I enjoyed a nice week in San Juan Puerto Rico and Miami with friends.  First stop was San Juan.  The hotel was lovely as were the citizens of Puerto Rico.  I have been before and waited too long to go back.  Puerto rican citizens, in my experience, are so friendly and helpful.  It's always a pleasure to talk with them as they have such a good vibe about them.

I probably gained 10 pounds thought.  We ate and ate and then we ate some more.  So many things to try and all were delicious.  The high point of the trip was having a friend who was on the island for a month drive us around to where tourists dont go.  We wound up in a beach town called Pinones which is like a working class beach with FOOD.  There are all sorts of stands selling all sorts of foods.  Loved it!  The winner of the evening was the fresh crab wrapped in sweet plaintain and fried.  I don't remember what it's called but I WANT MORE!!

Sadly the island of Puerto Rico is officially in a depression as their downturn started well ahead of the mainland US.  The tourist areas are visibly interuuped in terms of development interruptus.  The rest of the island including Old San Juan is as beautiful and vibrant as ever.  After a few days in San Juan, I stopped over in Miami to visit my very cool friends William and Jason.  They showed me around and it sure has changed since I was there for College back in the early '90s.

Here are my pics from the San Juan/Miami trip. Enjoy....

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QUEENIE: CHECK OUT THE VAGABAND PICS>>THOSE ARE FOR YOU!

Sadly I got some bad news while I was on holiday.  A dear co-worker of mine passed unexpectedly.  Such a sweet and fun lady.  She was looking forward to and so proud of her daughter's wedding, which was to be in 2 months.   The memorial service is tomorrow and they are expecting a few hundred people because this lady was one that touched many.  My thoughts and prayers are with her family.