Flights, Funny hats, and Food


I love just how much returning to Guayama after time in the States feels like coming home.  The sights on the road, the feeling of pulling up to the fountain at the edge of town, and most of all the smell of my house are comforting.  I really enjoyed my week at “home home,” but it’s good to be back.  And that fact is a beautiful thing. 

I wouldn’t normally go to Wisconsin over Thanksgiving break, but I had a special reason to do so this year.  One of my best friends from college got married!  So, Thursday, right after school, Robert and I set off for the Patillas airport, and he flew me to the San Juan airport in his plane.  Talk about riding in style! 

Robert's plane


San Juan from the air




























Other than having to run to make a short connection in Houston, my flights went well, and by midnight I had landed in Chicago and was reunited with my friend Ice (college nickname…I can’t call her anything else).  We drove to her house, which she shares with her now-husband.  The best man and his girlfriend were staying the night as well, so we passed a few hours getting to know each other and enjoying ourselves.  I was a marching band geek in college, and that’s where I met Ice.  She married a fellow band geek, and consequently it was a wedding filled with band people.  We realized that of the 14 people in the wedding party, all but one of us had marched at some point in our lives.  So getting to know the grooms-people (both sides had both guys and girls stand up) felt like I’d been transported back to college.  Music people are music people the whole world over—dirty jokes, quirky senses of humor, arrogance, a love for music and all.

It was a blast. 

It was a weekend filled with funny hats, photobombs, a marathon game of “Never Have I Ever,” stories, messing with the photographer, and LOTS of laughter and dancing.
I’ll drink to that. 


And the photo-bombing begins





After Sunday, my week at home calmed down.  I spent Monday and Tuesday mainly at home, getting ready for the job fair (more on that later) and running errands.  

On Wednesday, Liz and I cooked a Thanksgiving feast and had some family and friends over to share it with us.  There’s nothing like gathering around a table with good food (mountains of good food) and good people. 



Thursday, I ran a 5 mile Turkey Trot in the morning (in 41:28—my personal best by a long shot!), then lazed away the afternoon until it was time to head to my aunt’s for Thanksgiving there.  Again—good food, good people, you can’t go wrong. 



The night—and my visit—concluded with a few friends at one of my favorite spots in La Crosse.  Getting to see everyone (and laugh a lot) was a great way to end my mini-vacation at home. 

And on Friday, it was back on the road!  A 2 hour drive to Minneapolis, a 3 hour flight to Houston, a 5 hour layover, then a 4 hour flight to PR, capped off with a 1 hour drive back to Guayama, and I was back.  Time for a nap and to unpack.  Maybe I’ll hit up the beach later this afternoon.  It was snowing in Wisconsin yesterday…so I should probably take full advantage of my current location.  

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