Urban Forest

While walking to work down Market Street the other morning, I came upon this beautiful installation just past 6th Street. In what is an otherwise bleak and fairly depressed area, this little urban oasis brightened my day.

A Recent Trip to Puerto Rico

A recent visit to Puerto Rico was the perfect way to start off 2010. What I realized about taking a trip first thing in January is:

1. work is notoriously slow that time of year anyway

2. creates a positive outlook for starting off the new year

3. clears the mind of holiday madness just passed

4. traveling this time of year is cheap.

Therefore, this very well could have started a new tradition for me.

During the 8 days we traveled the island, we hiked through rainforests, swam in waterfalls, explored beaches and surf towns, slept in treehouses in the middle of a bamboo forest, endured some rainfall, enjoyed the PR beach scene, ate copious amounts of seafood, and drank from coconuts. Lastly, traveling with a local was a definite plus and allowed us to experience some of the local flavor we may have otherwise missed.