Roses and Rainbow

More from the mountain region. And then the fabulous finale of the trip: the Galapagos...

There was very little connectivity while touring the Galapagos Islands, and pictures can't capture the remarkable experience. It was a great trip.

Pictures from the Andes

Hats at a market, beautiful children, mountain town, ice merchant with daughter.

Highlights from the Andes

New friends Frances and Tom with us for the entire journey, scene from a club car, teak tree plantation, cacao seeds, old friends Pat and Glenn.

Cotopaxi

Extreme hiking was on the agenda Wednesday. We transferred by bus on the Pan-American Highway to Cotopaxi National Park. At the park, we hiked a couple of trails to view the active volcano with the same name. Our guide was telling us that the peak has been covered with clouds for the past three week, but the peak was almost in full view at our arrival.

While walking on the trail, Bill's ForeFlight app on the cell issued a warning that supplemental oxygen may be necessary. We were approaching 13,000. We all laughed.

Real pictures coming soon. Killer pace.

On to Quito

Stay tuned for some amazing pictures when we will have more technical options available this evening to upload real photos from the Canon. We are going up over 12,000 feet today and then on to the big city.

Roses and More Roses

Our little train climbed to just about 12,000 feet before noon. The train is revered by this population that depends greatly on tourism. All along the roadside people congregate and stop what they are doing to smile and wave at the passing Tren Crucero.

It was a little chilly at our stop in Urbina, where we were treated to a presentation from the only remaining ice merchant in the region.

There are 26 people on our train, most are from the U.S., but a few other countries are represented. Well into day three, we have become a friendly group.

We had a lovely lunch in one of the only surviving structures from the earthquake of 1949 in Ambato. Then on to Navado Rose plantation for a fascinating presentation on the rose production process from seed to ship.

We returned to the train for the final push to Latacunga only to find a dozen roses at my seat. A sweet anniversary present from the Tren Crucero crew.

The tour guides also arranged for a spectacular upgrade on our room at Hacienda La Ciénega. A memorable anniversary indeed.

Twenty-Five Years of Marital Bliss

I'm not sure if the pounding in my chest is due to the high altitude or our wedding anniversary.

Feeling refreshed after our respite in a most unusual (bizarre) and historically significant La Andaluza Hosteria in Riobamba, we will continue our climb from 9000 feet today.

The rose petals in our room upon check-in last night had nothing to do with our celebration. We entered the rose production capital of Ecuador.

Today, I will carry the sweet card my sister, Mary Ann, sent on Friday as a reminder of all the adventures I've shared with my most amazing husband since our official Union on 7/7/90.

Entering the Andes Region

Our sweet little engine that could climbed into the vast and beautiful mountains dividing Ecuador. We were all amazed at how populated and productive the region appeared.

There were plenty of animals and crops along the day's journey. We rolled through small villages and large cities.

Several stops afforded opportunities to walk through markets and fields and learn about the indigenous people, costumes, blue agave, quinoa, alpaca and llama. It is a fascinating tour of the Andes.

La Danesa Hacienda is Awesome

Sunday's post was incomplete and interrupted because of the poor internet connection.

We're heading out of the coastal region and into the mountains today. Tren Trucero is a deluxe mode of travel. It carries up to 54 passengers in only four cars.

Leaving the coast, the evidence of poverty was overwhelming. We felt like celebrities as the train rolled past the little urban villages, with children and parents waving enthusiastically.

Lunch at La Danesa Hacienda was stunning! We were entertained by dancers and educated on teak and cacao production.

We ended the day at Hosteria D'Franco in Bucay. It was the best in the area, which isn't saying much for the hotel. Moving on!

Guayaquil to Bucay

The Oro Verde Hotel was the perfect end to our day of travel to Guayaquil, a large, commercial port city. Breakfast was at 6:30am on Sunday, followed by a quick shuttle ride to the train station.

MIA

Our neighbor and friend, Dick, introduced us to Global Airport Parking: 

"Global Airport Parking provides travelers the most affordable and convenient parking in over 100 airports and seaports."

Google it! Big savings for parking; especially long term. We parked at the Hilton and boarded our shuttle. With all the hype and terror from ISIS threats going down on the Fourth of July, we breezed through the TSA in what was the most uneventful screening ever. 

The American Express lounge treated us to lunch, drinks and chair massages before we were united with long time friends and travel companions from NJ, Pat and Glenn!

We're off! So long USA!

Civil Unrest in Ecuador May Greet the Rogers and the Pope

If it isn't Obama on the Vineyard, it's the Pope in Quito. We tend to find ourselves among high-profile visitors in our travels. The above picture is from the story in The New York Times this morning describing how some Ecuadorians, disenchanted with their president, are using the Pope's visit to Quito on Tuesday to get their message out. Hope we miss the drama.

Baby Eagle Rescued in Naples

A juvenile eagle appeared in distress as Will and friends were out and about in Naples on July 4th. The quick thinking kids made a few phone calls, wrapped the wounded creature in a jacket and delivered it to an animal hospital. Happy Independence Day!

Pre-Trip Prep

Serious stuff

Treated clothes hanging to dry in garage

Minimal schlepping

The clothes have been sprayed with a serious dousing of insect repellent. After a day or so drying in the humidity of the sub-tropics, the bare essentials have been packed for an expedition into nature.

After all my years of blogging and sharing mobile travel journals, I was able to put this site together pretty quickly before our jaunt.

As long as we encounter internet connections from time-to-time, I should be able to share some of the sights and sounds of the diverse country of Ecuador.

Join us on an adventure through the Andes, Amazon and Galapagos Islands.

The Pursuit of Conditional Love

Adult step-relationship protocols are unique to each family member. Conditional verses unconditional love must surely play a major role in tolerance and harmony.

Unconditional love is generally associated with birth parents' innate love for their child. Conditional love is acquired, under the best of circumstances, when affection, friendship, kindness, respect and trust are at the forefront of an evolving relationship.

While all adults should commit to working on important relationships, step-families could benefit greatly by embracing a heartfelt and continuous campaign to develop conditional love.

Conditional love begins with the understanding all good things must be earned. Acceptable behaviors and personality traits indigenous to a biological family may not be acceptable or appropriate parameters within the step-family for any number of reasons.

Adult step-children can regress to behaviors that will be tolerated by parents, but may be considered somewhat off-putting to a step-parent. Remember, unconditional love has no bounds. All the unattractive behaviors the bio-parents taught or tolerate in the adult child are just part of the package. A step-parent, however, may conscientiously be working to love that adult child, even 25 years into the game.

Step-relationships tend to be somewhat fragile, with comfort levels constantly evolving. A heightened awareness of how certain behaviors will impact the step-relationship, and an exaggerated sense of diplomacy can work wonders in the pursuit for conditional love among step-adults.

When Your Ex is Everywhere You Want to Be

One of the hardest aspects of living in a blended family is sharing. There are only so many special occasions and milestones to go around in a family. Divvying up family time for children of divorced parents becomes quite challenging. This is especially true when one parent has extreme emotional needs and few venues for joy in life outside of the children and grandchildren.

A needy parent essentially sabotages their child's relationships with anyone else who wants to be a part of that life; such as spouses, in-laws, exes, steps and maybe even friends.  An adult child must feel enormous guilt and grief as they repeatedly accommodate a dominating parent.

Take heart, underdogs, patience is a virtue. It's human nature to grow resentful when burdened by uncontrollable obligations.

In the name of love, the mature and gracious will reconcile their disadvantaged position in the blended family, and appreciate what little family time is relegated to them. The kids will appreciate the respect shown to them.

Hang in there... be happy... and thank God you have venues for joy outside your children's lives. All good relationships are luxuries, not necessities.

Empathy Comes with Maturity

It was at the Jersey Shore Memorial Day parade where an epiphany occurred to me about family life. It was while watching an exhausted two-year-old navigate the excitement of small town patriotism on Main Street when I had this awakening.

The mother of the young child was visibly annoyed and clearly hurt by her toddler's seemingly defiant desire to be with his dad.  For a baby, that's basic instinct.

One can't fault a toddler for seeking comfort from one parent over another.

For a grown-up to favor one loving parent over the other loving parent... well, that's a different story. That behavior is selfish and unkind. Although divorce does have a tendency to alter decorum.

"Daughters and mothers are closer, in general," or "Everyone has a different relationship," or "I can't stand your wife," an adult child may muse, in an attempt to justify a discrepancy in timesharing between parents.

People must make all sorts of efforts and concessions in life. Newly married couples try to accommodate both sides of the extended family and attempt to divvy up holidays, start new traditions and be fair, despite the inconvenience and less than desirable circumstances.

It would seem to me that adult children of divorced parents have to work a little harder at balancing the fray. Not offering each parent an equal opportunity and place of honor at a major milestones, or even minor occasions, exasperates divide.

I wanted to commiserate with the young mother, and acknowledge how painful it is for a parent to feel that rejection from a child. I wanted to articulate that the baby doesn't know better; that empathy occurs much later in development.

Blood is Thinner than Love

Have you ever heard the expression, "Blood is thicker than water?" Of course you have. Apparently, it's a German proverb, which extols the merits of family solidarity. Well, I grew up with a sassier version of the old adage, and I can still hear my mother say it in a resigning tone, "Blood is thicker than mud." Leave it to the Irish to add cynicism to a condescending cliché.

Every time I hear someone say the maxim, I contemplate the meaning of mud vs. water. I opine that mud imputes a derogatory tone about family covenants. A sticky implication of a family's visceral unity, despite truth or reason.

As modern definitions of family are expanded, debated and get further away from common blood, the righteously indignant strain becomes increasingly diluted. Blood is thinner than love and devotion.

"Step-Mom" Still Carries a Stigma

Blended has replaced step when describing modern families, and people generally seem more accepting of the term.  With an influx of single women having babies, the onset of gay families, and couples opting to live together rather than marry, myriad non-traditional family relationships are common. 

The term blended seems to be all encompassing, and carries less negative connotations than step.  But the mother of all negative step-words is ... wait for it ... step-mother.  Don't we know it?  It is my least favorite title in life, and Wild Willy's eldest daughter still thinks I am the spawn of Satan (LOL, love that term) even after twenty years. 

The good bloghusband forwarded this informative article about the changing structures of non-traditional families, and the evil stepmothers that lurk within.  Oddly, step-families are almost considered traditional nowadays.

Home Sweet Home

Day 27 - Home Sweet Home

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Bill was getting increasingly anxious to get home. Thoughts of mail accumulating, Mom's memorial looming and the construction project on the island had him up and moving early.

We were out the door before 6:30am for the final stretch home to the island.

It was a breeze getting out of the tri-state area on I-95 North that early on a Sunday. The fall colors in route were muted, but ready to pop.

Bill took the wheel by URI in RI, and had an unfortunate turn driving in steady rain. Except for the light showers on our arrival in Crested Butte, this was the only rainfall of the trip.

After an uneventful four-plus hours, we caught an earlier ferry in Woods Hole, MA and arrived in Vineyard Haven around 1pm.

What a great trip! We were blessed with good luck and weather throughout our trek.

There's no place like home, and it's a great luxury to be able to venture away now and then.

With the odometer at 8,876, we turned off the car and gave each other a big kiss and a high five!

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Sent from my iPhone by My Vacation app (www.myvacationapp.com)

Arrival on the East Coast

Day 26 - Arrival on the East Coast

Saturday, September 29, 2012

The roadside hotel provided one of the best showers of the trip! Life's little unexpected pleasures are the best, especially first thing in the morning.

It was pitch black at 7am when we grabbed breakfast to go and departed for I-70 East out of Indy. The mileage was at 7,834.

Bill was feeling a little punky, so I started the day behind the wheel. He dropped the ball on navigation, so we missed our turn off for the scenic fall-color route out of Columbus, OH and up through New York State.

We made a couple of bad turns and eventually corrected the route on an old familiar path: Interstate 80.

The fall colors were more dramatic than we imagined going through the 300 miles of Pennsylvania's rolling countryside.

We crossed into Jersey, and we're soon going past Mom's former town of Denville. It was melancholy.

It was a big day if driving.

What better place to stay for the night than our beautiful home in Chatham. We stopped for sushi to go, and crashed for the evening in homey comfort.

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The Plains and Praries

Day 25 - The Plains and Praries

Friday, September 28, 2012

The extreme weather patterns of the last few weeks caught up with me. I woke in a sneezing fit.

In a heavy fog, we took hotel breakfast to go and hit I-70E at 7:15 am at 7,199 on the odometer.

Bill navigated through serious pockets of limited visibility while I blew my nose.

It was another uneventful day of travel as we traversed Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. We lost another hour and pulled off around 6pm EST just east of Indianapolis.

	Photo 1 [Map]

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