Birthdays: You Can't Run Away, But You Can Escape

 

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For my 32nd Birthday Mukarram surprised me with a 3-day weekend escape to Puerto Rico. I happened to have the Friday off as my flex day and he kindly took it off for my special day (we also called it his promotion celebration too.) PR has fast become our favorite getaway outside of the now frigid New York City with a 4-hr direct flight out of DCA so we were both excited to head to warmer weather.

M booked an amazing room at the new villas within the Waldorf Astoria in Fajardo, which is on the eastern most part of the island and has a private beach ta-boot. We landed, grabbed our car rental and headed into Old San Juan to have lunch at Cafe Berlin. We weren't quite ready to say goodbye yet so wander around the town. We stopped in at a few random places to look at pottery, nativity scenes, jewelry, purses etc. We stumbled upon a specialty hat shop and I found a hat I absolutely LOVED and I convinced Mukarram to get a Panama hat for himself, too. We did have to turn around a block later to switch my hat for a smaller one haha, that wind can cause trouble!

We then piled in the car and headed the 45 min. drive to Fajardo. When we arrived we stopped at Walmart to buy snacks, sun screen and a few forgotten toiletries. Finally finding our way to the hotel, they put us in a room that was right next to parking and with two beds?! We were so annoyed since he'd paid for an ocean view that they gave us an amazing room in the (older) hotel. I was a bit grumpy about the location change but the view was amazing and it was closer to the boat that takes you to the island. Once we settled in, we were starving so headed to the seafood restaurant on the wharf where M ahd made reservation. We took our time enjoying the scenery and good weather despite the fact they didn't appreciate we weren't ordering alcohol. Tired and ready to relax after a long week, we headed to the room, plopped on our comfy bed enjoying our amazing view! Of course, no sooner had it struck midnight than Mukarram whipped out a little gift and sang happy birthday to me. We chatted, laughed and called it an evening.

Once we woke-up on Saturday, we made our way to the buffet breakfast (meh) and had a hearty meal before we went to the beach for the day. We quickly found two great seats right on the ocean and settled in. We wandered up and down the beach, read our respective magazines, played in the water and while he slathered on the sun screen I soaked in as much of the sun as I could. We were also chatted up by the woman next to us who simply had to talk to every person who came her way and tell them the same story. By the end of the afternoon I could recite her divorce story by heart! That led to my impetus to cool off in the harsh afternoon sun by moving my chair INTO the water. It was amazing. However, by mid afternoon we had reached our limit, so called it a day and headed back to get ready for dinner.

Once we'd both scrubbed all the sand and sunscreen off, we made our way to our favorite sushi restaurant in San Juan -- the chef actually remembered us! Our original seat was next to these OBNOXIOUSLY loud people from N.J. so we asked to move to a more quiet, romantic spot. We relished the fresh, flavor-filled sushi, reluctantly left (complimenting the chef, of course) and headed back to the hotel. Not ready to call it an evening, we went into the games area and played fooseball and air hockey. I think one of my greatest triumphs will be that M said he played air hockey all the time and was "undefeated". Well, guess who beat him the best out of three, then out of five? ME!

Sunday is always the worst day, because it is the day we know we have to leave. We went over to the beach for the morning and found a little cove looking out at the beautiful blue water and between to groves of palm trees. It was one of those moments where you close your eyes and realize that everything is perfect. Not a care in the world, perfect weather and being with your best friend. Around noon I reluctantly agreed that it was time to head back and pack-up. Let it be noted that I did so reluctantly and probably slowly. Before we left, we ate at a restaurant in the hotel to enjoy the view and ... it was a joke. Never the right order, then not fully cooked, then never came. We ate what we could and headed back to the airport, abandoning paradise.

The airport is always somewhat chaotic, but I got a snack and we just sat, hand in hand looking out the window until it was time to board. Then voila, back to cold, snowy reality. But a little more sun-kissed, a little brighter disposition, and tad bit older but feeling a lot more loved. He's to 32.

p.s. can you beat this?