Camuy Caves

It was fun to have Ben's sister, Michelle and her friend Jamie, come and visit us last month. We decided to go to the Camuy Caves, which we haven't done here yet. This is something that we were told to do at least once before we leave. It was fun...I think that the trolley ride down to the cave was twice as scary as the caves. I had to laugh that they made us wear these hard hats. The cave was huge and open at both ends. I never felt like some stalactite was going to come crashing down on me, but its PR nothing makes sence. :)

My live hasn't improved...yet

So just an update. We borrowed this 1986 Jeep Wrangler from a friend of a friend. I have to go pick it up in Old San Juan and drive it home. Now this doesn't sound like a problem until I get there. First you have to hook the battery up every time you start it and give it about 7 to 10 shoves of the gas so the cab fills up with exhast and then it gets it going. It is also a stick which I know how to drive one, it has just been abut 3 years and I just need some practice. So as of yet not that big of a deal, right? [Besides we are VERY happy just to be having a car and it is not like we are really stepping down from our previous car (see previous post)]. So I only kill the car like 17 times getting it out of the parking lot and through the streets of OSJ. For any of those that have been there you know that you have to stop and slam on your breaks like 78 times every block to avoid PR taxis, lost cruisers trying to gain their land legs again, local vendors (purses, sunglasses, M & M's, Piragua) and the local homeless people. So I make it over the bridge and onto the 2, a pretty large highway/freeway depending on your standards. I am starting to pick up speed and can you imagine a VERY bumpy PRcan road? Very unusual... So I am coming up on this last bump and slow down just a little as it correlates with an on ramp. As I hit the bump the hoop of the Jeep slams up into the windshield covering my front view. I slow down and get honked at (because you can stop in the middle of the road here to talk to your friend through the car windows, but if you can't see where in the heck you are going that is a true driving offense). I look in my mirrors and see coming up the on ramp are not one, but two semis trying to merge in to the lane I am trying to stay in and stop in because there is no emergency lane at this point. I pray that they will see that I am stopped and go around me, I can’t turn on flashers because I don’t think the jeep has any. I hold my breath and they both pass me. I then open my door, slam the hood shut and shake all the way to Bayamon. To make a long story short... the Jeep owner did not give us the gas key or directions to her house until Ben was stuck in the rain with a leaking roof with both kids waiting on the lock smith to pry open the locked gas tank. $45 later the tank was opened and he was on his way....until the sun set and he had no headlights. What a life!
So just when we were getting use to the Jeep for 3 days I decided that it would be a real great idea to jump and sprain my knee! Now I am on crutches for 3-6 weeks and no pain killers or MRI or CT scan so hopefully no surgery!
But the good news is we are really blessed. I know that it might not sound like it, or do I make it sound like we think we are, but the truth is we are. Our friends have been amazing. They have helped us and helped us more than they know. I truly understand that the Lord answers prayers through others. So thanks to all of you that have blessed our lives, especially recently, and help us try to endure it, and endure it WELL.

Why This Explains EVERYTHING!!!

So I was, until recently, unaware of the boundaries and boarders of the Bermuda Triangle. After discovering that Puerto Rico was at one of the points of this unexplained anomaly I now understand EVERTHING about my life on this island.
It explains why this supernatural vortex sucks every rational thought and logical behavior form every member of society, it brings to light the fact that 5o year old men standing in the middle of two lanes are possessed with the undeniable faith that they are invincible to death or injury as speeding cars rattle there endless supply of M&M's and water bottles. This static electricity justifies planes full of passengers applauding and hailing Mary for the safe arrival of their passenger jet through what was sure to be an inevitable death thousands of miles high in the center of an unexplained magnetic deviation. With San Juan being one of the paranormal apexes now clarifies why the word “appointment” means, “just sometime between the end of lunch on Monday and the end of lunch on Friday. Because who knows, you might be sucked into the mystical geometric shape over the ocean and the doctor might have to wait for you.” And now I understand why Americans move to this island and feel as if a tornado blew them here and open their door to find strange little people, wearing weird clothes, sporting odd hairstyles and playing mesmerizing music.
Puerto Rico sure aint Kansas, but it sure gives me daily reasons to believe in the powers of the numinous "Triangle."

What Does a Person Find at a PR Park?

Yes, you are seeing right...there is a cow at the playground. This is the playground, I use the word loosely, in our neighborhood and there is a cow tied up and grazing on the long grass by the monkey bars. The kids were a little nervous but I thought it was a perfect PR moment. I couldn't resist taking a picture and making it its own post!

The kids got a little jumpy when the cow moo-ved closer:) That joke was for my mom...

How They "Hang" in PR

For those of you that don't really understand the PR life I thought that I would post this picture of a "swing set" on the way to Kalli's school. I especially enjoy the added touch of the stray dog in the background. There are usually some roosters wondering around too. I love my hood!

Puerto Ricans Trying to Put More Junk in Their Trunk

My friend, Julia, and I were at this PR store called Capri. It is like a glorified dollar store with a Latin twist. I love it! We saw these "special sale" items called Pumpies and just had to take a picture of the display.


I am not sure why Latin women want bigger booties and us gringas are looking for ways to minimize our rears. But they are obviously a very popular and in demand thing to own.

And because it would not be a true Brianna moment unless I insisted on taking a hideous picture of myself and putting it up for all you to see, I thought that I would model a pair for the camera! We were laughing so hard and yes a few people were staring...