Reese and Courtney

San Francisco: My Hearts Devotion

2011-12-31T15:20:00.002-08:00

For some reason saying "San Francisco" makes me think of West Side Story and the song America. Weird, I know!

Anywho... for part of the Christmas holiday, Reese and I met Wyatt and his parents in San Francisco. I had never been to San Francisco, so I was quite excited! We were there for 6 days. Plenty of time to explore and get to know the city. If it looks like I am constantly wearing the same clothes, its because I was. You try fitting 6+ days of clothes in a carry-on!

Reese and I got their one day early and walked around South San Francisco. We walked, walked, and walked. It was a great time to walk in my boots. (NOT) Reesey was clever and looked up some places on the travel channel and food network and found an amazing sub place. Seriously. If you go to San Francisco you HAVE to go to Little Lucca. It's this hole in the wall, trailer type sub shop with no seating inside. They make their own deli meat, bread, secret garlic sauce... the list could go on! If you go, make sure you go just before noon or you will wait in a line that runs out to the street and along the sidewalk. We were lucky enough to get their a little before noon and only waited in line for about 10 minutes. While we were eating our subs outside, the line just grew and grew and grew. It was insane.

SO GOOD!

And the subs are massive! Reese and I should have shared one. I barely made it through on half. We saved our other halves for dinner. Worked out great!

We did everything you could possibly do and see during our week in San Fran, including a football game! It was surprisingly a lot of fun. And a BIG thanks to my father-in-law, Jon, for the awesome seats at the game.

The players getting warmed up!

The family! Can you just see the excitement in the Reese, Jon's, and Wyatts face? Priceless!

Nobody seemed to pay much attention to the cheerleaders. Except Triana and I. We decided that you had to be in your 30's, have long hair, and love football to be one.

It turned out to be quite an epic game. Not because of the actual game per se, but because a truck had hit some electrical poles and turned off all the power in the stadium. It was pitch black. I thought it was part of the show. But then they came back on again for a bit only to go back out half way through the game. It was quite interesting. Oh, and people were smoking weed in our section. That was cool too!

The start of the game:

Why so serious, boys?

What do they say? Something, something, hike?

Oh my word. So like I said, this game was actually really fun. Ja- the 49ers were winning, the electricity kept going out, and people were smoking weed... but you know what else? Some middle-aged guy ran across the field. The only thing that would have made it more entertaining is if he was in the nude.

And of course he got a standing ovation when they escorted him off the field. Either way too much alcohol, or he decided it was a good night to check out what a jail looked like!

The most terrible thing that happened at the game was James Durbin. He was a contestant on American Idol last season and basically screamed a lot. This performance was no different. He was dreadful.

The ~~people they paid~~ fans cheering on his screaming.

All in all, it was a great game and a good first NFL experience for me!

We drove all over San Fran. I don't know where this is, but what they say about the uphills are true!

We spent some time in Haight and Ashbury. It's a famous part of San Fran because of the hippie movement I think. There are a ton of secondhand, vintage shops down there.

The Amoeba Music store is cool because it has tens of thousands of cassettes, cd's, and vinyl records.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. I have heard that San Francisco can be freezing, windy, and just miserable at times... but the week we were their was amazing. It was actually warm. So lovely- we had to make some time for the beach!

San Fran proved to have some cool looking, colourful homes too!

And of course, the Golden Gate Bridge!

Oh Wyatt...

Love, love, love!

Wyatt taking everyones photo:

My favourite in-laws ever! :)

Such greatness!

My sweets:

The trip would not have been complete without these two.... My favourite memories of Wyatt during the trip was him asking me what brand of tampon I use, him trying to make a $1000 deal with Jon that he wouldn't cut his hair for a year, and him trying to make a deal with Triana not to say anything gross or annoy her for an entire day. That lasted an hour. Ha ha. :)

Clowns!

We made sure to go down one of the most famous streets ever, Lombard Street.

Its super steep and has 8 (I believe) hairpin turns as you go down. Its usually covered in flowers, but because it was winter, everything was dead.

You can see what it looks like in the summer time here.

And of course, we can't forget about Pier 39 and its world famous clam chowder. Clam chowder (when done right) is one of my most favourite foods to eat. I could probably eat a whole pot by myself. This is why I have no pictures of the actual clam chowder. By the time I even thought of taking a photo, all that was left was an empty bread bowl!

We spent some time looking in all the cool shops along the pier. Also stopping to take some pics in front of the enormous Christmas tree.

Reese and Wyatt at their finest:

Reesey and myself:

The one shop I found most entertaining was Lefty's. A store dedicated to all the left-handed geniuses out there. (Me being one of them!)

Posing with my better hand and looking a tad pregnant. I am not, just for the record....

Shot of where you will find some delicious clam chowder!

Another fun thing we got to do while we were there was take a boat out to Alcatraz. That place is pretty awesome, I have to say.

The Island is very windy and freezing cold! So you can imagine being inside the brick and cement buildings. Cold, cold, cold!

If you ever get the chance to go, GO! Its definitely worth it. This is the inmates showering area and also the same place where we picked up our headphones to do the self-guided tour!

The actual prison cells:

The self-guided tour was pretty cool. You just go to where it says start, press play, listen, and follow along.

My first time in a prison cell:

And Reese in his!

Christmas card picture?

This was the library:

They set up some of the cells to look like what they would have looked like back in the day:

Families also lived on Alcatraz. The guards and their families could live on the Island in separate flats and homes. Kinda creepy... living so close to some of the most dangerous criminals in the U.S.

Some Alcatraz views of the windy city!

This was the main office/operating room of Alcatraz.

And here are some pictures of probably the most famous cells in the jail! You can see the hole in the cement that the prisoners dug out with spoons and other weird objects. Also the creepy mannequin head to trick the guards!

This is what they escaped into:

And finally we have the kitchen/mess hall:

Alcatraz: The 3 most wanted...

Another must see while in San Francisco is the Walt Disney Family Museum. Its so, so cute and really interesting. It's about Walt's life and that of course relates all back to how Disney started and all that jazz. It's definitely worth a stop!

Pretty sure I died and went to heaven once we got to Ghiradelli Square. For lunch that day I got an enormous chocolate banana sundae and ate the whole thing. I know, I know.

I would probably bath in that if I could...

After ~~lunch~~ dessert, we walked out along the one of the piers. It was another stunning day. Along the way, we spotted some crazy women swimming in the frigid water.

The Golden Gate Bridge, in all her glory again!

Wyatt trying to impress the girls/Reese/Jon.

Trying. SO. hard.

Another perfect day in San Francisco. We couldn't have asked for a better week! The only thing that was missing was Andy, Hillery, Sadie, and Maddox.

We spent one of our last days in Santa Cruz. We ate awesome Brazilian food. If you go to Santa Cruz, you MUST go to Cafe Brasil. Amazing! And the weather was once again perfect- check the people playing beach volleyball in costumes in the middle of winter!

It was my first trip to the Bay area, but definitely wont be my last. We had such a great time seeing all the sights and spending time with each other. And like I said, the Rays were sorely missed! But that was pretty much our Christmas! We all flew back to Albuquerque to eat my mother-in-law, Trianas, delicious food and spend Christmas day together. And of course, we were too busy eating and opening presents to take any pictures... but it was one for the books, I promise!

Peru: Day 8 Finale + ABQ/AZ

2011-12-24T19:06:00.000-08:00

The above picture really needs no introduction. I don't know how much they paid our taxi driver to actually take a picture with those 3! They were such clowns! He safely drove us around Cusco the day before and dropped us off at the airport the next morning. The boys look fresh and clean. I am not sure how clean however, considering their was no hot water that morning at the hotel. I know I jumped in and out! I guess the city of Cusco also has say over when the hot water heaters will be operating. :)

But this was our last day in Peru. It was bitter-sweet. Peru was a ton of fun. It was beautiful and exotic, a true adventure. But we were ready to leave. A few things come to mind: we missed toilets, toilet paper, water to shower, water to brush teeth, water to wash face, water in general, driving without chanting "please don't let us die, please don't let us die", and eating lettuce.

Our flights were supposed to leave around 11pm-midnight, so we spent the afternoon touring the great city of Lima!

Cool banana yellow government buildings:

Peru's equivalent of the White House. We asked Wyatt to introduce us to the President. He declined.

Fancy hey?

More colourful buildings:

Close up of the Presidents house!

Reese and Wyatt talking Spanish and leaving us in the dark...

Probably the most fashionable dog I've ever seen. I had to zoom in and snap quick. I didn't want the dogs owner to charge me for taking the picture...

Does Mary Poppins come to mind when you look at this picture? All those dirty, dirty birds. "Feed the birds..." comes to mind. Lets just say we made a mad dash to the Cathedral.

Just a regular, old police car. No big deal.

Should this have been a sign to hide our goods and go back to the airport?

I think Jon just missed a near fatal, bird attack. Recovering...

Another movie that comes to mind is Birds.... again, I am pretty sure I took these pictures while running to the entrance.

Some beautiful architecture.

Really cool door!

Inside the Basilica Cathedral of Lima. This place is truly ancient! It was first constructed in 1535. It has been updated quite a bit since then, but the colonial structure and facade is still the original. We happened to walk in during an event of sorts...

Stunning, right?

In one of it's reconstructions in the late 1500's, the inside was made to look like the Cathedrals of Spain.

Oh how bad are we? We walked in during a funeral!

Just some more pictures of the inside:

We got to take a tour that included seeing all the bones buried in the basement of the Cathedral.

Thats a lot of people!

And thats about as close as I could get with a camera. No camera's were allowed in the actual basement. So you'll just have to go to Peru to see it!

And the last few pictures are just of the Cathedral itself. Some of the stuff is very pretty. Some is very creepy.

And for our last meal in Peru, we had our taxi driver take us to a place. Landed up being a pretty good idea, since he really delivered. In hind sight though, maybe it wasn't such a good idea considering the fact that he could have taken us to who knows where and I wouldn't have been able to post about this trip! So, if you are going to Peru, it seems like the typical taxi driver is trustworthy! :)

Wyatt enjoying his last meal:

The fam!

The fam + me!

On our way to the airport, we stopped by the mission home to make all the missionaries there feel homesick. Just kidding. Wyatt wanted to say his good byes and pick up his stuff!

And the week we were in Peru, the Temple was completely closed off due to construction. SO this is as close and fuzzy as it gets! I guess we're going to have to make another trip down south just to go to the temple!

It's very pretty, you'll just have to take my word for it!

BLESS THIS COUPLE'S HEARTS! Wyatt didn't specify what time he was leaving when he said 11ish and they arrived at the airport in the AM, not the PM. And they waited at the airport THE ENTIRE TIME. Just to say goodbye to their favourite Elder. Now if thats not love, I don't know what is!

And that was that! Both our flights were delayed, so it was a long wait at the airport... but we finally did make it home! Peru was amazing- we will be back again!

And this chocolate face.... She was at the airport ready to greet us, sunglasses and all!

Cute hey?

"Oooh, treats?"

Reese and I had a 5 hour layover/laundry stop in Phoenix before we hopped back on a plane to go to Albuquerque. It was worth the unpacking/repacking madness to FINALLY meet my newest nephew, Maddox. Isn't he to die for?

Such a handsome, sweet boy!

And of course no trip is complete without our favourite 4-year old niece, Sadie. She is a crazy little girl. So beautiful and clever!

We had a wonderful 2-week holiday with the family and enjoyed every bit of the food and fun.

Peru: Day 7

2011-12-03T20:06:00.001-08:00

Well considering that day 6 was a complete mammoth of a post, day 7 is much shorter! We spent the night before in the little mountain town near Machu Picchu and then woke up early to catch our train ride back to Cusco.

Here is a mountain-side view of Cusco. So many houses crammed on top of each other, hey?

It was another beautiful day in Peru. Winter there proved to be stunning.

Ancient architecture in the middle of more modern buildings.

We spent most of the day checking out the ruins around Cusco. The first ruin we went to was Sacsayhuamán. Just say sexy women kind of fast weirdly and that pretty much how you pronounce it.

I think this is the sign for Sexy Women in Quechua.

This was our Chilean-hating tour guide for Sexy Women. He was pretty funny, moved really fast (you try walking up a million stairs in 100,000 metres above sea level elevation without falling over), and spoke Quechua on top of that! He's showing us a picture of what Sexy Women looked like in her (the ruin is a she) hay day.

Pretty cool, hey?

They claim that these rocks were once underwater and that there are sea animal fossils in them.

It's pretty cool how they put the rocks together perfectly!

Blue skies and Jesus:

More rocks:

The evil stairs!

Family pictures sans the Rays...

Overview of Sexy Women:

More history of Cusco:

View of the Plaza de Armas:

Lovers! Ooooh, I need to go on my diet again....

On top of the world!

Proof of the sea creatures. The white around them is graffiti which our tour guide blamed on some "f'ing Chileans". Pretty sure it wasn't, but we just stood their and nodded.

Our next few stops were some more ruins. I can't remember really- I think I was suffering from elevation poisoning at this point.

Going down into some caves:

This is either a bed or a sacrifice alter:

Or maybe a kings chair....

The matching weirdos:

More ruins:

And that was that for day 7! After we saw all the ruins, we went back to the Plaza and had dinner. Then it was straight to bed after that. Day 8 was our last day in Peru. We got to explore Lima a bit more, so that was pretty exciting! Staying tuned for day 8!

Peru: Day 6

2011-11-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

Day 6 of our trip continued early in the morning, and got off to a relatively rough start. If I remember correctly, we had to be up at about 4 AM to make our 6 AM-ish train to Machu Picchu. Now remember, the last time we showered was at around the same time in the morning before in Lima. We got on the plane, flew to Cusco, then spent the entire day walking around Cusco. Went to bed that evening and woke up really early to shower and make the train to Machu Picchu. The key word is SHOWER. When we got up to get ready and go, there was no water to be found. The key word should actually be WATER I guess. Shower, flush toilet, brush teeth, wash face... you know, normal stuff, couldn't be done! So it was a little rough. We came to find out that the city randomly turns the water off or something weird like that. Who really knows. All I do know is we were really grateful for scented deodorant and perfume. And the people on the train around us were probably grateful for it too. And did I mention it was cold too? ... Rough start!

Since we were up so early, I got to experience a Peruvian sunrise. Its kind of hard to tell in the picture since the taxi was going about 100 miles over the speed limit, but it was beautiful.

4 minutes on the train and Wyatt is already up to his shenanigans!

The train was very nice with comfortable seats, lots of leg room, and tables i the middle to play games and eat! Reese gave PeruRail a thumbs up!

The scenery on the train ride there was absolutely stunning as seen in the pictures below. I am not sure what these area's were called, or if there are any importance to it since our tour guide was a bit preoccupied on the train...

Backpackers or Peruvians... who knows!

Here are the boys passing the time. Please ignore the weird one to the right....

And that would be our tour guide. No, not Wyatt, the "preoccupied" one...

Three of my favourites: Reese, Triana, and Jon

My turn...

All four of us! Not too bad for being un-showered, right?!

Another pretty picture:

And the tour guide...

Can you believe this was the middle of winter? So green and beautiful!

Halfway to our destination, some tourists got off ~~because they couldn't stand the smell~~ to hike the rest of the way there.

What our train looked liked from the outside:

PeruRail served us well!

The train dropped us off in a little town about a 15 minute bus ride from the actual site of Machu Picchu. I believe the town is called Aguascalientes. It's just this tiny little town in the middle of the mountains. Quite cute if you ask me!

After we found a hostel to stay at, we got our bus tickets and made the trip up the mountain!

Bienvenido Machupicchu!

It was about 11 AM when we got to the entrance, and as you can tell, quite busy too!

The beautiful mountain valley, Urubamba, that surrounds Machu Picchu!

Some important stuff:

Reesey:

Urubamba Valley:

That tall mountain thing on the left is called Huayna Picchu. You can actually hike up to the top of it to see more temples and terraces. You can only hike up if you have an appointment and the maximum amount of people allowed up on any given day is 400. We did have an appointment, but didn't realize it... so we missed our opportunity to hike up. That thing is flipping tall and steep though, so Triana and I didn't loose any sleep over it!

You can look at pictures and think "thats cool", but they really don't do this place justice. I can't even accurately describe the feeling you get seeing this wonder of the world. It is absolutely amazing and should be on everyone's bucket list.

Machu Picchu closes at 6 PM (if I'm remembering correctly) and it actually worked out perfect that we got there around lunch time because everyone else there had been there since it opened. So at the beginning of our exploration it was rather busy, but near the end there was hardly anyone there.

Making our way up to the grassy areas:

This is a good view of the Urubamba Valley and the Urubamba river:

Another view of Huayna Picchu:

The two amazing people who made our trip possible:

View of Machu Picchu from the top. Spectacular right?

So our tour guide wasn't the most helpful, so we kinda just ~~eavesdropped on other tours~~ figured things out on our own!

Plus it didn't help that he only spoke Spanish and Wyatt and Reese thought it would be fun not to relay the information they were told to Jon, Triana, and myself.

And of course how can you go to one of the wonders of the world without taking about 5,000 pictures?

Perfect backdrop, right?

Yip, the clowns talking Spanish to each other and ignoring the English speakers...

Steps carved out of the mountain. When I was eavesdropping on a tour, I heard the guide saying that the alpaca during those times would have been our lawn mowers. They kept the grass short, so the Inca's didn't have to worry about it!

The steps at the top of Huanya Picchu:

Extra zooming and you can see the crazy people who are actually on top, walking around:

Lawn mower:

We decided that the Inca's had to be tall...

Take 1:

Second times a charm:

Wyatt and his friend:

Reese made me post this, and thats all I'm gonna say!

Christmas card, right?! We just need to super-impose Hillery, Andy, and the kids! (Who were sorely missed this trip)

A sacred rock... thats about all I know!

This thing was way too comfortable around people...

Video of Machu Picchu from above:

Another family picture!

Their water system... pretty impressive!

Reese not cooperating for a picture...

My fabulous brother, Wyatt.

This picture pose is a re-accruing thing. Seriously- take note!

Peru:

Mexico:

And we're back to Peru:

Jon was pretty hilarious during the trip. While walking up some large stairs (again, the Inca's had to be basketball players) Jon told Triana she was like a little mountain goat (or something) and then proceeded to make a nie-ing horse sound. I think thats what happened, and it was pretty funny! And so is the below picture:

Reese translating for us:

I decided this was there version of a toilet:

And you know, I still think I was right!

Not very ladylike though, I realize that!

Triana, my beautiful MIL.

Taking a break from all the walking:

Reese being inappropriate.

All the boys! I think Jon was probably dying of hunger at this point...

Triana and myself... and Jon, definitely hungry!

Peruvian GQ? I think so!

Triana taking on the roll of tour guide:

A little shout out for Triana- it's her birthday today (1 Dec). HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! We love you!

And me..

Reese and I:

Jon going getting ready to scale the mountain!

Great picture right?

And the real posing begins...

Told ya!

Reesey trying to be cool...

Ja, I think he's pretty cool!

I joined in the fun too... So my pose it not perfect- don't judge!

Another sacred rock!

Check this little boy with his cellphone, fedora, club shoes, khakis, button down, and purse of sorts.... so funny!

A long way down, and stairs to follow!

Self portrait uno:

So I actually know what this sacred rock is. It's called the Intihuatana or sun-tier. It was designed to be a clock or calendar and you can supposedly feel energy off the rock.

So what do you do? You get as much energy from it as possible! Without touching, of course.

Reese:

Jon:

Trixie:

You know what was the funniest thing about all of us soaking up the energy from the big rock? We all knew not to touch it... our tour guide however, did not! How ironic!

Reminiscing over some pictures! Our day at Machu Picchu was beautiful. We really lucked out considering that it was supposed to be cloudy and cold! As you can tell from the pictures, it was not!

Self portrait dos:

I LOVE this picture of Triana.

Soaking it all up!

We thought this was a sundial of sorts...

Oh Wyatt...

That is not my husband...

Can you believe they are related to Triana and Hillery? Sheesh!

Clowns!

Another video of the grounds:

At the end of our Machu Picchu adventure:

Wyatt and the mountains

Reesey and Court

Wy and his friend:

Jon and Triana:

It was quite spectacular, and like I said... GO check it out if you ever can!

The bus ride back was hilarious. For everyone but Wyatt. Please notice Triana laughing so hard, she's almost crying behind Reese. Why you ask? Please take note of Wyatt and what he's doing...

And look at the person to his right and how he's sitting, more specifically how he has his arms raised.

Told you, Triana is crying of laughter! I almost felt bad for Wyatt... I could smell the grossness from 6 rows in front! So, so funny!

Ciao for now, Machu Picchu!

And to end the day, our ~~very informative~~ tour guide!

Only 2 days left of our Peru trip! Stay tuned for day 7!

Peru: Day 5

2011-11-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

As far as traveling goes, day 5 was much better than day 4! We left our hotel early, early in the morning to leave on a plane to Cusco. One step closer to seeing Machu Picchu! The plane ride there was an absolute pleasure. Every seat looked like a first class seat, there was lots of leg room, and we even got a meal. Can you tell I usually fly cattle class? Yip- this was great! Plus it was only about an hour and a half flight.

Cusco is absolutely beautiful! And the weather couldn't have been more perfect either! From the airport, we dropped our bags off at the hotel and went exploring.

This is a view of the town square, Plaza de Armas. Cusco was quite different to Huancayo. We were the only tourists there, and in Cusco we were just one of many! This little park area in the middle is surrounded by shops, restaurants, and Cathedrals with little side streets that host the same. The buildings, plazas, in and near the city center still retain the structure of pre-Columbian times.

Cusco was another place in Peru I could never exercise in. The elevation is about 3,300 metres (about 10,000 feet) above sea level.

"Oh, hi guys"

One of the beautiful Churches! I am pretty sure this one is the Church of la Merced.

This is the Cathedral of Santo Domingo (again- I'm not 100%, but pretty sure). This was the first Cathedral built in Cusco in 1539.

Stunning right?

Another shot. Loving the blue skies!

This lady was selling Peruvian popcorn. Of course she had her daughter with her to help out!

Dressed in the traditional garb... Cute hey?

Ok. So the below picture is a funny story. Reese was pretty much over his pig sickness. Wyatt would feel a little sick on occasion, but I think it's because of the 8 different parasites in his stomach... Anyways, Jon ate the pork the day before at lunch. Bad move. He was not 100% the next day at all and had to go to the chemist to get some medicine. We had gotten lunch and somehow Jon's medicine had landed up in the rubbish bin and guess who was the lucky one to fish it out? Yip, Wyatt picked the shortest straw!

Looking a little homeless... It was so funny!

And thats my husband, peeps!

Inside one of the Cathedrals:

I am pretty sure this Cathedral is called the Church of la Compania. I probably should have taken better notes while we were there!

View down one of the narrow streets:

And me... posing down the narrow street.

Speaking of me. I'm great right? Ha ha. Just kidding! I did get a bit sick while we were in Peru though. I don't want you people thinking I made it through the trip unscathed! However, Triana did. She has an iron stomach for sure! My sickness was somewhat self-inflicted. You see we ate a lot of meat and potatoes. And before we went to Peru, I was staying away from a lot of meat. So I think the enormous amount of red meat in my system was making me... how do I put this nicely... um, constipated. Terribly so! Yep. I know, TMI. And with that, I had Wyatt go to the chemist for me to get some medicine to you know... help out! I took whatever he got and unfortunately the "meat" and whatever else starting going through my system really fast. Too fast. So I took something else to counteract the other medicine and I was back to my original problem... And the cycle continued for most of the rest of the trip. Cool hey? Not! Anyways, that's my sickness story!

We got passes to see the different museums in Cusco. I don't have any pictures in the actual museums because photography wasn't allowed. They were small, but worth it!

The group making our way to different museums!

This building is called the Coricancha. It's was a sanctuary dedicated to the Sun God, Inti, at the time of the Inca Empire.

Posing by the Coricancha:

Can you tell Wyatt is loving holding that little lamb? He's posing with some girls wearing traditional Cusco clothing!

So, so happy!

A few more views of the Coricancha and Convent of Santo Domingo:

From back to front: Reesey, Wyatt, Mom, and Dad

From site seeing the city, we went back to our hotel to relax (and feel better) before we went out to dinner. We landed up eating at an Italian-esque restaurant. I know, I know... Italian in Peru? Like I said earlier, we had been eating way too much meat and potatoes.

Stay tuned for day 6- my personal favourite- Machu Picchu!

Peru: Day 4

2011-10-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

Day 4 was one of those days. You know the type of day that you hope flies by! Reese had been up the night before, sicker than I've ever seen him, thanks to (yep- you guessed it) the pig! He got no sleep and neither did I! Man, he was miserable. The rest of use felt pretty good though. Unfortunately for Reese, day 4 was pachamanca day. A day he was really looking forward to! What's pachamanca you ask? Scroll down through the pictures to check it out. It's a long, all morning process just to eat lunch, but it's really good! We met at the missionaries house to make the food with a couple of Wyatt's favourite families.

For breakfast we got some fruit, knowing that we were going to be over-dosing on red meat and potatoes in a few short hours... I decided I don't like little banana's. They are actually quite gross. Cute, but gross!

Here is the start of meal prep: The hot stones are placed on this welded contraption over the fire to heat up for about 2 hours or so.

It was a cold, rainy day in the mountains that day, so the fire felt so good!

Once the rocks got hot enough, you shovel them off the metal rack to the side of the pit.

Wyatt helping out:

This is a good shot of what the rock holder thing looks like:

Then the potatoes are put over the coals first, because as we all know... potatoes take a long time to cook! Triana took most of these pictures. (Thank you!) I was ~~sleeping~~ nursing Reese while he tried to get some rest in the car.

Then you lay some rocks over the potatoes, then lay some meat over that. Yes, that red stuff is meat. And as Reese asked me just now "So those dirty rocks cook the meat?". Yes, the dirty rocks cook the meat. Pork and lamb seasoned in some special stuff.

And the process continues till all the meat is in the pit.

And once that is done, cover everything with the remaining rocks.

And last but not least, the sweet corn tamales go on top.

Not sure paper was the safest thing to put on burning rocks/coal, but it worked I guess! Cover the stuff up!

Then cover the pit completely with dirt.

I guess everyone thought Jon could do it by himself! Go Dad!

Please notice his hand around his stomach. Sad story right? Poor Reesey spending his day in the car and feeling quite miserable.

Street views of the area the missionaries live in:

He's cute right? This was one of the member's little boy. Don't let him deceive you with his cute face. He turned out to be rather devilish! His name is TK.

Wyatt trying to trick the little boys into liking him with sweets! :)

This little guy was the absolute cutest! His name is Joanquin.

And finally, after starting the pachamanca at about 8am, they checked to see if it was ready to eat about 6 hours later.

Waiting!

This sweet little girl is Joanquin's older sister. Her name is Josiann. Don't you just want to pinch her cheeks? She's all smiles for Triana.

Beautiful little Peruvian:

Close up of Joanquin:

And the little monster who kept trying to hit the camera out of my hand, TK.

The boys getting a little impatient for food!

Wyatt working his ~~magic~~ Spanish.

Josiann and Wyatt in deep conversation:

Still waiting patiently for food!

So cute!

Getting read to uncover the food!

Look at that!

Once again, trying to get the camera....

But I finally got a smile!

Separating the food into dishes:

Looks a little messy hey?

Can you spot the meat?

Jon trying (successfully for the most part) to speak Spanish to Josiann.

She's probably thinking "I have absolutely no idea what you're saying"

And finally, at almost 3pm, we got ready to eat! The way they are setting up the pachamanca is exactly how it's supposed to be eaten. No plates, no cutlery, no nothing!

Patiently waiting!

Look at all that food! Incredible right?

The group, eating away! You use your hands and just have at it! I have to say the food was really good. The potatoes were divine- especially the sweet potatoes. I especially loved the lamb. Best lamb I've probably ever had! Triana and I decided we would avoid the pork given Reese's current condition in the car. Jon and Wyatt partook though... Probably not the best idea!

They made this delicious fresh salsa sauce to dip the food in. It was really good and spicy. We ate and ate and ate. And when we were stuffed to the brim, we were told to eat more. So to be good sports, we ate some more.

See that purple stuff Wyatt is pouring? That's homemade chicha morada. It's a corn based drink and it's revolting. Seriously. It tastes like medicine.

The elders who spent the day with us!

The damage. Doesn't look like much, but I ate an enormous amount. And please notice my full cup of chicha. So gross man! I snuck mine over to Wyatt's plate.

We were in a bit of a rush after lunch because we had to make the 29 9+ hour drive back to Lima on the one lane highway from hell, so we quickly took some pictures before departing.

These children had never seen a blonde person in their life, so Triana and I were quite the hit among the kids. Josiann kept asking me (in Spanish mind you) to plait my hair like hers.

Pay not attention to my dirty hair or lack of make-up...

I must have reminded them of their barbie dolls with my long hair because thats what I was referred as. Never mind actual name...

The kids absolutely adored Wyatt. When I look at his face in this picture though, I have to wonder why...

And the group pictures begin!

Jon, Triana, Wyatt, and the Acevedo Familia.

I think this is also the Acevedo Family. (Brothers)

Reese was feeling so bad, and hot in the car, he had his pants unbuttoned. No big deal right? Wrong! The families had come outside to say bye to him. Caught a bit off guard hey, Reesey?

Wondering what's going on!

Saying cheers in Spanish.

Wyatt giving his last goodbyes to the kids!

And one last picture on our way out of Huancayo. The ever so famous wide-brimmed hat and plaits of the mountain woman. We had a great time in the little mountain region. It was so cool to see the people Wyatt got to spend his time with for almost a year and to explore the city with him.

The ride back to Lima was long. And that evil road was just as bad. We almost died several times (couple of almost head on collisions with trucks), but thanks to safe driving from Jon, we made it back to the city in one piece. When we finally found the hotel, which was the nicest one we'd stay at, we landed up being able to sleep for about 3-4 hours before we had to rush over to the airport to fly to Cuzco. That is a recipe for 5 cranky, sleep deprived, people.

But thats a story for day 5...

Peru: Day 3

2011-10-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Day 3 was a fun day. Wyatt spent a lot of his mission in this area (the mountains), so it was a really important stop!

Huancayo- Street view:

Reesey getting excited to squeeze back in the car. Either that or Reese and Jon were talking rubbish and giggling about it!

Wyatt had organized to meet up with one of his favourite families to show us around the area. They were so excited to see him again. Weird right? Just kidding! Wyatt was a great missionary, and very (obviously) loved by all the members in Huancayo.

Here we are with the Espinosa Family, Carlos and Mary, at their home. Carlos is a Bishop for the Church in one of the wards there. Take one with is with Triana, take two with me.

They have two children, Melanie and Chemo (the "ch" is pronounced "cha"). They were getting ready when these were taken.

Wyatt and Carlos catching up from their time apart. That guy seriously LOVES Wyatt!

A cute park in the middle of the City.

Here's the group walking to breakfast and a view of Huancayo. The weather couldn't have been more perfect- especially for winter. It was a little cool in the mornings and evenings, but perfect during the day.

Lots of street vendors selling fresh produce....

And crying, snotty-nosed children for sale too! Cute little guy, hey?

While we were there, most of the people in this mountain region were drunk. This is what we'd call the Festival of Huancayo. They are celebrating their anniversary of becoming a town and it happens during the month of August. Random singing and dancing in the streets, doing dances called the santiago and hualas.

Downtown Huancayo

After watching some of the drunken festivities, we finally made it to breakfast. Delicious right? Jon, Triana, and I had the caldo de gallina soup. Which was basically a chicken noodle type thing with potatoes. Reese and Wyatt were a little more adventurous and got the mondongo soup which has cow stomach in it. GROSS! The soup was good (can't say much about Reese and Wyatt's), just very strange for breakfast....

Everyone eating ~~dinner~~ breakfast.

Bottoms up!

After breakfast, we made our way back to the cars but not before stopping by the park to explore a bit more!

I was in tourist mode most of the time with my camera attached to my hand. Check this cute little Peruvian girl...

Baby in tow!

Getting ready for a group picture:

Wyatt and the Espinosas:

The group minus Melanie and Chemo:

See the "Dios es amor" on the door behind us? It means God is love (thank you husband). The park just had a bunch of statues of Huancayan culture. This round house thing was no different. One of the city workers happened to be on site, so he opened the house for us to check out.

Stairs to the top:

On top of the house. Wyatt and Carlos:

Reese, Jon, and Triana with the beautiful unfinished buildings in the background:

View of below:

Like I said, the weather was perfecto!

Here is the traditional woman from this part of Peru. "Mountain people". She's all dressed up in leggings, two long plaits, the famous falda (skirt), and a wide-brimmed hat. I guess they've been dressing like this for ages. Triana and I decided they were the original legging wearers.

Me, the giant... and the little people....

From Huancayo we made our way to Sicaya (another town in the mountain region) to get some souvenirs. What is a drive there without ~~more drunkeness~~ the Festival of Sicaya going on?

These people were dancing in the middle of the highway... Just making their way down the road. Drunk out of their minds. And Wyatt and I decided to join in. Why not right?

Learning how to shake it:

Getting our groove on. Wyatt has clearly mastered the dance:

The festival can't continue without the fabulous hats!

I have to say that while we were there, the whole lot of us stuck out like sore thumbs. For instance, look at my blonde hair and long legs in the sea of black haired short people! And look how tall and extremely white Wyatt is! Hence us being video taped by Peruvians standing by...

It was a lot of fun. Where was Jon, Triana, and Reese while Wyatt and I were dancing? Probably dying of laughter.

The outfits there are wearing are the traditional festival outfits. Wyatt was saying that they probably just rented them for the dancing because an entire outfit, hand sewn would run about 25,000 sols, or $900.

Here is video of the dancing:

Jon walking back to the car:

Really bright outside with no sunglasses- my eyes were on fire later that day!

Look how cute this little boy is in his festival clothes.

Reesey and Triana petting the llama... at least I think thats a llama...

Me doing the same:

The primary reason for going to Sicaya was to get some Peruvian trinkets to take home. In the back of the little market we discovered child labour laws being violated... if there was such a thing! These little boys were quite impressive though. Weaving the yarns to make beautiful blankets!

Serious workers!

Seeing some sort of live stock on the side of the road while we were there was not uncommon at all. I'm actually surprised I don't have more pictures of perro's (dogs) from this trip. Jon, Wyatt, and Reese pointed out about 10,000 of them while we were there...

From Sicaya, we made our way to the Virgin of Constitucion.

The Virgin in all her glory:

Reesey!

Over looking the city of Constitucion

You can actually pay to climb a number of stairs to the top of the Virgin. Can you see us?

Closer look:

And here is some battle. From the looks of it, it was a depiction of some Peruvians fighting with Chileans. That goes way back... today, they just don't like each other for the most part! For the record though, we love both Peru and Chile.

For lunch, our tour guides took us to Ingenio where they have a Trout Farm/Restaurant. You see this guy running next to the car? They get paid to bring cars to the restaurant. From where we turned, to the actual restaurant it was probably about a mile. They sprinted with the cars, the whole way there. Amazing to me because I hate running AND the fact that we were at about 3,300 metres (10,000+ feet).

Holding on to the car, running.

The Trout Farm and Restaurant:

This picture is hilarious because Chemo didn't really care much for any of us... yes, even Jon. And this picture pretty much sums his feelings up. Back turned, chair as far away as possible.

And that is the delicious grilled trout. 30 minutes prior, it was swimming around. Fresh fish! And Wyatt reminded me that Mary (the mom) ate her entire fish, bones and skin, as well as the rest of Wyatts fish. She just kept packing the food in. It was quite amazing actually.

This was back in Sicaya. What is happening is they're dancing around the tree's, drunk, singing and chanting. Someone has hosted this event, and the tree is full of goodies and money. The host appoints someone to cut down the tree (that person then has to host next years event) and once the tree drops, its a free for all! Let me remind you that these people are so drunk, that when they tree fell, they actually jumped under it to try get the prizes first. Fearless, I guess.

There is the lucky winner who gets to by the booze next year:

We went to the Catholic Church in Sicaya. The were getting this Saint ready for the weekend festivities

Views of the Church:

Happy as a chappy...

The church was in the center of town, which was were the party was gonna be. Here they are setting up the homemade fireworks.

Disclaimer: If you are from Peta or hate seeing cooked animals, I would just skip this next section...

This part of the trip, I think Reese would like to repeat and not eat the pork. But thats for day 4...
This was just a line of women cutting up pork off the spit and selling it by the napkin.

Reese's first mistake... buying the pork...

Delicious right?

Second mistake was eating the rind!

No, that is not a girl. But he is serving this stuff called arroz con leche masa morada. It's a rice dish with some jelly like substance on top. It was actually quite delicious!

Yum!

Wyatt spoon feeding Jon!

So, so good. Wyatt is in heaven!

Ok, so if you ever go visit Peru, you have to get your hands on some homemade Peruvian donuts. They're called picarones. They are absolutely divine!

They fry the dough on a pan, flop it on a plate, and drizzle it with loads of delicious syrup. SO GOOD!

Digging in! Yum!!!

And the Peruvian speciality. Guinea Pig... Also known as Cuy. Can you see their teeth and eyes?

More pig over the braai:

Very happy to see an actual policia on sight. You'll see why in a second...

Oh how 'bout that... crates and crates of homemade alcohol! Woo!

Discussing the rest of the days plans...

A mountain woman in all her perfection! Across from the little hut she's standing in front of, was the loo. And I use that term loosely... Triana had to use it. No toilets or sinks. You squat over two feet marks. Do your business. A bathroom attendant throws a bucket of water over the floor, and you're done! We had hand sanitizer- don't worry!

Look familiar my South African friends? Baby on back...

The last stop in the area we were in (around Huancayo) was this beautiful park called Parque De Indendidiad. It is absolutely stunning. Probably one of the most beautiful city parks we've ever been too!

Triana at the entrance:

Lovely, isn't it?

Beautiful stone work:

Reese posing like a Mountain woman.

Reese and myself!

More of the park:

The walkway to the playground.

Have you ever seen a jungle gym like this?

Reese and Jon. Definitely father and son!

Wyatt posing like a gangster...

The cool shaved trees:

Cacti...

Stone statues of the mountain women...

I am not sure who this man is... But you can see more of the mountain woman with their hats and plaits.

Stone sheep:

Ok, ok. I know you're all probably wondering why I am posting pictures of people showing PDA. Well I decided it must be a South American thing because Reese and I saw this a TON in Chile too! You can check out those posts here. So in honour of my Chile posts, I had to post this picture as well.

Wyatt being a goof!

Like I said, the park was the last stop of the night before we hit the sheets. We had an absolutely wonderful day with the Espinozas. They were great tour guides!

The last picture of Wyatt taken with one of his favourite families. We are so glad we were able to meet them and spend the day with the wonderful people who helped take care of Wyatt while he served for two years.

Day 3 was a wonderful day! We were so tired by the end of it, but so happy to have explored the mountain region. Stay tuned for day 4!

Peru: Day 2

2011-10-15T22:19:00.000-07:00

Day 2 in Peru was quite the adventure! Little did we know, our first night was probably the best nights sleep we'd get the entire week. After a soundless, dreamless (at least for me) sleep, we packed up and got ready to make the drive from Lima to Huanuco, then from Huanuco to Hauncayo.

First things first, packing up to go:

Waiting for everyone to be ready:

My MIL, Triana's, first picture with Wyatt in 2 years!

Happy as clams eating bread and jam for breakfast:

Then all hell broke loose once we got on the road. See that car outside my window? Well I could touch it with my pointer finger. I didn't even have to put my hand out the window to do it either. I just stuck my finger out and tap, tap, I was touching another car. Flip man! And notice how it's a taxi? Now are we surprised to see taxi's breaking the law? No, of course not. But all the cars around Peru don't pay any attention to road rules. Complete lawlessness I tell you! And day 2 was NO EXCEPTION! And this was about 5 minutes in to our 5 hour drive... or so we thought.

Reesey is all smiles!

Wyatt manning the GPS and the radio:

I think this stop was about 3 hours into our drive. We stopped by a little town called Chosica to get some chicken, chips, and inca cola. Wyatt served in this area. Check the shanty town going up the hill. And the great looking family if I do say so myself.... (Especially the one on the far right)

Wyatt ran into one of the members he taught while in this particular area.

Can I just say that these two were complete clowns from the minute they saw each other? I don't know what it is...

View of the town, Chosica.

We stopped by some members house, but the parents weren't home. That didn't stop Wyatt from getting the son to show us their absolutely hideous dog.

See what I mean? I was just waiting for it to mutate into something from Alien vs. Predator.

Now we were 6 hours into our 5 hour trip, and still no where near Huanaco. The road out of Lima becomes just a two-lane highway type thing. So a) there is a lot of traffic and b) more lawlessness. So once we climbed and climbed and climbed, we passed through the mountain city of Ticlio. There is nothing really great about this place except for the fact that it's almost 5,000 metres (over 15,000 feet) above sea level.

So we were high, high up. You could definitely feel it.

Cute little Peruvian moms with their baba's.

We were originally supposed to go to Huanaco, then Huancayo... but Wyatt got his hours a little off. So we skipped Huanaco to save ourselves about 5 extra hours of driving time and headed straight to Huancayo.

Here is another little town we drove through. The two-way road that took us from Lima to Huancayo is the only possible way to get there. Lets just say it's not the most smooth drive. Obviously there are speed bumps (massive ones) in the little cities you drive through to keep people going the speed limit, but what's not expected is the random massive speed bumps not in the cities. We hit a couple. Triana almost broke her neck on a few of them and my boobs almost fell out of my chest on a few. It was ridiculous! So- we happy clammers we not so happy near the end of our drive, 9 hours later....

Wee stop... bathrooms were hard to come by- not even joking! Don't even get me started on the toilet paper situation...

When we finally drove into Huancayo, we were all starving and our bums hurt. So first stop first was dinner. Delicious right? And people told me I was gonna starve in Peru....

Oh hungry Wyatt.. Only about 400 hours off about our trip length... Don't worry, we still love you!

After dinner we walked around a little looking for a hotel to spend the night. We finally settled on a decent place that had rock hard beds (seriously- when I collapsed on the bed I thought I may have fractured my coccyx) and a noisy door bell (Tri can attest to that)... but the toilets flushed and there was water, so that in itself deserved 5 stars! So all in all, day two wasn't the most entertaining of the trip because of all the driving.... But the food and company was great as usual!

Stay tuned for day 3... it only gets better!

Peru: Day 1

2011-09-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

So it's almost been two months since we were in Peru. I know- that's how good of a blogger I am. It's just been a crazy [fun] whirlwind of a summer. And yes, it's still summer in Arizona even though it's supposed to be Autumn. I even wore jeans and a button-up polo today to try and convince the weather to get cooler, but it was still 100+ (38 cels).

Anyways, on to Peru!

Wyatt, Reesey's brother, served a 2-year mission for our Church in Peru and we decided to go pick him up. Reese and I arrived first after the longest flight ever (Jon and Triana to follow later in the evening)! I know this, because I've made the 30+ hour trip to South Africa often enough! We flew from Phoenix to Hermosillo to Mexico City and then finally to Lima. What made the flight there extra long, was the 10 hour layover we had in Mexico City. All I have to say about that, is thank goodness they have good Mexican food there.

Flying into Hermosillo:

"Don't take my photos"

Flying into Mexico City:

Finally on the last leg to Lima!

We finally arrived into Lima around 11 am and went straight to get the rental car. I can't remember why, but it took about 2 hours for the lady at Hertz to get us the rental. Slow start, and we were tired!

Reesey happy to be in Lima. Little did he know that driving in Peru is a complete death trap!

"Thank goodness for GPS's"... This is what we were thinking when we started driving. First of all, there is complete lawlessness on the roads in Peru. Those white lines, pretend they aren't there. Red robot? Lets just call that a stop street. Turn lane only? Oh, I think I'll go straight and almost kill everyone in the car next to me. And you see how the GPS says our arrival to the hotel should be 1:34 pm? Well, we didn't land up getting to the hotel around 3 pm, no thanks to this little guy. We eventually found the temple, which we knew was near our hotel. And from there we found a security guard who showed us where the hotel was.

And here we have the beautiful landscape that is Lima. It's really like any other huge city in the world. Just a tad third world in most parts. I guess you could compare it to downtown Jo'burg. Some parts are OK, some parts are not!

Notice how no one is actually in a lane in this picture....

And thats a motorcycle with a covering and a backseat to make it a taxi...

More views of the city:

And once we finally got to the hotel, guess who was there waiting for us?!? ELDER S! Check that boy out! Him and Reese were like two little girls who hadn't seen each other in a while.

After the initial shock and happiness of finally seeing him, we went to go get some lunch.

See the squatters on the mountains?

And the shenanigans begin:

Before lunch, we stopped by the one of the church buildings in Lima (Reese and I, still un-showered-- gross) to visit with some of Wyatt's missionary friends. So of course we had to snap a few pictures. I thought we stood out like sore thumbs (which we did) being blonde in Peru... could you imagine being a red head in a sea of dark haired Peruvians? And please notice my hair slowly growing thanks to the awesome humidity they have there.

and growing...

And finally, a delicious Peruvian lunch: Inca cola, chicken, and chips. We sorta avoided the salad to bypass anytime of food sickness.

Wy and his companion:

It was a good first day in Peru. We were dead tired though, so once we said bye to Wyatt for the evening we went back to our hotel for a little nap before driving back to the airport to fetch Jon and Triana (MIL and FIL).

The room:

Yip, separate beds for the four of us! But it was OK, we were all so dead tired it was probably a good thing. Let the amazing trip begin!

Stay tuned for day 2!

Best Friends Wedding

2011-08-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

Tessa and I have been friends forevvvvvvvver. And when I say forever, I mean our entire lives.

Anyways, she got married a few weeks ago and I got to go to Calgary, Canada to be part of the celebration! I absolutely loved Calgary- so beautiful I am already planning a trip there the end of July next year with Reesey. Aunty Kim and Mindy.... start planning. No sleep and tons of food/fun please!

- - - - - - - - -

My Aunty Kim had everything planned and organized for the wedding preparations. Tessy wanted a garden feel inside the hall for the reception and thats exactly what she got. Everything looked so beautiful! She did such a wonderful job and thought out every little detail. From flowers to fountains, little garden turtles to hidden butterflies in the trees.

Tessy looked so beautiful and I finally got to meet her husband in the sealing room. It was beautiful and the sealer did a great job. I also got to meet Mindy's husband, Danny, for the first time and he is quite the character! Really cool- I can totally see why Mindy picked him! Especially since he thinks that balloons that are let in the sky kill a fairy each time. Isn't it a whale? Who knows! They're still looking like Bella meets Edward.... Oh, and I got to see my Uncle Gavin again for the first time in about 12 years and that was a treat in itself. He hadn't changed a bit. Only this time I am pretty much the same height as him. And he still tried to convince me that raisins were actually dried flies... ha ha

So onto the pictures!

Jeremy's Family:

Tessa asking Jeremy why he's picking his ear...

And that's my Uncle Gav with the happy couple. He is so cool, Tessy is so lucky to have him as a Dad!

And the Hulbert Clan with a few extras:

I think this was the picture I told Danny to get out of... Woops! :)

And moving on to the wedding party. We're all looking happy as clams here...

Much better...

It was rather windy that day. And hot! Can you believe Canada actually gets hot? Who knew!

Love this pic!

Like I said, it was windy!

Ok, I just need to point out a few things in this picture below. Tess, she looks beautiful right. See that guy with the shoulder bag? He was the actual photographer. See that lady with the hair next to him? She was pretend photographer. See the problem? One too many photographers.... Drove us all (or maybe just me?) NUTS!

This picture is courtesy of Edward:

And I absolutely love this picture of us! Mindy, we are looking gooooood!

Wind:

And can I just state something? It looks like I am quite tall, but that is not the case! All these people are just extremely short!!!

Showing off our sexy legs:

Hulbert siblings: Mindy, Tessy, Wayne

The Cardston Temple is so, so beautiful! I love these side views!

So beautiful!

The reception was so fun and the food was soooo great! Aunty Kim made delicious South African bobotie, Mindy made bite sized melkterts, and Tarina and Rene made some yummy stews and did a great job setting up the food/serving it!

Tessy and Uncle Gav dancing:

Dancing bride/groom with their parents:

There is my beautiful Aunty Kim with Jeremy:

Don't you love her dress?

Danny whisking Mindy around the dance floor:

So cute! Did I mention Reese wasn't there so I just had to watch all these people?

Tess and Jeremy's first dance:

Listening to speeches with Mindy! We did awesome jobs on ours and most certainly didn't cry at all!

Cutting their massive cake!

The bouquet toss:

And the garter toss:

Woo woo! We won't talk about their after party plans...

Thats Wayne, the brother AND the DJ! He is really, really talented! And next to him is his beautiful friend, Caitlyn.

And thats it! Unfortunately I had to leave really, really early the next morning to come home and pack for Peru (a whole other post coming soon) but Calgary came and went way too quickly. It's such a beautiful place filled with delicious food I can't wait to go back and eat and see, like maple donuts and Banff. This time, with Reese and all my favourite South African-Canadians!