Easter Weekend at the Fish Camp

We had a wonderful weekend at the Fish Camp with Captain Ken and Victoria! Unfortunately, the winds precluded us from fishing on Friday, but gave the boys an opportunity to get the boat rigged up (and oh yes, get a little problem with one of the engines resolved) and the girls an opportunity to contribute to the local economy. :)

The Nauti Boys are over the top with their trucks, shirts and boats!

Captains Frank & Ken working on the boat as Victoria supervises. Victoria & Leann hanging out on the river.

Saturday morning, everyone was up bright and early, ready to catch some fish...too excited to sleep!

Victoria's a pro! Ken takes care of getting the bonita in the box.

Easter morning - we took a drive around Stuart and along the coast. Frank and Victoria near the dunes and close to the Atlantic Ocean.

A sign warning of the sea turtle nests. And a few pesky seagulls catching waves along the shoreline.

Easter Brunch with the Broome-Yoder-Brent families at Finz. The food was great and the company extremely enjoyable!

Too long since last post...

And since returning from Portland, we've spent time in Tampa, NC and Tallahassee. To sum it up: Bathrooms, Baseball and Truck Castration.

A clear day overlooking Grandfather Mountain in NC. We went up to check on the bathroom redo's and everything turned out very nice. (Still a few little touch-up things to do, but everything was functional.)

After leaving Boone, we stopped in Tallahassee for a few days. It was nice catching up with Rick, Joanne, Tim and Jamela over pizza at Mellow Mushroom. We all went to the FSU-Georgia Tech baseball game and enjoyed watching Matt pitch a winning game. Sunday Brunch with the Villella's was delicious!


Upon returning home, we were 'checking the mail' with the neighbors and hearing all about the great St. Patrick's party we missed at Sully's. And while we were gone, Sully bought the truck from the Tyler's across the street. For the past year+ we've been looking at the rear of the truck and the big silver balls suspended from the hitch. Sully promised the girls could perform the castration. :) But since they were attached with reinforced cables, he got the honors.

Next stop...Stuart and FISHING!!

A weekend in Portland, through the eyes of a doting Auntie

Chris, Auntie and Nate with silly faces!



After spending Chris & Nate's actual birthday doing all sorts of fun things, I got to go to pre-school with them on Friday! It was a 'trifecta day' for Nate. He was 'Helping Hand', shared his digital camera and got to share his birthday poster with Chris since it was their birthday!
Chris and Nate did a very good job with 'ductions' (as in introductions) and helping me meet their school friends. They showed me all the fun areas (library, writing area, arts/crafts, building, playdoh, math, etc.) but they were especially proud of their lunchbox spots and cubbies. The weather was good (not rainy) so we took a walk to the park down the street and spent a while playing, sliding, swinging and generally burning off some energy. It was a fun morning!

But after nap - disaster struck! They boys were playing by themselves downstairs while the grownups were upstairs. Nate came into the dining room and told Mom he had a secret he needed to tell her. He pulled her into one of the bedrooms and next thing we knew, there was a yell from downstairs summoning Pop! "Somehow" the kids' laptop screen had a bunch of colors and squigglies that appeared. Working through the sobs and 'I'm so sorry', we learned that Bobble (the bobble-head giraffe) had been closed up in the laptop. Needless to say, the rest of the afternoon was rather somber.

Pop came through (caved) and let the boys open the ball pitching machine. Outside we went and had a bit of batting practice. Chris and Nate did really well when the machine pitched the ball rather than when it popped the ball up. These boys are pretty good!

Something we did every morning when the boys woke up was to design and build the marble. We added some loop-de-loops, s-curves, slides and twisters. It was a fun way to work into the day. :)

Saturday morning we ventured to OMSI to see the dinosaur exhibit. Chris & Nate are so smart! Planets, dinosaurs, airplanes..they know them all! Back home for lunch and a nap and then it was PARTY TIME!

Pump It Up was THE place to be when you're turning 4 and having all your friends over for a party! And even better for the parents! (Pump It Up did all the work: party room setup, jumping thing supervision, party facilitation and here's the best...CLEAN UP!) Everyone had a great time...Dan and Kathy have raised the bar, yet again, when it comes to birthday parties!

Sunday morning came and it was time for Auntie to head back to Florida. :( The boys took me took me to the airport and found the control tower and my plane.

It was a very fun weekend, and next time, I hope they won't be so generous with their cold germs. :)

Fun in Portland!

Chris and Nate turn 4 today and I am so lucky to be able to spend the weekend in Portland! After a great flight, arrived just as the boys were getting up from their nap.

We played hockey, rode their new bikes, played with the rockets and enjoyed the very pleasant weather!

The boys decided they wanted sushi for their birthday dinner and so, off to the conveyor-belt sushi place we went. The sushi man made special 'green paper and rice sushi' for the boys and just happened to have some fresh-made mango icecream. And the sushi was pretty darn good too! Two big stacks of plates!

Chris and Nate made their own birthday cakes and also decorated them 'by their ownselves'.

All in all, it was a great start to a fun birthday weekend!

Friends - new and from home

During our trip, we met many people and made new friends, most of whom are from California. In addition, our friends from home, Tom and Raquel, traveled from Panama and spent a fews days in Buenos Aires with us. Hopefully we'll see our 'left coast' friends again, perhaps when we travel to Portland in October.

Chuck & Joellyn, Tom & Marilyn

Bingo & Gino, Carol & George

Dinner with new friends at 'Toscana' on the ship.

Raquel & Tom on a river tour with us.

Tom, Raquel, Frank and Leann at a Tango show in Buenos Aires.

And speaking of tango...

More photos - Penguins only!

We were really looking forward to our excursion to Punta Tombo while in Puerto Madryn. After a 2.5 hour drive, we reached the Penguin Reserve and literally a million penguins!

These are Magellanic Penguins, return to the same area each year and to the same nest! The male is quite domestic and is responsible for cleaning out the nest and preparing it for mating and eggs. Both parents share in the keeping the 2 eggs warm until the chicks are hatched and then share in the raising of the fluffy birds. They are nicknamed 'jackass penguins' because of the braying sound they make. (Sounds a lot like crying and is unique to this species of penguins.)

Here are some fun pictures and a couple of movies.

Be sure to turn your speakers on before watching the movies.

After all this, you can't help but smile. :o)

Randomly selected photos - Glacier Alley to Ushuaia

Our apologies for the lack of photos and updates since we disembarked the ship. Unfortunately, the technology and time did not permit. So, here are a few pictures from our travels at the point we left off from the last posting of photos.
Enjoy!
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The sign says we are at the end of Rt 3 (aka the Pan-American highway) which runs from Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. Ushuaia is the last major port and gateway to Antarctica. Strange thing about the mountain in the next photo...from the top to the treeline (the bald part) is owned by Chile and the rest is claimed by Argentina.

Why would we post a picture of dead trees, you ask? Way back when Ushuaia was settled, the wise people thought it would be the perfect place for beavers and a way to develop an industry of beaver fur. Well, without any known predators, the beavers have not only thrived, they continue to multiply and destroy the forests by building dams which block the water getting to the trees and land. The destruction below was done in only 2 short years.

It was an interesting visit to the Falkland Islands. How nice to hear the words, 'Good Morning', in English after a week or more of mostly Spanish and Spanish accents. Our tour took us through only a small portion of the large island and along the way, the guide pointed out the beach areas that are restricted because there are still LIVE LAND MINES!

A fun stop along the way in the F.I. was to the home of a local 'character'. Not only does he have several whale skeletons in his yard, but also this very alive reindeer! No lawnmower needed if you have a reindeer or sheep.

During one of our sea days, the Master Carver (and 2 apprentices) did a carving demonstration. Absolutely amazing what you can do with fruit and vegetables!


Amazing glaciers in "Glacier Alley", Chilean Fjords.