Thursday, April 30
We met PIP Kay Fukushima along with PID Ross, PID Maynard & VDGE Eunice, CC Deborah & Lion Bob, PID Ben & Jan, and PID John & Bev at the Sheraton, Bloomington. Most of the DGs and partners were also there, and we had a good time chatting with many of them. We then carpooled to The Great Mandarin in Eden Prairie Center for dinner. Lion Linda also joined us there. PID Ross & Linda had made arrangements for a special dinner, and it was! It began with egg roll & chicken wings, then continued with Peking Duck, and many Chinese dishes, all very excellent. We especially liked the honey glazed shrimp and lemon glazed chicken.
Once back at the hotel, we hit the hospitality room for more “mingling”, and then ended up at the bar a drink with PIP Kay, PID Maynard & Eunice, and PID Ben & Jan. What had been a 9:00 target for leaving the hotel for the Holiday Inn Express quickly turned into 11:30. We wouldn’t have it any other way, though, it’s not often you get the chance to chew the fat with a PIP.
Friday, May 1, 2009
The 2:30am wake-up call jolted us from our fast sleeping at the Holiday Inn. Our flight was to leave at 5:15, so we needed to catch the 3:45 shuttle to the airport. We had never seen the airport so quiet. The ticket counters weren’t even open yet, so we stood in line with a few others at the Delta counter until they opened at 4:00. It was good we got there early, though, because by the time we had checked our bags, the line was halfway down the corridor.
Our flight ended up being delayed about 20 minutes, probably because people had to wait in the line at the ticket counter. We had gotten through security with no delays, and enjoyed a leisurely cup of coffee waiting for the plane to board. It was a little over 2 hours to Atlanta, and it was a good thing our connecting flight was leaving from a nearby gate. They were boarding as we got to the gate, so we hopped right on, and took our seats (in row 2 – LCI flies first class if total flight time is over 5 hours).
We landed in San Juan at about 1:30 pm local time, and met up with ID Eugenio and DG José (Pappo) and Annie. They showed us some of the sights on our way to the hotel. Genio is working on a bid for the USA/Canada Forum, so they took us by the Convention Center and Hotels, all of which looked very much first class. They obviously have excellent facilities to host such an event.
We had a short rest at the hotel before José & Annie and Eugenio and Ibis came to pick us up for the Charter Night celebration for the Campus Club at the University in Aerecibo. They are chartering with about 35 members, and seemed very enthusiastic about serving as Lions. The celebration lasted until 11:30 pm, as they sang songs, ate dinner, inducted the new members, presented pins (Debra also presented each member with one of her “Service” hearts), installed the officers, and heard several speeches. Debra gave brief remarks congratulating them and welcoming them into Lionism. She also presented one of her bags as well as a Helen Keller pin and President Al pin to the Charter President. It was a very festive evening indeed, but we were kind of dragging, as the day got very long. We weren’t too tired to stop at Walgreens for some Hagen Daz though on the way back to the Hotel.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
We had a totally tourist day today. We started out visiting the Aerecibo Telescope, the largest single-dish radio telescope in the world. The visitor center contained many interesting displays, and they showed a movie about “A Day In The Life” of the telescope, which was also interesting. The highlight, of course, was just being there and seeing the dish and antennae.
Our second stop was at the Caverns. They are a system of huge rooms and passages formed by the underground river flowing through the karst formations. We had a nice 1 hour walking tour through the caves and sink holes. The Aericebo telescope is actually formed in a sinkhole which facilitated support of the huge curved reflecting surface.
Our last stop of the day was at the lighthouse. It was a short climb up through the children’s park to the lighthouse, which afforded great views of the sand beaches to the east and west, and the surf pounding the rocks under the lighthouse.
There were a couple Lions clubs celebrating anniversaries, but Pappo elected to take us to his home. He showed us his many Bonsai trees that he is growing in his back yard, and we had a nice dip in the pool. Annie cooked us a wonderful traditional Puerto Rican meal consisting of seasoned pork, Pastel (plantain mash stuffed with meat and beans then fried), and a delicious rice and black bean dish. We topped it all off with flan and very strong Puerto Rican coffee. Pappo’s cabinet secretary Paulino and his wife Cynthia joined us for dinner, and some spirited games of billiards and dominos before and after. It was a wonderful evening, and we didn’t get back to the hotel until about 11:30.
Sunday, May 3
The main event, a cabinet meeting, was Sunday morning. There were about 160 Lions there for what was another very spirited meeting. PID Carlos and his wife Sara each did some interpreting for me as I sat with Ibis in the front row, and Carlos’ father PID Raphael (Pepin) interpreted for Debra at the head table. They had some reports about their main projects, presented some MJFs and Presidential Commendations, and had some brief speeches by PID Carlos and DG Jose, then Debra gave her remarks. She included a Spanish and Sign Language greeting (as they had members from their Deaf and Hard of Hearing Club. She also used Roberto Clemente as her sports hero reference. People picked up much of the humor (although there was a bit of a delayed reaction as they processed the language). She spoke slowly and clearly, and everyone seemed to understand her English quite well. Several people came up afterward to tell her how they appreciated both her message and her delivery.
Lunch was served buffet style (except for us at the head table) after the meeting, consisting of beans and rice, potato salad, and turkey seasoned as they do pork. They must eat almost as much rice in Puerto Rico as they do in Asia, but again, it was prepared a different way, and was delicious. We were planning to go back to the hotel for a rest before heading to San Juan for a dinner with PID Ed McCormick and others, there to visit the convention facilities, but we hung around chatting with people so long after lunch, that we decided to just go to Pappo’s, as it was not so far as the hotel.
We left for the meeting in San Juan at 4:30, but on the way, Pappo discovered that his car was missing two lugnuts, and another lug bolt had broken off. He thought it must have happened as a result of the auto shop tightening the bolts too tightly when he got the tires rotated. Pappo called Triple A, and we all made our way back to his place. As it turned out, PID Ed’s plane had been delayed, and he wouldn’t be getting in until at least 9:30, so they cancelled the dinner meeting anyway.
Once back at Pappo and Annie’s, Eugenio cooked us a delicious meal of pasta with shrimp in a white cheesy sauce. He is something of a Gourmet cook, fresh garlic, peppers & onions, swiss cheese, milk, and diet coke in the sauce. We had never heard of using soda in the sauce, but Genio said it was his “secret” ingredient. The dinner was topped off by flan (this time a la mode – with the Hagen Daz Pappo had gotten on Friday) and more coffee. Another great evening with great friends!
Monday, May 4
We slept in on Monday. Our flight wasn’t until 3:35, so everyone came to get us at 11:00. We drove to San Juan, and had time for lunch at Metropol before going to the airport. This time we shared a chicken breast stuffed with mashed yucca root, and of course, beans and rice. This time, black beans with white rice. A cup of espresso was the perfect finisher.
We got to the airport with plenty of time to say our good-byes and get through the long security line before our flight. There had been some severe weather across the southern states, but our flight took off right on time and we had a smooth ride all the way to Atlanta. We had a short layover in Atlanta, and another smooth flight to Minneapolis, arriving about 11:15 pm. A shuttle back to the Holiday Inn, and the drive home saw is in bed just a little before 1:00 am after another great weekend!