Year: 2022

ToroVerde and El Monstruo Zipline in Puerto Rico Are a Must

ToroVerde Adventure Park in Puerto Rico claims to be the largest in the Caribbean, and it isn’t until you arrive that you truly grasp what that means. The park really is huge!

Not only does this one have a traditional zipline course, but they have other unique aerial activities like the Toro Bike (riding a suspended bicycle across ziplines), a children friendly Toro Roller (ropes course and climbing tower), and an extremely long, Superman-style zipline aptly named The Monster.

During my visit for a conference tour, I was able to check out the traditional zipline course as well as The Monster. You don’t want to miss these when in Puerto Rico!

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Which Sheraton in Old San Juan is Best? 2 Sheraton San Juan Reviews

When it comes to booking a hotel in Old San Juan, if you are a Marriott loyalist, you have two great options- both from the Sheraton brand.

One is the Sheraton Old San Juan and the second is the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino. While the former is what we would call the only true branded hotel in Old San Juan proper, those who are visiting the San Juan region may want to take a hard look at both before committing to a property.

Thankfully, I was fortunate to stay at both of the Sheraton hotels in San Juan on a recent visit and thought I’d share a review of each with side-by-side comparisons to help you plan your stay!

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Who Invented the Pina Colada? Barrachina vs Caribe Hilton

If there is any cocktail that immediately evokes thoughts of a palm tree-lined beach, it is the Pina Colada.

This cocktail, made of rum, coconut, and pineapple, is the quintessential beach drink and is one we have come to love simply through our frequent visits to its birthplace- San Juan, Puerto Rico.

But the origin story of this classic is, shall we say, heavily debated. Two iconic establishments lay claim to creating this refreshing beverage, and we did what any enterprising cocktail lover should do in order to get to the bottom of the debate- we went to both.

Enter the Barrachina, which claims to have invented the Pina Colada in 1963, and the Caribe Hilton, which claims to have invented this classic in 1954. So who really made it first and, more importantly, which is better? We had to find out.

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Visiting the Manhattan Project B Reactor Near Tri-Cities, WA

Odds are good you know a bit about the development of the nuclear bomb that ended the Pacific campaign of WWII. 

If you haven’t gone deep into the history, discussions are often relegated to the Manhattan Project’s work in Los Alamos where the bombs were built and tested. But did you know the nuclear materials used in said bombs were not created in Los Alamos but instead were split between two other sites in the USA (for safety and security purposes)?

The plutonium enrichment was actually achieved at a reactor outside of the Tri-Cities in Washington state, and the Hanford B Reactor is now a National Historic Site that is open for tours in partnership with the Department of Energy!

I was fortunate enough to attend a media visit to this one and have to admit, it is a pretty amazing tour all around.

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