Castillo Felipe del Moro

This was probably our most memorable adventure in Old San Juan.  We visited El Moro - the Spanish fort built over a 250 year period to protect the rich harbor (puerto rico).  They defeated the British and Dutch invasions here over the years and even put up resistance to the Americans in 1898.  The US Military mounted anit-aircraft guns and a new observatory here during WWII.  There are five levels of defense with massive ramps to move cannons.  The architecture and engineering of the sentry posts and 18' walls is spectacular.

After a lot of stairs and hot weather inside it felt great to step outside where the tradewinds are very strong and there are many kites flying in the open park.

This is NOT Dominica

We were supposed to be settling in to our new digs by now, but instead we are on an extended vacation in Puerto Rico.

On Sunday, we checked out of our apartment in Old San Juan and met up with the Ross "Command Center" here in Isla Verde.  Ross is really doing everything they can to make the wait easy -- not only covering the hotel, but hosting events and providing a per diem.  So, it was a bit weird last night eating at Outback in the Embassy Suites hotel after expecting to be in rural Dominica by now!

Graybeard!  But she makes me feel so young!

We are taking advantage of the beach and hotel pool.  Elijah is a water bug - he loved riding the waves today and did not want to get out of the ocean!  Miles meanwhile, was ready to go back after we built the sandcastle.

Ross has tentatively scheduled a tour of Old San Juan which we would take advantage of even though we just spend a few days there.  And we may try to get to the Children's Museum in Carolina if we have time before we fly out.

I told the boys once we get to Dominica mom will be really busy, so they will be spending a lot of time with me.  I thought we should come up with a nickname and suggested "Tres Amigos".  Elijah thought this was "not very original, so he re-branded us.

The "Three Adventurers"!

We kept the Sea at bay for quite a while with this design!

A Chance to Relax

The last few weeks have been busy and the last few days before we left were hectic -- not much sleep.  I never thought we would actually get everything in those four suitcases and keep each under 40lbs!  We were up until midnight on Wednesday with last minute packing and then up at 4:30am to make sure we caught our flight.  We were planning to take MARTA, but Joel McBee insisted on driving us to the airport.  Thanks Joel!  Made it a lot easier with all those bags and tired kids!'

At the airport, our bags were all a little over 40lbs, but luckily, they didn't look at it and the bags made it all the way through the transfer at Ft. Lauderdale and to San Juan.   Kids got their "last" taste of Chick-fil-A in Terminal A.

Everything worked out well and I got a good workout carrying up all the luggage to the third floor.  We have a beautiful view of Old San Juana and have already spent quiet a few hours walking around.  Children's Museum was closed Thursday/Friday, so hope to catch that on Saturday.



Thursday night we found out George & Vanessa Zelasko were in Condado, so we came over to their hotel to see Vanessa & the baby on Friday  (George is working on a movie set).  Had an awesome time at an ocean-side restaurant and the pool here and hope things will finally liven up in Old San Juan after we take the bus back there this evening.

Safe in Veijo San Juan

We arrived in San Juan on Thursday early afternoon and realized things were not normal here.  Normally buzzing plazas and cafes in Old San Juan were eerily quiet. The only activity seemed to be grocery shopping.  Our 3rd floor apartment had 2x4 braces over the window shutters and our Airbnb host explained the island was bracing for Erika.

At the grocery store, the beer was wrapped in cellophane -- someone later explained they are under a dry law due to Erika.  So, most restaurants and all the bars closed up for the day.  Government is shut down Thursday/Friday, so not sure if we'll be able to see any museums today.

Weather wise it was nice in San Juan.  Occasional light rain shower and some gusts of wind overnight, but didn't even seem like a storm.

Crazy thing is Dominica was in all the news headlines as the worst hit.  Sound like a mudslide in the Southeast of the country killed several people and the airport in the Northeast had flooding and damage.  We will try to figure out if there will be any impact to our flight, but hopefully things will recover quickly.   Ross is on the Northwest side near Portsmouth.

Getting Ready

Well, it is almost time to ship out.  We sent out five barrels with household goods and get on the plane Thursday morning  (8/27) with a few suitcases.  Will be in Puerto Rico (Viejo San Juan) for a few days and fly to Dominica on Sunday (8/30).

Getting excited about the trip!

Today was Elijah and Miles' last day at Wesley International.  I'm sure it was a bit sad saying goodbye to friends so early in the school year - especially for Elijah who has been at Wesley the last two years.  Miles brought cupcakes today to celebrate his birthday (turning 6 on September 11th) a bit early with his Kindergarten class.

We will be in Dominica for about 20 months at Ross University School of Medicine and then hope to return to Atlanta for rotations at Atlanta Medical Center.

Cam'ron will be going to high school in St. Louis, but we did get a chance to see him this weekend.  We got an acceptance for Cam'ron to KIPP Collegiate Prep today - great timing!

I think Cam'ron would have loved Dominica - he is always cold - here he is at HomeGrown on Sunday.  We will miss him, but plan to have him visit us in Dominica next summer.