2024 Life Logs, Day 334: From Finca Maravilla to Marina Beach to Puntes to Cowboys
Date: Saturday, November 30, 2024
Weather: Mostly Sunny; 87 High Temp, Low 75 degrees F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco in Aguada, Puerto Rico
Today was a day of going here and there with everyone going in different directions. Jo and Coco went into Rincon to run some errands while Justin and I walked the horses across the road to a neighbor’s field where they can graze during the day. I wanted to tag along just to see Cacique and Hopi. I have been here six days, and this was the first time I have had a chance to see them. It is a short trip, not much more than half a mile, but the steepness of the driveway getting from here at the house up to the road is truly the steepest I have ever encountered.
I was exhausted by the time we reached the road, but then it was flat and downhill to the neighbor’s fields. The problem was I had to walk back up the neighbor’s steep driveway. Not as steep as Finca Maravilla’s, but steep enough!
Jo and Coco barely got home from running errands before it was time for Jo to take Coco to Marina Beach in Rincon for a birthday party. I tagged along as wanted to go to the beach. Coco said she didn’t want to spend more than two hours at the party, and I knew I could find a place on the beach far enough away from the birthday party so that Coco wouldn’t feel like I was intruding. It was a beautiful beach day with calm water and full sunshine. I enjoyed every minutes of it, but two hours was enough for me. Coco, however, was having such a good time that she decided not to leave when Justin came to pick me up. In the meantime, he had gone to pick up the truck with a new key fob made to order and he had taken Ziggy to a friend’s house for the afternoon. Justin took me home and then he drove Jo to Puntes to the market where she set up a stall to sell her natural beauty products. On the way home, Justin stopped to pick up Coco for the second time, and still she was not ready to leave. So once again, Justin drove up the mountain with just enough time to go get the horses and bring them home before getting a text from Coco that she was ready to leave. I was exhausted just watching him drive in and out and in and out and took a nap while he went to get Coco.
Then it was time for the final trip of the day. After Coco showered off, the three of us went to pick up Ziggy and then drove to Puntes to get Jo. The market was still going, so Justin, Ziggy, Coco, and I walked across the street to an oceanside restaurant and had cold drinks while waiting for Jo. At 7 pm, we went back to help her take down the tent and pack up her goods and get them into the truck. Then we all piled in and went to Cowboys for dinner.
Cowboys is a covered outside restaurant with a yeehaw Western theme where their wood-fired grills “infuse every bit with smoky perfection.” We have gone there many times when I have been here visiting, and Ziggy really wanted to go there for dinner tonight. When Ziggy and Coco were little, they would put on the cowboy hats and ride the little mechanical bucking broncos. Now we just go to eat the food, but after dinner Ziggy did grab a cowboy hat and did a little Western jig. I think that was his was of saying he really enjoyed the dinner.
While we are here in warm, sunny Puerto Rico having fun, Heather, Jed, and the Goldpebbles are now in much cooler Amsterdam having fun. Today’s photo was of the boys looking out over the canal landscape with windmills.
Unfortunately for all of us tomorrow is the last vacation day. On Monday, Coco and Ziggy go back to school after a week long break, I fly home, and the Goldstones fly home. I am not sure what is on the agenda in the Netherlands, but we are going to get a Christmas tree so it can be decorated while I am here. ‘Tis the season.
