Tiny Home Tuesday ~ Not

Today is Tuesday, so there should be a tiny home in here someplace under all the pile, right? So far, so not. So there! Wait wait, wrong attitude. Starting over.

This chicken has nothing to do with tiny homes either.

Today isn't about tiny homes, it's about seeing what you think you know about and having that blown out of the water. When I need to go to the big island, it involves one of two things. Going for an errand that will run anywhere between Fajardo and San Juan or heading straight to the airport. Okay, to Isla Grande airport and then SJU but the point being, to head off island(s) and that is all. The drive for the first errand is not pretty, unless you really look and see a flashing glimpse of some one thing or another in between the car lots, engine repair places, paint stores, grocers, and truthfully, I don't know what else because I sort of go into a zone of not looking. The drive for the second errand is a flight, or the same drive. Either way, it's just something we do to do something else.

A couple of times we've taken the toll road but only to avoid the congested crazy traffic and we're not on it for long. But this time, on the way to Caguas where I've never been, to go to the hospital for pre-op stuff (I single handedly generated, in the space of 20 minutes or so, about an inch thick stack of paper. I kept thinking about people with serious medical issues, they must use cords of trees!), it was different. Very different.

The Mennonite Hospital there is where I'll have my outpatient elbow surgery Thursday. There were no men with beards and flat black hats or women in deeply colored long dresses and caps, which I was hoping for. I'm also hoping my bed has a hand made quilt on it but I'm thinking probably not. Everyone was very nice and very, very busy, with no time to make quilts. Oh well, I won't be there long anyway.

There are a few ways to get to Caguas from Fajardo so we asked an expert friend (who lives in Caguas) and the expert on Google maps and the expert on my GPS on my phone and went the route as directed. I'm so very glad we did, because frankly, a dosage of visual and traffic stress was not ticked on my menu choice for the day.

No! Don't follow me! Thank you. I'm sorry. This has nothing to do with anything here, along with the chicken, but they called to be here. What can I do but obey?

 Another dawning, another beautiful beginning to the day.

Dawn over Vieques from the ferry deck.

Part and parcel of going to Fajardo on the cargo ferry, whatever your reason, is getting off the damn thing. I've shown photos of this before but yesterday was literally hand over mouth oh my god scary to watch. Everyone made it fine but I'm super happy we rented a car and did not have to negotiate the Ramp of Terror.

Eventually from that point the driver backed off safely. The rest learned from watching where it might be more safe to go to make it in, say, six moves instead of twelve. Yikes!

I don't remember where we saw this (I'm the passenger, thankfully), but I'm pretty sure this is not a bank.

Terrible photo of bamboo but oh my!!! There was so much of it, so beautiful! I wish we could grow it like this on Culebra.

This was built to welcome people to Humacao. The symbols are Taino. We hurried through there, since I've promised never, EVER to go to Humacao. Long story.

The mountains were so beautiful! The roadside, parklike. Instead of angry fellow road riders, it was all tranquillo punctuated with ohh's and ahh's.

People at the hospital, as I said, were great, but also as I said, very busy, thus we  missed the three o'clock ferry. Luckily, the 5 o'clock cargo was there so we hung around chatting with friends and watching the Ramp of Terror Flip Side show. They had two very heavy trucks weigh down the end of the deck to help make it easier. Lower tides will be a good thing!

Waiting to head out from my favorite spot on this ferry. It's just a little corner with a couple of benches, a mirror image of what you can see on the other side here. A very fine spot for sleeping.

And then, with clearances in clutched hands amid reassurances that I was disgustingly healthy and ready for carving on Thursday, the big island was in my rear view. See you Thursday, land of beauty! Many thanks to T for all of the relaxed, beautiful scenery driving and all of the calmness. A good friend is very good medicine!

Congratulations to Erik and Maria on the birth of their lovely daughter, Kamilah Louise! Mazel tov!

Have a triumphant Tuesday! Do something tasty.