Mini-vacation in paradise!

Many people think that because I live in a tropical island, I *must* go to the beach all the time... I wish! Yeah sure, when I was in high school and college, I spent many days & weekends at the beach, or on my parents' beach house or boat. There was a time when I truly lived a caribbean beach life.

Then I became an adult.

It wasn't on purpose, and it didn't happen overnight - it just happened. I graduated, got a job, got married, had a kid... and now, just like many working moms, I need to schedule my pool/beach time. The upside to this, is that I don't need to get on a plane or drive hours to get to one, they're right here! All I need is to set some time aside to go. Also, since Puerto Rico is such a big tourist destination, there are many, many wonderful resorts just minutes away!

So when lil man had exactly one week between his classes ended and his soccer camp started, I decided we HAD to get away, at least for a few days!

We drove to Dorado, a popular resort destination on the north coast of the island, facing the Atlantic Ocean. It was really about a 40-minute drive from my house, but we felt as if we had traveled to another place! We stayed at the Embassy Suites Dorado del Mar Beach & Golf Resort (long name, I know). The best part was that since it's an all-suite resort (as all Embassy Suites are), we were able to get super comfortable - lil man had his own room with a sofa bed and TV, and we could even heat up some food in the kitchenette! Great for vacationing with kids. The resort itself was beautiful with a quiet, secluded beach and an amazing pool area that consisted of 4 pools, some with waterfalls! Lil man had a blast "visiting" all the pools (I got dizzy following him around) and playing with the waterfalls.

Yes, I do realize how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful island, and I *have* to make time to go to the beach more, especially for lil man to get used to it like I was when I was little. But for now, we had a great vacation right at "home"!

[caption id="attachment_207" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="View from my suite"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_205" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="View from my pool chair"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_206" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Playing at the pool with lil man"][/caption]