MARCH MADNESS : PART 1 LA ISLA DEL ENCANTO

March has been maddening month for me and I'm not even a college basketball fan. I don't usually do Part I & II for blogs, but March has been such an extreme that I feel it's a must.March is the month where most ball players starts to get ready for the softball season. Playing pickup, tournaments, buying new gear, making there phone calls.

Well for the family March always begins with vacation.

My wife Astrid birthday is in March and we always try and go away somewhere together. This is always a Boomerang type gift for me b/c I get to enjoy the good life that vacation has to offer.

This year we went to Puerto Rico "LA ISLA DEL ENCANTO" - The Island of Enchantment. A vacation from softball right before the season begins isn't a bad idea and this year our trip got off to a great start as left town right before a major snow storm hit.

I was excited as the trip began

and things got off to a very smooth start as we settled into our hotel La Concha


Before we knew it we were exploring Old San Juan,



and having drinks in cool local little graffiti Dive bar

After a long night of drinking, the next morning always required some coffee to get me going on my morning workout.

Yeah you read that right, I worked out on vacation. I now weigh 217 lbs, lost 11lbs overall. Diets don't take vacations.
After my workouts I would relax at the beach and pool all morning, have lunch, and then set out on some sightseeing with La Flaca








Despite such good husbandly intentions I always seems to stumble into some random bar
The grand daddy of all drunk tourist experience was the Bacardi Factory. It was there that I learned that being a rum "blender" could be the greatest job on earth.

It was hard saying good-bye to the Bacardi Factory,
but at I took comfort in the fact that I could take a few souvenirs home with me at the end of the day.

Anyway, everything was not beach and rum on this trip.
It was time for nature and for that we visited Yunque National Rain Forest.
This place was beautiful and a new world.



The Day we went it poured rain non-stop. Which actually was perfect for a Rain Forest.

Things got a little crazy as I felt I was in an episode of LOST

But we met Puerto Rican Yoda guide Frankie and had a great time


Frankie also said that getting in touch with nature was a good way to find peace. He said this Peace would help me in Softball this year.Then he also asked Astrid if she had a sister.
After the Rain forest it was back to the spoiled tourist life and we were ready to Party and celebrate Astrid's birthday at the Amazing El San Juan Hotel. It feels like NY in there. As you can tell my dance moves are stuck in the 80s.
Sorry about that picture.No matter we were happy and enjoying a wonderful time The WBC was in town and all the players were staying at El San Juan
I actually got to say Hello and Buena Suerte (Good Luck) to Jose
Oquendo, Felipe Alou, Moises Alou, Miguel Olivio, and Miguel Tejada. Not that it helped them that much.
The NY vibe to El San Juan Hotel got some softball feel to it when I met up with NYC softball legends Freddy Suarez of DEA fame and possibly the greatest drunk hitter of all time Lousito Gonzalez of the Cardinals.


We had a blast!!!!!!!!!!The six degrees of Softball separation are not that far away. I returned to NY hungover but also relaxed, refreshed and ready to begin softball and

then .. to be continued in Part II