Puerto Rico.

 A couple weeks ago, Chuck and I along with our dear friends Erin and Shawn Nimmer, took a trip to Puerto Rico!! We bought our tickets back in February and the timing for our trip couldn't have been worse. Hahah. But that wasn't going to stop us from going! We woke up super early Thursday morning and hopped on a plane to Houston, and then on another plane to San Juan! 

When we got there, we kept asking people about where we could get some good authentic Puerto Rican food, but no one seemed to know! Except one lady from Chicago who told us the pizza was the best. ("Better than Chicago pizza!" She told us. But when we did get pizza, it was the worst pizza we have ever eaten in our lives.) We scoped the area around our hotel and the best we could go was a fancy Chili's restaurant.  After that we went to the pool which was right on the ocean, part of which was covered in hermit crabs! The next day we hit the city and it was amazinggg. So pretty with so many cute houses and shops and all of it right on the beach!

View from our hotel room!

Old San Juan

The next day we found a "secret" beach that was absolutely beautiful and almost completely empty! The sand was white and water was warm and practically clear! I loved this beach and would have stayed there all day!

Playa Medio Mundo!

Erin!

Later that day we went hiking through the jungle to a waterfall! Everything was so green and lush it made me long for the green of California.  Arizona makes me miss color! The waterfall was super pretty but so cold and the rocks were so slippery!

El Yunque National Forest

Of course we got some coconuts!

The next day we drove down to Ponce to do some exploring! We water was even warmer and more clear than any ocean water I'd ever seen! We even got to stop by one of the local LDS church buildings and talk to some of the locals. The building was outdoor and so different than the ones we have here, but it felt good to know the church itself is the same all around the world.

Atlantic Oceannn.

The last full day of our trip we took a ferry to the island Culebra. It was sooo amazing! We rented a jeep and headed straight to the water and scubaed with some turtles and fish and even a sting ray! This was definitely the best day of our trip. The beaches were gorgeous, the sand white, the water was warm and totally clear, no matter how far out you went, you could always see your toes!

The second most beautiful beach in the world! 

It was the best way to end our perfect trip.  Our last hotel that night was amazing and right on the beach as well. The pools were warm and hotel interior was beautiful. We are so glad we were able to go on such a fun trip with such great friends! Though it was nice to come home, we miss our island trip!