Puerto Rico

When it came to planning Spring Break 2008, we had a few important criteria to meet: warm, preferably tropical, perhaps third worldish, accessible, and not too expensive. The logical conclusion - Puerto Rico! Ole!

I had been on the island for about 5 minutes when I decided I needed to move here - or any island, whatever, I don't care. I forget that I grew up on the beach - 10 straight years only a block from the ocean. And four of those years were actually on an island. (Trivia fact of the day - Abu Dhabi (city) is an island.) So I think it's in my blood, the whole warm-culture thing, the sun, the sand, the blue of the sea, the waves crashing at night, the whole summer wardrobe . . . it's where I feel at home. I must've said thirty times, "This reminds me of being a kid! Camping on the beach! Jumeirah Beach hotel!" I actually mourned the loss of the ocean when we returned to Charlotte. So, all this to conclude - I believe someday I will live on the coast again. On the beach, in Africa, I can make that happen. Or I could just live in this house in Old San Juan:



Old San Juan was amazing. Beautiful crooked streets and bright houses, plazas, statues, balconies, forts dating back to the 1500's:



Of course a spring break trip with 5 girls is not without its humorous anecdotes. Public transportation is rather expensive, so after Manny the taxi driver offered to drive us around for the low price of $100/day - EACH - we rented a car. Of course that brings about a whole set of freedoms and stresses. The second day we had it, we loaded up for a trip to El Yunqe, the rainforest. As Amanda backed the car out of our parking spot, we heard a horrific screech and the unsettling noise of something dragging on the ground . . . Christine popped out and jumped under the car to check out the situation. Fortunately it was some 'random plastic piece' that we could just 'stick back in there' - just no more reversing over large objects after this. Here's a picture of a mini-falls from the really amazing rainforest adventure. We actually jumped in a big waterfall, but you'll have to check facebook for those pics. :)



We spent a fair amount of time at our hotel, at the beach: love, love, love the beach!


One last story to share. I've had a lot of traveling adventures - losing luggage, flight trouble, missed flights, overnights, craziness . . . I've done it all. Or so I had thought - until this trip, when I added "miss a flight and BUY a new one" to the list. 6:30 AM found us groggily pulling out of our hotel for the 25 minute trip to San Juan. 6:35 had us sitting in stand-still traffic in Dorado. 7:00 Sitting on the highway. 7:30 Sitting on the highway. 8:00 Sitting on the highway. 8:15 Looking for the rental car place. 8:30 Dropping car off. 8:40 Shuttle gets us to the airport. 8:41 Running around looking for the Northwest desk. 8:45 "I'm sorry, you've missed your flight. Here's a 1-800 to call." 9:00 "Sorry, ma'am, there are no more flights leaving today. The next day I can get you out is . . . Wednesday." "But I have commitments!" "Don't we all?"

So we canvassed the other airlines and ended up on a lovely non-stop flight to Charlotte on US Air. I must add that Julia and I sat in this amazing exit row that was so wide, I couldn't touch the seat in front of me. And we watched a movie. And had great conversation with the flight attendant. I tried to get every extra dollar out of that flight!!! But, in the end, it couldn't taint the fun trip we had . . . although I think I'll work extra hard to get to the airport in time.

a NoDa afternoon

Saturday morning. What to do? Yesterday's 78 degree weather disappeared and a morning rainstorm had cooled the day down considerably. So we bundled up and headed down to NoDa, Charlotte's 'art district.' I've been to concerts at the Evening Muse and the Neighborhood Theatre, dinner at Cabo Fish Taco - possibly my favorite restaurant in Charlotte - and had lattes at Smelly Cat, a local coffeehouse. However, all of our NoDa outings have been in the evening, and I wanted to see what we could find in the daytime - namely the the used bookstore. My goal was to buy a copy of Gone With the Wind. While that dream was unrealized, we did leave with some treasures.

After the bookstore we got a bit distracted by . . . the camera. We weren't really prepared for a photo shoot, but it was such a great area that I couldn't help it. I was thrilled to have a willing subject!

So, a great Saturday.

a spring day

I went for a walk today. It was supposed to be a 'power walk' but Carla couldn't stop pointing, "Take a picture of this!" "What about this angle?" "Can I try?" And I was ever so happy to comply! Isn't spring just beautiful?

On Easter - and growing up

Resurrection Sunday - what a joyful phrase! One of our texts on Sunday morning was from 1 Corinthians 15: For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. . . For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Where, o death, is your victory? Where, o death, is your sting?

We had a big Easter dinner at our house Sunday afternoon. 17 guests in our little place! We set up all our tables and chairs, got out all the extra plates and cups we could find . . . and pulled off a real holiday feast! The menu: homemade rolls, potatoes, green beans, honeybaked ham, turkey, my mom's pineapple souffle (an Easter staple for me!), veggies, salad, banana cream pie, strawberry shortcake, lemon tarts . . . Our guests were mostly Taylor friends and some other favorites.

It was while we were eating, as Megan and I sat squeezed together on a piano bench at the foot of our table, that Erin said, "I can't believe us right now! This food is good! We've really grown up!" And as I looked around the room, I couldn't help but agree. There were signs of adulthood everywhere - Easter centerpieces, fresh flowers, we bought a ham . . . and our friends were sitting around us, dressed in their Easter best, chattering away. It was a good feeling, if not a bit disconcerting. I do love my youth . . .

I needed not worry. There is plenty of 'youth' left in all of us, as later conversations on the couch attested to. Then there were the rest of the night's events- going for a walk on the Greenway that turned into an off-road exploration which landed Megan in the creek (and a mile-long walk back to the car in wet jeans). So maybe we're not that grown up yet. And that's the way I like it.

Christine, Michelle, and Julia caught at work.

Kelly sporting Princess Leia buns with the rolls.

Erin intently carving the ham.

The spread! Or part of it. It maxed out our kitchen!

Good Friday, Lake Norman State Park

22 friends
9 camp chairs
6 tents
32 hot dogs (29 consumed, 3 casualties)
2 campfires
1 hammock
weekend fun meter - off the charts

I love love love camping. Wonderful people, S'MORES, tents, so great. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, except for one point in the middle of the night when I woke up Megan to tell her I was going to die of cold. But anyway . . . This weekend was the fulfillment of a dream we've had since moving to this beautiful state. MUCH anticipation leading up to the event - so much, in fact, that we wrote a song to perform around the campfire. It was entitled "Lake Norman State Park" and I've heard there is video footage of the debut. We'll see if it's good enough to get up here. :) Here's the chorus:

Good Friday * Lake Norman State Park
The place where dreams come true!
Campfires, tents * Layin' under the stars
Sitting right here next to you.

You know you want to hear that.

The new camera got a chance outdoors - I still don't know what I'm doing, but I made a new friend who is a professional photographer's assistant. Slightly intimidating! But she showed me a lot of things I haven't read up on in the manual and gave me some pointers. So . . . see what you think!

still shots

This weekend, I got my new camera! Hooray! I've been a little shutter-happy since Monday, but with a defining lack of things to photograph, 10517 Parkhouse Lane has been my subject matter. So, a bit boring maybe, but this weekend I'm going camping!

new zoom lens. does the trick.

tough questions

Since I now listen to NPR (nerd) on the way to school, I've been hearing some interesting things . . . but yesterday an interview between a boy and his mom really touched my heart. Joshua has Aspergers and his mom described him as being born "without social genes." The kid asks really probing questions and his mom gives such patient, well-thought-out replies. It's worth a listen.