A Brief Escape

Every January, Marc attends a conference in Puerto Rico. When the kids were younger, we would join him for part of the trip. Nick and Gaby used to have no trouble missing 2 or 3 days of school. That changed when Nick hit middle school. He found it more difficult to be absent from school and get back on track, having a different teacher for each subject. So, the last time we tagged along with Marc was 4 years ago.

This year, we decided to give it a go again. With a few years of changing classes/teachers and managing his school schedule under his belt, Nick was confident he'd have no trouble with a 2 day absence from school.

However, getting away wasn't easy. After a busy weekend of Nick's SOR shows and Gaby's birthday celebration, and of course, MLK Day of service, both kids were sick. Nick had a lingering headache that had started Friday, and Gaby appeared to be experiencing her second bout of strep throat in as many months.

Tuesday started with a late arrival due to freezing rain, and Gaby home with a sore throat and temperature of 102. Even the call to the pediatrician's office was futile. Routed to their answering service, I found that the weather had also delayed the opening of the pediatrician's office!

While things didn't look too promising Tuesday night, we got it all sorted out for our Wednesday evening departure. Antibiotics for Gaby's confirmed strep throat, Roxi to Petsmart, Jessie bird to Marc's co-worker Brigette, and best of all, when Nick came home on Wednesday, his headache was finally gone!!

Of course our departure out of Philly was delayed when a passenger became ill before take off and left the plane. It took them quite awhile to dig out their checked luggage, and by the time we got underway, the delay had stretched to over an hour.

But we made it, with the pictures to prove it!

Gaby had asked before we arrived if the two of us could get up early and go for a walk on the beach. I was only too happy to oblige!

Some beach time.

Early morning ferry to Isla de Culebra.

Flamenco Beach, apparently rated #2 on the top ten beach list. Beaches of the world.

It was breathtaking!

Heading for snorkeling waters.

It was a long and buggy walk to find the beach that was suitable for snorkeling.

Soooooo worth it!

We returned to Flamenco Beach after snorkeling, and lunch. We settled at a shady table since we all had a bit of sunburn. I was relaxing on the sand and Nick was on the bench above.

Our last day on the beach.

We didn't venture out much on Saturday cuz of our sunburns, so I was able to work on some art journaling. Gaby actually painted more of those little squares than I did.

Love this picture! We grabbed a late lunch on Sunday before heading for the airport. Nick ordered the whole fried fish. It was delicious!!