A lovely English village?

Designed after an English Village, I found Fearrington Village to be lovely. Simon felt it might be a bit too lovely. It reminded him of Midsommers, the most dangerous village in England, Fearrington, famous for its Oreo Cows, Tennese Fainting Goats, also with the black and white motiff, and its sculptered sheep. Fearrington does have an amazing Inn, where we had an English Tea complete with scones and clotted cream and finger sandwichs. Simon especially like the port and choclate at bedtime. Our room, which was upgraded to a suite, had an old elegance about it and the view of the gardens from our window was really lovely
The bookstore was state of the art with some of the top writers in the country appearing monthly.
The homes in the village, many in wooded areas, were very nice. While looking at one we saw young deer and there were wild turkeys in the area also.

A family that reads togather

Alex loved having grandma and papa read to him. I think he preferred papa Mon, as he calls Simon. It must be the English accent. We had a very nice visit with Melody and Blaine, and of course the highlight was Alex. He introduced us to the Wilkesboro library and we introduced him to the Oreo Cookie carmel sunday at Burger Kings. Seems like a fair trade.

I'd rather be green

We just returned from North Carolina, and it was beautiful, beautiful and green. It was also very very hot, 96 with nearly 100% humidity. That is why it looks so green and lush. The Dorris Duke Garden on the campus at Duke University was quite splendid with its manicured lawns, terraced gardens, ponds, and flowers of all colors It was a feast for the eyes.
When we flew out of North Carolina, we were again struck by how green it all looked. Needless to say when we landed in LA, we did not have the same feeling, however the weather was much more conducive to life.

More favorites

The Giant Galapagos Tortoise lives to be 200 years old but is very endangered. The Frigate male has a bright red gular pouch that is inflated when they are breeding. The Iquanas are fearsome looking but harmless. The land Iguanas are very colorful, whereas the marine Iquanas are greys and backs and blend in with the rocks. The waved Albatross is the largest Galapagos bird. Last and most unusual is the rare and endangered Blue Shirted Boobie.

These are a few of our favorite things

We saw so many wonderful animals while on the Galapagos Islands that it is hard t pick a favorite, but the Blue Footed Boobie is right up there with our very favorite. They were so fearless of us, standing within inches as we walked by. They have a mating dance that brings to mind Morris dancing, as they click their beaks togather. The Sea Lions were adorable, especially the little pup that wandered up and down the beach looking for his mommy. The Iquana with scary looking but harmless, the frigate Birds with their puffed up red chests impressive and the Albatros very innocent ooking. The white sand beachs and turquoise water were beautiful. We spent a wonderful week aboard the Tiptop III.

We're back

We had a wonderful vacation, one month in Ecuador, but it is good to be home also. The best part of the trip, the Galapagos. The worst part, the 2 hours getting through customs at LAX and the 2 1/2 hour drive home in rush hour traffic.

mas photos del mercado

I realized when looking at the pictures I'd taken at the Saturday market that most of them were of elderly women with unusual hats and pigs cooked and uncooked. I'm not sure what this means.
Today we took the bus into San Antonio de Ibarra, a small town in which most of the residents are wood craftsmen. Many of the shops specialize in religious artwork. Needless to say I added a few new crucifixes to my collection.
The bus ride back was unbelievable, we were truly packed in like sardines. All the seats were full, some sitting double, and the rest of us were standing 2 deep in the aisle. This as the bus was speeding down the highway. Simon and I were cracking up imagining this happening in Thousand Oaks. I love it here.

a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiMvZIVZin2ir7jb6qjEUJTvHxoGeVRze8AbPy5Mc8NoPPLuu4W9-u1leuFrSWUhrzh_mkCo07LpL7pUY4qnzfqHQc_ikE5mCE8Hu5U22p826hFxRFmkubjLie2FFajH9Kjhkc3YoVGU/s1600/DSCN3260.JPG">

Hellish hike with heavenly views

Laguna Cuicocha, the travel books describe a 5 hour hike around a beautiful crater lake with views of all 3 of the areas volcanos.
We imagined a walk much like the one we take around Westlake, only more beautiful and longer.
NOT
This walk seemed all uphill on steep steps, steep paths, steep narrow paths, steep muddy paths and when by chance a down hill happened, we had to scoot down on our butts.
However we made it. The lake and views were spectacular. Would we do it again, NO.
After a very early dinner, we were asleep by 5pm, and for those who know us that is at least 2 hours earlier than we normally go to bed.

Otavalo

We arrived safely and are now in Otavalo. It is a beautiful area surrounded by 3 volcanos and green mountains, fields and lakes. Our hotel La Posada del Quinde see picture, is quite nice and has a wonderful enclosed garden. Today was market day, it is the largest market in the Americas, and of course I bought a lot. Poor Simon is loaded down as you can see. The market is wonderful, there are 36 indigenous communities in the area and Saturday market day is their day to come out in full regalia.

Ranunculus, no it is not a curse uttered by Harry Potter

The Flower Fields in Carlsbad are open for visitors from March 1-May 8. The only flower in the fields is the Tecolote Ranunculus, which blooms for only 8 weeks every year. It comes in many colors and looks like a large loose poppy. They are quite beautiful.

A room with a view, a glass of wine and a romantic novel. What could be better?

The view from our 3rd floor balcony was amazing, we had a 180 degree view of the ocean. In the morning we watched the surfers, in the afternoon we watched the pelicans fly by so close we could almost touch them and in the evening we watched the sunset. In between times, we sat out there and drank wine and read, just enjoying life.

Phyllis walks upon the beach, does she hear the mermaids singing each to each?

Mom and I went to Carlsbad to celebrate her 86th B-day, which was March 24. We had a wonderful time, every morning and afternoon, we walked barefoot on the beach; she said she felt young again, so did I.

El mercado en Lima

Lima has numerous artisan shops selling everything from purses to alpaca blankets.
The markets in Cusco and Arequipa are more interesting but Lima sells the same type of merchandise, and Simon loves to barter.

madre y hija

Zoeh was a little nervous with Simon at first, she had also seen him on Skype and she couldn't understand why he was no longer in the computer. She did warm up to him however and they became friends. Everyone seems to think Zoeh looks like her papapa Simon. We have a picture of Simon at 2 and he did have lots of curls, however Zoeh is a very pretty little girl.

Tres Nietos

Yoav, Mikel and Zoeh. Simon recently spent a week with the family in Lima. The twins are now 8 1/2 and Zoeh will soon be 2.

Born to be bacon

Actually this is a very lucky pot belly pig, she lives in a drive through petting zoo in Charlotte. It is a novel idea, to drive through in your car and feed the animals buckets full of food out of your car window. There were a wide assortment of animals including giraffes, deer, lamas, elk and a zebra and a rhinocerous, which we didn't feed from our car window.

Born to be wild

I just returned from a great week, visiting with Melody, Blaine and of course Alexander in Wilkesboro North Carolina. The weather was pleasant, and of course spending time with Alex was wonderful. He thought he was quite something sitting on his dad's motercycle.

All we are saying is give peace a chance

Some more pics from Ventura. The PEACE fishing boat has a white heron sitting on it, lower left corner, and one of the colorful locals is wishing peace on earth to all passerbys.

A beautiful day at Ventura Harbor

What a beautiful afternoon, 75 degrees with blue skies, sunshine and a soft breeze coming off the ocean, almost perfect. We went for a 7 mile walk along the ocean and then ate at Brophy's in the Harbor, lunching on Oysters Rockafeller, Fish and Chips, Salmon Salad and of course wine.