Puerto Rico

I could make some West Side Story joke here, but I won't. We just got back from a few days in Puerto Rico. Ryan qualified for a trip through his company. He only has one more week in his cast, which is kind of a bummer since he couldn't do anything too adventurous, but it was very relaxing and we spent a lot of time just sitting on the beach. We each read about two and a half books. My kind of vacation.

Hello white legs and stubby calves.

The only picture either of us would allow of ourselves:

Our hotel. With a huge tree right in the middle. I'm astounded by my photography skills.

Ryan was supposed to be in meetings so the company had arranged things for the spouses and families to do. I passed on the water aerobics, but I did go on a little tour of the El Yunque rain forest. The most entertaining thing about the tour was a lady who asked a million questions, including: What is the average life expectancy for a man in Puerto Rico? How old are you? How did you meet your wife? What does it take to buy land here? (And the tour guide's answer: Money.) Later on the drive back to the hotel I was sitting right behind her and noticed a tiny spider wandering around in her hair. I watched it for a while, then took it out without her noticing.

A banana tree

Each night there was a big company dinner with some pretty good buffets. One night was a fancy gala dinner, and Ryan managed to get on the dance floor on one foot. Impressive.

Here we are with a couple of the other agents from L.A.

The view from our room. There was too much light to get a clear shot.

There were iguanas wandering around the hotel grounds.

The last night was a carnival themed dinner, so there were a bunch of people wandering around on stilts, or wearing big fake heads, or playing trombones, or wearing big headdresses and skimpy outfits. I drank my first real coconut here.

It was fun and noisy and colorful. There was a booth where you could have your picture drawn, so we did. We think there's actually some resemblance, although Ryan looks like Jason Bateman and I look like an elf.

We were talking about our favorite parts from the week, and for both of us one of the most memorable was just the people watching. By the time it was over we had nicknames for a good percentage of the group. There was Leather Lady, Goof, Striped-Bikini Girl, and Baby Face just to name a few. A lot of the agents are from the East Coast, and I realized that it's hard for me to take people seriously with a northeast accent. It just seems fake to me since I haven't been around it much. I'm sure people had nicknames for us too since Ryan was so recognizable hobbling around. If you ever need an icebreaker, just get a cast and some crutches and everyone will tell you their history of personal injuries.

Puerto Rico is a gorgeous place, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We are so grateful to Ryan's parents for watching the kids. Ryan and I talk a lot about how we're both lucky to have great in-laws. The kids also love any excuse to hang out with Nana and Papa.

Now, back to real life.