On Saturday, dad drove us to the airport. I guess in June United sent mom an itinerary change (Dulles instead of Newark) and she told the ticket agent..their system still showed Newark and she couldn't change another company's itinerary, so mom had to call United. The guy on the phone tried to fix it, but couldn't, so we had to check our bags just to Seattle and pick them up there. I saw a couple glaciers on the flight to Seattle, but the wing was right across from me, so it was hard to see them. We picked up our bags in Seattle and then went to United to check them the rest of the way (I'm glad we all have TSA Pre-Check, it makes going through security much easier! The Seattle flight left at 11 something (yaay, redeyes :/) and got to Dulles at 7 something. I got a tiny bit of sleep, but it's just so hard sleeping sitting up! On one of these flights I was reading a sci-fi book I brought, and suddenly it mentioned Puerto Rico, and how a character went to Caja de Muertos (literally "box of death," but it's usually translated as "Coffin Island," because it looks like someone in a coffin). I was like "huh, what are the chances of that??" When I landed, I Googled the island, which, incredibly, is off the coast of Ponce!!! What are the chances the book I've been reading (which mostly takes place in space) just HAPPENS to mention a place near Jo's hometown?!? Wow. The flight to San Juan took about four hours..we were definitely all tired of being stuffed on planes all day! On the flights I watched Murder on the Nile (I'd been wanting to watch it, since I recently read the book), Elemental and a good portion of Luca

After we landed, I walked outside and was completely overpowered by how HUMID it was! It felt like I was eating it! Crazy. Jo picked us up and drove us the hour and a half to Ponce. We drove through a crazy storm, with cloud-to-ground lightning and crazy loud thunder (maybe part of Hurricane Tammy?). I asked Jo if he had been to Caja de Muertos, and he said that he had! It's a nature reserve and has an abandoned lighthouse. As we neared Ponce, he pointed to the left and said "there is is!" OMG I can't get over that coincidence haha! It indeed looks like someone laying in a coffin. Guess I brought the right book to read. :P There are giant red letters saying "PONCE" right before you drive in. We got to Jo's mom's (Carmen) house, and Carmen and Jo's brother Jonathan greeted us (they visited Alaska a few years ago). When I walked into the house, I was surpised at how WHITE it was..the walls, floor, curtains, etc..blinding haha. It also looked spotless, which made me terrified to touch anything haha (Jo wasn't kidding when he said his mom loved order and cleans the house a lot :P). There are actually marks on the floor from when they killed centipedes with machetes haha! Jo's cousin was also over, and I showed her a pic of Abby and said "mi gato Abby!" At first mom was too scared to try to speak any Spanish..I attributed my confidence to Prozac (best medicine ever!!). It's weird though..when you try to speak Spanish to people here they look at you funny and are generally uncomfortable. After we settled in, a couple of Jo's aunts and more cousins came over (most of the family lives nearby). Only Jo and Jonathan speak English fluently..Carmen can read English, but only can say a few words. Still cool to see the people Jo talks about though! We had dinner, relaxed more, and mom and I were so tired we went to bed at 8 something haha. I fell asleep alright, but then woke up at 11 or 12 something feeling like I had been beaten up..my body ached (especially my back and butt), and my nerves felt like they were shocking me. I knew I wasn't sick though, because I've experienced similar things when traveling and being overstimulated. I laid awake miserable for a couple hours, but finally I knew I had to take Clonazepam and Motrin. I hadn't taken any Clonazepam since July and felt proud of my record, but this was one of those times I just knew I had to take some. I was able to go back to sleep after the meds kicked in (imagine how I would have felt if I hadn't been on Prozac!)

This morning I was half-awake, and all of a sudden felt an earthquake! It was funny, because yesterday mom was like "NO hurricanes or earthquakes while we're here!" The earth said "challenge accepted" LOL. I went back to sleep, woke up at 10 something, said "NOPE," and finally got up around 11:30..I definitely needed the sleep though. After breakfast we decided to check out a bookstore..on the way, it started POURING rain! The streets were like rivers, and my feet got soaked walking to the bookstore haha. The store had some books in English, but most were in Spanish..it was interesting seeing the Spanish translation of popular titles though. We also explored downtown, got some ice cream, and went to a gift shop. In certain places, you can still see the damage from Hurricane Maria (2017)..sad. There are cool old colorful historical buildings downtown. After that we went to the store..it was interesting seeing food unique to Puerto Rico (tamarinds, for one). After that we went back to the house, relaxed (I felt achy again, and took more Motrin, which helped some), and then went with Carmen to Hard Rock Cafe! A local band performed when we were there, they were actually pretty good! I got a shirt and pin for my backpack, yay! There were really cool frog sounds in the trees near the restaurant. Then we drove home. I'll probably go to bed soon after posting this lol, traveling is tiring :P

( some pics! )

21 – International Walk to School Month: Did you walk to school as a child? Are parents today too over-protective to let their children walk to school? I did when I was in 1st to 3rd grade, but then they rezoned me to a school further away..made no sense, but I guess "they" do what they want :P

22 – Colour Day: National Colour Day focuses on the impact colour has on each of us. Beyond having a favourite colour, are there colours that evoke specific feelings or memories in you? Colours you avoid or dislike because they remind you of something you'd rather forget, or give off "bad vibes"? Is there a colour that immediately brightens your mood, or calms you? Do you decorate your home with lots of bright colours? How important is colour in your life? OMG too many questions haha. Blue reminds me of glaciers. Hmm..I don't think so?? I mean I don't like pink, but that's just a preference lol. Blue and purple can make me happy Not really. It's definitely a nice thing to have!

23 – iPod Day: Have you ever owned an iPod (or other portable media player)? Do you remember those first songs? Do you still listen to them? What have you become in the days that have past, and do you smile with nostalgia or cringe with embarrassment as you remember your favorites from ages gone by? I did in high school..there were a bunch of metal songs on it. Not really. I smile and cringe at the same time LOL