There's no other place I'd rather leave my tooth: Amsterdam

Amsterdam was bound to be an adventure before the trip was even planned. And if I'm being honest here, it never really was planned. A couple of texts back and forth with Scott and we knew that we were going on a trip - the "where" question wasn't really answered until we had a little rock, paper, scissors match a month before the trip date.

I have to admit something... I made a mistake when booking this flight. I booked my flight with a budget airline, and I am NEVER. DOING. THAT. AGAIN. Granted they're perfect for short flights, but when you could have a direct flight, leg room and free alcohol for seven hours, PAY THE EXTRA MONEY. It's a lesson in quality of life.

Instead of my normally relaxing, enlightening and carefree trip, I spent the flight convinced that I was going to miss my connecting flight (because some dumb family tried to travel on expired passports, and OF COURSE their luggage was already loaded onto the plane, so there goes an hour - positive side of this? I immediately took the empty row that the family would have sat in, resulting in looks of disdain but also admiration from the very full airplane).

So at this point, you're like "what is the issue," right? WELL, as I said, I thought I was going to be late and get this... I had to pay for water. WATER. I could dive into this more, but you're just wondering when I'm gonna start showing pictures of my f*%!ed up face, am I right? Scroll down if you need to see them right now.

I made my connecting flight; the pilot of course mysteriously got us there on time even though we left an hour late (my question, why can't we get in an hour early when we leave on time?). I arrived in Amsterdam extremely sore after my horrible night of dozing off in the most cramped space imaginable (no lucky extra space on that second flight). But I had made it to Amsterdam and could not for the life of me wipe the grin off of my face.

I seamlessly found Scott, and we proceeded to find our mode of transportation for the weekend: bicycles. I then began to direct Scott to all of my favorite spots around the city. Our first stop was the rows and rows of cheese shops along the canal, where we stepped in every single one for the best cheese samples imaginable. Stop two was Brouwerij't IJ - a personal favorite and must do when in Amsterdam!

Here, we ended up meeting this awesome American family, who we ended up sharing a beer with! They just stumbled on the place, but I think it may just be their favorite spot now too.

The adventure continued as we biked along the streets, canals and bridges, my smile as vibrant as ever.

And then, tragedy struck. Or rather, I struck... the curb. There was a roadblock up in the bike lane, the girl in front of me slammed to a halt. I too slammed to a halt, swerving to miss the person in front of me. And what did I swerve into but the wonderful sidewalk that was right next to me. And then I was on said sidewalk. 

A man ran over, already calling 911. Scott was still biking on ahead unaware. He eventually realized I was nowhere in sight. I told the man that I was NOT going in an ambulance OR a hospital at all for that matter, so he immediately hung up.

Then I realized something... it wasn't asphalt floating around in my mouth. IT WAS MY TOOTH. Scott promptly called an Uber (after locking our bikes up, of course!), and we were off to the ER.

And as always, the Dutch hospitality did not fail me. As we waited (which wasn't even for very long - there was just one man with a stubbed toe ahead of me), we had some delightful free espresso - a personal highlight of the visit.

And them came the stitches...

And then I was free to go! Scott was ready to bring me to the hostel for the night when I turned to him with a look of horror. It was Saturday night in Amsterdam... we were going out! (Although I did warn him that this was the end of making friends, as I now looked like a monster). The night consisted of super sweet bartenders showing me their scars from their own bike accidents and Scott and I laughing nonstop about the fact that I had actually gotten into a bike accident on the first day in Amsterdam. WHO DOES THAT.

Day two. (I have to warn you that the rest of the trip was quite perfect, so if you only read this to laugh about all of the dumb things that I do while traveling, then your part is over, and I'm not mad at you for stopping). I woke up realizing that I had to get back on my bike. It was either that or spend the next ten years of my life terrified of bikes. Sooo off we went for the bikes!!

Stop one of the day was The Avocado Show. For some reason, we decided to order the nachos with guacamole. I bit into the first one, immediately realizing that it was a very huge mistake (my jaw was also in a lot of pain from the crash sooo chewing was a bit of an issue). The alternative? Avocado Sorbet: NOT BAD.

Then, on to Museumplein, a drink on the canal (where Scott had his first bitterballen) and then relaxing, eating, napping in one of the best parks ever: Vondelpark. 

Then, on to Rembrandtplein and watching the sunset over the canals (at about 10pm - if not later). 

Having only had snacks at the park (albeit, we did have quite a lot of cheese), the munchies hit us late at night. Where better to have that than Amsterdam, where you can have frites and kroket in your hands with the snap of a finger.

Next Day! Breakfast came in the form of Poffertjes (a delectable miniature doughy Dutch pancake). 

And then after some ultra necessary cheese tasting, we headed to what was inevitably the highlight of our day: a canal cruise. In my past experiences in Amsterdam, I've done the super touristy boat cruise, which is, of course, never a disappointment. BUT Scott found us a better option this time around - a small, open top boat that you can bring champagne onto... DONE.

And then, we made the obvious choice of biking to the park for some more napping...

Our final evening consisted of wandering, having our first sit-down dinner, getting caught in the rain, receiving a free umbrella from the nicest bar owner ever, and finding a nice random nook in a cute little bar where we could spend our last evening reminiscing about the good, the bad and the ugly (me).

Hope you enjoyed the tale of Snaggletooth Mary!!! 

How To: fly to Puerto Rico with nothing but your internet bill

Fridays at work are hard. Fridays at work when a weekend getaway is on the horizon are harder. But I made it through. I was finally on my way to the airport - in my own little podcast world, putting all of my troubles behind me.

Newark Liberty International Airport was the next stop, so I gathered all of my things (or so I thought). Moments after stepping onto the train platform, I felt like something was missing... OH. RIGHT. MY WALLET.

I turned around in horror as the train slowly inched away from the station with every single piece of identification that I possess. No time to mourn. Off to TSA to plead my case!

I grabbed the first TSA agent that I saw, frantically telling her that I had pictures of all of my IDs. She told me to get in line and hope for the best. At this point, I finally had time to report that my wallet was lost.

Side note: Police don't care when you call them and tell them you left your wallet on the train, although they are very nice in telling you so.

Plan B: call my ever-understanding sister and have her fill out the Lost and Found form since the mobile version of the form was entirely dysfunctional.

I finally made it to the front of the security line, only to find out that they do not accept pictures of identification. He asked me if I had ANYTHING official with my name on it. I racked my brain for anything that I could have possibly brought with me... and this is when my terrible habit of procrastination became my salvation. I had grabbed my internet bill on the way out the door because payment was due that day, and I had been ignoring the bill on my dresser all week.

I dug the bill out of my bag and presented it with pride. The experts were called over, and after thorough examination, it was authenticated, and I proceeded through security with an armed escort. 

The next step was searching my bag. I was filled with fear as they searched through my bag - not because I was smuggling contraband, but because I had a sudden fear that my wallet was actually in my bag, and I would become the laughingstock of Newark airport. 

My wallet was not in my bag, and I continued on to the gate with nothing but a mobile Starbucks gift card to my name. Sooo Starbucks for dinner it was! Could be worse.

I FINALLY made it to the plane, caught my breath and settled in - leaving all of my misadventures behind me... Or so I thought.

Upon arrival in Puerto Rico, my only option for transportation was a taxi, and in my experience, Starbucks gift cards are not a widely accepted form of payment. So, I climbed into a taxi and pretended to not be a dumb blonde that was traveling with absolutely no money. 

When we got to the address that I had given the man, I told him to just wait a moment for my friend who would pay him. This called into play a slew of Spanish words which I am fairly certain were not compliments. 

He started driving again, and I yelled to pull over, promising vehemently that my friend was right around the corner. He pulled over, took another look at me through the rear view mirror, got really mad again and then declared, " BACK TO THE AIRPORT!!!"

I, in turn, began yelling "you're capturing me, you have to let me out, this is illegal, YOU CAN'T CAPTURE ME!!!" 

This outburst struck a chord of some sort with the driver, and with a string of curses, he told me to GET OUT. Which I did rather quickly. If you are reading this, Mr. Taxi Driver, I really am sorry...

The place that my friends had me meet them at was called La Placita, and I hadn't been lying, Eli was really right around the corner. He greeted me with a drink, which some random Canadians had bought him, and the world felt like a safe place again.

The rest of the trip was pretty much perfect, which I know is boring to read about, so I'll give you the highlights...

And I say "pretty much" because of the way we were woken up each morning. One of the first things that Ross said to me was to prepare myself to be awoken by the most unusual things. I laughed because it was a stupid story, BUT he was right. My first morning, we were woken up by the Airbnb hostess sneezing AT LEAST 40 times in a row. The next morning it was someone wrapping enormous packages with packing tape for at least 15 minutes. And my last morning? The lovely combination of a weedwacker and dogs barking. Okay, so maybe you think this is a stupid story like I first did, but it was freakin WEIRD.

Anyway, about my first day... We started the day with a (rather muddy) hike through the rain forest, where we encountered water falls, streams and essentially anything else that you would expect from a rain forest. 

Next stop? BEACH. After some drinks and some waves, we headed out for the evening. 

While I am very thankful that they don't card in Puerto Rico (seeing as I would not have been allowed anywhere), it meant there was a plethora of teenagers out in the area which we had chosen - which prompted us to get the hell out of there and find some people our own age. We ended up at a bar with a balcony, where we were able to lounge and stare at the stars: something that we sorely miss doing in NYC.

Day 2 consisted of even more beach. We discovered this awesome place called Pizza City (I think?), which was a perfect place to hop back and forth to from the beach. We had a super intriguing conversation with our Airbnb hostess all about how Puerto Ricans feel about their relationship with the United States. We were actually able to talk to several different people about this topic, which if you don't know much about, is super interesting to read about. 

That night we went back to La Placita, met several interesting people (including a girl who not only had armpit hair, but had dyed it red - be mad at me for saying this... but it was disgusting). We thankfully avoided getting into a car with 8 people and a surf board, and instead ran down the street to what ended up being the favorite bar of the evening (and where I learned to play maracas)! 

Day 3 was more beach: tanning, walks and talks - everything the last day of a vacation should entail. The crew graciously went out for dinner and drinks with me (despite being utterly exhausted) before I had to catch my plane back to NYC! 

Definitely a whirlwind trip, but man did I need it! Shout out to these amazing travel buddies!!!

Beaches, Boats and Beer: Thailand (part 2)

Koh Phi Phi: We sleep the entire way to the island (what better way to get from point A to point B?!) 

With minor difficulty we found our hotel, and then after booking our booze cruise (with this amazing Irish guy that we met while wandering around the island) for the following day, we headed to the beach!

After some drinks on the beach...

We decided it was time for another massage: BAD IDEA. We were so sunburnt that it just ended up being more and more pain. You live and you learn, right??

After a most delicious dinner, we headed to the beach for the coolest beach parties that I have ever experienced (fire, tight-rope walks and dancing)!

The next morning, after a much needed beach relaxation, we headed to what may very well be the highlight of my trip: SHIPWRECKED. 

What is Shipwrecked you may be wondering? It is everything that I could possibly use to describe my perfect day - only it's actually affordable in Thailand: full day on a boat, with unlimited alcohol, playing with monkeys, most beautiful beach EVER, snorkeling, dinner + sunset... IT WAS UNREAL.

I'd say these pictures do the day justice :)

We headed back to the beach that night for some more beach party fun. Glenn may (or may not) have been ready to have a bit of break from me, so we split up: he headed out, becoming best buds with a random British guy at a tattoo parlor. I too ended up hanging out with a British guy - who had the week before met a guy from New Zealand that I became friends with in Rio!! What a small freakin world we live in.

The next morning, we wandered around our tiny island for one last time and then headed to our ferry for what we thought would be an uneventful ride back to Phuket. We ended up meeting these guys from Pakistan (because Glenn thought the one guy smelled bad and was rather vocal about it). This chance meeting turned into a two hour ferry ride full of discussing religion, movies, ISIS, American politics... and just about anything else that you would assume Americans and Pakistanis would discuss.

The rest of the trip we did 100% Glenn's way (which was a terrifying experience for me). We showed up in Phuket with no idea of where we would be staying that night. We hopped in a random shuttle, told them to drop us off at this street that we recognized, walked into a random hotel, let them recommend another random hotel to us, wandered into that hotel, were blown away (by how beautiful and cheap it was), and then booked it!

I will say... traveling on the fly in Thailand isn't SO bad. 

After dinner with a diplomat that we met, we decided it might possibly be a good night for a tattoo. The very first shop that we walked into just FELT RIGHT... So 5 hours later (maybe more?) we both walked out with new tattoos! 

After some pool (I beat Glenn) and wondering through our beloved Phuket, we headed back for a much needed great night of sleep in our randomly amazing hotel.

The next morning we wandered around for our last leg of shopping. Shopping there is so relaxing. I wish all shopping could be like that!!! We found absolutely everything we needed, honing our bartering skills along the way. (Oh, and we did the fish eating your feet thing and both absolutely HATED it.)

We then ran into the Pakistani guys AGAIN. These guys ended up getting Glenn's phone for him when they went to Bangkok! (Apparently it's illegal to send things to the States from Pakistan BUT at least the Pakistanis now have his phone...)

We then boarded our flight back to Hong Kong where Glenn had the privilege of sitting with two unsupervised children. I guess the mother trusted Glenn to watch her kids for her? They ended up hitting and screaming at each other during our entire decent into Thailand as Glenn tried to reason with them in English (a language which they did not speak). SO FUN.

Upon arrival, we quickly booked a hostel (since we were doing things Glenn's way at this point, we did not plan ahead where we were going to stay). The hostel we ended up at was AWESOME.

We ended up meeting a bunch of super fun people with whom we decided we should stay up the whole night with hanging out on the roof. Glenn left at about 6am to catch his flight. I, on the other hand, stayed on the roof until about 8am. I collapsed into bed, not bothering to set an alarm.

I woke up at 2:30pm, thinking that my flight had left without me. I stumbled and fell all over the place until I finally found my boarding pass which said 7pm - a mixture of relief and sadness washed over me as I realized I really was going to have to leave this beloved city.

After spending what little bit of the day was left wandering around, I headed to the airport, got a massage (had to take advantage of the cheap massages one last time), boarded the flight, sat next to an American that I was able to discuss the wonders of Asia with, and then MADE IT BACK TO AMERICA.

Craziest. Trip. EVER.

Beaches, boats and beers: Thailand (part 1)

Bangkok: We went into Thailand blind. For Hong Kong I had my trusty guide book that guided a decent amount of our decisions. Thailand on the other hand... we just wanted to see cool temples and be by water. 

So for our one day in Bangkok we took a ferry up and down the river and got off at stops along the way to see cool temples. SUCCESS :)

We wandered around several different stops, shopping, gaping, eating - it was as perfect and relaxing as it can get for two people that have another plane to catch less than 24 hours after they arrived.

We went to see another big Buddha at one of the stops. Apparently my clothing was disrespectful so I had to wear this lovely green robe... Great look, right?

After what may have been our most relaxing day to date, we hopped in the taxi back to the hotel with plenty of time to spare before our flight was scheduled to take off. GO US.

But wait. Before you begin to be impressed by our travel skills... wait till you read what happens next. 

Glenn left his phone in the taxi. Yep. The illustrious iPhone 5 gone forever.

After grabbing our stuff from the hotel, we spent the entire taxi ride to the airport trying to figure out how to contact the driver: no luck.

The next few hours consisted of me making dumb jokes and smiling stupidly at Glenn because I NEVER know what to do when things like that happen. 

Phuket: We flew to Phuket and made it to our resort with ZERO issues. And before you knew it, I had a drink in Glenn's hand because that is how I respond to misfortune. Healthy, right? :)

We settled into the hotel only to spend the night trying to track down Glenn's phone. And guess what... WE DID. 

After searching and searching (ask us for the long version if you dare) we were able to contact the driver and after possibly over a hundred "Where are you???" questions from the driver (most likely the only English he knew), he successfully drove 45 minutes to drop the phone off at the hotel we had stayed at in Bangkok. Faith in humanity: restored.

Also: props to Find My iPhone :)

We woke up super early the next morning (not sure if we ever got over jet lag?!) and after an attempt to book the ferry to the island that we were to stay at that night, we were informed the ferry was full. Soooo Phuket it was! 

(coincidentally I had booked our hotel on the island for the wrong days, so with the ferry being full, the days I had booked ended up being right - yay me and my date dyslexia)

After pool bar drinks, we headed to the beach for the first time on the trip - well deserved, I'd say.

Forget this guy's name but he was a great bartender

Want to know about another issue I have? I don't remember pain. Sunburn for example. I've been burnt countless times in a multitude of climates and YET when I'm on an island in ASIA I still think I may get tan if I just wait an hour or so before I put on sunscreen... WRONG. 

(I got very burnt.)

After a very relaxing and needed day at the beach, we decided to take an infamous tuk tuk back to our hotel. Don't know what a tuk tuk is? Take a look...

What's one of the things that Thailand is most known for? Lady Boys you say? Well, you're right! Glenn booked us a Lady Boy show for that night and it was... an experience!!! The thing that caught us off guard is how it truly is a part of the culture there - they have booster seats for all of the kids that came with their parents for the show - literally a family outing.

We then wandered Bangla Road to experience the infamous nightlife of Thailand - a venture we will never forget!

Then we took the tuk tuk back (obviously).

A couple of hours later we woke up and VERY QUICKLY packed up the room so that we could catch the first ferry to Koh Phi Phi!!

Koh Phi Phi... COMING SOON!

On Falling in Love with Asian New York (aka: Hong Kong)

I should have learned my lesson in Rio. When Scott waited for me for six hours at the airport in Brazil. I should have realized that you should always travel WITH your travel buddy ON THE SAME FLIGHT. I didn't learn. For some reason passengers standing on their seats and screaming at the cowering crew did not convince me that it is much easier to endure the madness of the skies knowing that your friend is alive and well. 

In case my dramatic intro did not give it away, the journey to the destination was once again quite eventful, but this time, I was on the waiting end.

Have you ever thought your best friend was rotting away in a Chinese jail? No? Well look at this and tell me if you would also jump to that conclusion: 

These are the texts that welcomed me to Hong Kong. I arrived with a smile on my face thinking that Glenn would be waiting for me, ready to show me around the magnificent city. WRONG. As far as I was concerned, he had either been arrested or given up on Hong Kong and headed to Bangkok. 

Long story short, after about 10 hours of radio silence, I received the text: "landed in HK." As much as I had enjoyed wandering around Hong Kong (drawing in pictures of Glenn in all my photos in case he never got to see the city), it was quite a relief to run (through crowds upon crowds of confused Chinese people) back to our hostel.

Where had Glenn been this whole time? Stuck in Beijing (after a late takeoff made him miss his connection) because everyone from the beloved city was flying to Hong Kong to celebrate China's birthday. Guess we never did our research on that one...  

After some dinner and a quick wander through the streets and parks before the sun went down, we headed back to the hostel to watch the fireworks. Best fireworks show EVER. We sat on the roof of our building in awe. Happy Birthday, CHINA!

We grabbed food from a local hole in the wall. I'm now obsessed with Thai Curry. Glenn insisted that we eat the food while we walked because "it's all part of the experience." Did I mention that we were also using chopsticks? And that NO ONE else was eating while they were walking?

After hitting up the famous Aqua Bar that our Australian friends had insisted we go to, we headed to the waterfront to stare at the skyline of the beautiful city. First day: WELL SPENT.

DAY TWO: Since Sunday was in reality our only full day in Hong Kong, we headed to what we both wanted to do most: see the view from The Peak. Most people stand in line for well over an hour to take a tram to see the view of Hong Kong. BUT Glenn found this awesome trail that only took 45 minutes. I think you can guess how we got to the top... Not only was hiking more rewarding - it was way faster (and you know how I feel about waiting in lines).

                 

After a well-earned drink at The Peak (and five minutes of waiting in line for the tram to take us down) we decided to run down the mountain. Why? It's easier and faster than walking AND obviously faster than waiting for trams. We wandered through the streets of Hong Kong, stumbling upon fish markets, flea markets and Buddha temples. (by "stumbling upon" I mean that I held my guidebook a few inches from my face while Glenn wandered embarrassed ahead. He later admitted that he was glad I bought the guidebook :))

Strangely enough, that night we were craving American food (Glenn was still a bit against anything Chinese after the whole Beijing fiasco). We headed back to our favorite spot sitting on the rocks, looking at Hong Kong island's exquisite skyline.

DAY THREE: And just like that, our final day in Hong Kong was upon us. We headed to McDonald's for iced coffee (I swear we went to a lot of local restaurants too...). The plan was to go to the Big Buddha. As I looked at my book for the best way to get there, a feeling of dread washed over me. I hadn't exactly done my homework on this particular destination, and it so happened to be two ferries and a bus ride up a mountain away. 

Oh, and we had a plane to catch that evening. As I began to lose all hope faced with the prospect of such an extensive pilgrimage, Glenn was overcome with resolve and insisted that it was more than feasible and that he just realized that he didn't want to leave Hong Kong without seeing Buddha. So off we went.

After what ended up being an extremely relaxing ride, we arrived and were certainly NOT disappointed. It was not only so much bigger than we could have imagined - the view was also breath-taking (seeing as Buddha sits on top of a mountain). 

                           

The long journey to and from Buddha ended up being half the fun - to take the ferry through the surrounding islands and then wind through the towns once we got to Lantau Island. Props to Glenn for being decisive.

We then headed to Bangkok that night, and after a full day of travel, welcomed a relaxing night in! 

Stay tuned for THAILAND. 

On experiencing the two sides of Rio

Monday, our final day in Rio, was the day we set out to conquer Rio's infamous icon: Cristo Redentor. I had read up on the best way to experience the statue and get to (etc.), but frankly had come away from my book very confused. Enter Scott: "Let's just ask the front desk."

Ah, good idea. After an extensive talk with them, we were off to the train station. We left the desk with clarity (at least I think Scott did... I was still confused). Upon our arrival at the train station, there was no sign of trains, or even train tracks. A man came up to us, pointed to the statue far off in the distance and then pointed to his van. Scott shrugged and started following him. I lagged behind in horror, trying to tell Scott this is how gringos die in movies, but he was ever the trusting tourist.

At this point, I was remembering something from my book about vans, and I just couldn't remember if we were supposed to get into the vans or avoid them. We got into the van. And then so did a few other people. I breathed a sigh of relief, realizing Scott had been right after all.

Three minutes later, we pulled up to a building and the doors of the van were opened. We got out and were pointed to a ticket counter. We bought tickets and then were hustled back into the van. My anxiety began to return as I realized that no one in the van knew what was going on. I could go on with a detailed account of my confusion throughout the whole process of reaching the statue, but I will attempt to just hit the highlights.

Our next stop was a beautiful lookout of the city of Rio...

From Sugarloaf Mountain (that we had been on two days before) to the beaches and bays to the slums to Christ the Redeemer... we didn't miss a single thing. As we walked back to where the van was, we realized that there were five other vans there as well - through Scott's Spanish (it proved more helpful than English and hand waving at least) we found ourselves in yet another van, steadily climbing toward the statue.

And then another ticket... and another van. And then an elevator, then an escalator... and then the most rewarding view EVER:

After several vans down the mountain (I counted seven in total from start to finish of this excursion), we found ourselves back at the hostel. Andrew and Ben, two of the New Zealanders (otherwise known as "Kiwis" for whatever reason...), mentioned that they were off to take a tour of a favela.

What is a "Favela" you may ask... It is quite literally: the slums. Favelas are run by drug lords and gangs.

It had been on Scott and I's "To Do" list (granted we had been thinking more of a guided tour, but same difference). Our friend Andrew decided he could do just as good of a job at guiding us, so he immediately took the lead. I learned quite a lot. Take a look:

In order to get to the favela, you have to take an elevator because the slums are literally on the side of the mountain. Once you get to the top, there is a lookout enclosed in glass where you can safely look at the favela. 

There was a girl, Suellen, standing in there (we later figured out her name after Ben and I called her "Smelly" several times... close enough, right?). After a thirty second conversation (with Andrew speaking English and Suellen speaking in Portugese), Andrew somehow convinced her to go to the favela with us.

So we trustily followed our guide, and let me tell you, IT WAS TERRIFYING. It was like something out of a movie. People just sitting on stoops and staring at us. After a few minutes, people started to follow us, then shouts of "gringo!" ensued. We just looked at each other with apprehensive expressions as Andrew happily continued to lead us through the winding stairs. It was almost impossible to not step on all of the crap (quite literally: poop) that was all over the stairs.

After about ten minutes my heart began to pound. I looked at Scott, and was like "we're definitely lost." Ben was giving me frantic looks. And just when I thought we might die in the slums, we somehow came back out at the entrance. 

Andrew gave us a grin and ordered beer for all of us at the little shack. As we stood there, the crowd surrounding us began to grow. We grabbed our beer and RAN.

Scott, Ben and I ran and ran until we were at the bottom of the mountain. As soon as we made it out, we realized Andrew and Suellen weren't with us. Ben said he would be fine, soooo we left. He got out of there eventually...

Why was he not there, you ask? Because he had to check-in on Facebook.

Once we were reunited, we headed to the beach to spend the last of our money on coco locos. Scott mentioned that we should leave a couple of times, but I just laughed him off.

At about the time that we should have been getting into a car for the airport, we left the beach and headed back to the hostel to shower and pack.

We grabbed another round of coco locos for the car ride. And by that I mean, we went to the grocery store and somehow convinced them to open coconuts for us. Bought a bottle of vodka, and made our own coco locos.

After a stressful ride to the airport in unforeseen traffic, we arrived. After they tried to tell Scott he was too late, he convinced them otherwise, and then attempted to walk through security with his coconut.

It was a valid attempt.

Oh, and in case you're wondering what ever became of Andrew...