This was a weekend of failed attempts. The plan was to go fly the helicopter on Saturday. On Sunday I planned to take the ferry to Culebra and rent a Jeep and then drive around, explore, and take pictures.

Saturday when I woke up it was raining. It wasn't a heavy rain, and the airfield is a 45 minute drive away so it's possible it wasn't raining there, but it's hard to drag yourself out of bed with four hours of sleep when there's heavy rain falling outside your window.

Saturday night I attended my cousin Maria Isabel's Quinceañero; a big party that Puerto Ricans celebrate when a girl turns 15. It involves huge cakes and speeches and commemorative videos and a dance, and my god I'm glad I'm not a 15-year-old girl.

There was a professional photographer there shooting with a Canon, and we talked briefly about lenses (like most professional Canon photographers, he's got the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L I was using, and we discussed its relative merits). He had an assistant working with him, following him around and holding up additional lighting when he wanted to take a picture. It was clear they've worked together for a while and they could read each other well. It made me wish I had an assistant of my own :) Perhaps when Andrés is done with his 15 years of schooling and has a worthless psychology degree, I will deliver him from his poverty and pay him a small stipend to follow me around and carry my gear.

On Sunday I awoke to a clear day, so I figured I was set. I checked the schedule on the website and determined that I'd aim for the 11 AM ferry, which means leaving here around 930 AM. I showered and got dressed, and then just before setting out I called one of the Jeep places on the island, Jerry's Jeeps, to be sure they had Jeeps available.

Jerry said that yes, they had plenty, but he warned me that it was currently raining heavily there, with no end in sight. He asked if I was coming by ferry or plane, and when I told him, he said, "Well you've already missed the ferry." As the more inquisitive ones of you may have noticed, the 11 AM ferry departs FROM Culebra. The corresponding morning ferry from Fajardo leaves at 9 AM.

Out of curiosity, he asked what I was coming to the island for. I explained that I wanted to explore some offroad trails and find things to take pictures, and he pointed out that vehicles are allowed off the paved roads, and there really isn't much on the island aside from the beaches and the small town.

In summary, my plan was a bust. I was impressed by Jerry — he was very friendly and helpful, even as he was advising me not to come and do business with him. If I ever do need to rent a Jeep in Culebra, I'll definitely rent from him.

I decided I'd go fly my helicopter instead, since I hadn't been able to go the day before. I loaded everything up in the car and drove out there, but apparently the Sunday guys leave earlier than the Saturday guys. Usually when I'm out there on Saturday they stay until it's too dark to fly, but Sunday I pulled up at 330 PM and everyone was packing up. Blast.

Later that evening as I was driving around I noticed some awesome lightning in the sky. Usually even when you can actually see the forked lightning, it's only one streak. At one point last night I saw at least eight or nine streaks of lightning across the sky.

I quickly headed to my grandparents' apartment (which is on the 4th floor) to see if I could get some lightning pictures. Unfortunately, the lightning was exactly opposite the direction their balcony faces, so I wasn't able to capture it. I did pull over in my neighborhood on my way home and take a few shots, but they didn't come close to capturing what I had seen earlier.

On the other hand, I did get to hang out briefly with Giselle, and even my failed attempts at adventure felt more productive than other weekends when I just sit in my room and watch TV the entire time. So I suppose it wasn't all bad.