I. But the view was as breathtaking as I remembered and we enjoyed the sweet breeze as the whole family stole a few private moments to reflect. But after kites and forts and views, Roman declared that he had his fill.

Our third day, Pat took off for the rainforest (El Yunque, which you MUST visit if you are childless on your trip) and we stayed close to the pool and beach. When she returned that afternoon, we took off for the local park and spent the later afternoon with Roman trying to make friends with all the Spanish-speaking kids in the area. I think the curly hair fooled most, as they kept trying to talk to him in Spanish, even the mothers and nannies we met.

That evening, we got dinner nearby the hotel for monfongo and plantains and then took a stroll on the beach at sunset. A perfect end to a great day that wiped us all out!

The following morning, we got set to head out but not before we took another dip and laid out at the pool for our last time. A very nice lady offered to take some pics of the family, so we got a few pictures of all of us on the pool lip as a going away gift.

The flight home was uneventful, save for the hour we spent watching planes from the tower with my son calling them all out as if he was air traffic control. We landed and went straight home to rest up for our next day of normalcy, though Roman would have clearly preferred to have more of the late nights he enjoyed in PR. Still, during our night prayers, he made sure we added the “airplane” in with our list of thank you’s.