So no Meal Pinning Monday for a few more weeks. No one probably cares that I can eat french toast and chips. Or that yogurt is amazing these days.
That means today is back on the Puerto Rico band wagon, and on this day we left Ponce headed for San Juan with several pit stops on the way.
The way the landscape changes so quickly is Puerto Rico was just amazing to me, especially being from Louisiana... land of flatness.
From our hotel balcony (another reason to stay at the Ramada in Ponce) we had a great view of the mountains and the building surrounding the square.
Mom, Dad, Jeremy, and I all went to this restaurant the night before. Chef's Creations is an open kitchen restaurant that specializes in tapas.
Jeremy got ribs that he didn't share that much with us, and Mom, Dad, and I got a whole array of tapas to share.
By this point Pop was exhausted so he voted for getting take out and we knew there was nothing on this menu that Laura or Joshua would tough. Made for a fun double date, especially for a group that hasn't had tapas before.
Just a few shots from the balcony, the streets of Ponce.
My Dad's oncologist went to medical school in Ponce, and my grandmother's Capo side of the family was involved in politics there.
Sorry, I just like iron gates.
And old wooden doors.
I was supposed to be loading the car but snuck out for one last photo opportunity before we left.
My usual proof that I exist. I haven't trained anyone to be my second photographer on trips.
Maybe I should just take the hint and follow other families on vacation to take photos for them ha!
We were leaving Ponce, but if you enter from this direction they have a huge Ponce sign, kind of like the Hollywood sign.
There were wind farms everywhere on this side of the island.
It wouldn't be profitable where we live so I was very intrigued by the constant view of massive white windmills.
Stop number 1 on our way to San Juan was to visit the Coamo Hot Springs, and for 2 dollars it was well worth the visit.
I had to take a picture of the sign just to remember what all was in the water.
There are two pools at the hot springs, the hot one and the supposedly cooler one.
It basically translated into the boiling pool and the bathtub warm pool. Kids obviously aren't reccomended to get into the boiling hot pool. Josuhua seemed to enjoy it, I still thought it was a little hot.
I made Laura take pics of us at the hot spring, only fair since she didn't get in.
Jeremy and Dad stayed in the hot pool much longer than I could tolerate. Mom stepped in and turned right around to go to the cooler one.
Dad is well known in our family for finding a hot tub and not getting out until he is well past the time the sign says he has to exit.
I recall one vacation in New Orleans when we were kids that Mom literally timed him and made him get out every 15 minutes. It went on for ages that he was in between the pool and hot tub. I apparently didn't inherrit his love for sitting in boiling water.
This place was kid friendly enough, it's definitely not a swimming pool though. The few kids that were there could get away with a little noise, but parents were quick to tell them to hush.
We were the only tourists in sight, the place was full of locals. Now the Coamo Hot Springs, like everywhere else I've mentioned in Puerto Rico gets busy quick. During the off season in particular the locals will fill the place up in a heart beat, so get there early.
It's definitely not an all day activity, allot 2 hours for the hot springs and move on. They offer massages, but none of us took advantage of the option. There are very nice restrooms and changing rooms in the facility.
It's by far worth more than the 2 dollars they charge.
As we were leaving it had started getting busier.
We had another stop to make before getting to San Juan, but I'll share the photos from that next time.
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