Hola, from San Juan, Puerto Rico

Did you miss me yesterday?  I had a long day, getting up early to catch a bus, which took me to the airport to catch a plane.

So here was the view out my window yesterday morning.  I was flying, on a WING

and a PRAYER.

When I fly, my St. Joseph's prayer card, with the Unfailing Petition to St. Joseph on the back of it, is my constant companion.  I pray that prayer often when I'm up there in the clouds, trusting in the comforting promises it gives to those who say it--or even carry it on their persons.  And the card makes an excellent bookmark, too.  Which is handy because besides St. Jospeh, I need a good book to take my mind off things when I fly.  And a cup of excellent airline coffee, of course.

So I got to Atlanta in the afternoon with no problems, and I met up with the handsomest airline captain you've ever seen.  (You'll have to trust me on this one, in the absence of a photo of my man in uniform.)  There were supposed to be lots of empty seats on the flight (which is the only reason we thought this might be a good tag-along trip for me), but when we went to check on my status, it didn't look like there was any way I was going to get on.  I was #3 on the stand-by list, and it was showing zero seats available.  Those odds aren't very good, obviously, so it looked like I was going to have to say good-bye to my hubby and head back to Boston, alone and probably feeling just a tad sorry for myself.  (Flying has never been my favorite activity; but when there's something good waiting at the end of it--my sons, or my grandchildren, or a romantic getaway with my husband--I can bear it.)

Proving that you just never know what's going to happen when you're flying stand-by, by some miracle, seats opened up and I got on.  The day went from bad to good in a heartbeat.  And then it went all the way to GREAT, when I got a seat up in First Class.  (Which is how I like to roll when it comes to flying, I have to admit.  If I never had to fly at all, I'd be happiest; but barring that, if I never had to fly coach, I'd be pretty ding dang happy.)

So, this is the guy who took me (and about 160 other souls) to San Juan.  Although I never totally trust those giant metal birds that have no business doing what they do, I always have faith in this pilot.

And now, this is the view looking out my window on the 17th floor of the Caribe Hilton.  Not too shabby!

I must admit, when you've had (and are still having!) the winter we've had up in NH, this little respite is very welcome.

 Gracias a Dios.  Life is good.