Peru & Ecuador - Part 9

Friday, December 5th was our last full day at Kuyana Lodge. The options for excursions that morning included a hike through the jungle, which the guide said would be much longer and harder than any we had done so far, or a hike through a cave. In light of the described difficulty, my family opted to do the cave trip.

I have no fascination with caves in general, but once he said that the water would be chest-high in places, my decision was made. Chest-high water on most people equates to being over my head. I also did not relish the thought of slogging through water in knee-high boots, which would immediately be filled at that depth. While I brought water shoes for the Galapagos portion of the trip, the sand had rubbed the tops of my toes raw on the last expedition we did there. All that combined made it easy for me to say that I would remain at the resort. 

As no other guests had arrived at the lodge yet, I again had the place to myself. We had been told that more people were coming that night, and it was obvious from the staff activity that more guests were expected. I took the time to rearrange all my belongings in the suitcase and backpack for the next morning's departure before strolling around the resort snapping photos. Then I parked myself at the pool until my husband and daughter returned. They both agreed that I had made the correct choice in staying behind as the cave hike was dark, cold, and strenuous.

around the resort

The rest of my family returned in time for lunch. We then spent time at the pool. An afternoon rain shower came in, so I entertained myself by taking pictures of the rain drops on the pool water surface.

rain on the pool

For our last dinner there was a marked difference in the dining area. Now that other guests had arrived, there were different place mats, the napkins were folded all fancy, and there were candles on the tables, along with a large leaf with the guest's name on it. Those things actually made us feel pretty insignificant since we didn't have them for the other meals while we were there. Ramona was also brought out of her living quarters for the meal. From other reviews that I have read, I think this is a frequent occurrence while guests are there. She was not previously brought out to dine with us, only to join us on the one hike.

last dinner

Following dinner we returned to our cabin. We had to pack for the next morning's departure and get through one last tepid shower. In the morning we enjoyed one final delicious meal before the prearranged car arrived to pick us up for the three and a half hour drive back to Quito.

last breakfast

sunset out the hotel room window

We elected to stay at a hotel near the airport as we had a fairly early flight out the next morning. Luckily the restaurant for the included breakfast opened at 5:30 so we were able to eat before heading out on the airport shuttle. Everything went smoothly at the airport, and we left on time to Miami, where we would catch the plane for the last leg of our journey. Our daughter was on the same flight to Miami, so it was nice to have some final time with her on the plane and in the American Airlines lounge in Miami.

We all made it home safe and sound. It was an amazing adventure, and one that we will be talking about for years to come. Super big bonus was that none of us got sick, either on the trip or after we got home. That is always a concern with travel, especially in cold and flu season. Now - where to next?

Peru & Ecuador - Part 2

November 24th we had a 4:00 a.m. wake up call. We were able to pick up a to-go breakfast box at 4:30 and then our buses took us to the Ollantaytambo train station, which was about three hours away. Our train left the station at 8:48, headed to Aguas Calientes which was an hour and fifteen minutes away. Once you depart the train you take a 30 minute public shuttle to Machu Picchu, which sits at an elevation of 7,970 feet.

Our tour began at 10:00. While the area was socked in with low clouds, they made an interesting shroud of the mountains. Unfortunately it began to rain (pretty much the only steady rain we had on the trip), but luckily we had rain coats with us. It did quit after a bit, so we were able to enjoy the experience a little more. We only had a little over two hours to explore, so much of our day was spent in transportation. We took the shuttle back to town where we had lunch with a little time left over to check out the buildings in the area.

Then it was a reverse of the trip, and we did not get back to the hotel until nearly 8:00. We had a late dinner at the hotel before heading off to bed.

Machu Picchu

The next morning we had an early breakfast at the hotel because our buses were taking us to the Cusco airport at 7:20. We had to fly from Cusco to Lima, where we met with different representatives from the tour company who would get us onto our connecting flight to Quito, Ecuador.

Quito Airport

We arrived at the JW Marriott in the late afternoon. Dinner was included at the hotel, so we ate there and turned in somewhat early as the next day included an all day tour of historic Quito and the Middle of the World. In the city center we visited churches, saw the Presidential Palace, and toured a chocolate factory (very small and family-operated.) After that we headed out of town for lunch up in the mountains in a gorgeous setting.

Quito tour

Following lunch we drove outside of Quito to the Middle of the World, which marks the Equator. This is the point that divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The site includes a monument, museum, shops and interesting artwork. 

Middle of the World

Once back at the hotel we had dinner and then it was off to bed. The next day included a 4:30 wakeup call in preparation for an early flight to our next destination.

Debby Downer

When we looked at retirement locations, we both agreed that we did not want to live near the coasts. We didn't want to have to worry about hurricanes and all that comes with those. We were also happy to leave the tornadoes of the Midwest behind. So we settled in an area just northwest of Charlotte.

Well, the joke was on us! Our first fall here there was a tornado warning. As our house is built on a slab, there is no basement. We hadn't considered tornadoes here, so we searched for the safest spot in the house to hunker down during the storm. That ended up being our laundry room. Fortunately no tornadoes have touched down anywhere near us, but it is still scary when the warning comes.

We also did not expect to get the backlash from hurricanes here. I'm not sure if being by the lake exacerbates weather conditions or not, but Tropical Storm Debby brought us crazy winds and rain. We watched as the trees out back bowed to the wind (though none fell down), and the rain pelted our plants and house. We received 7 inches of rain in a 24 hour period on Thursday. It was crazy.

We only lost power for about 45 minutes, but many people were without for hours. Roads were flooded, trees came down and the area was just a general mess Thursday into Friday. 

I guess there is truly no where you can live that is without perils of some type. It has just been surprising to see the weird weather here. But the view makes a lot of the other things seem forgivable.

calm after the storm

Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

For whatever reason our area is caught in a rain pattern right now. We are in our third day in a row of rain, with another three forecasted ahead. While there is a tropical storm out in the Atlantic Ocean right now, it is not anywhere close to the coast of the United States. So I'm not sure what is causing these storms. We did manage to get in a little pickleball early Monday morning before the rain began, but since then all outdoor activities have come to a halt.

Sunday I took my husband out to a local brewpub for Father's Day, and we stopped at the Mount Holly Community Garden to look at the garden beds. The flowers looked amazing, and since I am tired of the gray around me I'm posting a few of my favorites here. They are the only color we will see for a bit.

Mount Holly Community Garden

Where's the Pot of Gold?

rainbow but no gold

We have been having some strange weather lately. Tropical Storm Fred to the south has been unpredictable, and the forecasters keep saying each day that we will be getting rain. And each day it gets cloudy, a little windy, and some thunder rolls in. But rainfall has been negligible. Following what little rain we got yesterday, this vibrant rainbow appeared in the northeastern sky. That was a consolation prize, I suppose.

While we need the rain, I really hope the forecast for today is wrong as it is so often. We are hosting two pickleball clinics tonight on our outdoor courts. The first hour at 7:00 is for beginners, and then my husband and I will take those 8 students to the tennis courts (which are also striped for pickleball). We will work with them on what they learned for an hour or so. At 8:00 the instructor will then work with 8 advanced beginners on the pickleball courts for an hour and a half to help them improve their skills. 

When the sign up was posted for the two clinics, they filled in a few hours. So we have a second set being offered next Monday, and those signups filled immediately as well. It's obvious we have a huge need (and desire) for these types of clinics here. I just hope we can get them in, because rescheduling could be incredibly difficult. Here's hoping that our pot of gold is filled with sunshine in a couple of hours!

Picture Perfect Weekend

After what felt like days of rain, it was nice to get some dry time in St. Louis this weekend. I played a couple hours of pickleball on Friday, and spent Saturday going through family photos for a relative who recently lost her mom. I scanned all of the photos I had of this lovely woman, and emailed them to her daughter. My photographs are the one area of my life in which I was uber-organized. Through the years I have taken all of our photos and neatly labeled and placed them in albums. And then what happened? The experts came out with the recommendation that all photos be removed from their albums and placed in acid-free storage boxes. Seriously? All the procrastinators who tossed their photos in boxes were ahead of me on this one. I have slowly begun to do this, starting with the oldest (and most problematic) albums first. Some of the photos are extremely stuck to the albums. I have purchased a small (and I mean small) stainless steel spatula to try and safely remove the pictures from the pages. The dental floss trick did not work, so this approach has been suggested by photographers. We shall see.

Sunday was so pretty in the morning that I high tailed it to the Missouri Botanical Garden, my happy place. In addition to all the beautiful flowers, the garden is in full swing with its second Chinese Lantern Festival. I learned from the last one in 2012 that it is a good idea to photograph all the lanterns during the day so that you can see what they are made of. When they are lit at night, it is really hard to tell. Afterwards I put the day and nighttime photos of each lantern side by side in a book, and I really like how it turned out. My husband and I are signed up to attend the photographers event at the festival on July 20th. From 7:30-10:30 that night, the attendance will be much more limited than on any other night. Plus we can bring our tripods in, which is not allowed at other times due to them being a tripping hazard in the dark. It should be great, and a number of my Women in Focus photography friends are coming that night as well.

Phoenix Reborn

Porcelain Elephants

Crane Paradise

Dandelions and Pandas

Lantern Way

At 5:30 on Sunday night the opening reception of "Stillness and Light", the second show of the Women in Focus photography group, was held at the art gallery located within the Webster Groves Christian Church. There was a pretty nice turnout, and once again I am in awe of the work that is produced by the women in this group. It is fun to see the diversity of photos that are taken, and to listen to the public's reaction to the shots. Radio63119 attended the event, and I was one of the people interviewed for an upcoming show. I am hoping at some point to be a guest on the station to discuss how to research the history of a home.

my three photos

inside the gallery

Anything Goes - Despite Tornado Warnings

Anything Goes

We were at the Fox Theatre tonight when the tornado warning sirens were going off in St. Louis County. I had never really considered the best place to be in the Fox should a tornado hit. We were not advised to take shelter since the storm was off to the west, and the show did indeed go on! And what a show it was. I have never seen Anything Goes before, but what a high energy production. The music, dancing, singing and set design were great. We thoroughly enjoyed the show, and it was nice to forget about the storm for awhile.

Reality set in as we made a mad dash for the car, parked several blocks away. Interstate 44 was thankfully not very crowded, because the pouring rain made it very difficult to see the lines. It was probably the worst weather conditions I have driven in for a long time. Creeping along at 40 miles per hour made the drive home a lot longer than usual, but we made it safe and sound. So far other than some water in the basement, I don't think we had any damage here at the house. Tomorrow will tell. To all of those in St. Louis and Oklahoma who did not fare so well, my thoughts and prayers go out to you.

Happy Birthday, America!

This past weekend seemed really long, which is a good thing. Saturday night we finally got around to celebrating Father's Day. Katie was in Prague and Jim on his motorcycle trip on the actual day. We took Jim to a new restaurant in Webster Groves called The Block. It is an interesting concept in that they have a small butcher shop inside the restaurant. So if you love their pork chops, say, you can buy fresh pork chops to go and they will tell you how to prepare them. It took me forever to locate their website (not good, restaurant owner!) so that I could see what their menu looks like. They bill themselves as a family restaurant, but the menu is definitely not kid-friendly. When my kids were young, they would not have liked anything on the menu. I never could find the hours on the website, so I had to call to see when they are open. (Not good, restaurant owner!)

When we arrived a little after 5:00 (this being the time they open), all of the wait staff was sitting in the dining room going over the specials for the evening. We were seated anyway, which was more than a little weird. I ordered the burger and fries with coleslaw, Katie got the mussels appetizer (see what traveling abroad does?), and Jim got the pork chops. I am not a very adventuresome eater, thus my dinner decision. But the burger was grass fed beef with a strange little spice in it, the fries had salt and pepper and something else on them - maybe sage or oregano? - and I don't know what was up with the slaw, which I usually love. Katie said her mussels were good, though not as fresh as Europe. Go figure, right? Jim loved his meal. So there you go...I would not rush back there, which is too bad. I like patronizing the local businesses.

The Block

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Sunday we drove about 30 minutes from St. Louis to a friend's lake house. The day had been sunny and hotter than Hades, and we were looking forward to a boat ride and swimming in the lake. As we were driving, lightning lit up the sky and it began to rain. And it rained for the entire time we were there. So we were cooped up in a small house with 7 adults and 3 kids. But we played games and were still able to grill, so it turned out fine.

On the 4th Jim, Kirby and I walked over early to claim our spot on Gore for the Webster Groves parade. Fortunately I had brought umbrellas, as we ended up getting a nice little downpour for a bit. People improvised on keeping dry as you can see in the pictures.

But they were still able to get the parade in, and in fact it was not so ungodly hot for a change. Then in the evening we walked up to the railroad tracks behind Schnucks to watch the evening fireworks. I drug my tripod along as I wanted to see if I could get any decent photos of the fireworks if I used it. The show was really good, but only lasted 15 minutes. We spent that much time trying to navigate through the crowds to walk home. Is it really worth it? I found a super nice cell phone on the tracks as we were leaving, and debated what to do with it. The owner might come back for it. Or one of the PAS persons might steal it. Do I take it home? Take it into Schnucks and turn it in to the courtesy counter? I ended up bringing it back to the house with us. We turned it on and went through the contacts until we found Home. I called that number and probably really confused the man who answered the phone. He thought it might be his father-in-law's phone, which made no sense to me. Katie said it looked like a woman's phone, not a man's. I gave him my name and phone number to call if someone in his house reported it missing. Then the cell phone rang. To answer or not to answer, that is the question. Thinking it was probably just a friend calling, we didn't answer it. Katie went into the Facebook account through the phone and found the gal's name, along with the fact that she recently married the guy who had just tried calling the phone. (All of this felt like a huge invasion of privacy to me, but I couldn't see any way around it.) So I called him back and explained where I had found the phone. They had just been walking the tracks looking for it so they were still in the area, thankfully. They came by to pick it up, and we learned that they just bought a house a couple blocks away from us. They will be moving into it as soon as it passes inspection. All's well that ends well.

Tour de Webster

The Webster Groves House & Garden Tour to benefit the people of Haiti was on Sunday. When my friend Carol, who was the mastermind of the event, asked us to have our house on the tour a year and a half ago, it seemed like a good idea. As the date grew closer, we grew more




frantic. With me in New York for a week, followed days later by my brother and his girls staying with us for 8 days, we only had 5 free days before the event. I cleaned the inside of the house during the week, but we left the outside stuff for Saturday morning. Jim applied new mulch and tidied up the gardens while I washed windows, removed cobwebs and cleaned up the outdoor furniture. Then we headed out to pick up a couple of small indoor plants and the dining room table decorations, and returned to a monsoon! There went the mulch all over the sidewalks, and the windows and furniture looked like I had never touched them. Crap!

But we pulled it all together Sunday morning, cookies began arriving, and Carol came early with 2 girl scouts to help set up the lemonade, water and cookies we would be serving. I have to say I was very impressed with the woman who brought 4 trays of cookies, filled with homemade houses and flowers to tie in with the house/garden theme. (I need that house cookie cutter for my book signings!) Carol also set out some nuts and mints. Jim and I set up the 5 display boards we had created. We had placed photographs of the original owners along with pictures of the house through the years as changes we made to it.

A few minutes before 1:00 the first tour-goers arrived and it was steady until the end at 5:00. The people on the tour were super-friendly and very appreciative that we had opened up our house. They seemed to particularly enjoy looking at the photo boards. And I have to admit that after all the work we have done on the house over the past 23 years it was gratifying to hear all the compliments. We saw friends that we hadn't touched base with for awhile, and fellow author Anne Collins Milford of "How Not to Marry the Wrong Guy" acclaim showed up with her friends. I had set my books up for sale, with 20% going to the Haiti fund, and one woman said she came on the tour specifically to get my book :) I ended up selling 4, with a couple people saying they would come back to get a book as they were not carrying cash. (A woman called today and she is coming Thursday morning to buy one.)

In the end about 350 people purchased tickets for the tour, and they made (after expenses) over $5,500. Not bad for a first time effort! Jim and I really enjoyed talking to all the people, so we're glad we did it. We just don't ever want to do it again! For a thank you gift from the committee, we were presented with a basket hand woven by a Haitian artist containing coffee from Haiti, and a statue of a woman holding a baby while balancing a basket on her head (multi-tasking Haitian woman!) which was sculpted from soap stone also by a Haitian artist. What a way to bring the whole project full circle!

Review of Chef Jake

Man, did Jake make an outstanding entree for Katie's birthday last night! I don't know what it is called, but since I bought the ingredients I know it contained penne pasta, prosciutto ham, Romano cheese, egg yolks, creme, onion and garlic. He served it with french bread and a Caesar salad, and I had purchased the large chocolate chip cookie Katie requested as her cake. The pasta was amazing! Definitely restaurant quality, but after watching him make it I decided no matter how good it tastes, I would probably never try it. It was a lot of work. There were seven kids here for dinner, and then a couple more came later after they got off work. I have to admit, it was fun having all the kids in the house again. (I just wish it hadn't been when I had cleaned the house in preparation for the house tour!) It is so quiet when Katie is off at school.

I don't think I mentioned that Katie has picked up an internship for the summer. She is working for a social media marketing company, and she goes to Clayton Monday thru Thursday from 9-5. She has only worked two days so far, but I think it is right up her alley. Several of her classes Freshman year dealt with social media and search engine optimization, so she definitely can put her knowledge to good use. She has two of her four summer classes completed already, so I don't think she'll have a problem keeping up with her classes and working that many hours. I'm very excited for her, and hoping that she can use some of her new skills on my website.

Jim and I sweated off a few pounds today getting ready for the house tour. Jim planted a few day lilies and put down some fresh leaf mulch, and I cleaned windows, swept cobwebs from the porches and washed off the patio furniture. In the afternoon we headed out to find something to put on the plates in the dining room, picked up a plant for a bare spot in the conservatory, and an additional plant to go on the table where tickets will be collected on the front porch. And then the storms came! The rain washed away most of the mulching Jim had done, and made a mess out of my newly cleaned windows and doors. Dammit! It's bad enough doing it once, without having to deal with it all again tomorrow morning. I'm afraid to look at the forecast since they were predicting rain all weekend. Hopefully the rain will hold off for the four hours of the tour. I told Jim once this event is over we need to have a series of parties here since everything will be looking so nice.

Don't Rain on My Parade

Saturday was the annual Webster Groves 4th of July parade. It doesn't get more Americana than Webster Groves with its July 4th activities. The carnival, complete with the Lion's barbecue, Miss Webster competition, fireworks and an old fashioned parade something for everyone. Adding to the excitement of this year's parade was the fact that the Anheuser-Busch...errrr, I mean InBev, Clydesdales were leading the parade. In the past such an honor has been bestowed upon the much larger downtown parade. The parade begins at the local high school at 10:00 a.m. As usual, the weather people were wrong in their prediction for Saturday morning. A "chance of rain" turned into a a steady downpour for most of the morning. Was the parade on or off? Thinking that City Hall may have jumped into the 2000s and posted an update on their website, I logged on to take a look. No such luck. Come on City Hall - get with the tweeting! What I did find online, however, was a friend with a posting on Facebook about the parade. A rain delay until 11:00. How did she know this, I asked? Her son is in the band, so she kept us up to date. God I love the internet!

The others who were to attend the parade with us bailed due to the rain, so Jim, Kirby the cockapoo and I grabbed our lawnchairs and some water and walked the two blocks to our favorite seating area. I was surprised at how many people were already gathered for the parade. I don't know if they heard an announcement elsewhere, because they couldn't all have kids in the band! The parade was really good, as usual, but having the Clydesdales was a great treat. Kirby wasn't so sure about them, but with his black and white coloring he could have ridden up on the wagon with the dalmation. The horses were followed by three tractor trailers, making their way precariously through the tree-lined streets. Speaking of horses, the mounted girl scout troop apparently was concerned about bringing their horses due to the earlier rain, so they "rode" stick ponies. Funny! There were fewer politicians this year, which was a blessing even if it did make the parade shorter.

A cooler, overcast day made for a pleasant parade for all. "Nobody, no, nobody, is gonna rain on my parade."

Raindrops Kept Falling on My Head

Usually I work out at a women's fitness club first thing on Monday mornings. With an eye on the weather forecast and a glance at the yard, I decided I better mow the grass instead. I had no sooner gassed up the lawnmower when it began to sprinkle. To mow or not to mow, that was the question. Deciding it was nobler to at least make an attempt (and mow the parkway which my husband had missed last Thursday during the first of two mowings that he undertakes each season), I scurried along behind the mower to the front yard. Though it was raining a little harder, I wanted to try and get the entire front yard done today. We have a fairly large lot, but I was game. It was at this point that I realized I had now become one of the idiots I scoff at who mow the grass in the rain. With a race against the predicted one inch of rainfall, I managed to get the back yard done as well. On the plus side, I was not hot as I mowed today.

I ended this rainy day by taking the graduation quilt over to my friend's house. Kathy has a twelve foot long-arm quilting machine, and I have hired her to do the finish quilting. This is the largest quilt I have ever made, and I would really have to struggle to do the quilting on my sewing machine. Since this quilt is for someone else, I want to make sure it looks professional. When Kathy is done, which will be in two weeks as she has other quilts ahead of mine, I will just need to add the binding and it will be ready to give to the graduate's mom. Hopefully, a few days ahead of the deadline. Now I need to start on my own graduate's quilt...