My best friend, Claire, had mentioned eating at Boom Shaka Laka at the Beaches are of Jacksonville, Florida months ago. Raving about their fantastic breakfast menu, I wanted to check it out with my brothers the last time we were all home together, but I remember they were closed the morning we went. After our return from Puerto Rico, we stayed in town for a few days before heading back up to South Carolina and I suggested we try the restaurant Claire had mentioned before. It's located down Atlantic Boulevard just a mile or so from the beach and near a few old plazas. One thing I noticed was that it was tucked away in the corner and a little hard to find, unless you know what you're looking for. The interior is also quite funky; there are bright and cheerful hues, surf boards hanging on the wall, and some really cool hand-painted art hanging from the boards on the ceiling. I was digging the ambiance of the place.

Because we didn't make it to Boom Shaka Laka for breakfast, we were given the lunch menu and I glanced at their items briefly while trying to hide my disappointment about not eating there earlier. I don't live at home, so I never find out about different mom-and-pop restaurants unless I'm actively looking for something specific or if a friend mentions it. Also, judging from its menu items, Boom Shaka Laka offered "home cooked" Hawaiian meals, plus some Filipino favorites such as adobo, which isn't surprising since the owner is from Hawaii (and exposed to the island's large Filipino population). However, one of the things I noticed on the menu was that there weren't enough Hawaiian dishes to classify the restaurant as strictly Hawaiian or Polynesian. Spam, of course, is on the menu, but it was only offered during breakfast.

My husband and I both ordered their teriyaki chicken with rice, macaroni salad, and a Hawaiian roll. To be honest, it wasn't anything impressive; the food was good enough, but it was missing that "wow" factor. Many mom-and-pop joints I've sampled normally had something outstanding in their dishes, but Boom Shaka Laka's was a bit on the normal-to-bland side. Still, the food was filling and the waitress was more than happy to offer us extra rolls and salad, if we wanted. For the kids, there's a small selection of the usual kid-friendly favorites: mac n' cheese, corn dogs, hot dogs, fries, etc. Also, we remained the only people in the restaurant the entire time we ate during lunch.

Sadly, I just found out that Boom Shaka Laka is no longer in business; they closed up shop around June, so we probably were one of their last customers before they shut their doors permanently. Hopefully, they'll re-open one day at another (and better) location in the future and I'll be writing a positive review of the place. Perhaps, it's just another casualty of the recession.

Spending 6 wonderful nights in San Juan was definitely a memorable highlight for the Summer of 2012, being next to my husband's deployment homecoming, and I can't sing enough praises about the people of San Juan and Puerto Rico. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect from our stay, save for the fact that I was going to be eating a whole lot of good food, and I really enjoyed not having to go with a strict family itinerary. If we were a large brood, it'd probably be best to do so, but I found that talking to the locals, the knowledgeable hotel concierge, and other tourists provided a great way to find things to do in the city that isn't mentioned in travel brochures or books. We really loved exploring and enjoying the sights with our young son, and I did originally have reservations about taking a 3-year old to Puerto Rico, but I changed my mind soon after. Our son, it seems, has become something of a connoisseur of hotels and absolutely loves to travel. I'm betting he'll never outgrow that love when he does get older.

Pictured above is Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, San Juan's main hub for arriving and departing flights. Most tourists, coming from Canada and the U.S. will probably make a stop at this airport to catch a different connecting flight to the other islands in the Caribbean and another reason why the airport seems a little busy for its size. Prior to choosing Puerto Rico for a vacation, we were considering taking our vacation at Cancun, Mexico, Aruba, Costa Rica, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Budget-wise, Mexico and Costa Rica would have been much easier on our wallet, but we also figured in the flight time and things to do. San Juan had an excellent blend of things to do for adults looking into relaxation and fun for children. As an avid photographer, there were endless things to capture on camera in Puerto Rico and I still haven't been able to go through all the shots I took during our stay. Even though I now own a smartphone, I still cringe a little when I see people taking "family" photographs in front of world renowned monuments with their cell phone. "Different strokes for different folks," is what the saying goes, and if all you brought with you on your vacation is your phone, then so be it. Because most people I saw quickly reached for their phones during photo-ops, I nearly wanted to clap when I saw someone use an actual camera (disposable, high end SLR's, point-and-shoots, etc.). Personally, I prefer the photos off my cameras, although my cell phone virtually rivals one of my point-and-shoots.

Above is a picture from our seating area about Jet Blue Airline's cabin. Since the flight is just a quick 2 hours away from Jacksonville, Florida, we're placed in one of their mid-sized jets, which is comfortable and roomy enough for the quick trip back home. I don't recall seeing a first-class or business section, but it could be the first few rows up front. It's our first time riding on Jet Blue, but I enjoyed the experience (and prices) so we'll definitely book flights with them in the future. Depending on the season, a roundtrip flight from Jacksonville to San Juan can cost as low as $130 USD for 1 adult. Not bad, but since we travel as a family, we prefer to book vacation packages, which can net some incredible discounts if you have the right coupons, codes, or catch them during a promotional period. We got lucky and were able to combine a discount with coupons, so we saved a good 35% off our trip. I love great deals.

What's my final verdict on Puerto Rico? It's an astounding YES, of course, and my husband and I are planning to go back someday. Would we take our son with us? Perhaps when he's a little older and I can't say for sure if he's going to remember his memories in San Juan from the age of 3. He may be able to, along with the thousands of pictures I took, but it'll be fun to take him back to re-experience the sights and sounds he may have forgotten while he was young. Maybe we'll head back and catch one of the cruise ships and sail into the various Caribbean islands littered around the area or just explore another part of Puerto Rico.

Until then, we'll definitely see you later, Puerto Rico!

I had been eyeballing Miro restaurant ever since we made it to our hotel, and with its location directly across the street from us, we finally decided to give it a try the night before our last day in San Juan. Ensconced between a few other cheaper eateries (Starbucks, a Mexican, Italian, Turkish, and a burger joint), most people would overlook this restaurant because of their prices, which is far from being cheap. Compared to the others, Miro is slightly more expensive and isn't open 7 days of the week. Although it's closed on Mondays, Miro offers lunch and dinner with live bands playing Spanish and Jazz music on Thursday and Friday nights. Labeling itself as a Spanish and seafood restaurant, I was curious to see what their menu had to offer.

Because our 3-year old isn't a huge fan of dark and semi-claustrophobia-inducing interiors, which is what Miro's first level reminded me of, we asked our server if we could sit upstairs on their open veranda. The main floor includes a bar with booths and tables lit with tea lights to create a rather somber and, to me, a slightly Gothic atmosphere. It may have been the dark wood used to build the structure that made it seem so bleak inside, but I prefer eating at a place where I can see my food and relax comfortably. Fortunately, the 2nd floor of Miro's restaurant has enough room on their patio area to sit a family of 3 and you don't have to worry about the live acoustic band downstairs drowning out your dinner conversation. Also, the 2nd floor contains unique black and white murals of some of Jazz's greats and you can enjoy the view of the streets below. I know I sound pretty critical of Miro's interior, but it certainly doesn't reflect what I think about their restaurant or food as a whole.

Looking through the menu, Miro offers a small combination of Spanish and seafood cuisine that seem a little fancier with Spanish-sounding names. Luckily, there are English descriptions on the bottom of each entree and I didn't have to worry too much about pronunciation, as Spanish seems to roll easily off my tongue, despite never having taken Spanish classes or speaking it myself. For our appetizer, we ordered cod fritters that our son absolutely loved and allowed him to eat that as his dinner. They also offer a basket of toast with some olive oil dip to munch on while you wait for your food. My husband ordered seafood ravioli stuffed with lobster and drenched with pesto sauce. Although it looked rather simple and slightly unappealing with its mismatched color combination, the dish was pretty tasteful. I did find that they were slightly stingy with the lobster meat, but the pesto sauce more than made up for it.

For my entree, I decided I wanted some red meat for dinner and went with their Churrasco steak with chimichurri accompanied with Maposteao risotto. The steak was ordered just right; medium rare with enough juices to keep the insides tender and moist (but not entirely too bloody). Combined with the creamy risotto, I was surprised to find that the dish was, well, pretty damned good. Across from me, my husband was salivating and offering to finish whatever I couldn't handle, but I was more than happy to share. It doesn't look like much in the picture above, but the steak is really very filling. Also, eating anything with rice will make you full quite easily. If I could change one thing about my dish, I probably would have suggested that they go ahead and spread the chimichurri sauce over the meat as soon as it comes off the grill. Because I was given a small amount of sauce on the side dish, I didn't think it tasted well with meat that had already cooled after coming off the grill.

Despite its rather odd and dark interior on the first floor, I would still recommend Miro restaurant to anyone looking for a taste of seafood or Spanish cuisine in San Juan. Miro is a little more pricier than other eateries in the area, but they do have a good selection of meats as well as seafood dishes for even the pickiest of eaters. Unfortunately, I can't say that Miro's is entirely kid-friendly, due to the lack of a menu for children, but it does have a jazz bar and parties tend to gather until the wee hours of the morning and I doubt children are a common sight at the restaurant past 10pm. However, because they also serve lunch, I would hope that they offer a small selection aimed towards patrons with little ones in the future. As I've mentioned before, if you do travel somewhere that doesn't cater to entire families (especially those with little children), you can usually get away with ordering something off the appetizer menu or asking the waiter if the chef can split a bigger meal in two, so that you can still portion out smaller meals for your children. If they don't, ask for a spare plate to share your food. I've found that most establishments don't mind, save for buffet places, and you don't have to worry about ordering extra food for your children. Adults shouldn't always have all the fun.