TENNIS n TRAINS: OUR CRUISE VACATION 2007 -THE TRIP BEGINS! Page 1

Our CRUISE VACATION 2007 - THE TRIP BEGINS! - Page 1

Wednesday, March 29, 2007 Omaha to Chicago to San Juan, Puerto Rico

Lisa, John, Jenny, Austin, Ken and I were up bright and early on Wednesday 3/29/2007.

We left Omaha, NE at 6:17 on United Airlines...the plane actually took off on time. The trip to Chicago was very good, no roughness or bad weather. We were really anxious about flying to Puerto Rico.....its a 5 hour flight and none of had been on an airplane for that long a time. I kept drinking tonic water hoping that it would help with leg cramps....seems as I get older, they are more frequent. Stretching helps, but a long flight had me worried.

After landing in Chicago, we wandered through the terminal looking for the American Airlines area….WHERE WAS IT??? ...on the other side of the terminal of course. (hint: try to stay on the same airline if you're changing planes.....different airlines can be very far apart in the terminal)

We finally found the American Airlines gate and got ready to go ...a trip to the restroom, a few new books, cinnabuns, sodas and anything else we thought we’d need. The flight to San Juan was very long but smooth. We were happy when it was finally over and we landed safely in San Juan. Jenny decided that this would be the last time she was going to be cooped up in a plane for nearly 5 hours. She doesn’t know that her dad is already thinking of next year’s cruise.

In San Juan, we stayed at the Wind Chimes Inn. We had found it on the internet and were a little concerned about what we were getting into. At first glance it looked small and we were not sure we had made a good choice. It was completely enclosed by a white stucco wall—we had to buzz the reception area so they would open the door. The people were very friendly and helpful and we settled in.

Our accommodations were not quite what we expected. Both of the rooms were small and NOT like the photos we had seen on the internet. However, we had a "standard" room with a queen sized bed...costing $99.00 per night at the discounted high season rate. But, they were clean, the beds were good, the shower worked and had hot water plus a working TV set . Obviously this was an old establishment but we were satisfied.

Ken and I had rooms on the patio a few steps from the small swimming pool. The pool had a tinkling little waterfall on one side and just sitting in a lounge chair enjoying the sun beside it was Heaven!

A raised patio with chairs and tables was near the pool. There was a Inn room under the pool.....I don't think we would have been pleased to be renting that one

Lisa, John, Jenny and Austin were in a room around the corner from us….very handy. We could walk out our doors to the patio, swimming pool, lobby and Tiki Bar. The Tiki Bar served food and drinks....the kids loved the pizza and we were satisfied with whatever we ordered.

The Inn was fairly quiet, and the only tourists we met were several older people, a young couple and two girls from New York who were spending their vacation in San Juan. Our kids, Jenny and Austin were the only children staying there. We didn't spend a lot of time at the Inn, preferring to wander around San Juan and take in the "atmosphere". We did see more adults gathered at the Tiki Bar....just talking and enjoying the beauty of the flowers and atmosphere of the Wind Chimes Inn.

As soon as we settled into the Inn, we walked to the beach, about two blocks away. The surf was too rough for swimming---big, big waves. So, we just waded and walked along the beach picking up shells and looking the area over. There were several large hotels and condominiums on the shore. Later we were told that the water wasn’t safe for swimming due to the undertow. The beach itself was nice but if you plan to do any swimming, check it out with the locals. We didn't see anyone who was in charge...no chairs or anything. Just a plain ole beach.

That evening, we went to Fuddruckers for dinner. We all had hamburgers – no adventurous eaters in our group. The food was good, the French fries were very, very spicy…but the malted milks were wonderful!