After experiencing some cold weather and snow in Aspen, we thought it would be a great idea to visit Cancun and enjoy some warmth, beach, sand, and more importantly oxygen. We wanted to be lazy, and an all-inclusive hotel hit the spot.
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Our annual super bowl weekend snowboarding trip. This year we went to Aspen. Even though snowfall amounts for the area were some of the lowest in decades, there was a lot of man made snow put on Buttermilk mountain thanks to the Winter X Games the week prior. Buttermilk mountain also has a wonderful ski school with plenty of spanish speaking instructors -- perfect for Annika. Her first time seeing snow and hitting the slopes was a success. She absolutely loved it and that made us happy since it allowed Julia and I to hit the slopes as well. As a nice send-off, on our last night it snowed and continued to snow till the early afternoon giving us a rare experience of snowboarding on some nice powder. Boy was that a fantastic gift!
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Videos below:
This year we decided to try somewhere new for our annual snow boarding trip. We settled on Vail Colorado, smaller than our usual spot of Park City, but equally beautiful and enjoyable. Below is a video of our trip!
Video link here.
When we decided that it was time for a vacation sans la puchy, we figured California would be the perfect destination. The Grand-MiMi watched Annika in Bogota while we enjoyed some of our favorite things in San Francisco: oysters, sushi, a walk across Golden Gate. A good portion of our paychecks was left behind in the one corner of Union Square that has both an Apple Store and Cole Haan. We warmed up with 2 days in Yountville and visits to Pine Ridge, Regusci, and Clos du Val, where we made a wise investment in a piece of luggage that carries one full case of wine. We finished up with a weekend in Gilroy, visiting family and hanging out. The Grand-MiMi was a trooper through all of it, caring for a a sick (yet again) and cranky Puchy. It's nice to be home, but we'll be back...it's the vacation we can take over, and over, and over...
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Sampling Chowder
Facetiming with Annika
San Andreas Fault is in those shrubs!
Mission San Juan Bautista
This past weekend we traveled to Aruba for Nate and Gigi's wedding. The wedding was fantastic and a great time was had by all especially Annika who enjoyed the pool and the beach immensely. Congratulations to the newlyweds. Wishing you guys a long and happy life together!
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June 17th weekend we took a little relaxation trip with our good friends to Anapoima. While technically it's less then 100 km away, its about 5000 ft lower then Bogota. At ~3000 feet we got to enjoy a bit more of oxygen, humidity, and warmer temperatures.
The place was fantastic with plenty of open door space, perfect for smoking cigars, and it did not require any air conditioning. The pool was perfect with a shallow end for Annika to play in.
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A video from our Park City trip this past February 2016. Julia is wearing the red jacket. Video link here.
Note that our theme song for this trip has some explicit lyrics so some may choose to hit mute while watching.
It was getting pretty close to a year since Abuelo and Abuela have seen Annika. With Julia's blessing, Annika and I flew to McAllen to visit the folks for a couple of days. Vivian and Richard were kind enough to rent a place at South Padre Island so Annika could hopefully enjoy the beach. Unfortunately Annika did not approve of how sand felt on her feet. Regardless, a good time was had and after a couple of days with the Cubans, she warmed up to them with smiles.
We will be returning to the RGV in September to further expose Annika to screaming Cubans and to give her another try at the beach. Hoping for better results.
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On a rainy Sunday morning, I drove to Cotopaxi National Park to drop Vince off for his 5 day bikepacking trip. Yes, 5 days bike riding at high altitude climbing up and down thousands of feet. I too brought my new bike, which Vince graciously packed and shipped to me, to ride for an hour or two max. Bike riding at 12,000 feet on sandy or grassy unpaved roads was difficult but the views definitely helped.
In any event, the drive up to the base camp at Cotopaxi, roughly 15,00 feet high, was cold and snowy - first time i ever experienced snowfall in Ecuador. Vince rode back down while I drove and took pictures. We later did a little riding in the park taking a brief break for lunch. I left Vince where he and 2 others began a 5 day bikepacking adventure.
What should have been a short drive from Papallacta to the Antisana Ecological Reserve was anything but. Unfortunately there is no direct route to Antisana so we had to drive through some very interesting towns, but in the end, it was well worth it. Once inside the park, the road leading to Antisana had some breathtaking views even with Antisana surrounded by clouds. Although Antisana and Cotopaxi are not very far from each other, the paramos looked different. We shall return to hopefully get a clearer view of her soon enough.
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Just 40 miles east of Quito, and at an altitude of 10,800 feet, are the Termas de Papallacta, the hot springs of Papallacta. With Vince and Michelle having just arrived to Ecuador, we figured the hot springs would be a great way for them to get aclimated to the altitude. Vince and I did a little bike riding and it turns out he was in no need of aclimating. I, on the other hand, gave up after ascending just 500 feet at roughly 12,000 feet. We did manage to do a little hiking along the entrance to Reserva Ecológica Cayambe Coca and although it was cloudy, we got some good views of the Cascada de Baños. To view the entire album, click here.
Took a short weekend trip to Guayaquil for a little rest and relaxation. Got to enjoy some warm temperatures and some serious humidity, something we haven't experienced in a long time -- one of the benefits of living 3 years at high altitude. We got to see Barrios Las Peñas, one of Guayaquil's main attractions. We took the 444 steps up to Cerro Santa Ana and got some photos of Guayaquil. To view the entire album, click here.
After being on the road for nearly two weeks, we found refuge in the warm and welcoming Scanlon home in Killingworth, CT. And thus began a week filled with lobster. And family. And more lobster. And more family. Again we were treated to incredible hospitality, and Annika was in heaven with all the toys! Annika also had the opportunity to meet her Great-great Aunt Sil, Great-great Aunty Jean and Great-great Uncle Hop, lots of Wiltse cousins, Kristen, Matthew, Meghan...the list goes on! Even her Great-Aunt Linda drove down from Maine. Annika met future husband Sebastien (and his parents) at Mystic. We are blessed with great family and would like to thank everyone for making the effort to spend time with us. We are deeply appreciative of all of the hospitality offered to us throughout the trip...from meals to places to stay. We enjoyed your company tremendously and are so happy we could share a little time with you. To view the entire album click here
From the Brooklyn Bridge to DUMBO to the High Line and Ground Zero...Annika got a nice taste of New York, and her dad got more than a few photos. Nate, Gigi, Dave, and Seth made cameo appearances. We picked up the Grand-MiMi, who had just flown in from Africa after hanging out with adorable baby elephants. We were fortunate to spend time in the city with "new" New Yorkers Sandy and Dan, and seasoned New Yorker the Gotham Girl herself (now known as Auntie GG). After leaving the city, we made a quick stop in Old Greenwich to catch up with Jordan and meet Harrison and Bennett (so photogenic!). To view the entire album click here.
We kicked off our 2.5-week R&R in DC with good friends and food. Our hosts, Nate and Gigi, treated us like royalty. Annika visited Virginia vineyards with Uncle Jon and Aunt Nancy, and we enjoyed oysters and steak with Uncle Sergio. We then drove south to Roanoke. Annika loved meeting her Grandma Betty and Auntie Diana, and we were treated to another wonderful home-made meal at the Bright Tower. We had a beautiful taste of fall in West Virginia, where cousins Amos and Daisy kindly shared their birthday with us! We loved seeing Aunt Patty, Uncle Bill, Anne, and Darren, too. We made a quick stop in Thomas, WV to see Johnny and the Purple Fiddle before heading back to DC to catch up with lots of friends--Annika attended her second happy hour at Lyon Hall (luckily bringing a baby to a bar seems to be well-accepted in Arlington). And then we were off to New York...whew! And we're not even half-way there... To view the entire album click here.
One of the things we love most about Quito is its proximity to incredible scenery such as that found at Cotopaxi national Park. So we made our second trip to Cotopaxi, this time with the little peanut in tow. We were lucky to catch clear weather that permitted unobstructed views of Ecuador's second-highest volcano and the highest active volcano in the world. I may have taken a few too many photos of the peak, but it's not often that Cotopaxi comes out of hiding from the cloud cover. To view the entire album click here.
Following our stay in San Antonio, we traveled to Austin to visit Michelle and Vince, who kindly hosted us for 10 days. We had the pleasure of being some of the first guests in their newly-purchased, gorgeous home. Cousin Tania and her friend Jen also stayed for a couple of nights while passing through Texas, and we had a great time with lots of catching up. Annika got to explore some of the best parts of Austin and even went to visit her Aunt M at work at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center (next time hopefully she'll be awake). We left Austin and began the drive south to McAllen on Father's Day, but not before we were treated to Vince's famous pancake breakfast, Michelle's top-notch homemade creme brulee, and an oyster and lobster-roll lunch fit for New England. To view the entire album click here.
Seems our little peanut decided to gestate a little longer. To pass the time and to get mama out of the house, we packed our weekend with events. Saturday we met up with my cousin who showed us around his school, The University of the Incarnate Word, where he is studying to be a nurse. On Sunday we met up with Suzan and Tom and Jan from Roanoke, Virginia. It was great to spend our time with family and friends during our stay in San Antonio. To view the entire album of The University of the Incarnate Word, click here. To view the entire album of our Sunday at Bourne, Texas, click here.
Apparently there were 5 Spanish missions in San Antonio Texas during the 1700s, one of them being San Antonio de Valero which was later called the Alamo. No thanks to Siri we stumbled onto the San José Mission. This mission was founded in 1720 by Father Margil de Jesús, a seasoned Franciscan missionary. The Franciscan friars' objective was to convert indigenous hunters and gatherers into Catholic tax paying subjects of the King of Spain. One mission down, 3 to go... To view the entire album click here.
As the peanut continuos to cook (roughly 2 weeks till the due date), Julia and I are passing the time exploring the San Antonio area. First stop, Gruene Texas. To view the entire album click here.
