danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

This is the story of the most action-packed vacation in history.

We arrived in San Juan in the early afternoon, and took the short taxi ride to our hotel, the Intercontinental San Juan Resort and Casino.  We were shocked when the front desk clerk told us we must pay a $500 deposit “for incidentals”.  We had purchased a vacation package months ago, which included our airfare and hotel.  We knew we’d have to pay for parking and taxes, but didn’t expect to pay such a large sum up front.  It cut into our walkin’ around money quite a bit.  To make matters worse, to pick up the rental car we’d reserved we had to pay a $400 deposit.  At the end of the week, Avis would refund the deposit less the rental fee.  Thankfully, that was the end of our troubles for the entire vacation (save one rainy morning).  The desk clerk gave us a sweet room upgrade on the eleventh floor with a beach view.  Plus, the girl at the Avis desk–conveniently located in the hotel lobby–upgraded us to a Nissan Rogue.  It was quite nice, and made us feel better.

We spent that afternoon hanging out near the hotel, deciding to take it easy.  There were several restaurants across the street, so we ate, and got directions to the nearest supermarket from two police officers.  Pueblo is quite similar to Albertson’s.  I was fascinated by all the exotic products.  Brands we know well in the USA make items for the Latin American market that we never see here.  And items that we do have look different.  Two-liter Pepsi bottles were tall and slender, and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes are called something else entirely.  Soda was less expensive than in the USA ($1.07 for two liters), but dairy products were much more: milk cost $5.99 per gallon.  The Puerto Rico equivalent of Merita or Hostess is called Holsum, and I bought a package of their little donuts with powdered sugar called “Donitas”.  They were delightful, and over the course of our vacation I must have eaten eighty little donuts.  I even wrote a song about them:

Donitas, me gusta comer Donitas.
Te quiero, mi amor, Donitas.
La comida de Dios, Donitas!

I would like to make a music video for my song in a very Univision style, with lots of blown-back hair, camera zooming, and a scene where I pick my face up out of a pile of powdered sugar, like the scene from Scarface where Al Pacino lays face down in a  mountain of cocaine.  I can’t say enough good things about Donitas.

But, even better than Donitas was a treat I had for the first time ever the day we spent in Old San Juan.  The historic eatery called La Bombonera sells something called Mallorcas, and they are a gift from heaven.  They look like small spirals of dough sprinkled with powdered sugar.  You can get them in this soft form, but I had mine grilled, without the cheese or meat that others prefer.  They were indescribably good, and I wished I had a larger stomach so that I could have eaten more of them.  More about La Bombonera later.

After dinner our first night, we went down to the beach, then swam in the pool after dark.  The constant breeze and cool water was completely refreshing.  The pool, which was huge and had a waterfall and a bridge over it, was open all day and night, but we sometimes went down too late to get towels from the gazebo, and had to feel very cold coming up in the air-conditioned elevator.  Then, back in the room, we opened the sliding glass door to the small balcony, and delighted in the breeze that blew back the curtains.  Most of the time that we spent in our room was with the door open.  Some nights we could see the cruise ships leaving San Juan and heading east, and the sight of their bright lights sailing toward the horizon was enchanting.  So ended our first day in Puerto Rico.

More to come.

Filed under: Food, Travel on August 26th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

SAN JUAN – In Puerto Rico, crowds are everywhere.  On every narrow sidewalk, one must step off the curb or duck into a doorway to allow approaching pedestrians to pass.  The traffic jams out of the capital every evening are of a biblical scale.  Smaller towns, too, have bumper-to-bumper traffic through the narrow lanes, and vendors at every corner.

The number of people selling food in Puerto Rico is impossible to exaggerate.  Where ever one stands here, several dining opportunities are within view.  At street corners, men and women sell fruit.  At roadside kiosks, vendors sell all manner of fried and roasted meat.  Restaurants fill every building.  I know that seems like hyperbole, but when I say that you can’t turn your head without finding a place to eat, I mean it.  In people’s homes, from people’s cars, from stand-alone structures and on foot, food is for sale.

Perhaps the most unexpected thing I have found amidst the huddled masses, baking in the heat here is a kind and jovial politeness.  Almost without exception, everyone with whom I have come into contact in Puerto Rico has been very nice.  Even in situations in which one might expect a degree of curtness or even aggression, there is none.  For example, Miriam and I attempted to access the former United States Navy base called Roesevelt Roads on the east side of the island.  At three different checkpoints we were turned away.  But, each guard with whom we spoke was friendly and polite.  In America, security guards are so often complete jerks, that I was taken aback.  And, even when it sounds like Puerto Ricans are angry and shouting at one another–and people here are loud, to be sure–it isn’t what it seems.  On a sidewalk beside a vast expanse of lawn that sits before San Felipe del Morro, as we enjoyed delicious piraguas, we saw a family pass.  The children were shouting as children always do, and the mother seemed to be speaking sternly to them.  But, what they were really saying, in Spanish, of course, was how beautiful the kites were, and how nice the weather was.

Puerto Rico is crowded, dirty, and poor as can be.  But the people here are warm and friendly.  I will miss this.

Filed under: Food, Travel on August 21st, 2009 | No Comments »

So, Coors (the company that wrote me a letter claiming Kid Rock is an “American hero”) is now advertising their new “Cold Activated Can”:

Coors Light is giving adult consumers a way of knowing when their beer is at the ultimate drinking temperature with the debut of the brand’s Cold Activated Can in a 24 fluid-ounce container. Thermochromatic ink turns the mountains blue when the beer is cold enough to drink. The company was the first U.S. beer brand to offer this type of product with the debut of Coors Light and Coors Cold Activated Bottles….

I have an equally effective technique for determining when my beverage is at the “ultimate drinking temperature”:  I touch it with my hand.

Filed under: Axis of Evil, Food on June 18th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Don’t laugh, but I like Hungry Howie’s.  I eat it all the time, and I always get the same thing.

Today I had to go to school to drop off a paper, and on the way back I called to place my order.  When I told the guy my name he said, “Pepperoni/Butter-cheese?”  Like I said, I go there a lot.

Filed under: Food on April 24th, 2009 | No Comments »

It’s true, I guess, that all good things must come to an end.

Until this afternoon, Gainesville had a wonderful old soda fountain at Wise’s Drug Store on University Avenue, downtown.  It had been open for over seventy years, and was the kind of place where sassy ladies with names like Gladys would give you a hard time if you asked for a “hamburger with cheese” or didn’t know the difference between an ice cream float and a vanilla soda.  I had been going to Wise’s for as long as I’ve lived in Gainesville.  They made the best vanilla milkshakes anywhere, and served them with a spoon, and always gave you the excess in the stainless steel cup they mixed it in.  You could get malt added if you wanted, but I like things for their thingness, so I kept it simple.

Earlier this month it was announced that Wise’s would be closing.  They’ll still keep a drive-through pharmacy on SW 4th Avenue, but the soda fountain is no more.

As a dyed in the wool nostalgist, this is a sad occasion for me.  Clearly, soda fountains aren’t as common as they once were, especially ones still located inside drug stores where you could buy a hot water bottle and a shaving brush one aisle over.  Moreover, Wise’s closing means a significant site of Dana Heritage is now lost. I ate at that counter with many close friends over the years, some of whom have moved far away or with whom I have lost touch.  I shared many memorable moments there with my one true love.  On special occasions when Mrs. Hill would have an afternoon off, we’d have lunch together there at the counter.  And I know many others will miss Wise’s.  I even have two close friends who went to Wise’s directly after getting married last year in the courthouse downtown.  Since the closing was announced there have been long lines to eat, and while we were there this afternoon I could see some people weeping.

The economy being what it is, the building will probably sit empty for a while.  Eventually it’ll become a bar or club, or, more accurately, a series of bars and clubs that last a year or less each.

What a sad day.

Filed under: Dana Heritage Project, Food, Gainesville, Musings on January 30th, 2009 | No Comments »