Rincon Adventure

Well, this past week I went home (Louisville, KY where I am from originally) to visit my family. I had a wonderful time  - very relaxing and nice time spent with family and friends. I was there for 6 nights which was just right. I realized from our previous experience in living in Puerto Rico that it is important for me to get off the island every once in a while.

When we lived here before for 19 months I think we only left the island twice which looking back on probably wasn't good. However, in our defense I worked 6 days a week for a high end luxury resort so holidays and weekends were busy and I didn't have a lot of time off. Things that are familiar, expected, comforting are important for me to experience in order to keep a good perspective, but to also adjust to the differences here more easily.

I spent some time in Target which sounds ridiculous, but they don't have Target in Puerto Rico (I looked on the Target website to see if there was any indication of a store opening here, but didn't find anything). They do have Sam's, Wal-mart and Kmart, but anyone who is a die-hard Target fan like me knows that these simply don't compare to Target. So, again just an indication of needing things that are familiar. Also went shopping to pick up some things at Willams-Sonoma to bring back - one of the items was a pizza stone. We used to have one in Colorado, but didn't think it made sense to ship it so I hauled it back on three planes (luckily it didn't break). I know...we are nuts. I did look for one at the aforementioned places, but no luck.

So, got back late on Tuesday night (landed around 1:45 am) and the amazing thing was there was a Jet Blue flight leaving after this time - crazy, but it is an inexpensive flight from Aguadilla to NY. It felt good to be back which was a nice feeling. It was great to have Marcus pick me up and drive away and know that we aren't tourists, we actually live here!

I went shopping on Thursday - out to the Mayaguez mall looking for a Kitchen Aid Mixer. We had one in Colorado, but again it didn't make sense to ship due to the weight. I had luck with this one - found it at Wal-mart. So, that was a pleasant surprise. Also headed to Marshall's just because this is such a great place to browse as well as Sears, JCPenney and Pier 1 for furniture. We decided we should buy a couch. We have one here in the house, but it is a rattan couch more suitable for short-term rentals than everyday use. So, on the hunt for a decent couch. I did find out that Pottery Barn is opening a store in Plaza Las Americas (huge mall in San Juan) in April so I may make the trip to check it out. Actually, San Juan pretty much has everything you need, but the 2.5 hour drive makes it a full day outing. Haven't made the trip yet, but thinking I might soon.

I also stopped at a grocery store in Mayaguez named Grande and larget (Spanish to English translation) it was. Probably the best grocery store I have been to besides the Amigo in Aguadilla. Pretty much had everything I needed - lots of gourmet cheeses, some organic items and anchovies! Econo in Rincon rarely has anchovies. This seems inconsequential but we cook a lot - actually pretty much every night and we aren't the macaroni and cheese kind of cooks. We make homemade pizza, pasta, bread, etc. So, a good grocery is muy importante. Which reminds me I have only done one Spanish lesson from my Rosetta Stone, but plan on doing this on a daily basis during the week. I will let you know how it goes. I am determined to learn Spanish!

We spent some time at the beach today - Sandy Beach in front of the Tamboo. A bit windy with some sea and sand spray, but wonderful. We took some pics of a Kite Surfer. We are trying to use our new camera to get more comfortable with it. We are going to Italy (can't wait, we have been wanting to go for about 5 years, but got detoured to Puerto Rico!) in May and wanted to upgrade our digital camera we have had for 6 years to something with more bells and whistles. Maybe you will be able to tell with our exceptional photos...or not.;)  

We are off to Triple S insurance on Monday to change our existing previous employment insurance to self-employed/personal insurance (Marcus is now a contractor for his company instead of an employee - the expense to be a certified company in Puerto Rico is expensive so this was the best alternative).  I found where it was located on the way home from the mall so at least we know we won't be driving around trying to find it!