I Left My Heart in San...Juan

view from our hotel room

Well, folks... I am back. My flight touched back down in Boston Sunday night and I returned a much crispier version of my former self. While on vacation, I certainly had a few goals in mind: relax, have fun and enjoy spending uninterrupted time with my family. Did I do all of those things, you ask? I believe that I was able to accomplish all of those goals and more. I'd like to share a few highlights from my trip with you:

Me ziplining with my family of exclamation points.

Zip-lining:
I have zip-lined before -- but never on this scale. My family and I booked a trip to go zip-lining at La Marquesa Forest Reserve in Guaynabo city, which is around 20-30 minutes outside of San Juan. All of us were at different comfort levels. My brother was seemingly fearless, I was excited-nervous as was my dad and my mother was absolutely terrified. Despite all of this though, it was such a fun experience. All of us were able to challenge ourselves to some degree. I was finding it especially difficult to learn how to brake. I knew what I was supposed to do to brake, but my reaction every time was getting in the way of that process. My brother seamlessly zipped from perch to perch, while on the other end of the extreme, my mother was just thankful to get to perch to perch. The whole time, we were zipping through the forest, weaving between the wildlife. All of us learned that doing something like this requires support and encouragement and a little bit of bravery.

Please excuse the terrible quality of this video... I was using my point-and-shoot camera.

But just wanted you to get a feel for walking for a little bit through Old San Juan

Shopping in Old San Juan:
While we spent most of the time hanging out on the beach or walking around our local area by the hotel, my mom and I decided to break from the rest of the pack and visit Old San Juan. The area has a European-charm with its colorful buildings accented by white, sun-bleached trim, crowded streets and small piazzas. Unlike Europe though, there was a sort of vibrant, friendly flavor enhanced by the locals artisans' friendly smiles or the latin music pouring out of restaurants and cafes. It was a nice afternoon, but the scorching heat definitely meant that we couldn't spend too long hopping from shop to shop. My mom and I enjoyed lunch looking out at the neighborhood before heading back to the hotel in need of serious rehydration and a dip in the pool. My favorite part of our early afternoon trip though was getting to buy a few trinkets from artisans, who explained to us how they made each of their items and were enthuasiastic to share their stories.

Just hanging out in Old San Juan

Dancing Queen:
One of my favorite nights during my trip was hanging out at the hotel bar. Doesn't sound too exciting when I say it like that, and in truth, it wasn't too exciting in the beginning. After a long dinner just outside the hotel, my brother and I weren't quite ready to call it a night so we decided to hang out in the lounge/bar in the hotel lobby. There was a DJ and a dance floor, but minimal dance activity save for two girls who were going off and on the dance floor depending on the song. Now, I don't know about you, but I love to dance -- especially when it's a song I love. So the combination of vacation mentality + good music (+a teensy bit of alcohol) was surging in my system and I now had this mission to dance -- and to get everyone else to dance too. At some points, it was just me and my mother (by force) dancing and goofing around on the dance floor. Other times, me and those two girls. But eventually, my shameless dancing was somehow inviting other people to dance and I started encouraging those lingering on the outskirts of the dance floor to join in. I had made the dance floor go from empty to filled -- and filled with energy at that. I even managed to get an impromptu latin dance lesson from somehow who seemed to dance flawlessly. Between twirling and laughing, I was basically a professional. By the end of the night, both my brother and I were not only having a great time, but making new friends in the process. It really shed some light on the phrase "dance like no one is watching," because just a teensy bit of bravery on the dance floor allowed everyone else to let loose and enjoy themselves as well.

Family time:
Obviously, my vacation in Puerto Rico was made possible thanks to my parents. They generously shared what probably should've been a vacation for just the two of them (as they were celebrating both a wedding anniversary and a birthday milestone) and it turned out to be a really great time. With both my brother and I having spent the last two years or so in college together at the same time, getting the four of us under the same roof can sometimes prove difficult. However, here was an opportunity for the four of us not only to be together, but to relax and have fun together. Sure, the trip wasn't without its squabbles, but for the most part, we were able to put that aside and soak in some sunshine and some especially good memories. I sometimes think as we get older we become more apprehensive to go on a family vacation and instead, opt for more trips with friends or even boyfriends/girlfriends. But I think there is something special about a family who can still have fun together and enjoy each other no matter what age -- and I think my family was able to do that.