Puerto Rico

The next few posts will be a reflection of previous vacations.  I was lucky enough to go to Puerto Rico 3 times during college.  My swim team would teach lessons for free during the swim season.  In return, Potsdam would pay a huge portion of our trip to Puerto Rico.  I think I paid about $450 each year to go to Puerto Rico for a week.  It wasn't all a walk in the park, or should I say beach?  The point of the trip was for training.  We would swim for 2 hours every morning at 6AM.  The pool was a half hour from our hotel so we had to be up around 5:15.  It was an Olympic size pool, which means 50 meters long.  It was over double the distance of our normal 25 yard pool at college.  Then we had another 2 hour practice from 3-5.  We swam 4 hours a day everyday.  We probably swam over 6 miles each day.  Yes, in between each swim practice we ate a huge breakfast buffet and then laid on the beach all day.  I took long walks on the beach.  Yes, I know it's cliche, but I really do love long walks on the beach!  There is nothing more relaxing, except being on a boat in the middle of the ocean!  I remember my first trip to Puerto Rico.  On a Wednesday morning in January, my friends and I wanted to play golf.  It was $52 for 9 holes!  Needless to say, we didn't play.  However, a bucket of balls was only $5.  I called my dad and told him what I was doing.  He wasn't too happy since it was freezing back in New York and in the summer he plays golf every Wednesday.  I think it was junior year, the pool we wen to had a 1 meter, 3 meter, 5 meter, 7 meter, and a 10 meter platform diving board.  I worked my way up and did all of them.  I was scared out of my mind on the 10 meter, but I had no choice but to jump once I was up there.  See picture below!  All three trips were a ton of fun.  We left thoroughly drained because of all of the swimming and um, extracurricular activities.  We really didn't do much site seeing because we had a beach right off of our hotel.  I am so thankful to my parents for paying for me to go on the numerous trips that I have gone on.  I know how lucky I am to have traveled as much as I have so far.  Tomorrows post will be about my 4 trips to Disney World!