The Wenning Family: Puerto Rico Vacation

On the afternoon of February 25th we left Dallas for our first family vacation with Caleb. We boarded what we thought would be a 5 hour plane trip to Puerto Rico arriving at 8:20 pm but we sat in the airplane for about an hour and a half in Dallas before even departing. We were definitely a little worried about how our very active 17 month old was going to do confined to a small area of a plane...Caleb did SO well on the plane and we could not have been more proud of him. There was one time he threw a large lego over the seat and hit the lady in front of us. Our sweet boy did not sleep one wink on the plane but still did so well. We finally arrived to a very warm Puerto Rico at 9:45pm.

Fun with Dadda in the airport. He loved the parked golf carts!

Some of our friends from Stanford live in Puerto Rico and graciously hosted us for part of our vacation. Carrie and Juan Carlos have a beautiful home and cared for us well from Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon. They were quite the tour guides taking us to the beach, to a yummy Puerto Rican restaurant in Old San Juan, to their church, to a happy hour to meet their friends, to a park in their neighborhood, and to El Morro (which is a beautiful historical fort from the days of Spanish rule.) We attempted to fly a kite on the huge, hilly grassy areas surrounding it.

Carrie and Juan Carlos have two beautiful children, Carter (5) and Caroline (2.5). They were so sweet to Caleb and I think by the end of the trip Caleb had "fallen" for an older girl, who was quite the flirt. She affectionately called him Cable.

We are at the park near Carrie and Juan Carlos house. Caleb loved the park and was so tired of playing hard that he sat down for a little water break.

On Sunday afternoon we went to our hotel with our very shabby car seat for Caleb. We prayed a ton for the safety of our child in the rental car seat and the reckless drivers of Puerto Rico. We arrived safely to our BEAUTIFUL resort at Rio Mar and had an excellent room, a perfect spot for Caleb's crib, and great view of the pool/ocean. We tried to cram in a quick swim in the pool and ocean before we called it a night. Caleb loved the ocean, he would point and laugh as the waves would come and splash up on him.

El Morro

Caleb and Caroline playing a little tickle game

Craig is about to enjoy a Puerto Rican cuisine, Mofongo (mashed plantains, garlic, meat)

Monday morning we drove to El Yunque, the only rain forest in the U.S National Park system. We saw some beautiful waterfalls but did not venture too far on to the trails since we didn't have a good stroller to "off-road."

Caleb is so excited during his walk in the rainforest, especially when he sees the car. Even on vacation there is a little time to play with the hazard button.

We then went to the pool at our resort and fed the iguanas. At 11 am they have a special feeding for the iguanas where at least 25 iguanas came out of their "homes" and would chow down on lettuce. The iguanas inhabited the pool area and the palm trees surrounding the pool. It was pretty fun to be that close to huge lizards. It didn't even phase Caleb.

Caleb had a great 3 hour nap and then enjoyed another afternoon of swimming, after driving to see a few sights outside of our resort. We think Caleb's favorite part of the entire trip would have to be the hour we spent sliding down the water slide with him. He loved it slightly more than his parents!!!

Above is the collage that shows a progression of pictures, but it just doesn't quite capture Caleb's pure excitement.

We packed up and headed to the airport at 6 am in the morning. Caleb did amazing on the trip home, with a little help of a tiny bit of benadryl he slept for 2 of the 6 hour flight home.