I was craving the yummy dish all weekend. Rather than going to the somewhat expensive (but worth it!) Peruvian restaurant, Doug and I decided to try our hands at preparing it ourselves. It ended up being a fairly easy recipe, mainly because we went to a Hispanic market to buy a jar of aji amarillo instead of making it ourselves. And we left out all the yucky stuff (lettuce, parsley, and olives).
While it didn't taste exactly like the dish from Peru, it was still pretty good for a first attempt.
One of the forms we need to fill out for the homestudy is a list of previous addresses. The good news is that we only need our latest address for each state/country (so Doug didn't have to list every house he's lived in since moving to Madison, etc). Things were rolling along smoothly until I realized that I didn't know my address from my time in Peru. Google Maps to the rescue! I back tracked from the University (since I used to walk the mile and a half most days), and then used street view once I found the last turn. I got to see the park with the tree I used to climb (and get weird stares while doing so), and the bodega where I would get my Inca Kola and Granadillas, the micro I would use if I was running late for class! And last of all, my building; it made me so homesick for Peru! I'm looking forward to being able to spend time there with Doug in a couple years when we go to pick up our child!
That's right! The applications are in, the to-do lists are growing, and we are officially adopting! We have started working with 2 agencies to adopt our first child from Peru. The next few months will be quite the paper chase, as we run around applying, collecting, filling out, signing, notarizing, and mailing all sorts of documents and forms. Not to mention that our house will be inspected no less than 3 times (which means we are cleaning like crazy right now!). Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and check back for updates on our latest adventure!
Yesterday we left the house in Utuado, and headed for the B&B in San Juan. After checking in, and a quick supper, Doug and I left for the East Coast to go "kayaking" in the bioluminescent Bay. Our guides (who were hilarious) led us through a windy, dark channel that led to the glowing bay. The channel is narrow, so we went single file, sort of. Several of the kayaks in front of us were paddle challenged, so we witnessed several of them crashing into the trees. Since it was slow going, I let Doug do most of the paddling. It gave me more time to focus on splashing him with glow in the dark water!
The algae glows whenever something (paddle, hand, person thrown in by their spouse, etc.) disturbs the water. Since the boats were pretty small for tandems, Doug and I were cruising in the lagoon. Doug tried his fish call several times, but it didn't seem to work on glowing fish. While it was too dark to see any fish, we could tell when we paddled too close to them, because streaks of glowing algae zig-zagged away from us.
We weren't allowed to swim in the lagoon, and the rest of the water was knee deep, so rolling was out. I made do with splashing Doug every couple seconds! I thought it would make him glow, but it only made him wet. Tomorrow we are going into Old San Juan, and tour a military fort from the 1500s.
Ok,
I know I promised wipeout photos from Doug’s surfing lesson but it’s not my
fault.Doug decided to go off script and
stand up on his first 2 waves!Of course
he failed to tell me his plan, so I was on the other side of the beach causing the
pictures to be pretty grainy.
Once
he got tired of being of being a surf expert, Doug did provide a decent amount
of comic relief.More than once, his
board shot straight up into the air a good 5 feet after excellently
choreographed swan dives.Unfortunately
I was too busy working on my sunburn at the time to take any pictures.After several hours at the beach, we were pleasantly
red and dehydrated, so we decided to head back to the house.It took a few minutes to get the car out of the parking lot, since a new friend was enjoying the shade.
The next day, we climbed up Cerro de Punta, the tallest point in Puerto Rico. It was only a 30 minute walk from the parking lot, but the 20% inclines and the 90 degree day made sure we were dripping by the time we got to the top. The views were worth it!
Tomorrow we are going "kayaking" (sit on top) at the Bio Bay with glowing algae!
Just in time for our one year anniversary, Doug and I have
finally found time for a honeymoon!10
days in Puerto Rico.We rented a house
in Utuado, the mountainous region in the center of the country.Getting there was a little bit of an
adventure.Most of the roads were very
windy and only wide enough for one car.Oh and did I mention that the inclines make you feel like you’re on a
rollercoaster! Anywhere from 15-20%.Once you do make it to the house, which is on the side of a mountain, the
views are amazing!
Doug enjoying the view from our balcony in the hammocks.
Our backyard!
We found a few friends around our house, like Nala, the
neighboor’s dog.(She likes to jump!)There are also a few horses that roam around
our road (Untethered?)
The next morning we headed off on equally adrenaline inducing
roads for an eco-zipline tour.One of
our tour guides showed up late, in crocs, and slightly hungover, but he was
very entertaining!Doug and I hiked with
our guides, ate random fruit that we found along the way, and crossed a suspension
bridge all before getting to the start of the zipline.
There were seven ziplines in all.It was a great way to enjoy the view.Doug even worked up to ziplining upside down!
I was just trying not to land backwards!
Doug made a few lizard friends on our way back to the truck.
Since driving around here at night would be close to a death
wish, Doug and I are sure to make it back before dark, to enjoy the views in
the hammocks, the occasional Redbox movie, and playing our new card game,
Samurai Sword.Since the game needs
three players, we enlisted Dr. Wembly!
Tomorrow we are heading to the Northwest coast for Doug’s
surfing lesson.I’ll be supervising from
the beach and will be sure to video his wipeouts (and any waves that he manages
to stay on his board for!).
This past weekend, Doug and I went camping at a site that I picked out, which meant it was quite the interesting place. On the west side of Gathland State Park in Maryland, is The Tree House Camp, featuring treehouses (misleading because they are on stilts rather than actually in trees), and a Hobbit House! Doug and I set up our tent on what looked like a raised moss bed.
It had been raining all week (and continued to rain all weekend too) so everything was very green. I think the rain was making all the animals crazy. The insects were really loud, and we found Neville's toad, Trever, trying to jump into our campfire! He stuck around for most of Friday night, before running/hopping off.
I have to say, ever since Caitlin gave us the Girl Scout Camping Cookbook, and a cast iron pot, our camp cooking has really jumped up a few levels! The meals were so tasty!
Saturday was very rainy, but since the Appalachian Trail cuts through Gathland, we still went hiking and puddle/large pond jumping. We hiked to Annapolis Rock, which had a really gorgeous overlook. Unfortunately because of the rain, it was all fogged in. I guess it normally looks like this:
Inspired by the misty surroundings (and the Hobbit House next door to our tent), Doug busted out a rendition of Misty Mountains that sounded exactly like this:
Sunday, the rain decided to stop, so we checked out some Civil War buildings and a battlefield that were also in Gathland. Doug was trying to climb to the top for a better view, but it was quite tall.
On our way home we stopped at Craker Barrel for lunch and some more of the yummy pancake mix that Caitlin had introduced us to! Mom, this is a restaurant after your own heart. They had a porch full of rocking chairs to use while waiting for your table!
Hopefully the next time we go, we can rent the Hobbit House! Who wants to come with?
Yesterday Doug wanted to go hiking to get ready for his upcoming trek up Mount Fuji in Japan, so we went to Shenandoah National Park to practice! The drive up was beautiful, allowing us to stop at several of the overlooks.
The trail that we picked was 6 miles roundtrip and passed 2 water falls. Before we got to them, Doug practiced his bouldering skills.
We also found a black bear cub about 10 feet from us. I stuck around long enough to snap the photo, but not long enough to run into the mama bear!
After 3 miles, we found the first waterfall: a lovely cascading rock face that rose up 29 feet.
It was such a lovely rock face that I decided we should climb it! Neither of us have ever climbed a waterfall before, but once you get over the fear of falling on slippery rocks, it's just like free climbing 30 feet in the air! Right?
I'm Queen of the Waterfall!
The view from the top. Afterward I found out that we should "Never play at the tops of waterfalls or climb on nearby rocks. Do not attempt to hike rocky areas that are wet and slippery." according to the park rules!
The second waterfall was 93 feet tall, so no climbing. The overlook view ended up being the prize at the end of the trail.
Between the views, a bear cub, and climbing a waterfall, I'd say the day was quite an adventure!
Yesterday, Doug's coworker, Dave, took us sailing. Nothing special, just a 2 sail Flying Scot. I got to run the jib and Doug was the muscle. We even got to be counter balance weight a few times, but maybe not quite like the photo . . .
We did get pretty good at tacking and jibing and no one got hit in the head by the boom! Most of my experience sailing has been done in sunfishes, which you can capsize and turtle pretty easily. While we talked about all the ways that we could right the boat, we decided not to get thrown out of the marina by purposely capsizing the rental.
Later in the evening, Doug and I went dancing at an event with a live band. We had a few minutes before we needed to leave, and spent it on the tree swing.
The band and the dancers were great and the ballroom was huge so there was plenty of space to dance.
At first, we were dancing up closer to the band. After a while I realized that were in the back right corner the entire time. Doug had determined where his sweet spot was on the floor by finding the cross breeze made by turning on fans there and there. Sound familiar?
So here's my question: Would Sheldon ever go sailing?
Friday night Doug and I had a very international themed evening in DC listening to African Jazz, followed by English food and beer, Italian Gelato, and a stroll passed the Argentine Naval Attaché.
After spending the next couple days running errands and cleaning the house, we finally earned a much needed day outside, swinging in our new tree swing that Doug built and going on a 5 mile hike that turned into 6 after a wrong turn.
We did see a 2 very domesticated does that were scavenging about 25 feet from us at one point.
There were also several downed trees throughout the hike that came in handy when trying to cross mud and creeks.
