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Saturday scenes

For some reason the photos I loaded earlier disappeared--all but one.  So I've put 2 others back, but our connection here is super-slow, making the blog process very tedious.  So I need to figure out a better way to do this.  Maybe at an internet cafe.

Active Fuego Volcano--there's a dark ash cloud puffing out

Active Fuego Volcano--there's a dark ash cloud puffing out

Colorful houses, volcanoes, flowers growing out of the roof--all make for charming views

Market day

Trip to Guatemala

We arrived in Guatemala Thursday evening.  Flights were uneventful (but crowded).  We had a private shuttle arranged to take us to our condo in Antigua--not much more than a shared shuttle and it provided door-to-door service.  The driver's wife came along with their 2 granddaughters.  I used my very tiny bit of Spanish to ask if the youngest was 2 years old, and we proceeded to have a delightful conversation about our children and grandchildren, with a tiny bit of Spanish on my part, a little English on hers, lots of sign language and a common bond.  Her one son lives near her and has the 2 girls.  Her other son lives in Spain and is expecting next May, but, oh, it's so far away, 8 hours flight.  And we agreed that grandchildren are the best!

Our condo is on the south end of Antigua--it's great except there's no hot water right now--supposed to be fixed this morning.

Our bedroom--with fireplace

Annette's room--and Chris and Allyson's room--and Laurie's room.

Could get crowded!

Living room, with napping tourist

View from our second floor patio

Loving the sunshine

We are scheduled to be at a conference in Orlando this coming week and decided (before Len broke his leg) that it would be fun to spend a few days on the beach before the conference.  So we flew down last Tuesday.  We had a direct flight and had great service all the way--airlines and airports seem well-geared for "disabled" travelers.  Most of our time has been spent sitting around the pool--although we're also very involved in some disaster response work in New Jersey and Rhode Island.

We'll come home this Friday afternoon, stay around to celebrate Andrew's second birthday, and then leave for the East Coast on Monday.  We hope to organize several Needs Assessments while we're out there.  The schedule's a little crazy, but we definitely aren't getting bored :-).

The tile floor in our room is kind of slick so we bought some baby socks for the crutches.

Sitting on the pier watching a storm roll in.

Fiesta night at the hotel

Looking on from the sidelines

Mother's Day lunch overlooking the Intercoastal Waterway.  Enjoying the sunshine but missing the kids.

Back on the Sofa Again

Our last post was titled back on the road again.  This one will be called off the road for a while.  The Sunday after we got back I (Len) broke my leg in two places.  This happened when we were just starting out on a bike ride and somehow when pushing my right foot down on the pedal it slipped off and got caught under the pedal.  My leg broke in two places.  A trip to the ER--Xrays--had the breaks set--and sent home with a cast and crutches.  Two days later two temporary screws were put into my ankle.  Yesterday I went from a cast to a boot, but I will still need to use crutches for at least another month. No weight on that leg, so no driving yet.

My initial fear was that my summer activities were ruined but although tennis and softball probably won't happen, I should be able to start doing some bicycling by mid July. 

Next week Tuesday we fly to Florida for a week of laying by the pool and then a 3 day conference in Orlando with other voluntary relief organizations.

Len's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. 

The arm bandages are for various scrapes.

The view I have while watching TV

Opa, I feel your pain

Back in the saddle again

A year or so ago we came across the Mississippi River Trail  (http://www.mississippirivertrail.org/).  "The Mississippi River Trail (MRT) is a world-class bicycling route that travels from the headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca, Minnesota to the Delta at the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana. It is a 3,000-mile system of bicycle-friendly roads and multi-use pathways. The MRT is a “string of pearls” that connects 10 states, the cities of Minneapolis, St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans, and hundreds of smaller towns along the way. The MRT is a unique way to experience the Mississippi River’s natural wonders, transportation system, recreational facilities and cultural heritage."
We have fantasized about riding across the US, but it felt like there a lot of obstacles (mountains, distance, old tired bodies).  So we thought this could be a north-to-south cross country that would be doable--shorter distance, relatively flat, accessible in stages.  This week we made some good progress on our goal--140 miles total, 70 miles of the trail finished (we haven't quite solved the need to go back, doubling the trail miles).

On Sunday we completed the cross-New Orleans section, which was really fun.  Instead of doubling back, we figured out a route that took us back into the city across 2 Mississippi River ferries.  So, brunch in the French Quarter, lower 9th ward, some countryside, some busy no-shoulder city streets, and back again.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we finished our route--from the west side of the city to the southern tip.  Most of the ride was between 2 levees, views of freighters and barges, lots of wetlands with alligators, egrets, herons, vultures, and raptors, some small towns, an industrial area that looked like a coal storage area--all very interesting.  Next stage--we hope to finish most of the Illinois section this summer--52 miles done, about 400 to go.

River Trail Map

We have been on the road for a week--mostly on CRWRC business.  Two of our Hurricane Katrina reconstruction sites are closing this May and the 3rd probably next December, so we hope to find a few other potential partners who have a mission for helping the poor (the least, the last, and the lost, as one of our partners puts it), reconstruction money, and good housing for our teams.  We have a couple of good leads so far, so we're feeling optimistic.

We drove to Louisiana last Sunday and Monday and over to the Houston/Galveston area on Tuesday.  Meetings Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning, and all-day Wednesday and Thursday.  Our "work" was done by Friday, so we got in a little Texas coast birding.  We went on a couple of guided walks yesterday.  The first one was looking for songbirds migrating from the Yucatan, but the weather was not real conducive to the migration flights--wind was from the north.  The shorebird walk was a little more successful with a piping plover, and least, caspian, royal, and forster's terns.  The best part of the day was seeing the egret and roseate spoonbill rookery:  hundreds of colorful birds building and perching on nests.

This morning we went on a "rail" walk at Anahuac NWR.  Rails are pretty elusive birds who live in marshy areas.  Twenty of us walked up and down through knee-high wet sharp-edged grass for about an hour and finally flushed one.  It flew right past me, not more than a few inches from my shoulder.  Very exciting!

Now we're back in New Orleans.  We have a meeting on Wednesday or Thursday, so we'll be here at least till then.  We hope to get in some great bicycling along the Mississippi River over the next few days.

Roseate spoonbills

Egrets