I'm going to see Mickey!

I am finally going to Disney World in Orlando, a place I have always wanted to go. Even though I am an "old kid" now, it is NEVER too late! A week from today I am hitting the sunny skies (and it had better be sunny in Orlando)!

A Great Time in San Diego

I spent almost a week in San Diego, a beautiful and clean city. The Crowne Plaza Hotel is the best in which I have ever stayed, sort of a resort hotel with a great staff. A room overlooking the pool area with a balcony to enjoy it was a plus! During the week, I enjoyed a trolley tour around San Diego and loved the zoo, which was phenomenal; it was fun to see the pandas. One evening there was a dinner on the USS Midway, now a museum air craft carrier; it was an awesome tour and at the end of the evening they shot fireworks off of the ship just for our group. Old Town, which was close to the hotel, is great with shops and good food, Rockin' Baja the favorite! I could live in San Diego!

Another excursion!

I will soon be off to San Diego. Of course, my plan is to go to the zoo!

Leaving Quito :(

Guillermo picked me up at Al Cala and took me to the airport where I found my bag could only be tagged for Memphis, I paid my $42.00 exit fee, and ended up going down on the tarmac while they went through my bag; it was quite an experience. Another great flight with a good breakfast on LAN. In Miami, after customs, I had to recheck my bag at the Northwest counter, and they promised me it would go to Kansas City. It was three pounds overweight, so I had to really load up my carry-on bag...not good. I changed planes in Memphis and on to Kansas City...and...my bag was there; I was relieved. I stayed over in Kansas City and drove home the next day. On arriving home, I really appreciated what I have...but...I miss Ecuador!

Day Nine in Ecuador!

We hit the market in Quito one more time and took our digital cameras to a photo store to get the pictures put on CDs. We ate lunch at a place called G Spot Burgers, started by a couple of people from California. We tried out an Irish Pub, which was not the best. We ended up at...Shooter's... and visited with Frank, a resident of Quito from Vancouver. Back at Al Cala, I packed. ( I might also mention that when we got our CDs back to Al Cala and checked them out, they were blank. We were just thankful the discs from our cameras had not been erased!) There was thunder and lightening that night.

Day Eight in Ecuador!

We went to Centro Historico (Old Town) where we saw the Presidential Palace and The Church of the Society of Jesus, which is entirely gold plated inside and takes your breath way. La Ronda Street is like walking into the 18th Century. In independence Square outside the palace, I was approached by a shoeshine boy who said he would shine my shoes for 50 cents and then proceeded to ask for a a dollar; he did a nice job, so I gave him the dollar. All of his fellow shoe shiners proceeded to surround me and thought they needed money too. They were cute and they knew it...and reaped the reward. From there, we took a taxi to Restaurant El Ventanal. It is up on the Hill of San Juan overlooking Quito. The restaurant is very simple but elegant with special attention to service and creative foods. The walls are total glass with an amazing view of the city. Of course, when we went back to Al Cala, we ended up at Shooter's. To top off the day, we ate our Inga edulis, ice cream bean, which we had bought earlier. This is a long pod with a white pulp that tastes like vanilla ice cream. Another fun day.

Day Seven in Ecuador!

We went to the market in Quito, which has a lot of the same things as in Otavalo but still very interesting. The hostel Al Cala and the market are in the La Mariscal District of Quito and is often called Gringolandia. Of course, we ended up at Shooter's.

Day Six in Ecuador

Guillermo picked us up in Otavalo and took us to Mitad del Mundo, middle of the world (the equator). Guillermo lives near there. It was a very interesting place with fun demonstrations, specimens and reproductions. I got my picture taken with a foot in each hemisphere. After leaving the gift shop and heading on down the road, I realized I had left my camera in the gift shop, so we turned around and went back for it. Thankfully, it was still there! When we got back to Quito, we went back to Al Cala and of course ended up at Shooter's Bar. It is right around the corner and is owned by two men from Canada, so a lot of English-speaking people go there. I met a man who knew some people in Beloit, his mother lives in Kansas and he went to Wasbburn in Topeka, so it truly is a small world.

Day Five in Ecuador

Last night they had live music at Dona Esther. More great food tonight (I had fish cooked in the wood oven, with its head and tail but No Bones). The market at Otavalo goes forever. It is indescribable. There was more live music from the same band. (I bought a CD the previous night and had all of the band members autograph it).

Day Four in Ecuador

We took a taxi to Cotacachi. It is "Leather City", one store after another of "leather stuff", and of course, I bought a new purse. It was the beginning of shop ´til you drop. On the way, we stopped at a tienda run by "Grandma" and her family. A friend of ours had befriended them on previous trips, and we dropped off a picture and some gifts. Grandma was Thrilled. She is a Sweetie. Then it was back for pizza at Dona Esther.

Day Three in Ecuador

Day three, Guillermo Valencia, the driver who picked us up when we first arrived, took us to the airport to see if my bag had shown up. I was praying, hard, and my prayers were answered. It was there and pretty well smashed. From there, Guuillermo took us to Otavalo. We stopped at a great view point along the way and had biscochos and coffee. The hostel, Dona Esther, in Otavalo is GREAT. Good food, good atmosphere, and in a good location. Checked out the market a little bit, the one that is there every day, and kicked back at Tobasco's with cerveza. There is a great patio overlooking the market. At Dona Esther, they have a wood burning dome-shaped "oven" in which they cook things...Great Pizza.

Day Two in Ecuador

The hostel, Al Cala, is nice and comfortable. Day two in the morning was spent buying jeans and a couple shirts, shampoo, makeup (you have to have that). Kicked back in the afternoon at Shooter´s Bar. Had some great fondue for "supper" right next to the hostel. By the way, I don´t think I´m in Kansas any more.

I´m In Ecuador

Here is The Scoop so far! I had some great flights, and LAN Ecuador in coach is like flying first class anywhere else! Food, wine, beer (FREE) and a personal screen to view movies, TV shows or play games, and FREE headsets. The flight attendants all looked like fashion models. Great flight. That is where that day ended bad...NO BAG! I was not amused.

Ecuador, here I come!

I am actually packed! A week from tomorrow I will begin my trip to Ecuador. I am very excited!

New to Blogging!

This is my first post in my new adventure of blogging! Let's see how it works!