Our last few hours in Puerto Rico had arrived. We left Dorado and took coastal Highway 165 again for a pleasant stress-free drive into San Juan. We had just about two hours before we had to return our vehicle at the airport and decided to visit another couple of areas in San Juan that we had not seen before. We drove through an area called "El Condado" which is a busy ocean-front community with many high-rise hotels, somewhat reminiscent of Fort Lauderdale or Miami Beach. We then drove further east to another San Juan district called "Isla Verde", a beachfront suburb that also features many condominiums and some highrise hotels. After returning our rental car we were ready to check in our luggage when the US Airways representative informed us that our flight to Philadelphia was cancelled due to the winter storm that had been blanketing the northeastern US and Canada. Fortunately he found a flight to Charlotte, NC, that would connect us with our destination of Buffalo after all. We had to race to the plane as everybody was already boarding. We finally arrived at about 10:30 pm in Buffalo, and not surprisingly were greeted by a continuing snowfall. Our car was buried under several inches of snow and after finally finding a gas station in Buffalo we crossed the border into Ontario at midnight. Having arrived at 2 am in our driveway in Toronto, we couldn't even get our vehicle into our driveway because the snow was so deep. So we had to spend an hour and a half shoveling, just to make room for our car at the end of our driveway. The following morning we had to spend another hour and a half each to clear the rest of the driveway. But despite these little inconveniences, our little getaway to Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Puerto Rico had definitely been worth it.

My first destination on this cold and grey winter day was the Skylon Tower, one of Niagara Falls' landmarks, which has been presiding over the city since 1965. I took one of the exterior "Yellow Bug" elevators" up to the top where there is an observation platform anchored by a gift shop. The 360 degree view was phenomenal, even on this less than perfect day. Then I headed down a level to check out the Revolving Dining Room, a long-time favourite for couples who want to savour a leisurely gourmet meal while enjoying a slowly rotating 360 degree view of Niagara Falls.

After my morning adventure at the Skylon Tower in Niagara Falls, I walked across the parking lot to the Niagara Falls Imax Theatre where I saw an Imax Presentation of the movie "Niagara" Miracles, Myths and Magic", which highlights significant points in the history of the great falls. Niagara's history is presented in greater than life format, from the ancient native legend of the "Maid of the Mist", to French explorers who were the first Europeans to see Niagara Falls, to more recent daredevils that have challenged the falls in various contraptions. After the movie I checked out the Daredevil Gallery which features the real vessels of numerous daredevils that have actually gone over the falls, with varying results.

My first adventure in Niagara Falls was really exciting: a scenic helicopter tour with Niagara Helicopters that would allow me to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world from the air. I had never been in a helicopter, so this definitely was going to be very special. I met the crew at Niagara Helicopters and even had a chance to interview the owner, Ruedi Hafen, a decorated helicopter pilot who has received many awards for running rescue missions and for his successful entrepreneurship. I then went up with my young pilot René who also hails from Switzerland and who gave me a personalized up-close look at Niagara Falls. He explained the cockpit of the helicopter to me and we even took off with a little dance. It was exhilarating to fly along the path of the Niagara River and to see all the main attractions of Niagara Falls from the air.

Just south of Arecibo we started to drive south on Highway 10 to cross the islands main mountain range, the "Cordillera Central", in order to reach the island's south coast. Although the island is only 35 miles (about 50 km) wide, it can take hours to cross the island, especially after the main highway ends. We had to get onto narrow local roads that snake around the mountains and took us past local towns such as Utuado and Adjuntas. We could barely go faster than 25, 30 km/h and it was fascinating to see modest local houses patched up against the steep tropical mountain sides. It took us about 2.5 hours to reach the south coast and the second largest city of Puerto Rico: Ponce, also called "Ciudad de los leones" (City of Lions) or "La Perla del Sur" (Pearl of the South). Ponce has a beautiful main square, Plaza de las Delicias, which features the Ponce Cathedral and the Parque de Bombas, a red and black striped wooden building built in 1883 that used to house the city's main fire station. Several classical buildings frame the square, among others the Alcaldia (City Hall) and several bank buildings. To get back to Dorado we went on Highway 52 which took us right into the crazy traffic of San Juan again, so the trip from Ponce to Dorado took us almost three hours.

Our last day in San Francisco, February 25, 2008, was rapidly coming to an end. After an amazing tour of infamous Alcatraz Island and its former maximum security prison we enjoyed a nice lunch in the sun at Pier 39. We took up a sunny spot right in front of the historic Italian-built carousel to savour our selection of French fries and crepes.

Then we had to hurry because by this time it was past 3 pm and we still wanted to do a bicycle tour of San Francisco's northern coastline and to explore Golden Gate Park. So we rushed over to Bay City Bike Rental where we took out two comfortable cruiser bikes and started our second bicycle tour of San Francisco.

In the sunshine we cruised past Fort Mason Center and the Marina District. We then stopped off at Palace of Fine Arts, one of San Francisco's most popular destinations and the only remainder of the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. Unfortunately the Rotunda was under renovation, but the beautifully carved Corinthian columns and the scenic pond still provided plenty of opportunities for passionate photographers.

On we continued past Crissy Field and up a steep hill to the Fort Point Lookout, location of the southern terminus of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we continued uphill on Lincoln Boulevard, high above Baker Beach and China Beach to Land's End where a wooden lookout platform offered a phenomenal view of the Golden Gate Bridge. After taking a rest in beautiful Lincoln Park (which features a reasonably priced municipal golf course with amazing Pacific Ocean views) we continued past the Palace of the Legion of Honor, a European art museum financed by a sugar heiress. Then we continued southwards into Golden Gate Park.on steep 47th Avenue

By this time it was after 5 pm and we knew our bicycles had to be back by 6 pm, so we had no choice but to race through the park. I figured this will be a full-day destination for my next San Francisco trip which should allow me to explore all the features of this fine urban park in great detail. We made our way up the steep climb of Arguello Street and came down through the Presidio, a former military area that is now a beautiful wooded oasis in the city.

On the way back we caught some nice sunset shots of the Golden Gate Bridge. We were a bit late returning our bikes, but the folks at Bay City Bike were quite nice about it and our two bicycle rides in San Francisco were definitely major highlights of our entire trip.

We spent our last evening at a great Mexican eatery called Colibri, not far from Union Square where we got to sample all sorts of authentic dishes from Central Mexico. The place even features more than 350 varieties of Mexican tequila. A fitting end to our much too short 4.5 days in San Francisco!

Our last few hours in Puerto Rico had arrived. We left Dorado and took coastal Highway 165 again for a pleasant stress-free drive into San Juan. We had just about two hours before we had to return our vehicle at the airport and decided to visit another couple of areas in San Juan that we had not seen before. We drove through an area called "El Condado" which is a busy ocean-front community with many high-rise hotels, somewhat reminiscent of Fort Lauderdale or Miami Beach. We then drove further east to another San Juan district called "Isla Verde", a beachfront suburb that also features many condominiums and some highrise hotels. After returning our rental car we were ready to check in our luggage when the US Airways representative informed us that our flight to Philadelphia was cancelled due to the winter storm that had been blanketing the northeastern US and Canada. Fortunately he found a flight to Charlotte, NC, that would connect us with our destination of Buffalo after all. We had to race to the plane as everybody was already boarding. We finally arrived at about 10:30 pm in Buffalo, and not surprisingly were greeted by a continuing snowfall. Our car was buried under several inches of snow and after finally finding a gas station in Buffalo we crossed the border into Ontario at midnight. Having arrived at 2 am in our driveway in Toronto, we couldn't even get our vehicle into our driveway because the snow was so deep. So we had to spend an hour and a half shoveling, just to make room for our car at the end of our driveway. The following morning we had to spend another hour and a half each to clear the rest of the driveway. But despite these little inconveniences, our little getaway to Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Puerto Rico had definitely been worth it.

I started the morning off early with a walk through the extensive grounds of the Embassy Suites / Golden Sands resort in Dorado, and around mid-day we made our way into the Puerto Rican capital -- San Juan. Old San Juan is a beautifully restored colonial city and was founded in 1521. We parked our vehicle close to the Puerto Rican Capitol and started walking west towards Old San Juan past Plaza Colon which features a statue of Christopher Columbus. After my initial explorations of the popular shopping street Calle Fortaleza I discovered the Governor's Mansion (la Fortaleza) where two local policemen enlightened me about the significance of this building. Then I came across the Parque de las Palomas where hundreds of pigeons swarm the tourists who feed them. Walking north I explored the Atlantic waterfront, the Old San Juan Cemetery and one of San Juan's most imposing fortifications: Fort San Felipe del Morro, begun in 1539, which today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I even hopped on the free open-air tourist trolley to get a more comprehensive view of Old San Juan and caught a nice sunset, looking south over the Bay of San Juan.