tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16596564660186664792024-02-21T07:06:41.909-08:00The Adventures of ShregShana and Greg hit the road to see the Southern US by car and then fly down to Central America. Hear all about our travels and adventures from March 20th - July 28th, 2008Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-4504353922729909682008-08-05T20:03:00.000-07:002008-08-05T20:04:09.686-07:00PICTURES ARE UP!I've uploaded most of the pictures from our Central America trip. Go back through the blog to see all of them. <br /><br />Enjoy!Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-28096938100555262062008-07-27T21:28:00.000-07:002008-08-05T19:51:22.788-07:00the final 2 weeks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3PTEhwzFjblcSFGoTZhyphenhyphenB_RT2J-pfyaW6_SeHx530rTG3_x1id8Ww_0DmWNqlhfMlr00fVUjy-MfjmIpGISQGS5f53gTso1MmB5Vrg0IVk9xtCftVNPztkeUxpd_QdLIBFdjlucuUsqF/s1600-h/DSC02743.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3PTEhwzFjblcSFGoTZhyphenhyphenB_RT2J-pfyaW6_SeHx530rTG3_x1id8Ww_0DmWNqlhfMlr00fVUjy-MfjmIpGISQGS5f53gTso1MmB5Vrg0IVk9xtCftVNPztkeUxpd_QdLIBFdjlucuUsqF/s320/DSC02743.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231231731510374242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJcA9Gbyr47AfVzH35qrWYzsfD52UiVEWIDWn6Hio37GHTHJC4FcdNo2onziRRZlRQKSLx49OMTP8klIYIdmfg66xio2Olxo_lFw9SvODicNFLCOkey_1JqNWZI1cfGlr7sQTPDzIthte/s1600-h/DSC02748.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgVEnPhY5J7nmXPPv3pGSR-H8epeQg7Cn9Hk0UdZcAU244XmV_26VyU1bAXzhp0E4hVoJMSSJRD-xrpxQDktFZGf2J58hOF82H5bfu58xEJlYvO2BpxtQlFGur2JL5GojyWXJgBFIyLFF/s320/DSC02732.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231228681895290306" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAMPWQyo_QlG7RAQpD0FvxRsWcoTugtbHWiJXdhWDiPWz2-zSRJg7a4SlJByAQtsbYg12Q79qK4VRngF4yKaH2CirKvapj-vak3vzx6bKTJ5nGYblLgn5VSaip-NWxclPWTjh6kT__DGH/s1600-h/DSC02740.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAMPWQyo_QlG7RAQpD0FvxRsWcoTugtbHWiJXdhWDiPWz2-zSRJg7a4SlJByAQtsbYg12Q79qK4VRngF4yKaH2CirKvapj-vak3vzx6bKTJ5nGYblLgn5VSaip-NWxclPWTjh6kT__DGH/s320/DSC02740.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231228687447798146" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOloPa_Lf17vH8w3qRRh_ZVOZZBenf3Xh3mXD0HKLG9MtpxjFux1YLHoAdtZEk1wncbxKoa6TTspV9RGagZFcWDXNrSrVCk__WeDI0uc3NuTBVTt0fe7KrIkXnJlbGQngUH2d3aBgoTe4/s1600-h/DSC02736.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpOloPa_Lf17vH8w3qRRh_ZVOZZBenf3Xh3mXD0HKLG9MtpxjFux1YLHoAdtZEk1wncbxKoa6TTspV9RGagZFcWDXNrSrVCk__WeDI0uc3NuTBVTt0fe7KrIkXnJlbGQngUH2d3aBgoTe4/s320/DSC02736.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231228690365000578" border="0" /></a><br />Shana: We had an incredible 2 weeks with my parents. Our standard of living improved significantly with stays at beautiful hotels and delicious meals. We went back to Antigua and Lago De Atitlan. Our hotel at the Lake, La Casa Del Mundo, was literally built into the side of the cliff overlooking the lake. Each room at a private balcony overlooking the lake. We spent our time relaxing, swimming in the lake, and enjoying the wood-fired hot tub at night.<div><br /></div><div>Next, we flew up to the far north of Guatemala to the incredible Mayan ruins of Tikal. These huge stone pyramids were in the middle of the jungle often separated by 30-45 minute hikes through the humid environment. Even better, the jungle around the ruins were full of monkeys, tucans, possiums, and many many more animals that we spotted from the steps of the ruins and the porch of our hotel room.</div><div><br /></div><div>After that, we went further into the jungle by heading east into Belize. We chartered a TINY flight to take us to Chan Chich lodge in the Orange Walk District. This luxurious resort was built on the site of more mayan ruins in the middle of dense rainforest filled with plenty of mammals and uncountable birds (and a few too many mosquitos, too). The owner of the lodge also produces just about everything in Belize including its beer, shrimp, beef, and gourmet sauces. Needless to say, the food at the lodge was INCREDIBLE. We overate at every meal (the 3 course meals were included with the price) and each was better than the previous one. The Coquilles Saint Jacques (scallops with a rich creamy mushroom sauce), Shrimp Caribbean (coconut shrimp with pineapple sauce), the key lime pie, and the Beef tenderloin were our favorites. </div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, we headed south to the small costal town of Placencia. It was HOT on this sandy beach, but each night there were incredible rain storms often with lighting and loud thunder. It was too hot to do much, so we relaxed in our nice apartment, went swimming in the very warm water (almost too warm with the hot air temperature too), went on a tour of Monkey River to see more jungle animals, and ate some delicious shrimp. Unlike the rest of Central America, people speak English in Belize and everything costs prices comparable to the US. It was a nice transition for us before heading back home.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Today (Sunday), we just arrived back in Portland, OR and tomorrow morning we're heading down to San Jose to find an apartment. And, in less than 2 weeks Greg will start school. SO MUCH TO DO IN SO LITTLE TIME.</div><div><br /></div><div>We'll try to get to posting some pictures as soon as we can find the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's been one crazy adventure and we'll remember it for a life time!</div></div>Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-73871331432604362002008-07-09T10:03:00.001-07:002008-08-05T20:44:49.210-07:00So this is what a rock star feels like<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhawghXLGK9gz7dFVelNgHk5qQc8e98LKh5TWQ_D8ISef4tMQ5k5DuIbgTrb7CJNYOqRP5Rs4CPgSe362eeo0P9wuzeIAUf0ylvD0Drb5LcwHH6ornMh4Y6uXtBe_-KwY2QhuOrACSa3DRp/s1600-h/DSC02721.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhawghXLGK9gz7dFVelNgHk5qQc8e98LKh5TWQ_D8ISef4tMQ5k5DuIbgTrb7CJNYOqRP5Rs4CPgSe362eeo0P9wuzeIAUf0ylvD0Drb5LcwHH6ornMh4Y6uXtBe_-KwY2QhuOrACSa3DRp/s320/DSC02721.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231241838191635810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyEOxG3Vzav2NfzP6tMHOZttSeQ-P3p9wK6JwRWR4A9MJeBR9PeL8Gwy_2UjlcV5oTaHDqIl_eDaKPxJ7rVW8l3ROk73ve9g-xzcGucTQ9LbZ0wgcbEFXjLrawgb-L4zBspaZPyJvEFMm/s1600-h/DSC02722.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh261PNPDY-c88WKzdiubf_-20DMlmZgZJcPr998Woabm_rtDTNw6G3u3WFbx29NrI6BMyS7EnBUrq2X5UTaAxV8mqwLnwRbvd8tybhw-oiPo6dSWhvOA7k9nrFVZ97LuUGdXVFpH2l-w-p/s320/DSC02689.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231236629465142914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCRjoYxhkJz-3EnfxaFfRH0XfHz7XYRT_wP0ZyFRinwLGt0AR8t2H3GA8uhXL2epEKQfAhzW749AkJQMYCJrr5PdoBAYyOcHkVxTTphfZNLAgIM0tF1bO2p_FlMJxqoTtIhFnEROmGHfo/s1600-h/DSC02690.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCRjoYxhkJz-3EnfxaFfRH0XfHz7XYRT_wP0ZyFRinwLGt0AR8t2H3GA8uhXL2epEKQfAhzW749AkJQMYCJrr5PdoBAYyOcHkVxTTphfZNLAgIM0tF1bO2p_FlMJxqoTtIhFnEROmGHfo/s320/DSC02690.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231236634477472466" border="0" /></a><br />After Coban, we headed to the Ixil Triangle which is a region of 3 town that are comprised of all indigenous people who mostly speak Ixil. It´s the first place we´ve been where more people speak Mayan (in this case Ixil) than Spanish. We head to Chajul, because this is the town where a family friend runs a non-profit. Not only are we the only gringos in this small town (without a supermarket, internet cafe, or restaurant), but everyone obviously stares at us. The kids follow us in the street (or run away giggling), every single person says ¨hola¨when we pass, and we are really the biggest show in town. All the women wear the traditional Ixil clothing consisting of a hand woven wrap around skirt (usually red) and an intricately embroidered cloth blouse. Even the baby girls wear this outfit. However, none of the men wear traditiona clothing, opting for jeans and t-shirts with WWF stars.<br /><br /><br /><br />The non-profit has been closed the past 2 days since the directors are in Xela for a conference, so we´ve mostly been milling around town, watching women weave on their front porches, and taking pictures of the beautiful mist that comes down around this mountain town. We´re also incredibly happy to be in a mouintain climate again where we can wear jeans and fleeces. Our hospedaje is a beautiful wooden building with a large kitchen so we´ve made mango-banana smooties, pasta and tomatoe sauce, and our very own milk from powder (yummy!). We also have bought a few pirated DVDs from the local market (all 4 Indiana Jones movies for $2-- but we later found out the 1st 3 are in Spanish and the 4th one is crap!). We also bought a beautiful texile from a local women who ushered us into her house to see all her woven goods. We probably payed too much for it, but it´s hard to haggle with a little old lady who lives in shack with a dirt floor-- especially when you have a month´s worth of her wages in your pocket.<br /><br /><br /><br />Today and tomorrow we´ll help out with the non-profit which provides education and assitance to Mayan families. I think we´ll mostly be playing with the kids and helping them learn Spanish (a funny idea).<br /><br /><br /><br />On Saturday we´re heading to Guatemala City to meet Shana´s parents and do the whirlwind tour of Guatemala and Belize. Greg and I are both really excited to go back to Antigua, to have other people to talk, and to be able to play 4 person card games. We´ve just about exhaused our cribbage, gin, and egyptian ratscrew.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-57341753399375607702008-07-09T09:49:00.000-07:002008-08-05T20:03:25.815-07:00Random thoughts<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWDbytqedF2QrDNIPk4vMCbY5CnciSnjKfM1DfESguoM4IcvQAzyv0ghIjHitUtLmCg3enLxjqvkOaPxyEWsQjmOTvTN9e7RvqH32d2lGzTopW9MkbZoowf-c7lZNWqATiWU-O6gYcGx6/s1600-h/DSC02672.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWDbytqedF2QrDNIPk4vMCbY5CnciSnjKfM1DfESguoM4IcvQAzyv0ghIjHitUtLmCg3enLxjqvkOaPxyEWsQjmOTvTN9e7RvqH32d2lGzTopW9MkbZoowf-c7lZNWqATiWU-O6gYcGx6/s320/DSC02672.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231234197877770706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMp4hpKhy21HoPmGo9NrD_fFfcwwAbA2W5_rG6gc7endYk5hpEgDzBcPDjGw-OoxTtUvtDes_E-A28o9PU5FdVRnLqNTksAVr1ZbhGNBHqhGPvnGnvUoVQAgLuUm-L16uAl5vHt8uLN3qV/s1600-h/DSC02676.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtbFuHeyHb3BxR4OmeK2J936RDxorIjoy6Tf2SFjd-eqOLVJEPufn_GalhfPAjRxARK4mgf_lYcNxogAT_hm27zF-TZBR6T2uv0SVxXyaoIGO9J7-jxrpb3fMjUPdolmvrUt5CoxdpamL/s320/DSC02669.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231233465406946898" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQVcItCGzBuAzFpNBpBH7zhE4pULxEur_hTae_Xb2cnkpOjFJFneEm9hWxI_bnmqPa6uNB70_W4vVdn_HIqWSdF37HX9oyN6HIStAzgFf9U8DYxaPTaPvtbyfvwu_mR90_iq10yARpi_p/s1600-h/DSC02668.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQVcItCGzBuAzFpNBpBH7zhE4pULxEur_hTae_Xb2cnkpOjFJFneEm9hWxI_bnmqPa6uNB70_W4vVdn_HIqWSdF37HX9oyN6HIStAzgFf9U8DYxaPTaPvtbyfvwu_mR90_iq10yARpi_p/s320/DSC02668.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231233466967931106" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFY96Wn2Fv3S8oYgvN3m2kzr1fSmT5Sj9kQHpwSjHHOB3-2P2E5tupr3SGCMNFXMKSBZCKx6KTVZkL3GreuK_eAmkqzmSTuPhbXmab9ITW-hfBs6vbpvlPIlrIfqA1_J01_x6fLVkaWxBF/s1600-h/DSC02678.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFY96Wn2Fv3S8oYgvN3m2kzr1fSmT5Sj9kQHpwSjHHOB3-2P2E5tupr3SGCMNFXMKSBZCKx6KTVZkL3GreuK_eAmkqzmSTuPhbXmab9ITW-hfBs6vbpvlPIlrIfqA1_J01_x6fLVkaWxBF/s320/DSC02678.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231233468986679602" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaRdEBNM3frb2HhdRw5ddXWSAfQig6rheoa7Xvn5nHYGH_vmkTG1vnECn1TfkGCAZiz270I_mkucpDkb_lw100AAa-kpAoKTlZWMHT0HqU_H-w_4yHB2IDhOU5o66euH7bZUY6LEUDrKT/s1600-h/DSC02677.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaRdEBNM3frb2HhdRw5ddXWSAfQig6rheoa7Xvn5nHYGH_vmkTG1vnECn1TfkGCAZiz270I_mkucpDkb_lw100AAa-kpAoKTlZWMHT0HqU_H-w_4yHB2IDhOU5o66euH7bZUY6LEUDrKT/s320/DSC02677.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231233471491042786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />.25. I've included some beautiful views from the road (and some not so beautiful ones). Just imagine what those roads feel like without shocks! (and none of the buses have decent shocks). The microbus shown above wasn't even the most crowded one we've been on. And, check out when the road fell through-- we ended up waiting on the side of the road for a few hours while the bull dozers rebuilt the road!<br /><br />.5. A "Ferreteria" -- they must sell Ferrets! (in reality, they're hardware stores)<br /><br />1. Trash. People in Central America don´t give a second thought to litter. Everyone throws their trash on the sidewalk, out the bus window, or in the river. It´s still very odd for us to see someone throw their empty bottles and candy wrappers on the ground wherever they are. It´s particularly suprising given how proud gutaemals are of their country-- you´d think they would want to keep their country pristine.<br /><br />2. Reading. After not being able to find Harry Potter in Spanish while we were in Xela (it´s only the most popular book in the world), we started noticing that nobody reads books. And, I mean nobody. The bookstores (liberias) only sell paper goods and supplies (no actually novels). When Greg and I were reading in one of the microbuses, a child behind us asked us in Spanish ¨what are those and what are they for?¨ Surprised, we told him they were for fun and that we liked to read. The kid then borrowed the book just to flip through the pages and check it out. Our teachers from Xela even said that people in Guatemala just don´t read books including those who know how to read. We´re pretty sure its much easier to find English language novels than Spanish ones.<br /><br />3. Note: do not steal our multi-million dollar business plan. since we have a lot of time to spare, we´ve been thinking about our future plans to make millions. We discovered a drink in Guatemala called Ades which is a soy-milk based fruit juice. Even Greg loves it and doesn´t care that its ¨soy¨. Our plan is to either become the US distributor for Ades (no pronounced AIDS), or to replicate the recipe and create a new product for the US. No, this is not stealling. We´ve been discussed possible target consumers, marketing, and other business plans in great detail.<br /><br />4. When not planning the start of our Fortune 500 company for soy-juice (help us think of a good name, please!), we´ve been disucssing what kind of restaurant we would want to own. Shana´s favorite so far is ¨A la mode¨ where dishes are accompanied by an appropriate scoop of ice cream (e.g. rhubarb crips with strawberry ice cream). She´ll also do weekend brunch. Not surprisingly, Greg wants a sportsbar and steak house which organizes recreational sports leagues in its next door field.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-79140207024212123432008-07-09T09:33:00.000-07:002008-08-05T13:53:04.438-07:00Coban, Semuc Chumey, Lanquin, and of course more water<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWgBrVak0KbqU71fDl1G8DWfIjuGYbEycxFkkeEHZ8vj1T4625lxhaF3zpHl5oj1msOUHs-wX1XQASORDrbbjsqJeIeg-Qu-QNEotQQe-vRt4g0fYb3uJduQlujjYRizNrgLIxNowbFvd/s1600-h/DSC02657.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWgBrVak0KbqU71fDl1G8DWfIjuGYbEycxFkkeEHZ8vj1T4625lxhaF3zpHl5oj1msOUHs-wX1XQASORDrbbjsqJeIeg-Qu-QNEotQQe-vRt4g0fYb3uJduQlujjYRizNrgLIxNowbFvd/s320/DSC02657.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231135395983515890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG6I6XJul-GD40TGAjLSZOyLRcwntwH0pgjzAoZMKGbeeMMf7AjtWAS8Nb0X-83YGM0IvJrBjX21sm4DcmNAkM-vLhOK2Neznb_FxxMukBvK4Jg1N37W7b59Pak9IOf2L8RzvYk3IeyUty/s1600-h/DSC02661.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sJbKw4Lq8fq1Y1oHtudIH2xuIRSvuUoBNT9-KgklG6N6DBCI3iWvTlHcGUMjEyr87WPJpIUoMcsL0fQIMagyqMWWHzn8qFDraqrBViG6JTH4flRfApmiQRlWYWqZSmB2HFzbe3b5bSg9/s320/DSC02658.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231135429840787922" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwmCM2RkFZD42DkqdvnNHKjTS7IkFf1i-cpw_I7VC4X3y08QVJANC7fCE9O_zGioimZq1dq1qmDzzo0Z8PCtYKGOVG8HozqpSY13x3GjrOx05ANw8VaxFkriqZFCXrnUn0pM8gDzEMqCG/s1600-h/DSC02663.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwmCM2RkFZD42DkqdvnNHKjTS7IkFf1i-cpw_I7VC4X3y08QVJANC7fCE9O_zGioimZq1dq1qmDzzo0Z8PCtYKGOVG8HozqpSY13x3GjrOx05ANw8VaxFkriqZFCXrnUn0pM8gDzEMqCG/s320/DSC02663.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231135433746630834" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYmVemCpkEu_mPFano0lwwcfKTnJPe1sK6dNGmPf49WOoSlsYavYKt4KCqlEKBuIEJn22QavifZ5v12Te0DH2yyrsl88TzGWm7JNAZXvVQcnaAX_dtS7neJlXu0l-IBGJC9ewi4wAnGH8/s1600-h/DSC02649.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYmVemCpkEu_mPFano0lwwcfKTnJPe1sK6dNGmPf49WOoSlsYavYKt4KCqlEKBuIEJn22QavifZ5v12Te0DH2yyrsl88TzGWm7JNAZXvVQcnaAX_dtS7neJlXu0l-IBGJC9ewi4wAnGH8/s320/DSC02649.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230782954839906418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAxpPM953jQKEZrkjn4-LVXP3f2z_qKuorrESPctTnOK_s7zveH3cHPdCMe7HTt5hyQvHzEs6ViDeaTF6RT_w4ii2hIaWqzV14t5FV18GIwoKBbxSMHU3RUmoN1efcx8t_flWxjPJ1XNE/s1600-h/DSC02648.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAxpPM953jQKEZrkjn4-LVXP3f2z_qKuorrESPctTnOK_s7zveH3cHPdCMe7HTt5hyQvHzEs6ViDeaTF6RT_w4ii2hIaWqzV14t5FV18GIwoKBbxSMHU3RUmoN1efcx8t_flWxjPJ1XNE/s320/DSC02648.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230782966532665266" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqrsqohfQ0Ey-J_p1UU-yZ1JDnlb4TYtxEPTvQhcfnYCORfKDPBU17ddpbwoWeLMw52FI4oLtVSrWP2Iecv9XmyaM24MBupINXnIIe_C7-RWTw3o38HeItelsTM8fHU9_6ohsnLRMMj4P/s1600-h/DSC02643.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqrsqohfQ0Ey-J_p1UU-yZ1JDnlb4TYtxEPTvQhcfnYCORfKDPBU17ddpbwoWeLMw52FI4oLtVSrWP2Iecv9XmyaM24MBupINXnIIe_C7-RWTw3o38HeItelsTM8fHU9_6ohsnLRMMj4P/s320/DSC02643.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230782990817113682" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrLkcY7ZBYluYz9ltzbJ-HCJFboZ0Ol72VTHLSQrU_hu2qd-Ev3KiLdU6zm5isvJJt-xrQ5xRbkmUjbVjuTqbYPn7T93WdT3qnGij59Uu6fJKyNNao3Kny7pR_PNRUGTJZPmcqiixoLBm/s1600-h/DSC02654.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrLkcY7ZBYluYz9ltzbJ-HCJFboZ0Ol72VTHLSQrU_hu2qd-Ev3KiLdU6zm5isvJJt-xrQ5xRbkmUjbVjuTqbYPn7T93WdT3qnGij59Uu6fJKyNNao3Kny7pR_PNRUGTJZPmcqiixoLBm/s320/DSC02654.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230782967532598834" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsAsThR06EynDXVw3Z3Bro93pmuVkl7e3gJItwa2bFgy1J95tLOFCnSHBKCctH_tKct0hBX8QKDQHQXlN3gJqtw9D2ZpomP4qX6HcTaLubBXkPoZLp3Kz96ahrY_rcjPILAl8q8DwaJev/s1600-h/DSC02646.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsAsThR06EynDXVw3Z3Bro93pmuVkl7e3gJItwa2bFgy1J95tLOFCnSHBKCctH_tKct0hBX8QKDQHQXlN3gJqtw9D2ZpomP4qX6HcTaLubBXkPoZLp3Kz96ahrY_rcjPILAl8q8DwaJev/s320/DSC02646.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230782982738143090" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After Rio Dulce, we travelled to Coban, not to be confused with Copan. The trip there only consisted of 3 buses and took 6 hours ... nothing!<br /><br />The town of Coban is not much, but we did find a nice place to stay, and a great place to eat: a restaurant in a spanish style courtyard where the waiters all wore bowties. The real reason we went to Coban was to make a day trip to Semuc Chumey and Lanquin, about 2 hours away. Semuc Chumey is a state park famous for its natural limestone bridge. Essentially a river runs a natural tunnel, over which you can swim in the aquamarine limestone pools. The sight of the water rushing into, and out of the tunnel was very, very impressive. It was worth the trek down a waterfall on a rope ladder to see. Words can´t describe how beautiful these pools were (so we´ll post pictures when we can).<br /><br />The second part of daytrip was to the mahussive Lanquin caves. These caves run back 68 km, though we only walked through the lit part, which is about 2 km long. The caves have been used for mayan rituals and animal sacrifices for 500 years. The smell of incense and candles was still present.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-70372810083806936722008-07-09T08:50:00.000-07:002008-08-04T14:40:48.872-07:00Livingston and Rio Dulce<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85xnclg6lZncnk5ELhrRoZk5_FSNS5vIPiL65W2Axdqk5Z2KFpJZcNhlmrBGe-vtEy3QHfmfWGtPPBIwKVXY5DfAO91VWmXlSNLpT58vGMq4KJJFAaBG3vHbteJDkGeA7iiYn3189l4co/s1600-h/DSC02626.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85xnclg6lZncnk5ELhrRoZk5_FSNS5vIPiL65W2Axdqk5Z2KFpJZcNhlmrBGe-vtEy3QHfmfWGtPPBIwKVXY5DfAO91VWmXlSNLpT58vGMq4KJJFAaBG3vHbteJDkGeA7iiYn3189l4co/s320/DSC02626.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230779698581692626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZtHX7GKxBbG4HOEDKRGdgC7qMO020dziD1USS5fkktSHYg133V-EqlNMW4X9ZDVf3zwly2FVrMi7QkarX9T4kfQhffvZlNqprs2Q6a9AFjxdN-J-Cbp7fnObdd5YbDwwCuddh2sjDdBb/s1600-h/DSC02630.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGi4t-gZjmFn0AYPD2Ibz9Xp8AiiGly3w3ckk4Ce4NoTa62NKupJ5B2T1ExXw8Tdsjhnr8wQbq3NJPsl3V9eRxsi0ioVNiJ11IucWYYFfSCvOAczKXuWB833vYZXpzzVNBj6EDKQhHqd7/s320/DSC02639.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230779730040237122" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBuawaKMPNK7YDaHJ2r3n-Fz6eUlUdHEeS_AufiWrz3GZx8dBJQCtBdMGt0nNge22vSOXddinE2pgwSugbMmMXhia0mhCArC5r8S3MZ7OvmtaV-0p0ygr7E1k7713cO0FZM2IR5TTyMtc/s1600-h/DSC02629.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBuawaKMPNK7YDaHJ2r3n-Fz6eUlUdHEeS_AufiWrz3GZx8dBJQCtBdMGt0nNge22vSOXddinE2pgwSugbMmMXhia0mhCArC5r8S3MZ7OvmtaV-0p0ygr7E1k7713cO0FZM2IR5TTyMtc/s320/DSC02629.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230779737113356210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzefsK6Ibd7LO6Hhym87XlyXVdDe8kkVCbvtn64Q4l2A4qDimxPQYwbor4iyJH7RgpsKsthq5RcTNTdTf4qg-td91yPesykyRZavIeo2cfvI_wUP4juAMpXSctQ_d2r4s_l8VWaIozs0g/s1600-h/DSC02620.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kY-bYiEPuPRlDV-061D-hhfa_PKUwj7-mPaEbLC9pvaVMbx1evFgmqid-dceplapwAFqZrQWbkN9cSJHEizvFWqaKmaUHIXM08fQal8iO2XAArs34KIUtQ3Z9LIgxZJWkWaStl3_u0Ql/s320/DSC02621.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230776567934074610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlNhAGtaeHe1L40Y1MZTdOUlwNRJSo0QgG0oes9T7kHDEG_gL3SkpD2DPulwUCX5T6SPnvtUD6Xsfo-XmS2VpcvZZp25G0qX1Jl6te4orpXQrKpsYPRM2VoQQRdMLNAj4Bz-0_7o1D4ME/s1600-h/DSC02624.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFlNhAGtaeHe1L40Y1MZTdOUlwNRJSo0QgG0oes9T7kHDEG_gL3SkpD2DPulwUCX5T6SPnvtUD6Xsfo-XmS2VpcvZZp25G0qX1Jl6te4orpXQrKpsYPRM2VoQQRdMLNAj4Bz-0_7o1D4ME/s320/DSC02624.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230776579155595490" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Nec3KhOgHzcH3DRE8Is_JzHlPv-eE_bGMYHBj582hugG43VmMXTepPfgGVwBpsA5T7aiN3dNt57LPgkee69YzQ2uVFtgd_el0IkqWxkfT7f7oYhGrsVfm2vJ4Wec2vs9fD-HwfD_AZmK/s1600-h/DSC02625.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Nec3KhOgHzcH3DRE8Is_JzHlPv-eE_bGMYHBj582hugG43VmMXTepPfgGVwBpsA5T7aiN3dNt57LPgkee69YzQ2uVFtgd_el0IkqWxkfT7f7oYhGrsVfm2vJ4Wec2vs9fD-HwfD_AZmK/s320/DSC02625.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230776587019537090" border="0" /></a><br />Greg:<br /><br />After our stint of island living in Roatan and Utila, Shana and I made our way back to Guatemala, specifically to the Atlantic coast town of Livingston. Yeah, I know, sounds really Guatemalan, right! Livingston is predominantly a Garifuna community: meaning that it is people by former plantation slaves in from St. Vincent, a British-owned Carribean island, who were moved to Livingston and Roatan when freed. For this reason, the culture is very Carribean, english is commonly spoken, and the majority of people are black. Makes for a fascinating mix.<br /><br />Our trip to Livingston was an adventure. We woke up at 5am and ended up needing 14 hours and 7 modes of transportation (not counting a fair bit of walking) to get there: a hour long ferry to La Ceiba, a cab to the bus terminal, a 3 hour bus to San Pedro Sula, a micro bus to Puerto Cortez, a chicken bus to the Honduras-Guatemala border, another micro bus to Puerto Barrios, and finally a white knuckle boat ride in the dark, in big waves, to Livingston.<br /><br />While in Livingston, we explored the Garifuna culture, by which, of course, I mostly mean the cooking. The highlight was a seafood coconut milk and corriander soup (can´t remember the name). We also took a long hike to the ¨7 Altars¨, a series of beautiful waterfalls in the jungle a little ways from town. The waterfalls formed some awesome pools to swim in ... seeing a pattern here?).<br /><br />After 2 nights in Livingston, we took a boat tour down the Rio Dulce to the town of Rio Dulce. The ride there, which mostly consisted of a protected park, was absolutely gorgeous. It reminded Shana of the mei-kong river in Laos, especially the way the jungle started at the very banks of the river. On the way, we stopped at a textiles cooperative, a hot springs (no, we are not getting tired of these), a bird island, and flower covered bay. We had a chance to also see manatees and fresh water dolphins, but they never showed their faces.<br /><br />In Rio Dulce, we stayed in a ridiculously nice hotel on the river (right at the opening of a large lake). This place would be a 4 star resort in the States, but we got a room for about $7.50 each. We slept in a large, two level, open air cabanna, which was connected to every thing else by small boardwalks. The hotel had a great place to dive into the river, kayaks, a living room with pool table and library, a good restaurant, and the World´s Best Pina Coladas of all time! No kidding! Another nice perk were the showers, which were hands down the nicest and hottest we´ve had in Central America, which I guess is not saying that much.<br /><br />On our second day in Rio Dulce, we visited the Finca El Paraiso (¨Paradise Plantation¨). This whole area is famous for its banana plantations. This is where United Fruit, now Chiquita, and Dole really started out big ... partly leading to the US led coup in Guatemala in ´54. The term ¨Banana Republic¨ was probably coined for this area. We could say that we visited the Finca to learn about the socio-economic conditions and effects of the banana trade, but really we were mostly attracted by the enormous hot water waterfall on the grounds.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-67323157709378558442008-07-09T08:34:00.000-07:002008-08-04T14:17:32.721-07:00Postcard Perfect Bay Islands<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3kqPMmSkKk7CY0gc1RgwLidGsaD2ZUKfYvFSmSj8CfWYOMHoowkE9RJqTWAS4gbr0X5t3sGBO00kiutrmNuK23-k-Do7s45SHtgXn_Ahnj_CHWlN8fLn9NB3uLJvnRVioJJMbi9AkbYn/s1600-h/DSC02613.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy3kqPMmSkKk7CY0gc1RgwLidGsaD2ZUKfYvFSmSj8CfWYOMHoowkE9RJqTWAS4gbr0X5t3sGBO00kiutrmNuK23-k-Do7s45SHtgXn_Ahnj_CHWlN8fLn9NB3uLJvnRVioJJMbi9AkbYn/s320/DSC02613.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230770949179939378" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwge_zyISt1qKgwyjeSGvOF8pNRMKvgGUyuw8d23S_szZBg9QjNrUek48vt1jy6ivDyHE8s1WbbJ73ugS_0IDb_d30dF_PICWjsiS5y2LEcdEaIDfSBjkTZ7EZgl3AzhS0I6kqg8I1AlL/s1600-h/DSC02614.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwge_zyISt1qKgwyjeSGvOF8pNRMKvgGUyuw8d23S_szZBg9QjNrUek48vt1jy6ivDyHE8s1WbbJ73ugS_0IDb_d30dF_PICWjsiS5y2LEcdEaIDfSBjkTZ7EZgl3AzhS0I6kqg8I1AlL/s320/DSC02614.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230770951103824626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdH4ULFGb4nNgTHCMkrKWIyNgAcbrELzj8PZ9cQHyflhrcz8a0gZYrCVDsxVdUYuKaWisEfD85rDCFXoNE9nRlcYllUuxIB6EY68J6Y3t2WXG1wjT1FOmIoc1mN67t6ZkK4e2wI8Ies6F0/s1600-h/DSC02615.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdH4ULFGb4nNgTHCMkrKWIyNgAcbrELzj8PZ9cQHyflhrcz8a0gZYrCVDsxVdUYuKaWisEfD85rDCFXoNE9nRlcYllUuxIB6EY68J6Y3t2WXG1wjT1FOmIoc1mN67t6ZkK4e2wI8Ies6F0/s320/DSC02615.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230770959599042562" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxGqZ3De5V1Cx-vTgzlpSTawHPj9gnYQ8n2IXdj-vOXCuL93Usm_0t9FmT6nlWYSc58s5klWCzHPZyOXIdf2gTeGXVuPZTVwHAeLiADjaQh5ERZKKFMobJZGl8Ds45OMR3Bis3szt7UWs/s1600-h/DSC02619.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxGqZ3De5V1Cx-vTgzlpSTawHPj9gnYQ8n2IXdj-vOXCuL93Usm_0t9FmT6nlWYSc58s5klWCzHPZyOXIdf2gTeGXVuPZTVwHAeLiADjaQh5ERZKKFMobJZGl8Ds45OMR3Bis3szt7UWs/s320/DSC02619.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230770971165513938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40otyO4LkBCAio9jKgI7IO_RahNZqWiO7ItUEgc66f8aXn3Ji1tNAoMmnrInCaUqx7FttFA8MrEBDWCplNPUluTFlDRX4zodotwMSlse0bTIEIb_nW3C-FgcexL0TBEdd8g4mGQuOfZPD/s1600-h/DSC02616.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40otyO4LkBCAio9jKgI7IO_RahNZqWiO7ItUEgc66f8aXn3Ji1tNAoMmnrInCaUqx7FttFA8MrEBDWCplNPUluTFlDRX4zodotwMSlse0bTIEIb_nW3C-FgcexL0TBEdd8g4mGQuOfZPD/s320/DSC02616.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230770979660301682" border="0" /></a><br />Unable to decide which of the 2 main bay islands to go to, we decided to go to both! and thank goodness for sturgeron (a stronger form of dramamine) because the ferry rides to each island were very rocky-- the crew even handed out a barf bag to each passenger when they boarded!<br /><br />Roatan:<br />This is what the Caribbean is supposed to look like. The beaches are literally post-card perfect with soft white sand, clear, blue, and warm water. Even morning and night we went to gorgeous half moon bay to take a dip. This island was the most expensive place we´ve been to, but we decided to splurge and get a cabin with it´s own kitchen and deck (for a whopping $35 a night- which is still $10 cheaper than the rattiest motel we stayed in during our road trip). We took great advangate of the kitchen and made ourselves some pesto pasta salad and chicken burgers-- although the occasional cockroach scared shana away from most kitchen duties. Although the expensive resorts take up most of West Bay-- the best beach on the island, we saw a few beach houses (with double decker decks, BBQs, and private pools) nearby that we would LOVE to rent out with a big group of friends. It´s probably the cheapest place to relax in style in Carribbean. We went snorkeling and saw some cool fish and coral and even got to see 2 red sox games at the local bars.<br /><br />Utila:<br />Just like the guidebook said, Utila is WAY cheaper, but without the gorgeous beaches. The young, scuba-bum lifestyle is fun for a little while, but it´s crazy to see people who spend years here. We stayed at a hotel-dive center where we met many other young travellers, played lots of volleyball, and went swimming off the dock. Greg went scuba diving finally using his PADI licence after 8 years. The hotel had a BBQ which was great fun and it was very easy to meet and talk with other travellers. Unfortunately, Shana stepped on a bee the day before arrives, and her toe swelled up to double it´s normal size. So she mostly hobbled around and stayed in the hammocks.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-84673981697733923202008-07-09T08:14:00.000-07:002008-08-04T13:56:32.486-07:00Ruins, hot springs, and birds in Copan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vf04UPknO31jwqn75A7bNQEfiEeBB_aEdCRe6o2I6RFxgqa-Dg5t9g9ZWi3GaYBxSMOIJj3V7H8r_foOX2oie6lgRi3w5zdbaQTsxEhL1A58Z8kKy1qI3NS79DutSjGjOL8hkmoT_HHj/s1600-h/DSC02587.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vf04UPknO31jwqn75A7bNQEfiEeBB_aEdCRe6o2I6RFxgqa-Dg5t9g9ZWi3GaYBxSMOIJj3V7H8r_foOX2oie6lgRi3w5zdbaQTsxEhL1A58Z8kKy1qI3NS79DutSjGjOL8hkmoT_HHj/s320/DSC02587.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230764539634775122" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZoeUATE-_lV6juV8o5EjkeUYMBPnhM9YUKZnIyj9Mhha16UhyphenhyphenrnYytKK_TFxUKYkaEpicJFtjt9iPL7EFXUTm5F8xaRg9ECb6MTQev_eWDugBGOm2wGVU9I-gAyx5s1XDQsV6VblrcKcP/s1600-h/DSC02598.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-jsOp06LUl-vpbfOPhMtex_BBDu0j8pnJsersD-mD9_DyDjQ7r35BOujFXQm9ABklNQsYQjsEjZnBwu0HIcY_GBrt2Hww2xpyadCmcHYoc6oZ5wpkzQldKgf2YaG15XfvL0AwwRhGBUB/s320/DSC02575.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230759315890841890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zenhZzn50pxQRhkHh-HJtrjrrqV6ZUefTpvMQ3hYRX8XzETMpsq20bI3hyphenhyphenB2I_AYZWYE4lKyTDLFAAo3N1mQLQJ-kdf4hCa-T-VPHB4wd6jSfGrxw0tJGghGcqm-aDcouj8Ow53DcKAR/s1600-h/DSC02563.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zenhZzn50pxQRhkHh-HJtrjrrqV6ZUefTpvMQ3hYRX8XzETMpsq20bI3hyphenhyphenB2I_AYZWYE4lKyTDLFAAo3N1mQLQJ-kdf4hCa-T-VPHB4wd6jSfGrxw0tJGghGcqm-aDcouj8Ow53DcKAR/s320/DSC02563.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230759339486336130" border="0" /></a><br />Getting to Copan in Honduras was a major pain. We had to take about 5 buses and cross the boarder twice (once from El Salvador to Guatemala and once from Guatemala to Honduras). Unfortunately, we arrived at the last boarder crossing a bit late (about 6pm), so we ended up having to pay the bus much more than we should have to take us from the boarder to Copan (only about 10k away). But, if we get swindled out of $20 only once on our trip, its not so bad.<br /><br />And, it turns out Copan was wonderfully cheap, clean, and cute. We stayed in a private room for only $6 a night. The next day we visited an awesome bird sanctuary. We saw dozens of brightly colored Macaw parrots (the reds ones, blue and yellow ones, and green and blue ones). We also saw adult and baby toucans up close. Their beaks are truly spectacular. We even got to hold a few parrots at the end of the tour-- luckily no bird poop on our shoulders. The bird sanctuary also had a great little swimming hole made by creating a damn in the river than runs through the jungle. It´s pretty great to cool off surrounded by beautiful trees and even more beautiful birds.<br /><br />The next day we took a microbus down a very rocky and windy road for about 1 hour to get to a natural hot springs. We skipped the concrete pools out front and headed straight for the river. A small water fall of scalding hot water pours into the river. We alternated sitting in the hot water near the falls and the laying in the cool river flowing around it. We had a bit harder time getting back to the city. After waiting for 45 min for another microbus, we end up hitching a ride in the back of the pickup. Hitching is the main method of transportation for the locals. At one point, I think there were at least 20 people in the back of the pickup. Luckily, Greg and I had 2 of the best seats so we didn´t have to hang off the back or anything. I sat on a bag of corn in the middle, and greg sat on the edge near the cabin so hat plenty of things to hold on to. Surprisingly, it was more comfortable and less nauseating going down the unpaved road in the back of the truck than in the microbus.<br /><br />We got back to town then walked about 1k to the ancient mayan ruins. The copan valley was once the center of a mayan kingdom with over 20,000 inhabitants. The stone altars, carvings, and pyramid like towers were incredible. (wait and see some of the pictures). The buildings are literally built one on top of each other, as the successive kings tried to outdo their predecessor. This results in a series of courtyards, tunnels and squares among the various piramids, carven stair cases, and other buildings. There are also a bunch of statues that look similar to North American totem poles depicting the various kings. Most of these, though, depict King 18 Rabbit (which, btw, isn´t even the weirdest king´s name) who seemed to be quite the megalomaniac.<br /><br />After decades of success, historians aren´t quite sure what happened in the demise of the mayans in this area-- they theorize that over-population led to a lack of food. Interestingly, when the ruins were discovered by a Conquistador, and then again by an American explorer in the 19th centure, the natives who lived around the ruins were as clueless to their significance and origins as the foreigners were. Also worth note is that Copan had a larger population in ancient times than it does today.<br /><br />After a hot few hours wandering around the ruins, we went back to the swimming hole at the bird sanctuary for another swim. as i mentioned, we love our swimming!Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-56701690312359545772008-07-09T07:51:00.000-07:002008-07-09T08:10:19.583-07:00It´s been a whileSo, we´ve gotten pretty bad about updating our blog... sorry! The slow internet here and the temptation to spend all day outside in the sun makes us avoid internet cafes. Also, we´ve tried to post pictures, but the slow internet just isn´t fast enough to upload them while we´re on the computer. We´ll upload a whole ton when we return to the states the end of july.<br /><br />it seems as if our central america portion of the trip has taken on a theme of sorts. unlike our road trip which was dedicated to great music and delicious food, this trip seems to focus on different types of water or places to swim (unfortunately, the food here is nothing to write home about). we´ve been to 5 hot springs and more different swimming places than you can imagine. I guess that what comes from living in HOT weather. The hot weather also makes us appreciate the cool drizzly weather of the highlands. we were actually excited to wear our jeans and fleeces after returning to the mountains in guatemala after several weeks by the beaches.<br /><br />here´s a slew of new entries for you that´ll hopefully catch you up to the present.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-37588532084881512562008-06-18T13:30:00.000-07:002008-08-04T13:09:33.141-07:00Off the beaten path<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggf-iZnm53u4Q5AYc8oIpWa36mN3lrT_EC8rAu5RQ1C8lByATABpBBx7FaAvh1BeXpvoY6XiCqr-ZgLPSG25OizmLWv4IXXWtVciIYVJASgAWPfe_nnWu4z41dGdOFoL4rvfeppWOrtAya/s1600-h/DSC02544.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggf-iZnm53u4Q5AYc8oIpWa36mN3lrT_EC8rAu5RQ1C8lByATABpBBx7FaAvh1BeXpvoY6XiCqr-ZgLPSG25OizmLWv4IXXWtVciIYVJASgAWPfe_nnWu4z41dGdOFoL4rvfeppWOrtAya/s320/DSC02544.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230753927678819042" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKAr_mLzoDvHaf_0MSpUOWC5vat2EoI88tmJo8LM9OgbGONzL0J7FtFgF_6Lz7wU8xiXiSWjzJu-yMr_ja8K5WAOqeLIlZn3pYNx_zuLD2wsNWJuPp7ySXCSRayHTgaRvVcCaOMYceKsQ/s1600-h/DSC02545.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSKAr_mLzoDvHaf_0MSpUOWC5vat2EoI88tmJo8LM9OgbGONzL0J7FtFgF_6Lz7wU8xiXiSWjzJu-yMr_ja8K5WAOqeLIlZn3pYNx_zuLD2wsNWJuPp7ySXCSRayHTgaRvVcCaOMYceKsQ/s320/DSC02545.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230753932208975186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WpRVm2ebGW00RdG1gVtHFuALyI3GcishfyKgxLRq0fGJ-ulBcwNhEgO1FGSE3EPiAQVNO0p0qGGuTg_u2SHfZac-mqZAS5rnUucOGx1jjz0TTQyUf986nivSKRZ67O-kdUjLRI8tjEz1/s1600-h/DSC02547.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WpRVm2ebGW00RdG1gVtHFuALyI3GcishfyKgxLRq0fGJ-ulBcwNhEgO1FGSE3EPiAQVNO0p0qGGuTg_u2SHfZac-mqZAS5rnUucOGx1jjz0TTQyUf986nivSKRZ67O-kdUjLRI8tjEz1/s320/DSC02547.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230753938959794210" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />(These are pictures of the main square in Santa Ana. Because I was sick most of the time, this is about all of Santa Ana that I saw. At least that was pretty.)<br /><br />Confident with our Spanish and anxious for a little adventure, we decided to go from Monterrico to El Salvador using the public bus system. We also realized that not many tourist buses went to the boarder, so it was really our only option. Surprisingly, the chicken buses (old schools buses decked out with Jesus paraphernalia and techno music) were not terribly crowded and even a tiny bit more comfortable than the crappy minivans that are considered tourist buses. The locals were always very helpful and would help us flag down the right bus to wherever we wanted to go. However, we did end up having to take 1 boat, and 2 buses to reach the boarder, then walk about 1K across the boarder, and then take another 2 buses to our final destination of Apaneca. We just about randomly chose this small mountain town because our travel books remarked highly of this ¨very pleasant¨ mountain town in the middle of the ruta de los flores (route of the flowers). When we reached there, we had arrived in a VERY small, somewhat empty town with no banks, restaurants, tourists or street signs-- a big difference from everywhere we went in Guatemala. Eventually, we found a nice hotel (basically a house with rooms for rent in the back) and ate at the local Pupusaria (kind of like a thick corn tortilla filled with cheses, beans, or meat). Unfortunately, later that night I (Shana) felt the affects of not having any gringo friendly food.<br /><br />The next day we headed onward to the 2nd largest city in El Salvador, the ¨Queen of the West¨, Santa Ana. I was expecting a cute, clean, touristy town like Antigua, but not in El Salvador. Although Santa Ana is larger with a very beautiful Cathedral and Municipal Theater, it is still void of any gringos. Unlike Guatemala, there is no obvious indigenous influence and everything seems a bit poorer. Unfortunately, I´m still sick (probably from the pupusaria), so I´m spending most of my time in bed enjoying our first cable television of the trip. Thank goodness the Food Network is in English! Greg is taking very good care of me, running to the (Walmart owned) local grocery store for Gaterade of Ritz crackers and has even agreed to go to the Mall to see Sex and the City with me (we hope its in English).<br /><br />If I´m all better by tomorrow, we´re going to head north to Honduras to Copan where we expect to see some awesome Mayan ruins (and probably some gringos again).Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-83848852764791874842008-06-18T13:15:00.000-07:002008-08-03T10:31:38.722-07:00Antigua, liquid hot lava, and Monterrico<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4B2hHRNeyV8RRp6c22iKjvCIUTeWlfyWoSnZnddyqR-l-zA6mTc6MAGWnmfXCGruXsQ0o_-xFNEwLhfYUFfiOaD3qaqcI39pyKj2c7uYKb9KUrr5i6ySqx9gKnJMKXh4uJJKtZhsRkkK/s1600-h/DSC02473.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4B2hHRNeyV8RRp6c22iKjvCIUTeWlfyWoSnZnddyqR-l-zA6mTc6MAGWnmfXCGruXsQ0o_-xFNEwLhfYUFfiOaD3qaqcI39pyKj2c7uYKb9KUrr5i6ySqx9gKnJMKXh4uJJKtZhsRkkK/s320/DSC02473.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230345335506720274" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotrmmccfZedzKrWNOZV4sqlLaSZPKmirYNCx0MLX7SLqyn7xx4OCtdXcoU4MSKQmWbNfQU6q8QO1iXxyJr1rQFnrWGU-DIVqqQAkmISsz1pcESV4_2zTYHYF08gLF2sZgkkYoZB6ilraF/s1600-h/DSC02475.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHWTmKYLTZDDI4h0ByhaEn5j1C9bEYGN_07ymNo5Imga3G-nBG872FFL72ehQOqWez4M3fnm3vjRr5tEKMBXf0bnlyirIad0pQkseOSBiK499jLzNvC91IIwYBioDb-JHlzsjLKcwotQ_/s320/DSC02532.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230173172096537858" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHLPP5VYwk2-M7TKVingBUgLWJ03rq2e4dPEAGX4WRHj6oE9-Cjhtnv9XkGsgArt69rZHzfT6F70_lurViyNjShNdUAXZx-TSfhL1641mHuVoHsK7Udg393CCzdwOsDaySoQpGrTQ9tf6/s1600-h/DSC02537.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHLPP5VYwk2-M7TKVingBUgLWJ03rq2e4dPEAGX4WRHj6oE9-Cjhtnv9XkGsgArt69rZHzfT6F70_lurViyNjShNdUAXZx-TSfhL1641mHuVoHsK7Udg393CCzdwOsDaySoQpGrTQ9tf6/s320/DSC02537.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230173182849232658" border="0" /></a><br />Antigua is a lot like the Disneyland version of Guatemala. I think the people who made Epcot Center must have visited Antigua. The town is very quaint, with cobble stone streets, and dozens of beautiful old churches. Most of the churches are now in ruins (once the Spanish colonists left there weren´t enough people or money to keep them up), but the ruins are still beautiful. The tourist police make sure there little to no crime and it´s pretty easy to ¨experience¨ Guatemala by sipping a banana licuado in a garden court yard.<br /><br />The biggest highlight of Antigua (and possible the whole trip) was visiting the Volcano Pacaya. We successfully made it to the top of this one (luckily only a 1.5 hour hike uphill) to GREAT rewards. Pacaya is an active volcano that spurts liquid hot lava all the time. And, since there are no saftey precausions in Guatemala, they let us walk right up to the liquid hot lava and poke it with sticks. The motlen rock is actually mushy and of course lights the wooden sticks on fire instantly. We walked on lava fields that felt hot because of the hot lava running beneath it. 2 girls even fried some egges over the hot lava. The pictures and videos really say it all, but it is surreal to see hot molten rock flowing down the mountain about 10 ft away from you. It was a good thing we wore good hiking shoes since we could even feel the heat through those.<br /><br />Next, we decided to heat to the southern coast to Monterrico. This is where Guatamalas from the capital often spend the weekend to get away from the big city. And, man, it was definitely away. Monterrico consisted of 1 main street lined with a few tiendas (small curb side shops) and comedors (local diners) and a strip of mostly empty hotels. We stayed at a nice place on the beach with lots of hammocks for about $10 a night. The ocean water was very warm, but the waves were crazy big. The undertowe was killer (literally, we were warned), so you couldn´t go swimming much in the ocean. So, we spend a few days just hanging out by the pool and reading in the hammocks. We probably would have stayed longer, but the constant heat both day and night (without airconditioning) and swarm of mosquitos at night became pretty exhausting. We did take a great tour of the mangroves which survive in a mix of fresh water and salt water. They reminded us a lot of the bayous of Louisiana-- although these smelt like rotten eggs because of the decaying mangrove leaves. After all this relaxation we decided to hit the road, local style, and try our hand at travelling by chicken bus....<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzAspwUa7L7ShDTLZNt_UMCJIKDluhoySDupet0woekg4WG9aiIgkDegWaa1CodQTl5kCN76iK3lf2TmqtZ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-54068215887052447372008-06-12T14:13:00.000-07:002008-08-02T23:16:21.747-07:00Lago de Atitlan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyTsScTwYz9MlV9Xw00M8M8WEKpYKP_U7cOismDPncc_Gcd-2YQfYH3BNf7_c6ffGiJv3HuD2sQgtoT6hqlnxi1MW8BgMhZZfj56vunbUJRz76qCtgpKNZPlc2s7IpPId8ForBo3hxhSw/s1600-h/DSC02425.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRpE1olPs6dzA8HuimPWWSzSZ86DwHuZgp9nla_5kz4PFoLVat1ekhOXBd4HqVpLv1c4iL_adpqUSor_K8uVpgQJnu2ospWyfQ78nCX9u7DIvsGVMvUnnMU3Xlcyu0r6HZxDked4CPE4q/s320/DSC02411.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230168584015369682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4YXKj0ddLtRHHDeIySx66s2w_cIAgYcU0tMy4QJ2mKjyWZ2rw__UvUw4wuTGq8qSAlQWhg0Kt4cUygoyS9dujW9DjmM2KPEpFlvjegUgZgh7nGy9B0-hpxV3Hqha8k1i-sUGpdZ7DGm-/s1600-h/DSC02416.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4YXKj0ddLtRHHDeIySx66s2w_cIAgYcU0tMy4QJ2mKjyWZ2rw__UvUw4wuTGq8qSAlQWhg0Kt4cUygoyS9dujW9DjmM2KPEpFlvjegUgZgh7nGy9B0-hpxV3Hqha8k1i-sUGpdZ7DGm-/s320/DSC02416.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230168589078909378" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheL7mBlw5aYLUhihXqdmmsvLK_t0Su1j1yDCDQUmlHxgqqrpOJ3H239NgtFmlNt1-CkW4y95K1iNyv01-kPsGqOB5Ue1OY9vgGDrTOBFowM5xOw6koXh5W1VgiACEAj7OfC7hhPV2lrRjd/s1600-h/DSC02424.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheL7mBlw5aYLUhihXqdmmsvLK_t0Su1j1yDCDQUmlHxgqqrpOJ3H239NgtFmlNt1-CkW4y95K1iNyv01-kPsGqOB5Ue1OY9vgGDrTOBFowM5xOw6koXh5W1VgiACEAj7OfC7hhPV2lrRjd/s320/DSC02424.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230168595118884578" border="0" /></a><br />hola,<br /><br />despues de terminar con nuestra tercera semana de escuela, fuimos al Lago de Atitlan con un grupo de estudiantes. (Sorry for showing off... Is it still showing off if there are several spelling mistakes?) As I said, Shana and I finished our third week of classes, and headed for the Lago de Atitlan (altitude, 4500 ft) with our friends from school. We all spent the night in San Marcos, and tiny town with a few nice hotels and famous for its holistic center. The most noteworthy thing that happened in San Marcos, other than my (Greg) multi-colored vomit (the ride here was interesting) was the traditional Mayan religious ceremony we were invited to. The ceremony was in honor of our host at the hotel, Terry, a native of Gloucester, MA, and 16 year resident of San Marcos, whose birthday was on that day. The ceremony was ... eh ... unique. We´re certainly glad we got to witness it, especially as outsiders aren´t often welcome. Other highlights in San Marcos included the sauna, the sight of Terry´s home (the coolest tree house I have ever seen), and the realization that our teachers, Luis, Jairo, and Carlos, routinely enjoy a game of Kings (though they call it El Cerclo de la Muerte). A certain answer of theirs to ¨never have I ever¨ would also qualify as a highlight, but as I don´t want Olga (the school director) on their backs, I shall not reveal it. To those who were there ... you know which one I´m talking about.<br /><br />The next day, we said goodbye to all the Sakribal School people (tear) who were going back to Xela. Shana and I had decided not to return, but instead to begin our roaming phase. We caught a ferry to San Pedro, another town on the lake. This is a larger, and much more touristy town. It was filled with Gringo bars and backpackers hostels. It was also dirt cheap. Our hotel room there, with a beautiful view on the lake, a hammock out front, and a private bathroom, was $8 dollars a night ... and was definitely no where near the cheapest in town. We spent 3 nights in San Pedro, enjoying kayaking and swimming on the lake, hiking up the Volcan San Pedro (altitude 9000 ft) (this was a 6 hour hike that ABSOLUTELY KICKED OUR ASS), getting 75 minute massages for $10 (Shana, not me), and enjoying cheap food and 4o cent rum and cokes. That´s right James, 40 cent cocktails. Get your ass down here. I really liked this town, and met some great people.<br /><br />After San Pedro, we´re saying goodbye to the Lago de Atitlan, and taking a 3 hour bus to Antigua, the former colonial capital of Central America.<br /><br />Until next time,<br /><br />GregShanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-72552944724992242432008-06-03T15:42:00.000-07:002008-08-02T22:53:39.553-07:00Xela, Continued<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgak4IBPwSojvThmr_PLRW-8E_DfzldT10gNz4vSjVWKJbqe71NA7PyCZDNe4OZreIu4PCVLZOl1HOs2ezDa-WF3wamDeQyLkO2MOmRjoYh2htJWVAkNZYwwrcjU1NArF0ZKCaHf65tcS_3/s1600-h/DSC02397.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgak4IBPwSojvThmr_PLRW-8E_DfzldT10gNz4vSjVWKJbqe71NA7PyCZDNe4OZreIu4PCVLZOl1HOs2ezDa-WF3wamDeQyLkO2MOmRjoYh2htJWVAkNZYwwrcjU1NArF0ZKCaHf65tcS_3/s320/DSC02397.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230164141083370242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZEqGJRJH6q1VFnWIbSloi5BjmQnAJEwV-cEXwQw7hIBpUU7elC0zJMymDQeqPH0h5ZZ7QyDFaSofI8iPOQ9atsvvlSt-svoUdeTuO5cymy8GBigfd00e2AVyVQtUcPE8p6XIo4pkm2UF/s1600-h/DSC02399.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRgANlN29SPZfAWY7reG1u61ijHfuFRa7LnKY56EigJK0wKYalmMF-qR3YyLKW6j2fy7W7KneRXyQgtKxV2xr-vHbg4xdg0nbV5c-tA1dUtbsSkmmsYhx3ZQjC2v1AKrY0qcYVyTbz5DyI/s320/DSC02344.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230160814635768034" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE3gJSxwoSQntR_pHo3Aqw3BbEpKJ8YFq69Gf5yXX-24HFMHgIwU8p18v1DyPzZYZVX9BIy2qe3Pgkb96_86dJfnkwIjwWwpruQD0mHb9Cn88UKSexgKDIf1c6KgyDVb27hXy0Af5UReF/s1600-h/DSC02351.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE3gJSxwoSQntR_pHo3Aqw3BbEpKJ8YFq69Gf5yXX-24HFMHgIwU8p18v1DyPzZYZVX9BIy2qe3Pgkb96_86dJfnkwIjwWwpruQD0mHb9Cn88UKSexgKDIf1c6KgyDVb27hXy0Af5UReF/s320/DSC02351.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230160817035425890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTdp6OkaLHTbQ2rYvRW-ItQdnrrc9oxoWXA_wVXJnQt_zC04WUQYS2vLTASx4slkalORvNrYB7xSvbe4zEsXVy4eZoaIh3-3tHyGjBY2cLFeKUDEKnSyHGAy-3iXA7rVCXHmAPP1Dveow/s1600-h/DSC02354.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhTdp6OkaLHTbQ2rYvRW-ItQdnrrc9oxoWXA_wVXJnQt_zC04WUQYS2vLTASx4slkalORvNrYB7xSvbe4zEsXVy4eZoaIh3-3tHyGjBY2cLFeKUDEKnSyHGAy-3iXA7rVCXHmAPP1Dveow/s320/DSC02354.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230160824849942146" border="0" /></a><br />Hey Y´all,<br /><br />Shana and I are still in Xela (formally known as Quetzaltenango). We´re having a fantastic time, and learning Spanish quite fast. Just don´t ask to conjugate verbs in ¨Vosotros¨ because they use that person here. We´re able to understand almost everything (as long as people don´t talk ridiculously fast), and can converse pretty well too.<br /><br />We´ve seen and done some really interesting things. Last Saturday, some of us students organized a trip to a cooperative ¨Finca¨(Coffee plantation), founded and operated by former Guerillas from Guatemala´s civil war against the military dictatorship that sprang up after the CIA aided coup (yes, our US guilt was high for a while). We were told about the history of the civil war and of the Guerilla organizations, about the eventual peace treaty, about the current political and economical conditions in the country. The operators also explained to us, in detail, the process of producing coffee. We were also led on a grulling, yet gorgeous hike of the plantation. Finally, we met a group of cool Tufts students who were spending time at the plantation as part of a program to study sustainable development (though at approximately $500 per year per family in coffee revenue, does the word ¨sustainable¨really apply).<br /><br />On Sunday, Shana and I volunteered for Habitat for Humanity for a day in one of the poorer neighbourhoods of Xela. There were about six volunteers there, of which we were the only foreigners, and the eventual owner. We spent about 4 hours, almost without breaks, making and laying concrete on the roof of the one family home (which, when finished, will be only slightly larger than my bedroom in DC). Shana and I shared the responsibility of lifting the buckets of concrete to the roof (and yes, I´m still sore). I was very impressed with the intensity of the people working there. It seemed like every man there (Shana was the only girl there and more than held her own, both of which impressed the guys there) was building his own home.<br /><br />Last Friday, we celebrate my birthday. Fortunately, Fridays are when schoolwide potluck dinners take place, so I had a pre-made party. The week before, the teachers made traditional Guatemaltecan food, so this week the students made traditional American meals. I made my baked mac-n-cheese, and Shana made b-day cake. We then went to a club to dance salsa (we had taken a couple of lessons, and have gotten pretty good). Also, as a little b-day treat, I played a game of pool and hit a shot (a jump shot to drop a ball at a tight angle three feet from the hole) that I will NEVER stop talking about. Ok, I´m done showing off.<br /><br />If the weather allows it, we´re going to travel with a few students and a couple of teachers (Carlos and Jairo ... the female teachers don´t really come out for reasons, for societal reasons) to the Lago de Atitlan. From there, we will most likely travel to Antigua, then Monterico (on the Pacific coast), and then who knows. The tentative plan is to travel through El Salvador and then up to the Atlantic coast of Honduras, and to that country´s Bay Islands. We´ll keep you updated.<br /><br />Hope everything are going well state side (or in the UK, Germany, or wherever you are).<br />(Pictures to be posted at a later date).Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-35771495607474635222008-05-26T17:01:00.000-07:002008-08-02T22:58:26.035-07:00Hola from Xela!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsv2dgaTUXprOl0M96K1e-dNugMgz-Uq-er0pdX3lwjmgbAVSGieabB4KIzZy0dLlmbMqccz2oTK8lKvP8knOuseHXOEogc27DnWGaN2u87d12wiNxgNq7DTCwipsh36MG3VXQ3eaueTY/s1600-h/DSC02387.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsv2dgaTUXprOl0M96K1e-dNugMgz-Uq-er0pdX3lwjmgbAVSGieabB4KIzZy0dLlmbMqccz2oTK8lKvP8knOuseHXOEogc27DnWGaN2u87d12wiNxgNq7DTCwipsh36MG3VXQ3eaueTY/s320/DSC02387.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230166338666621298" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtfhA-Tjf9jVGlfV1Pp55wsu7CCBz0-VtSogp4k1Lx3z-Kvp_DcLynlvzDMpHX2qdyn6DhowsqCedIxCA7QzaLt9IYGHT6NMi-OLlSKzAOWm_z_7itOMgcpExfuYCz0cfqVyrEPYmrDVZ/s1600-h/DSC02364.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtfhA-Tjf9jVGlfV1Pp55wsu7CCBz0-VtSogp4k1Lx3z-Kvp_DcLynlvzDMpHX2qdyn6DhowsqCedIxCA7QzaLt9IYGHT6NMi-OLlSKzAOWm_z_7itOMgcpExfuYCz0cfqVyrEPYmrDVZ/s320/DSC02364.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230166343942781362" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5mzklMnusgUy1Zz7kLNC1UFslCqdqD5Ys0qFJN1rUkojqeMlI8CrSXwBxcWvodLxkmx-up7HlJUc23GqiB7cbLK2ybenyY5OhXhdzAZRnGj5ror5oCoDz1YMgm23qggaPqMcVa9UHJV9/s1600-h/DSC02314.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5mzklMnusgUy1Zz7kLNC1UFslCqdqD5Ys0qFJN1rUkojqeMlI8CrSXwBxcWvodLxkmx-up7HlJUc23GqiB7cbLK2ybenyY5OhXhdzAZRnGj5ror5oCoDz1YMgm23qggaPqMcVa9UHJV9/s320/DSC02314.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230140632856360690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zC6BBLPbCuQEyamaIlfL-MwSLzxlwRZRRmnTO02dc1nHiLjD5vaXSAC3IfybamzuKLwK1C7S2Po4uRd-eqH_BAr0h2D6MYgBsDQUHSdABkVgpvko0RvM43V14aFRsn_DjvWKwM5UkIdb/s1600-h/DSC02316.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8zC6BBLPbCuQEyamaIlfL-MwSLzxlwRZRRmnTO02dc1nHiLjD5vaXSAC3IfybamzuKLwK1C7S2Po4uRd-eqH_BAr0h2D6MYgBsDQUHSdABkVgpvko0RvM43V14aFRsn_DjvWKwM5UkIdb/s320/DSC02316.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230140634585349890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Gp9Fqg2eDn-5NOpVxPCUC_Y39g7TFIxm6l8ZWs9-6NHlpvB8Hre4HmigrpxSUVcYygPK9mbSQnK_gDheC_TMEB-X9gDBalCU-NhhRhXhbSiQC851UzOW5o3VjvHd9DGzqKWuQgSE2xGy/s1600-h/DSC02326.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Gp9Fqg2eDn-5NOpVxPCUC_Y39g7TFIxm6l8ZWs9-6NHlpvB8Hre4HmigrpxSUVcYygPK9mbSQnK_gDheC_TMEB-X9gDBalCU-NhhRhXhbSiQC851UzOW5o3VjvHd9DGzqKWuQgSE2xGy/s320/DSC02326.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230140645851378226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3XT460hXI05alVZ0BVGwEdx7oCW8tW2m1VHJhM3h-6tdlB_pN6XsegNSFB4gyn3qu1VX5PmMsU2XRBy3oShczhLxbn_JnKjyvuC_bykvrb7lRICxcGV3ANLFWM_L3I3A_7BHvQwwAMJ5/s1600-h/DSC02329.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3XT460hXI05alVZ0BVGwEdx7oCW8tW2m1VHJhM3h-6tdlB_pN6XsegNSFB4gyn3qu1VX5PmMsU2XRBy3oShczhLxbn_JnKjyvuC_bykvrb7lRICxcGV3ANLFWM_L3I3A_7BHvQwwAMJ5/s320/DSC02329.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230140648444180914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwKuDvTLz8Sg3vxElKh1k8__3-vUXzzI0aqhQRC3uK4r-Pzwqtw5sSC3WbnlZ2go0ipJgPUk3Q1VB27JYDqytGPalMlK8ppN-FLhowZ_LjXa0la5MPtF2e_m1fnSJTr_L8nKj5TfHqW3U/s1600-h/DSC02319.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwKuDvTLz8Sg3vxElKh1k8__3-vUXzzI0aqhQRC3uK4r-Pzwqtw5sSC3WbnlZ2go0ipJgPUk3Q1VB27JYDqytGPalMlK8ppN-FLhowZ_LjXa0la5MPtF2e_m1fnSJTr_L8nKj5TfHqW3U/s320/DSC02319.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230140662220602626" border="0" /></a><br />After a long overnight plane trip, we arrived in Guatemala City at 4am. Luckily we already had some Quetzals (Guatemalan money) and there was someone there to pick us up because there were no phones and no banks. We had a nice breakfast at the hostel who picked us up and then I very happily slept throught the 5 hour bus ride to Xela. Greg said there was a strange moment when we were stopped for 1 hour due to construction and people came onto the bus to sell us goods.<br /><br />We´ve been in Xela for about 1 week and life is pretty good so far. Not surprisingly, i got sick over the weekend and Greg is sick today, but luckily Cipro seems to cure all in 24 hours.<br /><br />Our host family is very nice and pretty wealthy for here. many of the other host family only have an income from hosting students. But our house is beautiful. We have 2 huge gardens in the middle of the house. the rooms are situated around the garden-plazas. We have our own room with 1 double bed and 1 single bed and our own bathroom. they also have 2 live-in maids who are indigenous. And, the family keeps talking about a ¨rancho´´ or costal house that they have (we´re not sure if this is one place or two, but we´re hoping to visit!) The family consists of 2 grandparents (probably in their 50s), a mother, and 3 children-- a baby boy, a 10 year old girl, and a 13 year old girl. Greg and I have an on-going game of soccer with the 2 girls (and they usually win!)<br /><br />Our favorite activity so far has been going to the natural hot springs. The Fuentes Georginas were first created for a past president´s wife. But, they later became public and were given to the city of Xela. It was a perfect way to relax on the weekend. We also went and saw Prince Caspian in Spanish and understood just about everything. Of course it helps that I already know the story.<br /><br />Sakribal, the Spanish School has been great so far. We´re both surprised by how much we understand when people speak and by how much Spanish we already know. We can understand almost everything the maestos (teachers) say and speak pretty well with our family. I´m jealous that Greg knows Italian, because it is helping him greatly with both speaking and understanding. We mostly need to learn our grammar and more vocabulary. I´m also excited for next week´s potluck dinner at the schoool, which is also Greg´s birthday.<br /><br />There´s always much more to talk about, but it´ll a have to come later. Hopefully, we´ll get a chance to put pictures up too. Adios!Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-81908213212203063552008-05-18T15:15:00.000-07:002008-05-18T15:16:00.059-07:00We're off to Guatemala!Now, we're all packed up for our 9 week trek to Central America with only 2 small backpacks and a daypack. We fly out of Portland tomorrow evening and start our adventures at 4am when we arrive in Guatemala City.<br /><br />Wish us luck! (or is it... "Buena Suerte"!)Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-74156631890541632662008-05-18T15:08:00.001-07:002008-05-19T13:45:43.612-07:00Lots of Sun in the Rainforest<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvM2YtGXVVRVeDS_sGkOcNrTII7-qTgvhgw2UMmis0Jr0LpS_bLPIdZt7OdnYnxUFMtecdyrQ1uOLfliE2JUYoLb-cRczabxj6eYAvGZlWSW8zFodH04Z2GlFpkQ3fu5vOVRnpkuKNl-C/s1600-h/IMG_2054.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvM2YtGXVVRVeDS_sGkOcNrTII7-qTgvhgw2UMmis0Jr0LpS_bLPIdZt7OdnYnxUFMtecdyrQ1uOLfliE2JUYoLb-cRczabxj6eYAvGZlWSW8zFodH04Z2GlFpkQ3fu5vOVRnpkuKNl-C/s320/IMG_2054.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202188283142703986" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiBR92gG5uc50R7py4FoWh_An3_GSylPt7H70i_CHbqHG330PSgmgzOn75psMb4p4a68FmNQW7Yw4oIaVr8ekpaAKpIbYr8C88GL1K5UpORPzaPLxMLswa6iB49zWm0ACxvnFD9Ww9cfV/s1600-h/IMG_2053.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiBR92gG5uc50R7py4FoWh_An3_GSylPt7H70i_CHbqHG330PSgmgzOn75psMb4p4a68FmNQW7Yw4oIaVr8ekpaAKpIbYr8C88GL1K5UpORPzaPLxMLswa6iB49zWm0ACxvnFD9Ww9cfV/s320/IMG_2053.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202188296027605890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90eXs-7o1neuy_4GyTgpfXop18kkJSOMJy5LR4Ic5Neha-y1Ab7BmTpbrnX7V9CDWHhPSMEPpVs9HcGu6iIztQz2ZKWFfqTOqaeH_-5zHZ9z9KJHjf-LIkGM3hPzddudilAVhVWAwY7Pt/s1600-h/IMG_2048.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj90eXs-7o1neuy_4GyTgpfXop18kkJSOMJy5LR4Ic5Neha-y1Ab7BmTpbrnX7V9CDWHhPSMEPpVs9HcGu6iIztQz2ZKWFfqTOqaeH_-5zHZ9z9KJHjf-LIkGM3hPzddudilAVhVWAwY7Pt/s320/IMG_2048.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202188304617540498" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIw3T_0or7HWDNFbUAbzHXoYF_zJT-9OaGiCzZ6LC0Z8rTead4A4DhaubR6cZn0qW9Uf93G7KG0c-sWwEgqlKiUFUsM4_KHgIAEj0cbRSuwT2rtpHx4ODkyv4uvvZn5lwKONmpV8WmC72U/s1600-h/IMG_2047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIw3T_0or7HWDNFbUAbzHXoYF_zJT-9OaGiCzZ6LC0Z8rTead4A4DhaubR6cZn0qW9Uf93G7KG0c-sWwEgqlKiUFUsM4_KHgIAEj0cbRSuwT2rtpHx4ODkyv4uvvZn5lwKONmpV8WmC72U/s320/IMG_2047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202188313207475106" border="0" /></a><br />My parents, Greg, and I went up to Quinault Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula in Northern Washington. Although we were expecting a lot of rain (it IS a RAIN Forest), we ended up with 3 beautifully sunny days. We took long hikes through the forest, saw 3 of the largest trees (of their species) in the US, explored the rocky beaches (Kumlock Beach is only 45 minutes from out lodge in the middle of the forest!), and played lots of games. It got so hot one day we even went swimming in the glacier fed Lake Quinault-- well, we jumped in and ran quickly out of the frigid water. Without telephones, internet, or cable, we spent every night playing Youker, Cribbage, Ticket To Ride, and Bananagrams (like Scrabble). It was the perfect way to get away from the city, all responsibilities, and relax before going to Guatemala.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-29402475163245808252008-05-18T14:57:00.000-07:002008-05-19T13:44:16.573-07:00Mother's Day Brunch<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuPud6t95i1kzjPjMFurN0oPjhyfwS_7cKbo_PZjsIi-B3z6TXO4KmTmiogzQ9v-68SHiK_nA5Bghjbe_67q7hj1ccyGTU0T2EU4FTadWe4x3-CvBrtmnndrJcdUUEe7iZ9d6V3_ZXiZT/s1600-h/IMG_2035.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuPud6t95i1kzjPjMFurN0oPjhyfwS_7cKbo_PZjsIi-B3z6TXO4KmTmiogzQ9v-68SHiK_nA5Bghjbe_67q7hj1ccyGTU0T2EU4FTadWe4x3-CvBrtmnndrJcdUUEe7iZ9d6V3_ZXiZT/s320/IMG_2035.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202189554453023666" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLX83BR_0kE9kAB_KKzBgq3_G2spWRQ4A1-bgw0aIJO6FoA46AFtRpTzEFeUcORgb0u1Gjbj-cT4L7iRCbSVupxpDWDaZ1qJ3N8PCB05AC6OpHFItuO70aAl_DVr1bRE5QkemNVoodcO0B/s1600-h/IMG_2033.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLX83BR_0kE9kAB_KKzBgq3_G2spWRQ4A1-bgw0aIJO6FoA46AFtRpTzEFeUcORgb0u1Gjbj-cT4L7iRCbSVupxpDWDaZ1qJ3N8PCB05AC6OpHFItuO70aAl_DVr1bRE5QkemNVoodcO0B/s320/IMG_2033.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202189563042958274" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBUQjZNA-tO8KHXfD7xBli6d6HesC1Iil-JH7JIj_RXA6idL9B0RaQpq7IYnGtcetVgBVTQo-QnH2LKIhE_lXS4TteWklyT5XALsWur-FKA36i1UfuTp0mx1h4souxXHnFM0nAPw13fJa/s1600-h/IMG_2031.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBUQjZNA-tO8KHXfD7xBli6d6HesC1Iil-JH7JIj_RXA6idL9B0RaQpq7IYnGtcetVgBVTQo-QnH2LKIhE_lXS4TteWklyT5XALsWur-FKA36i1UfuTp0mx1h4souxXHnFM0nAPw13fJa/s320/IMG_2031.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202189575927860178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdaQpFAH5UV_PKIew-_CpvQZ3EXyDkXD8FPYTXuZt3SzOSwbZIlgS0jHAAEgJspsw84lUgflnHHVlWRA99A54hglgPQBVO-u-3oEdssZQ2aX20-jJbx_2LTUbXKpf6KYJUCFVg7xQAsXf/s1600-h/IMG_2038.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdaQpFAH5UV_PKIew-_CpvQZ3EXyDkXD8FPYTXuZt3SzOSwbZIlgS0jHAAEgJspsw84lUgflnHHVlWRA99A54hglgPQBVO-u-3oEdssZQ2aX20-jJbx_2LTUbXKpf6KYJUCFVg7xQAsXf/s320/IMG_2038.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202189588812762082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SFYcl9p0h3J6tSk7cGiuDy1XpZH6w3j6a9HPUMm0Y6kFID8Qn7AjrEZN3Teun12pnqx_WcoT6vAb0Qz3NG7NTCBz01Dia0DN6vktOZ4CsBXhu7wa93_iDgif5YIIcvxF6N3WwiBRHrRe/s1600-h/IMG_2028.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SFYcl9p0h3J6tSk7cGiuDy1XpZH6w3j6a9HPUMm0Y6kFID8Qn7AjrEZN3Teun12pnqx_WcoT6vAb0Qz3NG7NTCBz01Dia0DN6vktOZ4CsBXhu7wa93_iDgif5YIIcvxF6N3WwiBRHrRe/s320/IMG_2028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202189605992631282" border="0" /></a><br /> On Monday, I planned a huge Mother's Day brunch for 18 of my family and friends. Greg and I had an awesome time coming up with the menu, especially since breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. We ended up with so much food, that we ate leftovers for every meal for 3 days. We even made pizza with the leftovers! Thanks to Laura and all the cousins for helping out.<br /><br />Drinks:<br />-Mango-Orange Mimosas<br />-Kir Royale<br />-Fresh Strawberry Lemonade<br />-Mint Limeade<br />-Sun Tea with Honey<br />-Coffee<br /><br />Appetizers:<br />-Bacon wrapped scallops<br />-Shrimp Cocktail<br />-Asparagus, Tomatoes, Cheese and Crackers<br />-Fruit Salad<br /><br />Entree:<br />-Smoked Salmon, Chive Cream Cheese, Boursin, Marionberry Cheese, and Olive Bread<br />-Grilled Vegetables in Balsamic marinade<br />-Baked Challah French Toast with strawberries and Cardomon-Nutmeg Whipped Cream<br />-Leek, Mushroom, and Gruyere Quiche and Sausage, Pepper, Onion, and Cheddar Quiche<br /><br />Dessert:<br />-Poires Belle-Helene (Poached Pears with ice cream and chocolate sauce) -- This is Greg's specialty<br /><br />... needless to say, we were stuffed for days!Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-53000682388692568042008-05-18T13:53:00.003-07:002008-05-18T22:44:04.936-07:006,500 Miles!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNGAaCecCZeLQMemf7aRp0u-uA8vk9EuMal45cXKAPr_F1Of5VkI7Ery0dIaDxWqP1YAz2okLjQuUn8PgKpsEBhR8luWjxS_rebi0oVaQTMpjgKZrAZnm1M6Vg9baqqsXrwEYZ8UOf5Gu/s1600-h/DSC02308.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNGAaCecCZeLQMemf7aRp0u-uA8vk9EuMal45cXKAPr_F1Of5VkI7Ery0dIaDxWqP1YAz2okLjQuUn8PgKpsEBhR8luWjxS_rebi0oVaQTMpjgKZrAZnm1M6Vg9baqqsXrwEYZ8UOf5Gu/s320/DSC02308.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201960465192421650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzr4-bADkWM4zll7GgJDhpZ1bI-ArC5A4nGL8R_RM-bRTZh4K2CMsBolbWxwRf40wpxeFKRmw7LFm6yFzAptH8Iml3z0CFz3InlRncmKwWN5HnCzHo1TmGblEd0fH_EdyamXCRFvkh9Mw/s1600-h/DSC02305.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzr4-bADkWM4zll7GgJDhpZ1bI-ArC5A4nGL8R_RM-bRTZh4K2CMsBolbWxwRf40wpxeFKRmw7LFm6yFzAptH8Iml3z0CFz3InlRncmKwWN5HnCzHo1TmGblEd0fH_EdyamXCRFvkh9Mw/s320/DSC02305.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201960482372290850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVE-rGVZB-t2VOvEqDbikw_io2l63l3oINJoobK6wi_vVU2ZedrZ28gPVsLNjJ7XWExeX1wS8GNa1hcLsiP3qoDhkMIehGgfRxjdIrqRUWa9Ux7JAjZdH41rsZ5tlAv-vQ_eKxK3IWI4gn/s1600-h/DSC02303.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVE-rGVZB-t2VOvEqDbikw_io2l63l3oINJoobK6wi_vVU2ZedrZ28gPVsLNjJ7XWExeX1wS8GNa1hcLsiP3qoDhkMIehGgfRxjdIrqRUWa9Ux7JAjZdH41rsZ5tlAv-vQ_eKxK3IWI4gn/s320/DSC02303.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201960490962225458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiCYsR8qcaPJYAIOkCi_PacnkZuDtGkA53zh1BZ1dOcKzga9fZ5OdNl5RS_z-RmRPW2Vb04ipdF0rkx9QqKER10yCYJlindS3gAWmiWK70RAzfz23dGON1d5b2HtsMJPn7ydXS5PDD7SE/s1600-h/DSC02309.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiCYsR8qcaPJYAIOkCi_PacnkZuDtGkA53zh1BZ1dOcKzga9fZ5OdNl5RS_z-RmRPW2Vb04ipdF0rkx9QqKER10yCYJlindS3gAWmiWK70RAzfz23dGON1d5b2HtsMJPn7ydXS5PDD7SE/s320/DSC02309.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201960499552160066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuJ9Puz1cVcPky79DuNLZ-AOzQHmB2bNsgdF8xUgFMTIZ7jWhUzfsgSkX7FZgeuRi7P5XEp2b-FJ6-xc0KFf68vzzQAbCHm_xMiEaBFjZvcgSFMh1Y9alUm7L1OXe_n4iO8gQphrP4SsF/s1600-h/DSC02310.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuJ9Puz1cVcPky79DuNLZ-AOzQHmB2bNsgdF8xUgFMTIZ7jWhUzfsgSkX7FZgeuRi7P5XEp2b-FJ6-xc0KFf68vzzQAbCHm_xMiEaBFjZvcgSFMh1Y9alUm7L1OXe_n4iO8gQphrP4SsF/s320/DSC02310.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201960508142094674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />By the time we reached our last stop, Portland, OR, we had traveled over 6,500 miles! Woo Hoo. We love road tripping!Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-58196826833183348302008-05-18T13:53:00.001-07:002008-05-19T13:47:43.055-07:00Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-51614174246695731482008-05-18T13:35:00.000-07:002008-05-19T13:50:28.588-07:00San Fran<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOgbCyTCOVQuTJcC5gi3GOZEjrbMsUpNH9E3MDMEy92_xNwbQtzjaZiLl-414wKy04pc9YtOvX-YN2xsL8t8IQkc5LxdjRKC4xXjUtvWOuOH_JXRKmLwCdxlHpUNeaXHzMgCsF6LqbqvaO/s1600-h/DSC02301.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOgbCyTCOVQuTJcC5gi3GOZEjrbMsUpNH9E3MDMEy92_xNwbQtzjaZiLl-414wKy04pc9YtOvX-YN2xsL8t8IQkc5LxdjRKC4xXjUtvWOuOH_JXRKmLwCdxlHpUNeaXHzMgCsF6LqbqvaO/s200/DSC02301.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201966830333954626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbQBzDjohn-lu84yIcr7nPSQ9d1mjrE2YyfLsw7gtnrBpLlS423CQrtrRFGZwta_zDRtwraqqurySt-HuYYhAETg6JK_kM3puMBdFbarRCwUrx1MWC_xQkiHNqmWQnjfsNkz6fGnOiq7/s1600-h/DSC02298.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNbQBzDjohn-lu84yIcr7nPSQ9d1mjrE2YyfLsw7gtnrBpLlS423CQrtrRFGZwta_zDRtwraqqurySt-HuYYhAETg6JK_kM3puMBdFbarRCwUrx1MWC_xQkiHNqmWQnjfsNkz6fGnOiq7/s200/DSC02298.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201958669896091890" border="0" /></a><br />Garlic Ice Cream... Yum. And, check out all the left-over go-cups we found outside one of the apartments in Santa Clara. Perhaps we don't want to live next door to all the frat boys!<br /><br />On our way to San Francisco, we stopped in L.A. to visit Jaione for breakfast. Somehow, we managed to miss the almost mythically bad L.A. traffic (probably has to do with us using the carpool lane). I'm already looking forward to meeting up with her again for a camping trip in central Cali in August (Jaione, be sure to keep me in the loop for this)<br /><br />On our way north, we finally stopped at In-N-Out Burger, one of our favorite fast food restaurants in the US (Greg still thinks the burgers at Five Guys, in DC, are better). We had the Double-Double Animal Style (of course), Fries Animal Style, and chocolate milk shake-- yup, we were really healthy. But, man those animal style onions, cheese, and sauce are just SO good.<br /><br />We diverted to Berkeley to pick up my sister, Laura who had just finished her PhD oral exams making her an official PhD candidate. She had been drinking since 1pm, so needed a ride home to San Fran. Unfortunately, it took us about 1 hour to get from San Jose to Berkeley and another hour to get to San Fran-- looks like we'll have to learn to deal with traffic when we're living in the South Bay.<br /><br />The next day we celebrated Cinco De Mayo (even though it was the 3rd of May) with a gourmet picnic lunch in Dolores Park. We all got very sunburned as we listened to great Mariachi bands and saw Mexican dancers. We also talked to a Boston native who assured us there are over 400,000 Red Sox fans in the Bay Area and even offered to give us a free subscription to the NY Times or San Fran Chronical. That made Greg feel much better about moving away from the east coast sports culture. On Sunday, we finally made plans with the Spanish School in Guatemala and went out to eat to celebrate Laura's successful exams (thanks to parents for sponsoring this amazing meal). We stuff ourselves with scallops, lamb, raw tuna, duck confite, wine, sidecards, crepes, sorbet, and crisp.<br /><br />On Monday, we treked he 45 minutes to San Jose to explore our new hood. Greg is officially going to Santa Clara for Law School starting on August 11! Santa Clara is a stone's throw from San Jose so we'll probably live near downtown San Jose. We were of coursed incredibly depressed by the high prices and crappy apartments, but, at least we found some cute neighborhoods. We'll have a big job finding a decent place to live when we get back from Central America.<br /><br />To forget our apartment woes, we went out for big burritos and beer in the Mission. We met up with Emi and Mari- both of who just found very nice 1 bedroom/studio apartments for a decent price, so that gave us some hope. It'll also be awesome to already have some friends in the area when we move.<br /><br />The next morning, we headed off for Portland. After a few random stops at Harry and David's outlet store and a random Southern Oregon winery, we made it to the end of our road trip, Portland, OR.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-71464161908967203032008-05-01T18:51:00.000-07:002008-05-18T23:07:13.876-07:00California here we come!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwprsmif4K9GZaMIgsyKTmCEfFmN1dce-O8OsqtGzszV0Wub7XfLgT-Vr8r0QsCxy18jb6emNzoNni3ftK_ILtQbEEdWB-Zg38Y-tk7spfJvyFwejYg9SWWQ4jeSLq-0omAq6K6_dsXhxU/s1600-h/DSC02268.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwprsmif4K9GZaMIgsyKTmCEfFmN1dce-O8OsqtGzszV0Wub7XfLgT-Vr8r0QsCxy18jb6emNzoNni3ftK_ILtQbEEdWB-Zg38Y-tk7spfJvyFwejYg9SWWQ4jeSLq-0omAq6K6_dsXhxU/s200/DSC02268.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201966439491930658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7hfyLfvNf_XoooRxKY276Lne_Li3rFalfEEPeDTU9T7Fkk7L2_Jw9QqaWYm4sfeO7nJa2hLAwx4iV2iwPicjmLsfTtkzySz3_CGHG-pwui5bfy8Hib2ScZTb1A5rDYWb8XPGOfzAItKN/s1600-h/DSC02269.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3s_GsZB8h9Z_JKW_2YqayIwpkzt8LkuGWb1oyxymT9TV6REjH_WppVkpXwZEuVyzppDJHL396Owcmw2cASm-J34dtiW1buB2bpRnrtAX7mFRHCKQ2knlJWrRBLEVMQy6OOXw3CoqSEV5/s200/DSC02273.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201962866079140194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9NADcjMXYIlky8sVk78jpGS_VJSon0uQLpQcBeyq9UBUDZSYwFf98Resrzn4l77QhZ5ks4Mp4XS56dqJcWGePn9hO87A75r7wg7r1rKAqgKWNpYOckYNgG_Qn4v8GAH3ZpLuJaRb343g/s1600-h/DSC02277.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9NADcjMXYIlky8sVk78jpGS_VJSon0uQLpQcBeyq9UBUDZSYwFf98Resrzn4l77QhZ5ks4Mp4XS56dqJcWGePn9hO87A75r7wg7r1rKAqgKWNpYOckYNgG_Qn4v8GAH3ZpLuJaRb343g/s200/DSC02277.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201962878964042098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyx-lnllPqMLtGl_lUZqOLsiptUwgbgDqKL9xXwdBf2PLXkNdsAVenJFSlFpFA14XBoWSPBQTYvQhGHKsGDBNOZ3ZwIX8Cnexlgn1TY0waMc-WdipEo2HthRqGuroexKMADASfuE9UZ4x/s1600-h/DSC02284.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKyx-lnllPqMLtGl_lUZqOLsiptUwgbgDqKL9xXwdBf2PLXkNdsAVenJFSlFpFA14XBoWSPBQTYvQhGHKsGDBNOZ3ZwIX8Cnexlgn1TY0waMc-WdipEo2HthRqGuroexKMADASfuE9UZ4x/s200/DSC02284.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201962887553976706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltULSIQjj2al2S9dz5954S9xIXK8Tp5SCSQPudLqIwOR0O5c9FpxH6IPT1yWxYxiO5gKMvvtzV-qSX_5QQYHhABIOeI7g-u2ev9vsyPIcGPsX7YZsee1ssPnau95DolYAGnBtKr03Ipn5/s1600-h/DSC02281.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltULSIQjj2al2S9dz5954S9xIXK8Tp5SCSQPudLqIwOR0O5c9FpxH6IPT1yWxYxiO5gKMvvtzV-qSX_5QQYHhABIOeI7g-u2ev9vsyPIcGPsX7YZsee1ssPnau95DolYAGnBtKr03Ipn5/s200/DSC02281.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201962896143911314" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Greg and I have been loving our restful week with his parents in La Jolla. It's nice to sleep in a real bed, veg out in front of a huge TV, and eat breakfast on the porch in perfect weather every day. La Jolla is a very cute little town north of San Diego with the most perfect views of the beach.<br /><br />I played golf (not the mini-sort) for the very first time and actually did pretty well. My 2nd round of golf, I actually hit par on 3 holes. I only know how to use the 9 iron, Sand wedge, and putter, but that's enough for me. I even beat Greg and his dad hole for hole over 9 holes (with a 1.5 hole handicap, of course).<br /><br />Greg and I had brunch at a very fancy hotel out on their deck looking over the ocean. It was, hands down, the best meal we've had on our whole trip. The buffet was loaded with beautiful ice sculptors, chocolate fountains, crab legs, and eggs Benedict. After 2.5 hours, Greg successfully ate 6 plates of food and I had 6 glasses of mimosa. Obviously, we had to walk off our big meal by walking along the beach and watch others being athletic (it was the morning of the San Diego Half Marathon).<br /><br />The rest of the week was spent taking Nelson (Greg's German Shepard) to the Dog Beach, cooking delicious meals (we made the tomato mussel dish for his parents), getting addicted to Lost, and loving the California sun. We also went to the Wild Animal Park where we got to take a train around an open exhibit with lots of African animals-- very cool! This is going to be a great state to live in!Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-46775135742735957562008-05-01T18:39:00.000-07:002008-05-18T23:30:08.993-07:00The Beauty of the Red Rocks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowLxKUOQebMX0Xa3fd5pJK3wBIwzCBY8YPfjUFRpZcffA7qtdyCD8nzxXrSqZodrJ7uNkZneVjj8r2j8Y6sv7w-zYq-uG_hgdXkIwj6Sl3aKnaJGMu8xWIYot0uc1Swo4tmSfX_AnMZyE/s1600-h/DSC02247.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowLxKUOQebMX0Xa3fd5pJK3wBIwzCBY8YPfjUFRpZcffA7qtdyCD8nzxXrSqZodrJ7uNkZneVjj8r2j8Y6sv7w-zYq-uG_hgdXkIwj6Sl3aKnaJGMu8xWIYot0uc1Swo4tmSfX_AnMZyE/s320/DSC02247.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201972452446145186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjabbWY15XPFCqr-46T5Dcfm1urYZMQPWtJzLPqp9G1e1JRUPzsQ_0vfNy51CU4gKIpGKWiem65MfZZ8W5YzYIGq5hzCAYJ6ZHEAj611cbwX0qFK2nXI7GEp2gsDwLxF5HCqkY6qryz-Svt/s1600-h/DSC02252.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_mfyiqIC_Oy2jQMjHQjhnOmX-mFI0daSoEZo8RAY8GvxGlpCOGHKqLl-bDaahM1I9KsUcwQpB0hYw0Fbnn3LGT2-skzeMgWs3hgEUV48NTgk0IoX_P-1nDiPCjSbZG20hdfqXu51Wtlo/s320/DSC02262.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201969871170800242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjarNObOFti_-8_SaKvxNT9s9LrDrLd-N-L4XSzynOtxOLaPaWToDL2LYqEznLOxvZSmZoSnFTMcQW1Rz1a9PsFx7FCoRJdITePpgVdLDiBFd7cvsKWEgfvvsr27pM5RBiRoygm16Z9dVb1/s1600-h/DSC02257.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjarNObOFti_-8_SaKvxNT9s9LrDrLd-N-L4XSzynOtxOLaPaWToDL2LYqEznLOxvZSmZoSnFTMcQW1Rz1a9PsFx7FCoRJdITePpgVdLDiBFd7cvsKWEgfvvsr27pM5RBiRoygm16Z9dVb1/s320/DSC02257.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201969879760734850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WulU81tgz1iopX2HdhIFfGxsIc1n2AFn5Gn5noQ37eNbSFZOYbymn5Az0w550pxvAv0PcNqO99g9IPxdmw4ZWU2FcWAG_R4iX6UMuGbCRDXIZAE9JFJWGGxPcy85Qt6xW2CfzrckN6Ov/s1600-h/DSC02240.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WulU81tgz1iopX2HdhIFfGxsIc1n2AFn5Gn5noQ37eNbSFZOYbymn5Az0w550pxvAv0PcNqO99g9IPxdmw4ZWU2FcWAG_R4iX6UMuGbCRDXIZAE9JFJWGGxPcy85Qt6xW2CfzrckN6Ov/s320/DSC02240.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201969884055702162" border="0" /></a><br />Greg and I decided to high-tale it out of the southwest and make it to San Diego in one day's drive. Greg was anxious to spend time with his parents and we were exited for some R&R at his parent's house in La Jolla, CA. First, we had hoped to visit White Sand National Park which is basically huge Sand dunes that you can "surf" down on sleds-- but it was a 4 hour detour. Then, we decided to see the Grand Canyon, but after having lunch in Flagstaff (a very cute outdoorsy town) we also chose not to drive that 3 hour detour. So, after much debate about where to spend our one stop of the day we eventually chose Sedona.<br /><br />We weren't expecting much as we headed into the forested cliffs. Then, almost suddenly, we started seeing the most incredible views we had ever seen. We passed beautiful camp site after camp site and instantly knew where our next trip was going to be-- a camping trip to Sedona. When we reached the small town of Sedona we were literally shocked with the views in every direction. Even the free parking lot had million dollar views. We can't wait to go back.<br /><br />After leaving Albuquerque at 7:30am and 2 stops by the boarder patrol (Good thing I didn't tell them I had a Frenchie in the car-- they might have thought he was an illegal immigrant), we finally reached San Diego at 11pm. A good day's drive...Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-56461965861222600632008-05-01T18:14:00.000-07:002008-05-18T23:37:30.737-07:00Albuquerque and Sante Fe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQo3bqnHMts77EoTUhQQ0-cxOTwDMJ5MiUuouLsYuBOG1N69NqeWFhdUBM1jXxHxF3V6vpueAAhXEAqgcQjMBt_6eyVF6LjFOm95QxqNe4gE2jYqouVNu0xZ488eoanXPhm4kPqpVmx8EF/s1600-h/DSC02233.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQo3bqnHMts77EoTUhQQ0-cxOTwDMJ5MiUuouLsYuBOG1N69NqeWFhdUBM1jXxHxF3V6vpueAAhXEAqgcQjMBt_6eyVF6LjFOm95QxqNe4gE2jYqouVNu0xZ488eoanXPhm4kPqpVmx8EF/s320/DSC02233.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201973951389731538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEVKQlo-H5GrO00xB4y9Veaz5N0Kin5ttFVa2iXGORn-iiBxwbazTSqU1YEfGP1ET4wSr-eA_G3gteHettC919uP-wmqoacSuhslDwXMtZbjMt1ai8IEd2ZxUMGj3Gcag9j9L80GnlftM/s1600-h/DSC02230.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEVKQlo-H5GrO00xB4y9Veaz5N0Kin5ttFVa2iXGORn-iiBxwbazTSqU1YEfGP1ET4wSr-eA_G3gteHettC919uP-wmqoacSuhslDwXMtZbjMt1ai8IEd2ZxUMGj3Gcag9j9L80GnlftM/s320/DSC02230.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201973955684698850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfrxiovvYxBGEuLLwCp2ofk3HQ_kr2CNq7GfgKAZlxHIzvTrosmMi8FnoHm0w5Y-dTaFxt7whRMDae10gdCmWvU3qJvwb9mYFcU9u6L4zrrmFkhCqjwMa2t8rmj6sS3_kVpfCCrbpSQTg/s1600-h/DSC02226.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfrxiovvYxBGEuLLwCp2ofk3HQ_kr2CNq7GfgKAZlxHIzvTrosmMi8FnoHm0w5Y-dTaFxt7whRMDae10gdCmWvU3qJvwb9mYFcU9u6L4zrrmFkhCqjwMa2t8rmj6sS3_kVpfCCrbpSQTg/s320/DSC02226.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201973964274633458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju17bGvoasUBunvwtUi_uDFyEIpVP_63qxSyZeChn2XdGXd1Qy2qt1PZ3UaaXY7dYKvkSjhfyvc6uJGF-UpTdVhHTugl2CoO_gmlt13uhUeF4BrK90hfVldpSJvbjt70c1zNka20n7qiBH/s1600-h/DSC02227.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju17bGvoasUBunvwtUi_uDFyEIpVP_63qxSyZeChn2XdGXd1Qy2qt1PZ3UaaXY7dYKvkSjhfyvc6uJGF-UpTdVhHTugl2CoO_gmlt13uhUeF4BrK90hfVldpSJvbjt70c1zNka20n7qiBH/s320/DSC02227.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201973972864568066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggp79LrqDsocLzkVuZXT4JnO8mNxI-4r3P_Yr3j03BfnxSepTZSYza33bU6Y5uF0a8jfhWtt4YV9qDgsQMkWDOxiOz0ixaOvohhj3LNoNf6DyPHzM8mKj3aduQ9NB5bpV9VBNr91bBI8EY/s1600-h/DSC02228.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggp79LrqDsocLzkVuZXT4JnO8mNxI-4r3P_Yr3j03BfnxSepTZSYza33bU6Y5uF0a8jfhWtt4YV9qDgsQMkWDOxiOz0ixaOvohhj3LNoNf6DyPHzM8mKj3aduQ9NB5bpV9VBNr91bBI8EY/s320/DSC02228.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201973981454502674" border="0" /></a><br />Once we hit New Mexico, we finally felt like we were in the West, not South. We stayed with Shana's family friends, Jamie and Terry, in their absolutely beautiful Adobe house in hills outside of Albuquerque. We even had an Adobe Casita (guest house) to ourselves. We felt like we were staying a first class hotel-- they stocked our fridge with beer and drinks, made fajitas and fresh guacamole for dinner, and took us out to a place with the best view of the city on our last night.<br /><br />While in Sante Fe for an afternoon, we tried their specialty, Frito Pie (which is basically Nachos using Fritos instead of chips) -- Greg's favorite. We also had delicious Huevos Rancheros in another restaurant downtown. Yeah yeah, we went to two restaurants for lunch ... you got a problem with that. We then went to see the New Mexico State House, where Greg worked for a summer. Before leaving, we of course got some souvenirs at one of the bizillion souvenir shops. Our guidebook had correctly warned us that everyone in Santa Fe was either a tourist, or someone trying to sell them something.<br /><br />Our only regret from New Mexico is not trying Najavo Fry Bread Tacos ... as if our cholesterol needed any more company.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-57547819153017040482008-05-01T18:03:00.000-07:002008-05-19T13:47:07.232-07:00The Texas Panhandle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_hRgxQErDJITYCbUqpxXT72IihpTJlyOsb38J3ne_KHec635pUMd_eSLmXz34h4VxxTpOQNH_5XXWKIcdR9eF4M5qIOSb-LlLT5036ZSu-mSvYgpeB7mEobbTN51Q471Nk_QtQ0rGBvs/s1600-h/DSC02218.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_hRgxQErDJITYCbUqpxXT72IihpTJlyOsb38J3ne_KHec635pUMd_eSLmXz34h4VxxTpOQNH_5XXWKIcdR9eF4M5qIOSb-LlLT5036ZSu-mSvYgpeB7mEobbTN51Q471Nk_QtQ0rGBvs/s320/DSC02218.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202193200880258050" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhtkY1osStKyQwJrVjsAhZ9CBIDtL7U86cEUVT67ppPuHFubybTS1gfLspjPHkSRq4t6dbT56yAFttNdRNMyXCOEgrpVXRxSLJe860ffPLJqL7_w3UJalkIsg0tQPycrX5RU8OUwLYEwm/s1600-h/DSC02216.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgziPDSyRrUmU4WWksUcIGYH7QnbouIaxjU5NzWOeuEMjNvSC0WKlh2frRHqHbaNfvb_rYaC6gQWR6qiRVomelMo85eUb5wRG3cbXzvfnJPz0FGEFSsu3Jo0XDalsBpq1_fTdHBFWhTTMZT/s320/DSC02207.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202193230945029170" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lD59kWJczfXa50N-Z5Y7rbNqmmz7G4hyphenhyphenLHgsHtFt8skYnB6A74aS9C4o29OvkS8AIF8c0ejzkf6voVElg6mTEqVN6lVVlEhY4WxPlM6VffjXc-DFLKG1Aux7CP8woquReneePGzYCxcI/s1600-h/DSC02214.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lD59kWJczfXa50N-Z5Y7rbNqmmz7G4hyphenhyphenLHgsHtFt8skYnB6A74aS9C4o29OvkS8AIF8c0ejzkf6voVElg6mTEqVN6lVVlEhY4WxPlM6VffjXc-DFLKG1Aux7CP8woquReneePGzYCxcI/s320/DSC02214.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202193235239996482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLLD5oJc6CHmM0eWzP0-55MDOmkca355eK1OcL8kqWN5-nfbezEVmaXasriKWmf7RajGcbS9uuMqXr-CV0foDWdEq71aaH8yCHB8poIzIaNWeEebneV9RgYzKoMEiiI6_lRiu9QsCAyIA/s1600-h/DSC02197.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNADTfA73a1U2olxsoE1rGWZ6Ms3ojexuIH6a504EWb5At5IsFxDT9UfDQ7ub1E4BXRSJukRvaGULMyxz8ACZK2Mogo3yxvxzrQQr9_XF-yxxnznBbQLiESV690fs2xt2iM-97VHXp09Q-/s320/DSC02202.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201975922779720514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_6J77SKXmnLbEAfXW2fMqisRPsR42je7A1RaAvpmXh8NETF27lT7jqTPxjJVDPHjDLcNbqfQD84MZXQYaK7AdmbdDF2S4cIBLe5UxjCNgXm6z9q164jc104DOgh5kpTLgHe4MjdYRxGP/s1600-h/DSC02203.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_6J77SKXmnLbEAfXW2fMqisRPsR42je7A1RaAvpmXh8NETF27lT7jqTPxjJVDPHjDLcNbqfQD84MZXQYaK7AdmbdDF2S4cIBLe5UxjCNgXm6z9q164jc104DOgh5kpTLgHe4MjdYRxGP/s320/DSC02203.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201975931369655122" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiac3xg478pZVDJ2jt-Ga-R4qYsmrg9fD8bz4lbNpY3wWFRbHki7me1-Hvzu4NPrV-QZLCo5KA0kTsM1kEwGmrapNfH3OcTpD2IQRYq4lp7-rErx3hC-q98Kn_8a1I4MMX4DMnrmy-UtzAT/s1600-h/DSC02212.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiac3xg478pZVDJ2jt-Ga-R4qYsmrg9fD8bz4lbNpY3wWFRbHki7me1-Hvzu4NPrV-QZLCo5KA0kTsM1kEwGmrapNfH3OcTpD2IQRYq4lp7-rErx3hC-q98Kn_8a1I4MMX4DMnrmy-UtzAT/s320/DSC02212.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201975935664622434" border="0" /></a><br />On the way to Albuquerque we drove for a LONG time through the desolate Texas Panhandle. The farm lands had a few cows and an occasional windmill, but that's about it. We don't think the farmlands were boring, let's just say they were... consistent.<br /><br />After miles and miles of flat nothing, there was a canyon. In fact, Palo Duro canyon is the 2nd largest canyon in North America (but, it's really nothing compared to the Grand Canyon). We camped the night at the bottom of Palo Duro, which was absolutely beautiful. In the middle of the night either a wild hog or several coyotes licked the side of our tent-- Greg told me it was hogs so I wouldn't get scared, but is pretty sure they were coyotes. I still think they were hogs!<br /><br />We went on a nice hike through the bottom of the canyon the next morning. The rocks had layers of incredible colors of red, brown, and white. We liked all the different types of cacti, too.<br /><br />For lunch that day we went to the BIG TEXAN RANCH AND STEAKHOUSE in Amarillo, TX, which confirms every stereotype of Texas. They are famous for serving their 72oz steak for FREE if you can eat it and all the sides in 1 hour. Greg's new life goal has been defined. We shared a delicious 8oz RibEye and headed on our way west. Of course, we had to make our first stop at the field where one farmer "planted" 10 old Cadillacs.Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1659656466018666479.post-53097405612184212192008-05-01T16:55:00.000-07:002008-05-12T21:44:32.669-07:00Deep in the Heart of Texas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XK7Qy12Hbkl4PYe2BYeejy2JZwTeG2-okZPAurSs94gL5R1bvYwnk4tsn_yLx8gIk0PQbNO5i27m-b1Yeg_jSsCogcXQ8v5glR0-acHMmdYiHnA9Ec9EY_YS-1SDDitQ_M3JY1DvOIsC/s1600-h/DSC02168.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XK7Qy12Hbkl4PYe2BYeejy2JZwTeG2-okZPAurSs94gL5R1bvYwnk4tsn_yLx8gIk0PQbNO5i27m-b1Yeg_jSsCogcXQ8v5glR0-acHMmdYiHnA9Ec9EY_YS-1SDDitQ_M3JY1DvOIsC/s320/DSC02168.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199717779299338402" border="0" /></a>(They're Texas-size pictures!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7UOmewpYTlK4tUskC6LJXEjOsmQ_xeRXBm_FsdQ9AbeViPHQzgmc8Hvri38W6qw7RbrTuQHJq26gahDEoYQbiI6Dv7RnFiqahKJ-FjwMS1-8ezjRkMXwBh27a26WrhaAh1H1qNay1dRF/s1600-h/DSC02175.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxft5JJS2KbkqoQzIugk_DwXOaSU16_f4ZUoNxjlPh8pvyMhmRSUAo4Bs0rPMo2868HwaGmwZpmf2CQGgoRbq03VLbrkJsLtK1YmfL9YYBCSQwvzXUo7AuoQE3iBQo6BpYELIzfvJk8tF/s320/DSC02164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199714974685694066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyS-XhaQ6mcqoV66tILZDjk2rN5Idu2Pf0e2bhLBMQwFSot3hOeaTVHoLLMamKNbpXmxxK8849aoKDOY7YgMo5ZgQwlCceTnBiQLPwt21e9lO_DHfdBSMUw8hIi8Tar0rrwo1HvE47dv22/s1600-h/DSC02159.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyS-XhaQ6mcqoV66tILZDjk2rN5Idu2Pf0e2bhLBMQwFSot3hOeaTVHoLLMamKNbpXmxxK8849aoKDOY7YgMo5ZgQwlCceTnBiQLPwt21e9lO_DHfdBSMUw8hIi8Tar0rrwo1HvE47dv22/s320/DSC02159.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199714983275628674" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYjpqnVq77guBcdAln4OIkTh8SoU0nzccrjp2TJjG24294-DUqEfly7T94xT536yTd9z1_k4W8df2IKZrAgtqi69SUAAb2hgPFK9_bdUOZ0aOQoW0Y3bzYqOIaWPnrO77jKLEOkU5svUW/s1600-h/DSC02163.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYjpqnVq77guBcdAln4OIkTh8SoU0nzccrjp2TJjG24294-DUqEfly7T94xT536yTd9z1_k4W8df2IKZrAgtqi69SUAAb2hgPFK9_bdUOZ0aOQoW0Y3bzYqOIaWPnrO77jKLEOkU5svUW/s320/DSC02163.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199714987570595986" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7z8iLPQk02c2DyMyTS3WCg0z5wCZIL7npFk3Dpj4VKrbqtrzKd_pvw4oniP6ate7leXnjJT69kgvvDBn8MPrTyjtnO9enjIIokaTHoBH1nNrO_gF4VeZKCXqt0nV0pQftaRy58eYswjk/s1600-h/DSC02187.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7z8iLPQk02c2DyMyTS3WCg0z5wCZIL7npFk3Dpj4VKrbqtrzKd_pvw4oniP6ate7leXnjJT69kgvvDBn8MPrTyjtnO9enjIIokaTHoBH1nNrO_gF4VeZKCXqt0nV0pQftaRy58eYswjk/s320/DSC02187.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199555171837511682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSwicyxo8-cUjHZBnyJ0ddCfuofkR1gjF3_QaUGv5bB2WG5P35kz7icx65lsJRu2zBOrHaIK1s3wlJZXJpqxJdmwUyFJD-JeHCuR4P6AckCPoY6r2TUx9JO3vP9HiF607aWcC6Bhs0VF5f/s1600-h/DSC02188.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSwicyxo8-cUjHZBnyJ0ddCfuofkR1gjF3_QaUGv5bB2WG5P35kz7icx65lsJRu2zBOrHaIK1s3wlJZXJpqxJdmwUyFJD-JeHCuR4P6AckCPoY6r2TUx9JO3vP9HiF607aWcC6Bhs0VF5f/s320/DSC02188.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199555180427446290" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARcxBCBe2NH9LluisE3Mejqyhyphenhyphen_BomHgeA_i18i8wuIYQfpq9R8qnLgJif01l-_2RejhjGHAo8vx0OYiXaGXEPHnLzC-En2sXUCoseFQT5ktcAxKVIwbN2rOylj3NvLJbrlbjkcwnVYCy/s1600-h/DSC02189.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARcxBCBe2NH9LluisE3Mejqyhyphenhyphen_BomHgeA_i18i8wuIYQfpq9R8qnLgJif01l-_2RejhjGHAo8vx0OYiXaGXEPHnLzC-En2sXUCoseFQT5ktcAxKVIwbN2rOylj3NvLJbrlbjkcwnVYCy/s320/DSC02189.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199555184722413602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdNYeoQ4WpiLzssCrgI2oT6U-IN_GubUIIXE5hA-qeW4vEv2fqcEJ2vIwJU6A0-hCEUu8E6tYhCZ5wnSMANyEV57fVWtQLPcDugQiF46Axnur-B1YlofNZy-Y4x0UFP3MFr6zUB8sykgz/s1600-h/DSC02185.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdNYeoQ4WpiLzssCrgI2oT6U-IN_GubUIIXE5hA-qeW4vEv2fqcEJ2vIwJU6A0-hCEUu8E6tYhCZ5wnSMANyEV57fVWtQLPcDugQiF46Axnur-B1YlofNZy-Y4x0UFP3MFr6zUB8sykgz/s320/DSC02185.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199555193312348210" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKripUwffshypYHHhDbR0N1JtNDVOTQixX5lLz5HS5Orij-yTyzh9M9zLhl0Ytky8gjmexs-BZisI4vfmFc0DBJmxwkfqZ-b3yTAuoW64SzF-wcqkCyrAKrK73WB7hAKnHczr-kGduSwc/s1600-h/DSC02184.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiKripUwffshypYHHhDbR0N1JtNDVOTQixX5lLz5HS5Orij-yTyzh9M9zLhl0Ytky8gjmexs-BZisI4vfmFc0DBJmxwkfqZ-b3yTAuoW64SzF-wcqkCyrAKrK73WB7hAKnHczr-kGduSwc/s320/DSC02184.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199555197607315522" border="0" /></a><br /><br />On our way to Austin, we stopped for a short time at driving range in Houston, TX. And, after just a few minutes in the "armpit" of Texas, we drove on to get to the much nicer Austin.<br /><br />In Austin we stayed with Alicia and Rachel (Thanks girls!), our friends from Tufts. That first night, we had our official introduction to delicious Tex Mex-- melted Queso dip and stuffed avocados at El Arroyo were my favorite. And, of course a round of watermelon margaritas...<br /><br />Alicia was an incredible tour guide and even wrote out a full list of everything we needed to do in Austin before we left including grabbing an Iced Turbo from Jo's coffee for breakfast and a slice from Home Slice, the best pizza place in town, for lunch. Alicia and Rachel's apartment was in an ideal location on South Congress St., an awesome street full of way too many Vintage stores and some nice cafes south of downtown. Austinites are way hipper than the rest of Texans and Congress st. is where the hipsters gather. (Greg is rolling his eyes right now).<br /><br />On our second day, we did the tourist thing and visited some of the monuments. We first visited the Capitol building. We learned about the six flags of Texas (fyi: Republic of Texas, US, France, Spain, Mexico, and the Confederacy). We learned about the Texas revolution, the fact that the dome of the Capitol is higher than the dome of the US Capitol ("everything is bigger in Texas"), yaddah yaddah yaddah. Our tour guide, though, was a tiny blond girl from Moscow, complete with a very strong Russian accent and a struggling grasp of the English language. The effect was odd, but entertaining.<br /><br />After the Capitol we went to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. It was very well laid out, but tended to skip over some of the less proud moments of the state's history. Our favorite part was the plaque that explained how, while Texas (or Tejas) still belonged to Mexico, more and more US Southerners started immigrating in. As a result, a Mexican Government official observed that the culture of Texas was shifting from hispanic to anglo. Eventually, that observation led to a new law forbidding new immigrants from the US. Stop me if this sounds familiar. We then watched a Texas-themed IMAX movie which was essentially an hour long advertisement of the state, with no important information. Oh, then again we did learn that the corn dog (or "corny dog") was invented at the Texas State fair. I stand corrected.<br /><br />Twice during our stay in Austin, we ate at Torchy's Tacos, which is just a trailer on the side of the road, but which blows the competition away. Never have I had a taco which comes even close to being as good. Different ballpark ... different league. Some of the tacos we tried had eggs, fried avocado, fried poblano peppers (yum!), bbq pork, fried chicken, feta cheese with carnitas.<br /><br />Saturday night, we went out to 6th St., which is basically a big Frat party on the street. Hoards of college age kids stumble down the street from bar to bar, most of which have outdoor patios. We had a great time hanging out with Alicia and Hexar over a few drinks and checking out the scene.<br /><br />On our third day, we went with Alicia and a few of her friends to San Antonio for the day, as the yearly Fiesta festival was going on. We visited the Alamo, checked out all the food stands (amazing), listened to some live music, walked down the riverwalk, and played a crap load of word games (I love word games ... 1 guess for who is writing this paragraph). Finally, we discovered that San Antonio bars make the weakest drinks in the country. That's right ... I'm calling you out.<br /><br />On our forth day, we went on a winery tour with Alicia and her BF Hexar. One highlight was the crazy guy at the Fredericksburg Winery (he showed us his favorite book, "What Texans should know about the other 49 states", in which every page was empty). Texans sure love their sweet wine. I was especially surprised to try several different types of sweet red wine-- who has ever heard of sweet Merlot? Also, to our surprise, I asked how one winery makes their sweet red wine and they said they "just add sugar".<br /><br />After a full day of wine tasting, we headed to Cooper's BBQ in Llano, TX, an awesome place where you pick pick out your meat at the pit before entering the restaurant. We stuffed ourselves with incredible beef brisket and pork ribs dipped in thin, vinegary BBQ sauce. Just check out the picture! (coming soon)Shanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14173748668192352050noreply@blogger.com0