But we managed. My cousin Courtney and his wife Kelly are teaching in Puerto Rico for a couple years. They were fabulous hosts! Courtney, Kelly, and their dogs Winston and Miller live in Guayama, which is a small town on the south side of the island. It is off the beaten path of tourism, so we got to see what the locals do, which was cool. The first night Courtney picked us up from the airport and we met Kelly and her friends at the local beach called Brandemar Beach. It was about 5:00 or later by the time we got around to getting there. I got a little over-excited when I heard 'beach' so I changed into my suit as fast as a superhero changes clothes; Courtney was a little surprised to find me all kitted out. He informed me that this wasn't really a good swimming beach. Oops. It had a lot of pebbles that Zeke loved running his fingers through. He couldn't be bothered to look for shells and sea glass. Take note of my beach attire.
The next day we went to another local beach called Punta Giularte. We packed a picnic lunch and spent the whole morning and afternoon there. Travel tip #2: A day at the beach is not relaxing with a toddler who is constantly on the go; tethering him to a tent stake doesn't really work.
Zeke did enjoy the inflatable boat Courtney and Kelly had. He would float for quite a while, and when he was done he was over the side. 
Zeke naturally wanted to walk in the water on his own, unassisted, and of course Daddy was braver than Mummy. The waves would come in and take him off his feet, head submerged. Little booger took it in stride, ignoring the salt water in his eyes and mouth, loving every bit of it. 
Zeke also loved the showers. He and Daddy played there for more than 30 minutes, I'd guess. At least long enough for me to sit and drink a beer.
The next day we got up early so our gracious hosts could drive us to another part of the island called Fajardo. Courtney and Kelly were sweet enough to babysit for us so Abe and I could take a couple dives. We did The Wall and Sebastian. It was pretty rough on the boat. Three people got sea sick, one of them being Abe. He's such a trooper, he just kept going without complaining. 
Whilst we were diving Zeke got to go to breakfast at Burger King, shop at K-Mart, and swim at another beach, where he fell asleep in the water laying back in his life jacket. 
Courtney and Kelly have a great outdoor living space that we spent a lot of time in. Abe and I fondly named it "The Cage" for obvious reasons. It worked beautifully for keeping our son contained whilst giving him the freedom to run on his own, even if he did look a little pathetic peeking through the bars.
The last day the 5 of us and the neighbors, The Dills, took a boat trip to a nearby mangrove island called Isla de Barco.
We just hung out, had a picnic, swam, snorkeled, and relaxed. By this point Zeke was a bit worn out, so we really did get some relaxation.
On the way to the airport, Courtney and Kelly took us for free drinks from the Bacardi factory and the Don Q factory. 
We got to see a bit of Old San Juan in 'baby got backpack' style, as they named it.
Then they dropped us off at the airport and our vacation was over. Abe and I were in survival mode as we tried desperately to keep our son entertained in the airport and on the plane...
P.S. This year we remembered the passports (refer to the blog archives from a year ago if you are unfamiliar with the story).
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