I'm writing this [on Saturday morning] after breakfast at the hotel buffet and a walk around the corner to CVS for dramamine for Beast. However, I'm going to try to backtrack to Thurs. a.m. when I left IL and fill in the past 48 hours. I packed this notebook in the (big) bag Beast brought down on Monday, and just found it while rearranging everything in preparation for boarding the cruise ship.

So Thursday [4/7]
Up @4 a.m. to do final packing & cleanup, etc. The car from GNT arrived @ about 4:45 and I was on the road at 5:10. The driver talked nonstop--so much for a nap in the car--about Italian cheese & the house he's building in AL, and people he knows, and on and on. To be fair I didn't really have to add that much to the conversation. Got to O'Hare & thru security with minimum fuss and hit up McDonald's & a snack place for breakfast + water & snacks. The gate my flight left from was next to McD's and people were already lined up to board so I dumped in my diet Coke before getting on the plane & then ate the breakfast burrito & some cashews while everyone else got on.

Texted Beast & we were on the way right at 7:30. There was some confusion about seating the woman next to me, but it wasn't her issue--she was fine. I slept (dozed) pretty well for a couple of hours. Did some x-words. Read. The airline snack was a surprisingly tasty waffle cookie with caramel & honey. Yum. Took the obligatory walk to the lav just as we started descent. Some bumps at the beginning of the flight & a few more as we came through the clouds over San Juan. We landed with a THUD that caused everyone to gasp & then giggle. Even the head steward was thrown off his schtick. Instead of "Welcome to San Juan..." he started with "Thank you for San Juan..." and then laughed and started over. Quick trip to the gate. I texted Beast, got the msgs he sent while I was airborne ... and got off the plane, peed & headed for the taxis. No message from Beast. Got to the van for my trip across S.J. to the hotel in Old Town (Sheraton) -- still nothing from Beat. Arrive at the hotel. No Beast in the lobby, he doesn't answer when the front desk calls. So I sit & wait, call Dan K. [Beast's coworker who was at the meetings Beast was in S.J. for earlier in the week] to see if maybe they're somewhere together. VM. Text Sparky & ask him to call Dad. No answer. I, of course, have been doing that -- both phones -- as well. The hotel manager checks my ID & sends security to check his room. Eventually, she says he's been located & will be right down. Fifteen minutes later ... no Beast. I end up in the manager's office, security has to almost break in the room...by now I know he's passed-out drunk. After another 10-15 minutes, Gladys (the manager) has gotten some orange slices for me to eat because I landed @ about noon & it's nearly 2 now. Anyway, Beast finally came down, the worse for wear, Gladys gave me a hug & essentially told me I'm not alone & blessed me. Great person. Beast was a bit wobbly down the hall to our room and was insisting we go "around the corner" for lunch but he literally fell asleep in the middle of the discussion. I couldn't find the power cable for his BiPap so he couldn't wear the mask.

Oh- one of the calls I made to him before he came down but after he'd been awakened he answered my "Hi! I'm in the lobby" with "Yeah. Yeah. I'm coming, just trying to get packed..." "What?! No! Just come get me! We're not checking out!" So as part of that abortive packing he started taking the machine apart & put away/hid/lost the cable.

So I called room service & ordered a chicken caesar salad which I could hardly eat because I was so upset & wound up -- even though I was so hungry I was shaking.

By 4, I gave up & decided to nap till Beast woke up. In the process of looking for the cable I found an empty Stoli bottle under the bed, so I don't know why I thought Beast would wake up that night....  My brain was in free-fall: are we still cruising? Should I just go back to the airport & wait for a flight home? What if... What if...

I did call my sponsor(s) & messaged them for support, & they reminded me to look for meetings on the ship. Or in SJ that day.

Anyway, instead, I crawled under the covers for a nap. Eventually, I got up & ate some more salad, read some more, and hanged into pj's & just slept, after leaving a note for Beast to wake me up when he woke, whenever that was. At some point, he got up to pee & found the rest of his power cord so he could put his mask on.


FRIDAY he work me up about 6:30 or 7, though I wasn't that deeply asleep t.b.h. We talked, he double-checked one of his supplements & found he'd taken a sleeping pill by accident instead of a supplement, on top of finishing off the Stoli. I was pretty ticked off still. He felt awful. We showered & went up the hill to find a breakfast place. The first café we went into was JAMMED. We waited 5-10 minutes, realized no one was actually eating yet, so it would be awhile, & decided to move on. Next stop was more successful -- we were the only people eating: eggs, bacon, toast. Yum. Good bacon. I couldn't finish everything. Really hard to eat warm food when it's 85°  around the city, & 100% humidity.

The rest of the day we meandered. Caught the tram (free) around the city, sat awhile in Colon Plaza watching people, ate lunch on the waterfront by the dock -- Mexican, which was good but weird to eat in P.R. while listening to Ricky Martin songs. :)

Then we headed back up the hill to see the two forts that bracket the north side of the old part of San Juan. Hotter than blazes, but a nice breeze. We took a break in our hotel room for awhile when it clouded over & rained a bit, then went back out & did the other fort.

Bought some souvenirs. Took the tram back down the hill, found the post office & mailed a postcard to work. At some point we looked over restaurant menus for dinner. Back to the hotel via ice cream near where we ate lunch. Cooled off again. Cleaned up a bit & headed back out to eat @ Raices, where Beast had a pork chop & I had mofongo with mahi-mahi & shrimp. Mofongo is P.R. tradition: mashed plantains lining a cup with the meat in the middle. AMAZING! Super-delicious & filling. Plantains are essentially potatoes. Delish. Glad I tried it!

Back to the room & to bed...

Wait. The restaurant had seating outside & we got there before the rush so we ate next to the street. The waitresses all wear "traditional" outfits. Our waitress -- Dalyanme -- was a bit on the linebacker size and was rather imposing in her white dress & turban-y thing.

Anyway, we hit the sheets pretty hard. Both of us got a little pink around the edges, but lots of good, fresh air.

Other memories: kites flying outside the castle del Morro, reminded me of The Kite Runner. NICE - SUPER-nice - people everywhere. Insane selfie-taking girl behind Beast at lunch. Pigeons everywhere while we ate. Flower petals falling around us a dinner from the tree above Beast. Lots of police everywhere.