20 November 2010

Back (b)Logs, May-November 2010

Blog Faithful (if there are any more of you out there),

Every few months I decide that I'm going to update this thing more often. I put up a few posts but then fall behind again. So here I am 5 months down the road from my last post and will attempt to do a little catch up here. I'm not going to say that I will try to update this thing more often, although I will. The thing is, life is often so hectic around here that it's almost not worth updating you all on the changes because it will just change again. Regardless, I've gone through the past few months and chosen some photos to help tell my stories. I have spent my entire Saturday reliving these past 5 months or so, and it has been fantastic. I am reminded of a conversation I had with my mom on my 20th birthday. I said, "Yeah Mom, I can't believe I'm 20. The second ten years went a LOT faster than the first ten." She chuckled a bit and responded with, "Wait until the next 10." As I close in on my 29th birthday, it couldn't be more pertinent. My 10 year high school reunion is this Friday. I won't be able to make it, but I will spend that evening remembering fondly the years I spent walking Oak Hills and hanging out at football games and at the Shack. Time keeps rolling on by. I'm lucky enough to be able to say that I feel like I've done quite a lot with the time that's been afforded to me.

Anyway, back to the blog. Aside from a couple random updates in June, the last news I've given has been from around March/April of this year. Since then my boss has left, a new one has been hired and then fired, we've had about 13 brigades in and out of Intibucá and I've made three trips to Los United eStates. I woke up this morning wondering where November went. Then I thought about it and am now wondering where 2010 has gone. This has without a doubt been the busiest year of my life. I have the realest job I've ever had (not to be confused with "the toughest job you'll ever love"), hundreds of people have come in and out of our little world down here, some hang around in my mind, some don't. I rarely get to see my family but when I do I cherish the time and to me it really doesn't seem all that long since the previous visit. But then I realize Riley is doing new tricks, Maurie and Josh have a new house and my parents are taking on new and exciting challenges. A lot of things back home stay the same, but a lot of things don't. Well, without further rambling, read on down for some news. The first entry in this group is "America, Take 1" and they are in reverse chronological order from the bottom up...so if you're a timeline type person, start at the bottom. I'd suggest getting a cup of coffee.

My coffee spot each morning, watching the mist burn off...revealing the mountains above Santa Lucía.

A New Day Dawns (September-November 2010)

When we last left our hero, he was full of White Castle sliders on plane having just enjoyed a fun night with his family. I rendezvoused in Houston with Art and Dick, two of our Shoulder to Shoulder muckity mucks who were headed down to do some assessment and re-organization. Shoulder to Shoulder has been growing at an incredible rate for the last few years, and these past few months have been no exception. Our recently hired national director was given the boot a week prior to their visit, so one of their tasks was to figure out how to keep things running without a big bossman. They had a whole host of other tasks as well. I'd say it was a pivotal point for StoS, but personally I feel like we've been at a pivotal point since I've been here and I don't see it ending soon. Ideas arise, new policies are developed and implemented, but the feeling of crisis mode does not often leave us. I do truly believe that the crisis mode is one of the things that keeps this job so exciting.

It was truly inspiring to watch Art and Dick hammer away at their to-do lists. They are up before dawn running around in head-lamps until late at night holding meetings as their eyes get heavy. For a couple of guys in their 50s and 60s they certainly are a fine example of what life can be like if you take care of yourself when you're younger. All Dick needs is a cup of coffee now and then and he's good to go, Art will settle for some pancakes and a glass of water. Their 2-week visit marked the beginning of a new day, at least for me it feels like. My job is constantly changing, people coming under my supervision and leaving it...this entire organization has been one big experiment since its inception. Trying to piece it all together taking into account an seemingly infinite number of factors, Art and Dick are on a mission to make it work. For all of their time and effort, they are without a doubt a pleasure to be around. They've both got great stories and great life experiences that make you just want to be around them just to catch a tidbit here or a nugget there about any number of things ranging from oral surgery to cave diving. By the time they left, I myself was waking up at 4:30 to start working. I've since managed to sleep in a little longer, but not by much.

They left us with a leadership team made up of 8 people, those of us who have been here the longest and who are most involved with different parts of the organization. The team will handle issues together, supporting one-another through whatever problems we might be having. Weekly meetings are a must, despite the hurdles of having people in 2 different sites an hour away from one-another and none of us with a ton of free time.

So far things are humming along fairly well. There are certainly plenty of areas we need to work on but personally I feel like I have hit my stride. I have enough time here for people to know me well and work well alongside me. I know enough about where the org was before I got here, what it's been through since I've been here and where we want it to go to feel pretty confident we are moving in the right direction.

The biggest change around here lately has been the huge influx of gringos in the past few months. In August we had 6 new volunteers arrive, in September we had 1 more and October saw the arrival of a new employee. Count them up, that's 8 new people to work with as well as live with...not to mention the fact that they are all female. Our living/working situation has never really been ideal or really healthy. And while each and every one of them are great people in their own right and all are here to work hard and help out, it certainly can make for a trying social dynamic at times. You start to realize why people around here tend to be territorial about their stuff and why others may not want to hang out all the time. Nothing here is our own, not even our personal space. It can ben challenging but it can also be fantastic. It is a great support network, especially for all of them who have arrived around the same time. And there is certainly plenty of work to be done that they are supporting with.

Shoulder to Shoulder never ceases to frustrate or amaze me. There are certainly those days where you feel like the world is collapsing and that there is no way out. But there are other days where I am truly inspired to work my ass off to make this thing work. And of course there is everything in between.

"Let's All Go Home Again..." (America, September 2010)

By the time September rolled around, I was very excited to get back to America and back to Ohio. My trip to seattle in May was excellent but you can't beat Ohio in the fall for my money. Also, I had not seen my niece and nephew for 9 months, which for little kids means you miss A LOT. Before I made it back to Ohio, however I took a few detours, borrowed a car and did some road tripping. From Hondo I flew into DC where I spent a fun couple of days with Joe Shultz. We went out for drinks and yummy food, he showed me his office downtown and I did some sightseeing of my own walking around the monuments. The highlight was definitely a Belgian restaurant with delicious food and even more delicious beer. I also managed to sneak in a quick lunch with my friend Lynn Walroth from high school, and Lynn was even kind enough to lend me her car to do a little road tripping. Despite nearly not making it out of the parking garage, I was soon on my way to Philadelphia to meet up with some of the old Sphinx crew for a wedding. We spent a fun few days in Philly...eating, drinking and being merry. Nathan was kind enough to lend me some nice clothes on which I proceeded to spill pizza sauce on. Sorry Nate! It was great to see the old crew again, just like old times, except for all of the smart phones everyone had, directing them everywhere. No one in America just walks around any more exploring. It's quite sad. Pero así es. Here is a shot of some of the gang at the wedding:

Left to right: Josh, Nathan, Ben, Frank

I hopped back in the borrowed Camry and headed back South. Around DC I turned West towards Charlottesville, VA. I arrived at the home of Tom and Anna Sullivan around 5pm. Tom and Anna are two of my favorites from the Peace Corps days...they had just had a baby a few months earlier and I was eager to meet little May Bird Sullivan. She was huge! Quite the chunker, truly. Anna beams as she says "she's in the 98th percentile for weight for her age." It was fabulous to hang out with them, albeit short. We checked out downtown Charlottesville and Anna, May and I took an excellent hike the next morning. We met up with Tom for lunch and then I made my way out of town back to DC. I got the car back to Lynn's place and she let me crash there before I flew out the next morning...back to Ohio!

It was a packed trip while I was home. I got to see my sister's new house and was welcomed up to Caca's new house on the third floor by a very excited Riley Jo. I got see the legendary Harvest Home Parade, tailgated at OSU for the Miami game and even got to hit up Red River Gorge with my brother-in-law Joshua for some climbing. The weather was amazing at the gorge and the place was deserted. We had a fantastic trip...great climbing and good pizza from Miguel's. I suited up again for the Yidiots, shagging a few screamers hit to right field and even got a hit. Had a good time chattin in up with the yidiots on the wall afterwards as well, smoking cigars and regaling them with stories of the third world. Then I got some Skyline with Dad, can't beat that with a stick. Here are some shots from home:

The toughest crowd in Cheviot, the Ranzes! That bench and those chairs had been chained to the street sign for three weeks.

Greemaw and Riley Jo getting ready for the parade.

Brothers Scott and Joe showing their support...not so much for the names on the cups as for the contents of the cups!

My nephew Conrad hanging out on the porch in Norwood. He's a ladykiller, this one.

The kids hanging out with Dad and Paw at the zoo...Joe was re-stucco-ing the inside of the flamingo house. Wild.

Another one of Conrad at the zoo with his "Little Brother" hat...he and I have that in common! I will be the first to come to his defense when Big Sister is picking on him...

The tailgating crew...friends from yesteryear at OSU: Tynan, Nathan, Josh, T, Amy, Ben, Joey...I got a bunch of crap for not wearing buckeye gear, but at least I had the right colors.

While I was up at OSU I got to see the new student union for the first time...it was wild. The old student union was a place where I spent SO much time in college...and it was just this old run-down building...it did the job fine but this place was immaculate. I got a sweet tour from my new unofficial stater buddy Shannon Flynn, all the way to the Stater office! This picture depicts the bricks my friends and I bought to immortalize ourselves in the union, er, I mean support construction. Strung together the words under our names are a verse of our Alma Mater, Carmen Ohio. Sweet.

Through a random and fortunate series of events, I also managed to cross another state off of my list. A last-minute road trip to Vermont capped off my time in Ohio masterfully...nothing like being spontaneous! I flew back to Columbus the day after getting to Vermont and shared a delicious El Vaquero dinner with some good friends from college. Oh man El Vaquero sounds so good right now. Anyway, dinner was with Suzi and Sean McClory who are expecting a baby next year (Congrats guys!) and David Morgan and Hannah Merril, who are getting married in June 2011. Dave and Hannah even let me crash on their wonderfully comfortable bed that night. The following morning I headed out to visit the Kreiners, Matt and Melanie who had just had a little baby named Jackson the week before...it was great to meet the little tyke and have a little coffee catch-up time with my good pal Matt. Lots of big changes for lots of people! I made back to Dave's house only to find out that my parents had forgotten to grab my suit on their way out of Cincinnati, which I needed for my cousin's wedding that night. Without blinking an eye David took me upstairs to his closet and started choosing and ironing things. Lucky for me I had been crashing with just about the best-dressed friend I have! This would be the second borrowed suit on this trip. My friends are incredible. I didn't spill anything on this one, though.

So the whole motivation for this journey back to the states was my cousin Leslie's wedding. She and her now-husband Daniel had been engaged for about a year and a half or so, dating for many more years than that. I had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Not only for the part about celebrating Leslie and Daniel getting to spend the rest of their lives together, but also because it meant a super-fun time with my family. Living in Honduras means I miss most family functions, even the big ones like camping trips and 4th of July. So I was looking forward to making the best out of this one. It was a beautiful wedding at Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus and we had a blast at the reception afterwards. Don't invite the Ranz cousins to your wedding, unless you want behavior like this:
Mike, Jason, Shane, Seth, Brad, Dave (hidden) and myself...exploring the foliage

It was very fun to catch up with everyone. The shuttle took us back to the hotel afterwards and noticing that familiar hungry look in everyone's eyes, I took it upon myself to walk to White Castle and buy 2 30 packs of hamburgers. There was no other choice. I used my local knowledge (and sniffer) to seek out the closest CRAVE castle and they were ready surprisingly quick for 2am. I was hailed a hero amongst my family before we headed back to the hotel to grab a couple hours of sleep. The next morning I was on a 6am flight back to Honduras.

More Days In The Lives (Honduras, August-October 2010)

A few more glimpses into our daily work and social lives here in Hondo.

Doña Lidia sometimes helps out our cooks and also washes sheets in the clinic. This is her with her grand-daughter in the clinic.

Don Tino is our head driver and all-around super star. Here we are loading up some nutrition supplement for delivery to San Pedro. Don Tino is a great guy and always has a smile on his face. Truly one of my favorite people I have met here.

On the trip out with a brigade, we made a stop-off at one of our favorite oases, the Honduran Microbrewery. It's run by an Oregon Expat named Bob, very interesting guy. He had me eat termites once to try and cure my allergies. It didn't work. Left to right: Ben, Kerri (nutrition project manger), Sangeeta (superstar volunteer), Alan (database monkey)

In order to get some information straightened out regarding a water system that feeds a community where we work, our resident Civil Engineer Walter (foreground) accompanied Don Felipe (background) to walk the length of the water system. It was a good hike, informative trip and nice excuse to get out into the field.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is getting to spend time with some amazing people. Here are two of my favorites. On the left is Dr. Emily Harrison from Brown University. Emily is on our executive board and has been the driving force behind the Guachipilincito clinic for the past few years. She snuck down for a quick 4 day trip and I acted as her personal assistant as usual. She is a true pleasure to be around, a great friend and mentor. In the middle here is Dr. Ed Zuroweste, quite possibly the coolest person I've ever met. Ed has more good stories than any other person I have ever met, including the one after getting rejected from med school in America, he applied and got in to Guadalajara University in Mexico, where he spent two years studying. The even more impressive part is that ED DIDN'T SPEAK A WORD OF SPANISH before starting med school in mexico. That's just the tip of the iceberg of Ed stories.

Another car issue. This is Marvin, our always jolly brigade coordinator. You can see his car had seen better days at this point. He made it to the shop (driving very slowly) where they welded the frame back together

So pretty much everything we have in our apartment is hand me down from the various people who have been in and out of Santa Lucía over the years. One example is this couch. It has been in this state since I arrived 14 months ago. After repeated inner-thigh injuries and the desire to sit comfortably to watch a movie, we recently finally took action. With some plywood, mattress foam and a couple of sheets, Alex and Jess have revolutionized our living space. We now have a comfy couch. See the next photo for the final product and happy gringos.



I mentioned in an earlier post that trucks are what make us run. Well, this Ford Ranger has been the bane of my existence for a long time now. A few months ago the front differential took a complete dump and since there are no tow-truck services in Intibucá (possible economic opportunity here), we had to put the truck into our bigger box truck. I was skeptical. When I asked Don Tino how we would get it in the truck Don Tino responded with "haha Benjamín, that's the easy part! Getting it OUT of the truck is going to be tricky!" Damned if he wasn't right.

I didn't quite get the truck where it needed to be, so we called in the big guns to slide it over a tad so it would fit properly. Talk about Shoulder to Shoulder!

Electricians (Kind of) - July 2010

If you've been paying attention at all, you know that my job consists of a lot of different activities. One of those is co-resident electrician along with Alex. On my first trip to Honduras back in January '09, Alex and I assisted the man, the myth, the legend Gary Staigl in wiring our library in Santa Lucía and one of the cottages in Conce. Last October Mike Ranz and friends came down to do some more wiring in Concepción, where Alex and I learned even more. Well this time it was up to us to do it on our own, no outside expertise (except over the phone a bit). Our new clinic in Guachipilincito is getting ready to come online and so in July, with a little help, we juiced the place. With many phone calls, emails and scratched out diagrams worth of preparation, we had the makings of a good plan. Two gringos, Bob and Jim came down to lend their hands and we also had two of our local guys helping, Chepe and Tinito. Alex and I (with some help from superstar 6-week volunteer Sangeeta) spent Saturday and Sunday prepping materials and tools as well as hauling it all out to the site (about a 25 minute drive from Conce). By monday morning at 6am the hammer drills were rumbling and the pliers were nipping. The 6-person crew completely wired not only the clinic but the dorm building in 2 days, including running the service to both buildings from the "street." It was quite an operation and just in time for the gran jefa Emily Harrison to arrive, flip the switch, and illuminate the clinic she and so many others have worked so diligently to build. It was a huge success. We worked long days and were definitely worn out by the end of each one. But having coffee each morning on the clinic steps as the sun came up (again with superstar volunteer Sangeeta) helped make this one of my most memorable weeks in Honduras. These pictures may be a little boring for you non-constuction types, so perhaps just skip to the next entry.

Respooling the wire (actually it's insulated armored cable) to avoid taking the entire huge spool out to the site. Alex would pull from the big spool (right), Sangeeta would guide the wire onto the smaller spool (center) while I ran like a hamster on a wheel spooling it onto the smaller spool. This took us 2-3 hours but saved us tons of time and headaches.

The re-spooled wire in action. we just parked the truck there all week long, pulling off however much wire we needed for that specific circuit. So nice.

Another unbelievable loading job. We took about 5 loads of stuff out like this to prep for the job.

First steps in running the service line from the street through the meter and into the building.

Serious business.

The finished service box. I put a lot of time into this and when I sent Tio Mike the picture, he informed me that I'd put it in backwards. No safety issue unless someone tries to remove one of the fuses, but I will still need to get out there and switch it. Regardless, it is still functional...lucky for me in Honduras there is no building code :)

First steps on the main breaker box in the clinic. Alex has become our resident expert on these after intense training from Mike. See below for the finished product.

"If you don't want to be a nurse, you have a future in being an electrician." Mike to Alex. Well done.

During morning coffee one day we found a half dead bat in the clinic, likely having flown in and smashed into something. He was flopping around so I decided to put him out of his misery. With sledgehammer in one hand but careful not to spill precious coffee out of the cup in my other hand, I sent the bat to bat heaven.

Chepe fixing some of my wiring mistakes. "El jefe todavía no sabe!!" was the quote of the night that night.

The whole work crew minus 1. Left to right: Ben (notice appropriate "AC/DC" t-shirt), Bob from Rhode Island, Alex, Jim from New Mexico and Chepe from Concepción.

Un Pequeño Slice of Paradise - Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras - July 2010

In July, some of us employees found a few free days after a brigade left and headed up North for some R&R. There are three main islands in the Caribbean off of the North Coast of Honduras...the most famous of which is Roatán. The whole area is known for cheap scuba diving certification but as Art would say "scuba diving is not something I would want to do cheaply." We had no hopes of diving, just enjoying good company, yummy food and some beach time. We went to the smallest of the three islands, Utila. It was a very strange place. Full of sun-baked (and another kind of baked) gringo transplants that drive around on golf carts and speak an eclectic Creole-type english. There are some true islanders there too. There is a lot of great seafood and plenty of opportunities to relax. We did not get too crazy, but we did take a "lancha" out to one of the isolated cays for some true caribbean beach time. Crystal clear water, crazy snorkeling, palm trees, coconuts, white sand...it didn't even seem real. Here are some photos to make you jealous:

Our hotel completely surrounded by water "The Lighthouse Hotel"

Sunset from our hotel deck. Nice

The cays in the distance on the boat ride over

Water Cay, our day of paradise

Underwater Camera! Sweet!

Los Merro Musculeros de Hombro a Hombro. Alex designed his tatto himself. Ben grew his hair himself.

A Few Days In The Life, Summer 2010

These pictures capture a few random moments of life in Honduras working for Shoulder to Shoulder. One of our many mantras is: "Shoulder to Shoulder: Nothing like your old job!"

Enjoy.

How's that for a load up job, Dad?

Trucks are a big part of our life here in Intibucá. They are the key to our work, without them a lot of it comes to a stop. The general state of our organization can be linked directly to the general state of our trucks. It never fails, when there is a trip planned somewhere, we never leave enough space for what actually needs to go. An extra person or box here or there can really cramp the ride more than one would think. For example, in the photo above, I had planned on taking 3 or 4 brigade members to be dropped off along the way and a few tools to install a ceiling fan. Well, two nurses hopped on at the last minute, we had to drop off a few boxes of medications and I hadn't accounted for needing a ladder (which was silly of me, how else were we going to put up the fan?) So all told it was 10 people, a few boxes of medications, a ladder, some drills and who knows what else. Loading and tying skills are ones we value very highly here at StoS.

Indiana Brett? It is often the case that evenings are slow around here. Well the excitement for this night was that Brett shaved his beard down to a fu-man-chu. So we decided an Indiana Jones hat and machete were in order to complete the creepy outfit. How would you like to have this guy showing you around Honduras? At least he is prepared!

Dead snake on the road No. 1
Dead snake on the road No. 2
I have yet to determine whether or not these snakes get run-over or if they get killed in the bush and people throw them onto the road. But I have seen this various times. And they usually have their heads cut off. I feel like I remember seeing pictures of a snake like the first one in books or national geographic and if I remember correctly, it's pretty poisonous. This does not bode well. Looks like we caught that second one just after thanksgiving feast!

Lazy afternoon. Caught one of our brigade members enjoying a relaxing afternoon in her hammock. Thought it was a cool shot with the storm brewing in the distance. I could certainly use a few more days spent like this!

Honduran electrician...I would say this is a dangerous job but we have determined that the electricity here is not strong enough to kill anyone!

Garbage Day. The Rumpke Dump of Concepción. Not the most fun task around here.

The Three Amigos. Brett, Alex and Ben. This was Brett's last night in Honduras. He headed out in mid-july after a super-fun brigade which included his mom Mo and a bunch of other fun people. Brett's exit was a pretty big deal for us, as he is a constant source of laughter for all of us, keeping us perhaps a bit saner than we'd be otherwise. Brett is headed off to Ohio State to finish up some pre-reqs so he can eventually enter med-school.

America, Take 1 - May 2010

After a fun brigade from UPenn in early May, I traveled for about two weeks to one of my favorite places, the Pacific Northwest. It was somewhat of a last minute trip, only planned a couple of months ahead of time. I felt myself needing a break and figured a way to see both my family and great friends while there. My endlessly generous relations Mike and Linda Ranz welcomed me into their basement yet again with open arms. I spent summer 2003 with them in Seattle and have been looking for excuses to get back ever since. While the weather wasn't quite as nice this time as it was back in '03, it was a much needed respite from Honduras. I spent the entirety of 2 or 3 days sitting in their wonderful kitchen getting caught up on a few things and drinking espresso from the espresso machine. I then headed down to Eugene, Oregon for a surprise visit to some of my best friends, Kirk and Kim Strohman. Kirk was graduating from Law School and I was glad I could make it to the festivities. It was a good surprise, Kirk came in from working in the yard to find a strange bearded dude holding his 9 month old baby, Sienna. His jaw dropped, gleaning the effect for which I was hoping.

Ben and baby Sienna. Adorable.

Snowshoeing with Kirk, a nice outdoor respite. So nice to see some snow.

The weekend was spent with his family and friends, enjoying good food and good times. I then headed back up to Seattle.

My parents flew in a couple of days later for a trip out on Mike and Linda's boat. This was quite the journey. They flew in late at night and we went straight down to the dock and slept aboard what some might refer to as a "ship" rather than a "boat." The plan was to head up through some of the San Juan islands, meet up with some friends, and eat A LOT. This was all accomplished with flying colors.

Mike Ranz multi-tasking: Setting course, building power plants and having a beer.

It was a quite relaxing few days. We went ashore to do some hiking and ice-cream eating, but most of my time was spent reading and eating in between beers. We met up with Penny and Lee Stycket, some old neighbors of Mike and Linda's, who were also out on their boat. They are fabulous folks and it's always a pleasure to get to spend time with them. Lee is an enviable pun-master, dropping lines left and right like "I kissed a nun once, but I just couldn't get in the habit."

Penny and Lee at dinner ashore. No seagull sandwiches here.

The whole crew classing up the yacht with cans of Natty Light, per Joe Ranz's special request.

After a couple of days in the islands, we dropped anchor for a night in Bellingham, a hippy college town a few hours north of Seattle. We hung out with some of Linda's family, visited her favorite college coffee joint, and also ran into a Peace Corps friend of mine, Anna Terry. Anna was participating in the "Ski to Sea" race which had its finish in Bellingham. It was nice to catch up briefly, we also hung out in Seattle for a night while I was there.

Upon our return to Seattle, a whirlwind 24-hour visit had been planned with my Ohio State pals: Kirk, George and Joe. These guys never cease to amaze me...upon hearing that I would be in the country they rearranged work and family schedules to squeeze in some quality time...the only 24-hour time period where it worked out for all of us to hang out. The boys came to pick me up at Mike and Linda's and we headed downtown where they had gotten a hotel room. We scalped some 2nd row tickets to the Mariners' game (nice work GW and Kirk) which was a good time. It turned out it was Ken Griffey, Jr's last game, which was a random coincidence since he was kind of my childhood hero. I don't think he even played, but still. We then went out for drinks and fried food, and spent the evening catching up. Taking a page out of our old OSU days, we decided we needed some late night food after the bar. With no Pita Pit in site, we made our way to a 24-hour grocery store where we purchased 2 dozen deviled eggs. We all regretted this choice the next morning, as did our hotel toilet.

We spent the day walking around town, enjoying the market and just hanging out. My parents came down to town that evening and we had an amazing meal at Anthony's on the Sound. I'd venture to say it was the most delicious seafood feast of which I've ever been a part. I was in a truly happy place, with my parents, best friends and delicious food. We took a walk along the water afterwards before the boys took my parents and me to the airport. And thus ended the journey to the states and began the journey back home.

The group along the pier after dinner. I look fat because I ate so much seafood at dinner.