Returning Home

I arrived in Chicago Airport on Wednesday June 6th and was greeted by my mom who was armed with a big bunch of ballons and a poster welcoming me back. It was so exciting to see her!
We left the airport and made our way to Gurnee Mills where we proceeded to shop for the next 3 to 4 hours. I was looking for a dress to wear to a wedding that I was going to with Peter and instead of one,- I found three! On the way back to Random Lake, we stopped at Qudoba and I got some chicken nachos. I had been craving those for months! They were so delicious.

We arrived in Random Lake and I was greeted by my dad and kitty! A package was waiting for me at home... flowers from Peter. Isn't he great?!? I spent the night catching up with my parents and just enjoying the comforts of home... like milk in the fridge and all the fixings for a great ice cream sundae. Yumm!

Thursday morning I went to my friend Marissa's house to see her and her new baby Lauren. The baby is absolutely adorable and it was good to catch up with Marissa and her husband Bob. They are my first close friends to have a baby, so it was really neat to see.
Afterwards it was a new haircut and eyebrow wax to keep me looking presentable. That evening I took a rollerblade around Random Lake, one of my favorite things to do while at home, before eating a home cooked meal.

Friday I took off to Madison doing some last minute shopping along the way. Whlie in Madison I was able to catch up with my friend Kim, who met me in Africa, and see what was new in her life. We caught up over some Babcock ice crea at the Momorial Union Terrace... one of my favorite places in Madison. Then off to meet my favorite guy... PETER! I picked him up from the airport and we took of to the rehersal dinner for Brooke and Tyler (Peter's friends) . We were able to see all of Peter's good friends which was exciting and some of his family as well.

Saturday was the wedding and I was able to get all dolled up in my new pretty dress. It was a lot of fun to get fancied up in new clothes, especially after wearing the same things for 5 months. We had a great time at the wedding dancing, eating, drinking, and being silly.

Sunday morning we met my friend Katy (who met me in Greece) and her new boyfriend Drew for breakfast at Micky's Dairy Bar. Micky's is right across the street from camp Randall and it brought back a bunch of good feelings just being there. Katy and I were able to catch up a bit and I got to know Drew a bit over some greasy breakfast. From there we went to the Madison airport where Peter's best friend was. We were able to hang out with Cory and January for a bit before their plane took off which was really nice. Then it was off to Minneapolis! The drive went by quickly and before you knew it we were pulling into Peter's condo. It is a really nice condo in a wooded area down a bike path from 3 lakes. I think I will fit in just fine here.

Monday was a bit of a stressful day spent on the internet researching cell phones, apartments and jobs.

Tuesday was a bit more exciting with the purchace of my new T-Mobile cell phone plan and Motarola Razor phone. I looked at about 6 different apartments that day as well, but didn't find anything that I especially liked.

Wednesday was an excellent day. It began with me finding the perfect apartment. It is a one bedroom, with a poarch overlooking a wooded dead end area on the bike trail. It has an open kitchen, bay windows, dishwasher, garbage disposal, walk in closets, heated underground parking, a pool, is a mile from Peter's and it is southern facing with good light. But the best part is that it always smells like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies outside because there is a factory somewhere near! I was super excited when I found it and signed the lease. I move in July 1st. Check it out at http://www.tamarindapts.com/

Peter and I wound down the day with a rollerblade around the lakes. We stopped and had a slushie while we looked out over the water. It was great. And while rollerblading on the trail we ran into my old roomate Kim! It was so crazy! We chatted a bit and then made our way back home. Good stuff.

Thruday the job search began and I spent alomost all day working on my resume and looking for jobs online. There seem to be plenty available, so I am optomistic. When Peter was done with work we hopped in the pool at his complex and swam for a bit before finishing off the day with a game of scrabble.

It sure is great to be back in the states. I am really enjoying everything - especially the little things like having the shampoo in the shower and being able to recieve phone calls. Its great. Slowly my life is returning to normal- a new normal.

If you would like me new phone number and address, feel free to drop me an e-mail. I'd love to hear from you.

Galapagos Islands

I arrived in Quito Equador on Saturday May 26th. From the airport I made my way to the Secret Garden Hostel where I would be spending my first night in Equador. There I met up with another girl who was traveling alone and we decided to go explore the town together. We wondered though the Old Town and took in all of the beautiful chruches and important buildings. We were enjoying the charm of the city when we looked up and saw dark menacing clouds above our heads. The threat of rain was high, so we quickly made it back to the hostel, but we were not quick enough. We were caught in a full fledged rain/sleet/hail storm and arrived at the hostel soaking wet. We changed into some dry clothes and spent the rest of the evening relaxing with a good book.

Sunday morning I woke up and went to mass in one of the old, beautiful cathedrals in the old town. After mass I packed up my stuff and made my way across town where I checked into the Hotel Rio Amazones where Barb would be meeting me later that day. Since it was a Sunday, most stores were closed and there weren't many people out on the street. I didn't feel safe enough to wander around by myself, so I spent a good portion of the day reading and watching TV in the hotel room. Barb arrived at about 12:30 that night. I was so excited to see her! Barb and I had so much to talk about that we were up until almost 4AM catching up.

Monday morning we slept until almost 10 am because of our late night and when we did wake up we were HUNGRY! So, we found a nice Mexican restaurant down the street where we ate some lunch. Lunch was actually a very exciting experience for me because I have been craving good Mexican food for months now... and I finally had what I was looking for. My taco salad and chips with guac were absolutely amazing! After lunch we wandered around the city a bit, browsing in shops, people watching and taking in the culture. We went out to a Mongolian BBQ for dinner and drinks and then made our back to the hotel for a chat before calling it a night.

Tuesday morning we were up at about 8:30 and after a hot shower and a yummy breakfast we began our adventure to the Equator line. We walked a couple of blocks to the bus station where we got on a public bus. We rode that for awhile until we got to the transfer station where we proceeded to get on another bus. That bus dropped us off in front of the monument documenting the equator. It was a huge monument and we took a lot of photos of it. We did a bit of craft shopping as well before making our way to the museum about the equaor. Turns out, the equator marker isn't actually on the equator! The guy at the museum told us all about it and the the pre-incan cultures had discovered the equator many years before and built a semi circle structure there. So, he let us borrow his GPS to find the true equator. Sure enough... there was no monument there. It was in the middle of the highway! After a really good lesson in ancient cultures and astronomy, we hopped back on the public bus and found our way back to the hotel with no problems. Later that evening, after another dinner of yummy mexican food we met up with our GAP group for the first time. We recieved our special allowance luggage bags, repacked and made it an early night.

Wednesday we were up early at 5:30 and on our way to the airport for our flight to the Galapagos by 7:00 am. Once at the airport, it was a bit confusing because they kept changing the departure gate on us. Eventaully we got on the plane and began our journey to the Galapagos. After arriving on the island we took a bus to the other side where we met our boat that we would be living on for the next 5 days. We had an awesome lunch and then went back to the island to visit the Charles Darwin research station. It is there that they breed giant tourtises. We got to go right up to some of them and see how big a 100kg, 150 year old torutise actually is. It was really cool. After the station we had some time to look around the town so Barb and I got some ice cream and watched the fisherman feed the pelicans their scraps from the fish. It was fun. When we got back on the boat we had dinner and then just hung out on the top deck looking at the stars before heading back to our cabins to call it a night.

This morning we woke up at about 6:15 and got ready for the day. After breakfast we hopped in a little boat that brought us to the island of Santa Cruise. We got off in an area called "Dragon Hill" and started walking around the island. The island is volcanic, so it is covered with black igneous rocks. While walking we saw 4 flamingos and numerous male and female land iguanas. We saw many other birds and insects as well. The island was a lot drier and less green than I had imagined. After a couple hours of walking around, we came back to the boat to relax and eat as we sailed to the island of Rabida. We arrived in Rabida after lunch and had our first encounter with our sea lion friends. They were just hanging out on the beach, barking and flopping in the sand. They were so much fun to watch. After watching them on land for a bit, Barb and I decided to snorkel. We got in the chilly water and made our way up the beach, observing tropical fish and a giant sea turtle along the way. Further out we found some sea lions in the water that wanted to play. We swam in circles, blew bubbles and dove under water with them. It was so much fun! When we were too cold from the water we got out onto the red sand beach and dried off before making our way back to the boat. Once on board we had another yummy dinner and enjoyed more star watching before bed.

Friday June 1st was another early morning and we visited our first island by 8am. The first island that we visited was completely made of black igneous rocks. It was formed by a volcano 107 years ago and the lava looked like it had just cooled. When you reached out and touched it, it almost looked as if it would be squishy.. but it definately wasn't . We walked around the island for a bit taking it all in. We say the one cactus that had started to grow there- called a primary cactus. It was a very unique island. Once we were done walking aournd the island, we had the chance to snorkle as well. We snorkled out along the beach seeing tropical fish. However, right near shore there were two sea lions that were wanting to play, so we splashed around in the water with them for another 1/2 hour before getting back on the boat for some lunch. The afternoon began by arriving at Bartolome island. We walked to t he opposite side of the island where we saw tons of white tipped reef sharks swimming in the shallow water. After admiring them for a bit, we went back to the pinnicle rock side of the island and did some snorkeling. It was there that we saw and were able to swim with the Galapagos Penguin! That was so cool! We also played with sea lions and saw a good number of tropical fish as well. Later that evening we climbed to the highest peak on the island, took in our surroundings and watched the sun set over the crystal blue water with the islands in the distance.

Saturday after our breakfast, our first stop was the island of South Plaza. South Plaza was interestng because there were red plants interspersed between black rocks and green cacctus. Marine and land iguanas were everwhere! Sea lions were all over the place as well and it was fun the watch them use the iguanas as a toy to play with. As we walked along the sea side coast, we watched the blue footed boobie birds dive bomb into the water looking for fish. It was quite entertaining to watch. Afterwards it was back to the boat for lunch.... except when I got back on the boat, I did't actually feel that well. After a small snack, I ran to the bathroom and was sea sick for the next 4 - 5 hours. Yuck! At 2:00 I took my chance to get off the boat and we went to the SanteFe Island. There were sea lions everywhere!~ We sat and watched them for awhile before getting our snorkle stuff and hopping in the water to swim with them once again. We also saw another giant sea turtle and were able to follow that for a bit in the water. When we got back to the boat, we cuddled up in warm clothes (that water was chilly!) had hot chocolate and popcorn and read a bit. Dinner was good, and I managed to keep it down which was even better. I spent the last night on the boat looking up at the start and wondering what the future held in store for me.

Sunday morning was our last morning in the islands. Our last island that we visited was North Seymour island. It was there that we got to see the infamous blue footed boobie birds. The neatest part was watching their mating dance. The males would whistle, flap their wings and pick up their feet almost in a dancing motion. We also got to see the Magnificent Frigate Birds mating ritual- the males expanding the red sacks near their throat. It was cool to see all of them so close in thier natural habitat. After the island we went back to the boat, packed up our stuff and took off to the airport. We arrived back in Quito about 6:00 and after a delicious dinner Barb and I chatted the night away until it was time for bed.

Monday was an unwinding day for Barb and I and we spend a majority of the day shopping at the local mall looking for a dress for me to wear to a wedding when I get home and talking. We talked about everything under the sun... and had a great time. When we got back to the hotel we watched a movie, had some dinner and talked some more. I love girl talk!

Today is Tueday, June 5th... the last day of my trip. Barb left this morning early and my flight out of Quito isn't until 6 pm, so I am taking the day to reflect on my trip. It definately has been an awesome experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything. With that being said... I am ready to go home. I miss my friends, family and especially my boyfriend Peter. I miss my own bed, a shower where I don't have to wear shower sandles, and my favorite junk food... Qudoba burritos.

Even though my trip may be over.. my adventure is far from it. In the next couple weeks I will be moving to Minneapolis MN, looking for a new appartment and a new job. Change is in the air and although a bit overwhelming, it is completely exciting as well. I invite you to continue to follow my blog and hear about how my new life in Minneapolis pans out. Thanks for taking the time to follow me on my trip and thank you for all of the reply posts and e-mails that I have recieved along the way. They have been a great piece of home to help keep me sane.