Grady in Paradise

Posted on Feb. 10, 2010 at 2:33 PM - Post Comment

Last week we headed to Puerto Rico for some beachy fun and a break from this extra chilly winter we have had.  We left on Wednesday morning, bright and early.  Our travels went very smoothly and we were off without a hitch!

Here is Grady playing happily on the plane:




It was only a 2:45 hour flight, so no big deal. We arrived early in San Juan and couldn't find my Nana (who was supposed to be there first) but then realized she was delayed about 1/2 hour due to "de-icing" in Boston. We found her, got the rental car, and met up with our family friend "Miss Ana" who lives in San Juan. She followed us back to our condo and hung out with us that evening. Grady slept on the drive to the condo (about 45 minutes) and we enjoyed the amazing views.

Once we got settled in we let G take a dip in the pool. Here he is in the baby pool



Then we checked out our beach, and it was gorgeous! It was steps from our condo and we were the ONLY ones on it except for one day when there were 2-3 other families. The water doesn't look as bright here because it was late in the day, but it was an amazing blue-green, as you can see in later pics.



Grady loved gathering tiny coconuts



Looking up towards the condo



Looking down the beach the other way - the waves were big that day, but Grady loved them. He wanted to go in and "surf" no matter what. They were quieter on some days though.



Papa and Daddy taking him in for his first ocean swim of the trip



That evening we went out to a great Puerto Rican restaurant for dinner - Richie's. It also had an incredible view! Here is the view from the parking lot:



And from our table



We gazed at the million stars once the sun set and just enjoyed our dinner. Grady was very good despite the slower service (typical Caribbean service) and even ate Mahi Mahi nuggets (he loves tilapia but mahi is quite different).

Here he is checking out their fish tank which had about every character from "Finding Nemo" as he pointed out



We put Grady to bed, said goodbye to Ana, and then Eric and I went back to the restaurant to have a drink and dessert (well I just had dessert) and relax. It was a great day and not even too stressful with all that travel!

Thursday was the first full day of our trip and we headed to Luquillo Beach, which was about a 10 minute drive from our condo.  Though we were in a beachfront condo, we wanted to check out this beach since it always gets on the lists of best beaches and stuff.  It is one of the most photographed beaches in the world, for good reason!

First, that morning, I took a few pictures from our balconies - we had 5, including a HUGE rooftop deck that was all ours!

Looking towards the condo complex and the mountains beyond



Ocean view from the master balcony



rainforest and mountain views from the roofdeck



I told Grady you could drink right out of a coconut and he loved the idea, so we got him one at the cool little food stands that were at the beach.



He actually didn't love it. I didn't think he would because I have had them before and they are a little salty.



Luquillo Beach in all its glory!



Here is my 23 week belly shot :)





playing with Nana and Papa

my personal heaven



We got some really yummy Puerto Rican food at the little food stands for lunch

Grady had a Pina Colada for dessert



After naptime that afternoon Grady wanted a snack. We had gotten some locally grown tiny bananas (I forget the name), and he downed three!



That evening we went to a Cuban/Puerto Rican restaurant.

The next morning we headed for El Yunque first thing. The rainforest was only about 15 minutes from our condo.

At the welcome center - it was cool to learn about it before heading out into the wilderness



Um, these don't smell!



The center was open-air and built right into the jungle, so there were cool things to see all over



There was an orchid growing out of the wall



another view





Heading to our first stop - a waterfall







We climbed this tower for a better view



The views were truly amazing



looking down on the jungle canopy





through a window in the tower



view from the top



setting off on our 2 mile hike in the jungle - it was hard work because there were tons of steep hills



Grady found some giant leaf





The sounds were incredible - Coqui frogs (who make the sound "coqui" constantly), tropical birds, and rushing water.

We all wore our water shoes so we could just wade into the waterfalls and streams



coming upon a really large waterfall



We didn't see too many people on our hike, but there were some other people at this waterfall



The whole group



Good shot of the falls









We ate a picnic lunch in the rainforest and then headed back for a nap. That afternoon we hit our beach again, and it was just a beautiful time on the beach. Because of the time of day, the water looked so bright



See - no one in sight





Grady's favorite game while in Puerto Rico was building a "bayou" on the beach - we would find little bits of seaweed and shells and dig a big hole for his animals that we brought







So excited, as always



We all swam a lot - look how far out they are!



That night we actually got pizza from a local little bakery that was quite good! We just figured we would take a break one night from eating out. Another thing we discovered that night was that if you go up on the roofdeck after dark you can see about a million stars. Grady was so excited by this!