The Outskirts of Cusco

The AirBnB where we stayed last night was listed as "entire place," but the hostesses were actually staying in a room in the house, which was a little awkward but not terrible as they were very nice young ladies who stayed out of our business. Also awkward was the fact that the water went out completely after only two of us had had cold showers. The water, though still cold, was back on this morning, but the awkwardness continued when the next guests showed up while we were still on the premises. They were eager to shower and move into the rooms and just lingered while they waited for us to vacate. This was a very new AirBnB listing, and we feel sure they are still just working out the kinks. We just considered it a quirky travel experience and basically got a good chuckle out of it.

After breakfast, a driver picked us up for some sightseeing on the outskirts of Cusco. First we stopped at a wonderful little textile market. There were llamas and alpacas to feed, and we got to see a demonstration of how wool becomes textiles. It was fascinating, and we really loved it! Ruth and Weston even found some items to purchase in the market stalls, and I can tell you they got some really good deals.

Textile Market

When we left the market, we headed to a salt farm in the mountains. They harvest the salt that is formed from the natural minerals found in the mountain waters, and it is quite an impressive facility. The water is diverted to hundreds of different pools and several kinds of salt are formed and collected at the site.

Salt Farm

Later, we went over to a site called Moray, which is an agricultural area built in concentric circles at different elevations. Our driver suggested that we visit the restaurant at the top of the hill as he imagined it would be cheaper for us to purchase something there for lunch and then view the area from their perch on the hill than to purchase tickets to the actual site. He was very wrong about that as the set lunch menu, served in eight courses, was around $125 per person. The idea was that it was supposed to be an experience, but it was not worth the price tag to us, so we just ordered drinks, which was still about the same as buying tickets to the site, and moved on. It was a bizarre place but somewhat interesting, and there was a nice view of Moray.

Clockwise from top left: The restaurant, The coffee experience,
Hot chocolate, The chocolate experience, The distillery,
Distilled spirits containing local flora, Mata Cuy from distilled
sugar cane, Herbs hung up to dry

Moray

From there, we headed back to Cusco to catch a flight to Lima and then a connecting flight to Santiago, thus ending our time in Peru.

Santiago airport in the middle of the night

Sunday Fun Day

Sundays are my favorite! It is the only day we usually don't have anywhere we have to be or anything we have to do, so it's always a day of rest and peace and catching up. This morning started with wrestling and giggles and watching our picture slide show. And when we were finally all ready to get out of the house, we headed over to the nursery to buy some plants to make our home more beautiful. Then, we had lunch at Twisted Root Burger Co. before stopping by the library, which is truly one of our favorite places. This afternoon brought naps, movies, laundry, reading, and even some legitimate work. It was a wonderful day, and I'm so thankful I got to spend it with most* of my people!

New roses to start the day

Wrestling with Dad

The nursery is a happy place!

Fun at Twisted Root Burger Co.

This month's breast cancer awareness special at Twisted Root is the Boobie Burger

*Weston is visiting Williamsburg with Nana this week, so he wasn't here with us. We missed him but know he is having a blast!

Future of Flight and Puget Sound

We spent much of the day at the Future of Flight Museum and Boeing factory, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Jeff and the three older kids got to tour the factory, which includes the largest building in the world. They all absolutely loved the tour and were completely fascinated with the process and the immense scale of everything. There was a height restriction which kept Clay from participating in the tour, but he and I enjoyed the kid's area of the Future of Flight Museum while everyone else was touring.

The largest building in the world, and Mt. Baker

Mt. Rainier at the other end of the runway

Having a blast in the Kid Zone

Pilot and co-pilot

Taking a ride in the flight simulator

Boeing

In the late afternoon, we headed over to Mukilteo, a little waterfront town on Puget Sound. We grabbed a bite to eat at Diamond Knot and then went down by the water to see the quaint lighthouse, watch a ferry come into port, and observe a guy doing jumps on his jet ski. It was big fun!

Clay was thrilled to get to make his own pizza!

Mukilteo Lighthouse

The ferry coming in

An awesome hunk of driftwood

Playing leapfrog in the grass

That's how you know it was a good day!

Things we love about America

There are plenty of things to love about America. And, when you've been away for a while, you realize how much you appreciate things you once took for granted. Here are some things we love about this great country, without getting into anything too metaphysical:

• Internet!!!--We have been thoroughly enjoying consistent, unlimited, high-speed internet since we've been back in the States. That's definitely not the norm overseas, even in places you might think it would be. 
• Decent sized trash cans--I realize that we are an exceptionally trashy family, but many of the places we stayed overseas had household trash cans no bigger than a 2-quart pitcher.
• Amazon Prime videos and music--We were unable to access our Prime perks overseas, and we have been so happy to have that back in our lives.
• Not having to chase down someone to pay the check at a restaurant--Some might consider it a good thing to be left alone by the waiter, and to a certain extent that's true. But there were so many times when we had been finished with our meal for a very long time and could not find anyone to take our money so we could leave. In fact, many waiters seemed to avoid us completely when it was time for the check. We would literally have to hunt someone down and practically force them to take our money.
• Roomy showers with reasonably high water pressure and plenty of hot water--This needs no explanation. 
• Dishwashers and dryers are standard in most places--We do not consider either of these things necessities, but they are so nice to have and definitely make life a little easier. 
• Iced drinks--I'm not sure why ice hasn't really caught on overseas, but we like our drinks cold and appreciate the abundance of iced drinks here in the good ol' U.S.A.
• Large drinking cups--I don't know if we're just abnormally thirsty or if we just need more room for ice, but we like larger cups and glasses for drinking. For some reason, most of the cups and glasses overseas seem better suited for a doll's tea party. 
• Drip coffee makers--I guess the rest of the world just doesn't drink as much coffee as Americans do, but the one-cup stovetop percolators and French presses are just not very convenient or expedient for brewing multiple cups. Plus, they are messy and hard to use and don't make great coffee in my opinion. 
• Sturdy eggs--This seems like a funny one, but there was truly a difference in the quality of eggs overseas, whether store-bought or farm fresh. The shells and yolks in many of the places we visited were super fragile and really hard to work with. 
• Top sheets--To me, a bed just feels cozier with a top sheet between the covers and me. Plus, if it happens to be hot, you can be covered up without the bulk and heat of a blanket, comforter, or duvet. Most of the rest of the world does not see a need for the top sheet, which is just sad. 
• Window screens--It's so nice to let in a cooling breeze without sending out an open invitation for every bug within a 10-mile radius.

To the manufacturers of smoke detectors:

First of all, let me say, I very much appreciate your efforts to create a product to protect my home and family in the event of a fire. I really do. It helps me rest a little easier at night. Most nights. But, I am seriously wondering who treated you badly as a child to make you grow up and configure these handy little devices to only malfunction in the middle of the night? There has never been a time in my memory when a battery went dead, with its accompanying repetitive warning signal, during daylight hours. Or, when the interconnected wonders began their blaring, for no apparent reason, in the middle of the afternoon. I used to think it was just a coincidence, but now I'm convinced it's an act of malevolence on your part. The odds are just against it being random.

And, is it really necessary for smoke detectors to be installed on ceilings, so that we are incapable of restoring peace to our sleepy households without having to drag the ladder in from the garage? It just seems like you've added insult to injury there. Having sleep deprived people several feet up in the air doesn't lend much credibility to your supposed purpose of creating these devices for safety's sake. I'm just saying.

I am very tired now, since I was up half the night enduring your vengeance, so I will close this letter. I implore you to find it in your hearts to rethink the middle-of-the-night workings of these otherwise useful contraptions.

Loved to Death

My youngest child is a lover. He simply cannot get (or give) enough hugs, kisses, lap time or 'nuggles (as he calls them). He recently coined the term "Rumble, Rumble," which means "group hug," and he frequently calls everyone in for some of that special love. He needs physical touch like the rest of need oxygen, and he goes out of his way to give and receive it. Like, way out of his way.

Several times a week, he makes a middle-of-the-night trek to our bedroom and crawls into our bed sometime between midnight and 5:00 am (usually around 3), for the sole purpose of 'nuggling. I mean, he doesn't just want to be in our bed, he wants to be touching us--both of us--so, he will turn himself sideways between us in order to maximize surface contact. Sometimes, I find fingers entwined in my hair or hands under or on top of me, while a little head nuzzles under my chin. Other times, it's little feet in the ribs or back or stomach, while Jeff receives attention from the other extremities. It's all very sweet, but, frankly, all this love (and lack of sleep) is killing me! Taking him back to his room only works occasionally, and sometimes, I just don't even have the wherewithal at that time of the day to put one foot in front of the other to relocate him. And, then the next day, I'm dragging, and he's cranky and exhausted, which sometimes leads to adorable-but-regretable scenes like this:

I'm all about the love. Really, I am. But, I just wish we could get all our loving in during the more civilized times of the day.