This was a short trip with my two daughters, (Carlene, age 25 & Janette 19). We wanted to go somewhere that wouldn’t eat up too much of our time traveling, so Puerto Rico was our decision.

Thursday -flew out of PVD through CLT arriving in SJU at 1:10. Grabbed a taxi and first stop was a quick run into the Walgreens (shh, don’t tell anyone I shopped there – I work for the competition<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />) to grab the items we couldn’t bring on board in our carryons, i.e. sunscreen, moisturizer, shampoo & conditioner. We stayed at the Intercontinental on Isla Verde Avenue. Front desk manager we dealt with at check-in was very friendly. He proceeds to tell me that there is a slight problem with my reservation and how lucky am I feeling? The room I reserved isn’t available and the only other room he has is a 2 bdrm suite with a city view, would this be acceptable at no extra cost? We all agreed this was very acceptable. The room wasn’t ready yet, but we were able to use a hospitality suite to change and headed straight for the beach. Grabbed a table on the beach at Ciao, the hotel’s beachside restaurant, and ordered some much needed drinks and lunch, a cubano sandwich, a Caesar chicken wrap and a Caesar chicken salad. Food was good, but I thought it was a bit pricey with the total coming to $70.00. Found some beach chairs and spent the next few hours enjoying the sun and sand. Went in around 6:00ish and got our room keys. Room was nice enough with a living room w/queen size sofa bed, 2 small balconies and a separate bedroom w/king size bed, toilet & shower in separate area than the sink/vanity. We cleaned up, changed clothes and went out to explore the area on foot. Isla Verde Avenue is very busy and lined with shops, restaurants and fast food joints, a few bars and clubs on one side and the hotels on the other. Lots of people out walking and we saw police stationed on several corners. Grabbed a couple slices of pizza at an open air pizza place, which I believe the sign advertised that they were open 24 hours. Stopped in a grocery store across from the hotel for some water, soda, wine coolers, a bottle of rum and snacks for the room and then headed back to the hotel and turned in for the night.

Friday – We were heading to El Yunque and got on Rte. 3 East. Lots of traffic and there was some construction in one area which slowed things down a bit. The turnoff to Rt. 191 comes up on you quick and could easily be missed. Stopped in at El Portal and then headed out to do some exploring. After 4.5 hours of nature & hiking, we were getting tired and hungry. The girls were a little disappointed they didn’t see any wildlife. Carlene had spotted a local restaurant on the way in and we stopped for lunch. Got back in the car and continued east on Rte. 3 to Luquillo Beach. Nice beach and not crowded at all. There were picnic tables under the trees, changing/bathrooms, outdoor showers to rinse off at and a little shop which sold soda, water, souvenirs and mixed drinks ($4.00 for a margarita in a plastic cup). Noticed more families arriving as it got later in the afternoon, coming after work perhaps. Got back to the hotel a little after 7:00.

We had planned to go out on the La Rumba cruise, which didn’t leave from the cruise terminal until 11:00, but Janette wasn’t feeling well, so we didn’t want to risk being out on a boat and have her getting sick. Carlene & I had a cocktail in the room while we were cleaning up and went out to find dinner. Ended up at Lupi’s, which was a sports bar offering both Puerto Rican and Mexican cuisine. A little too much like fast food for me, but it looked and sounded like a very lively place, with tvs all around (but none had the Red Sox game) and karaoke going on in the bar at the same time. Food turned out to be good, reasonably priced and the margaritas were pretty potent.

Saturday – headed into Old San Juan this morning. It was still early, so we were able to find parking easily enough. We walked all over, visiting the various spots and with no cruise ships in port, there were no real crowds to speak of. Loved the blue cobblestone streets. I think the girls went into every single shop we passed. Decided to eat at Barrachina. There is both outdoor seating in the courtyard with the bar and two enclosed air-conditioned dining rooms. The restaurant claims to be the home of the original pina colada and they give everyone a free sample when seated. Food was very good and the portions were so large, none of us finished. We wanted to catch a few more hours on the beach, so we headed back to the hotel. For our last evening, we got all dolled and went over to La Piccola Fontana at the El San Juan Hotel for dinner. Wine, dinner & coffee came to $155 for the three of us which was what I expected. Back to our hotel and the girls played some slots in the casino for a bit while Mom watched. I had already spent enough of my money to give the casino any.

Flight home was at 8:30 a.m. and upon check-in was told that the flight was delayed and we wouldn’t be leaving until 9:00. Got into PHL at 12:50 and had to walk quickly to get to the other terminal for our 1:35 flight to PVD. We were all starving and had just enough time to grab some salads to go and took them with us. Arrived safe and sound in PVD at 2:50.

Overall, we had a good time and I would definitely like to go back and see other areas of the island like Ponce and some of the things we didn’t have time to get to do such as the Bacardi tour and the bio-bay.

Kelly <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" />