Missing home.

So this weekend was really nice. Cathleen's fiance came to visit and it was great finally getting to meet him!! They spent most of the weekend off on their own excursions, but the three of us went to Old San Juan on Friday. I played official photographer for their save the date photos at the beach. We found a new favorite beach too. It is called Escambron and it is beautiful. The tropical storms were causing some decent sized waves, so we even saw surfers for the first time since we have been here. For some reason it is really hard to find a map that shows the beach even though it is run by a branch of the National Parks Service. Oh well, I liked it partially because there weren't that many people there. The pictures turned out really cute!! I think the hard part is going to be choosing which one to use.

We also went to El Castillo de San Cristobol. The pics above are from the visit. It is very similar to El Castillo de Morro that we went to when I first moved to Puerto Rico on our class trip, but just a mile or so down the road. I actually liked El Castillo de San Cristobol more. Both were built in the 1630s and haven't really changed all that much. They were used to protect the harbor and the city. It was crazy how many soldiers lived there. A ton of them died from various diseases that happen when you shove too many people into a small area. One of my favorite things was the dungeon. It was kind of creepy, but not as big or deep into the fort as you might think. It was sort of like a long, narrow holding cell. There were a few drawings of ships on the wall that were thought to be of Spanish ship captains who were awaiting their executions for mutiny. (That is the top pic.)

Although it was a great weekend and Cathleen enjoyed Travis' visit, dropping him off at the airport was still pretty tough for her. I think a little bit of that rubbed off on me today. I'm missing home. Most days I'm just fine, but today I really want to be on a trail ride with Nicole and Wendy just enjoying the pretty colors of fall (I appreciate them more now that I know I won't get to see them.) Or helping Brett with his homework--which is so much easier in person than over the phone. Or at wine night with Nicole and Dani. Or watching Millionaire Matchmaker with Elizabeth (its a guilty pleasure--I know its shallow.) Or Packer Football with either Dad or Dean.Or catching up with Anna and Molly which usually involves cheese curds. Or taking the bikes out and then watching UFC with Wade, Kate and Dillon. Or going to Parfrey's Glen with Geoff. I guess this is the hard part about living on a tropical island. It has its perks, but it will never be home.