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When:
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Thu.,
February 13, 2003
In-Transit Day, Baltimore
to Rincón via San Juan
Predictable-sunny, mid-80s
with lows in the upper 60s, give or take a few degrees
Three From alt.surfing--Joanne
VanMeter, Dan King and myself, merging from various points of origin. |
Up
early and off to the airport for the check-in and security lines on a cold
morning. Winter has been too long and cold already so this sprint
trip to PR is the Right Medicine. Curbside would not check me in
as the agent mumbled something about surfing type devices. Looking at the
long lines that wrapped around the check-in counters it was a no-brainer
to opt for the new automated check-in kiosks. This went very smoothly,
the boarding pass was issued without pain along with the baggage claim
tags. Then I hauled my luggage over to the van-sized super nuclear
luggage screening machine a left them there. Everything showed up
in SJU a-ok. Still 90 minutes to burn at BWI airport so after picking
up a triple cappy it was cue time at security - another loooong line that
thankfully lasted a short 15 minutes. OK, it's off to PR, so what
the hell! Arrived on-time to San Juan, made contact with #1 ASer
Joanne (no kidding, a #1 world
class surfing ASer!), picked up our bags, and headed off to pick up
our late model Camry (must have been last year's model because this year's
model that we rented in December had a much roomier trunk - this was still
better than many for the size vehicle). Seeing how we had three hours
to kill before picking up ASer
Dan King,(note) I hauled Joanne
to Boca de Cangrejos for a "bienvenidos a Puerto Rico "tropical drink.
The patio is located out on the tip overlooking the bay towards Condado
as well as the rock island that is next to the outer reef break called
Caballo. I related my one and only surfing experience there before yanking
JCV and heading off for a swim in Piñones. We found a nice
calm cove beyond Chatarra and Aviones -- travel brochure quality white
sands and nearly deserted. Nothing like a warm water swim to wash
away all that travel grime :) Before we knew it the little birdie
in the clock cooed its reminder that it was time to pick up Dan.
Grabbed some coffees and bottled water, picked up Daníto curbside,
and buzzed off to Rincón with only a stop for some more coffees
at the usual Island drive rest stop in Hatillo, at the
El
Buen Café. Oh yeah... and a friendly introduction to driving,
Borinqueño style (they started wearing their seat belts more often,
but I love driving in PR compared to Washington, D.C... I find it relaxing
<g>).
Arriving in Rincón,
our first stop was to pick up a fun shape board for Joanne at The
Vista before heading to check in at our villa, Beside
the Pointe, in Punta Higueros. The villa still doesn't beat my
regular digs, Villa Cofresí,
but it met our basic criteria for 3 beds and 3 rooms, along with a frig
and coffee maker (no phones). There was also a serviceable ocean view porch
outside our room that was nice for hanging out, checking the surf, and
kicking back some drinks while watching the nearly full moon rise throughout
the evening. Made a quick trip to the Econo supermercado for basic
surf supplies (12-paks of Heinekens, juice, water, coffee and rum) and
settled on Villa Cofresí,
for a light snack of pínchos and drinks. JCV and Dan were favorably
impressed by the Villa and wondered why we were not staying there.
It was the first place I scoped out but it is a very popular Island resort,
especially during holiday weekends such as President's Day, and no rooms
were available.
a Dan had grand
plans of becoming a big AS Points whore during his 6-month assignment in
Baltimore with trips to New England and Florida, racking up massive AS
points, and closing in and conquering the current masters, Foon and Rod.
He only early one measly point on this PR trip (ditto for Joanne and myself). |