Rincon Adventure

So, we headed to Triple S located off of Highway 2 in Mayaguez at the intersection of Denny's/Grande supermercado and the Motor Vehicle building. We arrived around a little after 9:00 - there is a police station as well as a medical center near the Triple S building so limited parking. We parked at the Remini Bakery a short distance away. There was a sign-in sheet (this was a promising sign) and only a couple of people waiting. I brought my book just in case we were in it for the long haul. However, I only read about 5 pages before we were called. A wonderful woman who spoke English helped us.

There are two types of health insurance for self-employed/individuals. The Direct or Direct Plus Plans. Direct is a HMO plan that costs around $109 per individual includes Vision, but Dental is extra about $8. The out of pocket expense is slightly higher for some of the services such as ER visit, mental health, In-patient and with various percentages covered for x-rays 25%, MRI 50%, etc. and minimal co-pays for General office visit around $10 and Specialist $15. Maternity is also covered under the plan. We opted for the Direct Plus Plan which is a PPO plan at $135 per individual around $8 for Dental. We got two separate Individual plans. The Family plan covers children. Both plans cover ER visits in the U.S., but not any preventative care. Also, neither plan covers prescription. We don't have any presciptions so this really wasn't a big deal for us. We were finished in less than an hour - Yippee!

Off to the Motor Vehicle place to get two passport photo's taken ( a little wooden booth and el medico is also there for the driver's license). We are going to Italy in May and need to get an International Driver's Permit hence the photo's. This took less than 10 minutes.  I attempted in Spanish, but the nice photographer spoke perfect English.

Then we headed to AutoLand where we purchased our car to pick-up the title. Simply walked in gave them our driver's license and our title quickly appeared - perfecto!

So, three big errands in no time at all - I think we were home in less than two hours with driving taking a little over 30 minutes each way.  This was a great way to start the day!

I hadn't mentioned that we are going to Italy in May previously, but we are very excited. This is the first time either of us has been to Italy. Marcus has extended family in Gradoli (West of Orvieto in central Italy). There are something like 27 Andronici's in this town. I think this will be a really special experience. We got terrific flights out of Aguadilla direct to Newark and Newark to Rome.

Our itinerary is as follows: we are taking the train to Venice for a couple of nights, off to Cinque Terre for a couple of nights then a train to Siena where we are renting a car. We are staying over in Siena and then driving around Tuscany/Umbria for a few days. We are staying in Gradoli for three nights, but taking day trips in the Hill towns. Then dropping the car off in Orvieto to head to Rome by train for three nights. We have only done a touring vacation once before to New Zealand and we had a blast so we both anticipate this will be equally if not more fantastic!

In the meantime, I have also been volunteering for ARF (Animal Rescue Foundation) of Rincon www.arfofrincon.org since early January to help find homes for stray dogs and participate on the fundraising committee.   We already had a Bingo fundraiser in February on President's Day which was a great success. This was the first Bingo fundraiser ARF has done so it was a new experience for everyone. There were about 140 people that came with a nice mixture of Expats and Locals.

We sold Beer, Wine, Soda/Water and some light food. We also had a resource table with educational materials and photo's of dogs needing homes. I have to admit I have only played Bingo a couple of times before so this was quite an experience. Most of the people were dead serious about their Bingo - I had no idea! They came with their own cards (or we sold them at the door $5/6 cards). We used corn kernels and beans to cover the numbers. We actually ran out of corn kernels and someone had to make a run to get more. We had solicited several local businesses for gifts/prizes for the winners and ended up with about 30 gifts. A nice man named Pino (who is also running for Mayor of Rincon) called out the numbers and was in charge of the Bingo since he is Bi-lingual and has done this numerous times in the past.

We had gift certificates to local restaurants, gift baskets from local gift shops and cash prizes. The Bingo started around 4:00 and went until 8:00 pm - that is a lot of Bingo. I started setting-up around 12:00 and left around 7:30 so I was exhausted. Lots of work setting up all the tables, chairs, the bar, etc. The Bingo took place at a Tack and Saddle Shop that used to be a bar with an upstairs that was empty and the perfect space. So, everything had to be carried up two flights of steps. The best thing about the event is all the dogs were adopted!!!! Everyone was thrilled!

Next Monday, St. Patrick's Day we are having the annual St. Patty's Day Event at Villa Cofresi - ARF has held this event for numerous years and it is our biggest fundraiser of the year. We are going to have a silent auction (local businesses donated one night stays at hotels or guest houses, dinners, and art from local artists). About 200 people attend this with $30/per person including dinner. We will also sell wine, beer and soda/water. We are also going to have a live auction for some premium items such as a signed Bunger Surf Board. And we are going to have a parade of some of the dogs we have up for adoption hoping to find homes for these great dogs! This is how we got Hopkins a few years ago - at this same event so of course I am a strong supporter!

We are excited for the weekend - we may go to Bahia Sucia Beach (one of our favorites on the Southwest side of Puerto Rico). We went to La Parguera last week (Marcus took a day off) which was wonderful. Very relaxing. We usually rent from Cancel Boat Rental, but this time we rented from Johnny's Boat Rental. Someone greets people in the parking lot and guides you to the rental place. They alternate the days so it changes which one is open each day. We rented for 3 hours which went by so quickly. We headed to our favorite spot - Reef Pop. They have the best Aranitas (shredded plantains deep fried)! They are hard to find in Rincon and most of the hot spots don't have them on the menu - not sure why. You can also buy them frozen in the local supermercado and these are also quite good.

I am trying to learn Spanish - we bought the Rosetta Stone DVD before we left Colorado and I just started about two weeks ago. But this is something I need to do on a daily basis if I am really going to get anywhere so I am now trying to do a lesson 5 days a week Mon-Fri. I have done about 4 lessons - they are about 45 minutes each, but getting longer and harder as I go. I am determined to learn Spanish, but I have to force myself to speak Spanish when I am out in town because most people speak English. However, today I went to the School Supply store to buy some things and spoke Spanish, but the nice man worked with me and corrected me which was so helpful and encouraging! I will let you know how this progresses! For some reason I have never really been one to catch on to a new language easily - you know how some people just seem to absorb it and they speak like 3-5 languages, well I am not one of those fortunate people. I have to really work at it so that is what I am doing.

I am still on the hunt for a new couch (mentioned this previously), but have really been everywhere (Sears, Rooms to Go, Berrios, Sam's, etc.). I even called Pottery Barn who will ship to a Shipping Company who would then ship to me - sounds like mucho dinero to me. So, I am planning a San Juan trip in April to check stores in San Juan - I am confident I will find one! I am very particular about my living space and design so once I get my mind set on something I won't quit until I find it therefore the couch hunt continues. The word for couch in Espanol is Sofa and couch means something else, not sure what.......Just looked up couch which means expression in Espanol like I am going to couch that subject. No wonder the sales people looked at me funny:)