Spring Break

From time to time I am reminded how wonderful still being in school is. One of those times is spring break. This year my cousin, Grant, came to visit for the week. It was great to get to spend some time with him and to show him a small slice of California. Which includes a stop at the over crowded golden gate viewing area. Grant and Louie tolerated my requests for photos. They sure are handsome devils!
Grant had never been back packing before so we made sure that happened on this trip. We spent three days in Point Reyes national sea shore. This is a great little area, much more scenic than I had expected it to be and there is a lot of wildlife within the park. We started out with a short hike in on Saturday to a campsite with a beautiful overlook to the ocean and the some of the park. It rained on us that night, and we woke up to dense fog, the kind that gets you wet in five minutes. We decide to stay and as we moved out closer to the coast the fog lifted and the sun came out. After a sunny lunch break we played on the beach by Arch rock. Fun place, Grant and Louie climbed up and down every which way racing the waves as they crashed against the beach. Our second night we were right next to the beach and spent a long time exploring it before dinner. The beach was littered with agets, and perfect skipping rocks. We walked down to a waterfall skipping rocks in the surf and beach combing. Grant, despite the not so warm weather stayed in his shorts and walked almost the whole way in the surf. To be 14 and feel no pain. We managed to stay dry between short rain showers and hoped our luck would last.....it didn't. It rained all night. We made breakfast under the rain fly and rushed to pack up camp when it let up. Back on the trail we didn't get five feet before the rain started again. Despite the less than perfect weather conditions we had a good time. Much of the hiking was under the cover of trees so we didn't get the full force of the weather. Most importantly Grant really enjoyed it and wants to go again. Mission accomplished.
The rest of the week was full of more exploring. We spent a day at the aquarium, did some ocean swimming and visited SF. We had a wonderfully sunny day while in SF. It is the first time I have been there and been able to see the whole golden gate bridge. We did tea tasting in China town, rode the cable cars to and fro, walked Lumbard street, enjoyed some street shows, and had a sundae at ghirardelli's.
Spring break, yeah I will miss it, then again maybe I'll just keep going to school.....
To end this post I have to include a picture I just couldn't help but take. My most favorite fish, Eumicrotremus orbis, the spiny lump sucker! Normally I wouldn't take pictures of animals in exhibits, but they were really putting on a show while Grant and I were at the aquarium, smimming all over the place. And did I mention they are my favorite fish, I had to try to get a pic. One day I will find one in the wild and THAT will be big news.how could you not love this fish?!

My Chilean Family

When I was in high school I spent my junior year on foreign exchange in Chile. It was an incredible year and my host family had everything to do with making it that way. By the end of the year they had become family. My exchange experience was unique at another level, it was a true exchange. The same year I went to live with the Varas's they had sent their oldest son Ricardo to live in the US. He started in Texas, but the program couldn't find a family that was willing to host him for the whole year. So while I was settling right in, Ricardo was bouncing from family to family. At this point the Fry's stepped in and offered Ricardo a place in their home and hearts, if he was willing to spend a winter in Alaska. This was a big deal, Ricardo had never seen snow before, he grew up in Vallenar which is on the Southern edge of the Atacama desert (big spider country). After a little thought he decided to go for the whole experience, Alaska and the Fry family.
Leaving Chile after a year was hard, not knowing when I would see the Varas's again made it even more difficult. I returned to Homer, to my senior year in high school, then college, and now grad school. I'll do the math for you, that is 10 YEARS! Being that Chile was the jumping off point for Antarctica it presented the perfect opportunity to see my family again.
During the flight to La Serena to meet them, I was filled with so much excitement I was shaking. I have to admit there was a little nervousness too, 10 years is a long time, would the connection still be there? I knew the moment I saw them all waving down at me from the airport balcony that nothing had changed. Well almost nothing, Gera went from cute 7 year old to a grown 17. I was only able to stay four days, but we had a wonderful time.While I was there it was Vecko's birthday. He was ready to eat the cake.Hiding from the sun at an artisenal fair. Gera, Loreto, Vecko, and Tina. We were watching local dancers perform traditional dances from the numerous Chilean regions.We made cinnamon rolls! Loreto is very artistic with layering the sugar on the dough. I had made cinnamon rolls for them many moons ago, but forgot to leave the recipe. Loreto was very happy to get it after waiting so long with the memory of cinnamon rolls and no way to make them. While I was there the Coquimbo soccer team had their first game in the new world class futbol stadium. The stadium was completed in December 08 in time for a game between US and Brazil's women's team. The game we went to was the first local game. Ready for the game to start. Tina, Vecko, Loreto, looking at the camera. Gera, Ricardo next to him in yellow, at the end Cynthia and Antonia.The old stadium had high fences with barbed wire on the top to keep people off the field etc. The new stadium has a trench all the way around it and the track. The distance to the field seemed to keep the field clear of debris thrown by the crowd. I did notice that there wasn't nearly as much stuff thrown by the crowd as there was the last time I went to a game in Chile.Abuelita and Mama cooking up fried fish for lunch. I really enjoy having large lunches with the whole family, and the food was wonderful. Nothing compares to home cookin!The crazy sisters
One more birthday photo.Ricardo, his almost 1 year old Antonia and Cynthia. I had a blast meeting Cynthia and Antonia for the first time. The whole family taught me a few new songs. Antonia really enjoyed listening to us sing, she would clap along and dance in her chair.This is the Millinium cross, it wasn't here 10 years ago. It was a surprise to see such a large structure in an otherwise small town. It is 30 stories high and on top of the tallest hill in Coquimbo. You can go up to the top for a fantastic view of the surrounding area.
I am very much looking forward to returning with Louie to Chile to introduce him to my wonderful Chilean family. We had so much fun together in such a short time, I really look forward to spending more time with them in the near future. One more big reason to graduate this summer.