Take Time Together

I don't really know when it happened. J and L, we haven't aged a day but somewhere along the road, our daughters grew up. Those little bundles of joy (most of the time anyway) became adults with lives and interests of their own. Now, instead of dinner time together, we have to schedule time around work, in-laws, and everything that pulls each of us in our individual directions. So mother and daughters decided to start what has become something of a regular occurrence: Girls' Weekend.

Sometimes Girls' Weekend is a couple of hours squeezed in on a Saturday to get a manicure and a fancy coffee or lunch -- anything to spend time together and reconnect. It's not easy transitioning from mom to one of the girls, but it has it's rewards. Other times, we head out for some real time together, venturing with our former German exchange student, turned family member, Jana, to a weekend in Vegas or camping with the whole brood (men are included for that adventure).

Whatever the activity, whenever we have the time, we've made a commitment to get together to remember not only how much we love each other as family, but how much we like each other as individuals! I discovered (or is it rediscovered?) that I LIKE them! I enjoy their sense of humor and doing silly girl things their dad, poor J, would probably roll his eyes over.

This time, it was Palm Springs. A hundred and nine degrees (oh, but it's a dry heat) and we decide to go to Palm Springs. Did I see you roll your eyes? But we find a wonderful hotel right in the heart of the action with a large pool. And that is where we stationed ourselves. Swim, go to breakfast, swim, go to lunch, swim, time for a sip of something cool and refreshing, ah, and conversation, giggles, sibling arguments (aw, the one stand-by you can count on in life), swim, then clean up for dinner, and, of course, a little shopping. A perfect weekend!

Well, almost. As time goes by, we must take these moments to keep the family lines intact. We may have our differences, but this is family and worth working to keep close so that time and distance never steal us away from each other. J and L love traveling together, but we also love coming home and spending time with loved ones. As you head out to your various destinations this season of the summer break, don't forget to take time to stay in touch with family. You might even enjoy it!

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July is that day of the year we Americans give thanks and remember what a wonderful and special county we live in. That day hundreds of years ago which brought us freedom from the heavy-handiness of the British (we're best of friends now) by those founding fathers/mothers who risked their lives, often losing them, in gaining the freedom that we live with every day. It was those days which changed the make-up of the world.

 Being educators J and L tend to spend quite a bit of time out of the area on the Fourth of July. We've missed countless fireworks shows, bbq's and time with the family but years ago we decided to travel as much as possible - it's a big earth out there - and with that means traveling during the months we have off. We wanted to share those adventures with our readers and thus why we hit the road so hard during the summer months.

But no matter where we are in country or out we always have a special day together recalling what makes America great. We smile and remember family and friends and the good times we have during the year and talk about the sacrifices so many made to ensure that America would survive and survive they way it was intended. We generally end these discussions with why we are so glad to come 'home' to the United States when we've been gone for any length of time.

And believe us when we say we love to explore new places but as the old adage states: there's no place like home.

Dorothy had it right.

Simple things like electricity, running water, decent drivers, going to the bathroom without a flash light in case a deadly viper wants to take a bite, etc. makes it so rewarding when we step up the customs window at LAX, JFK, Miami, or other international entries. When the U.S. Custom's Officer asks if we have anything to declare the reply is simple and routine.

"I declare it's good to be back."

America - you gotta love it!

We're traveling again but to all our family and friends - Have a celebration of a day and don't forget that we live in the greatest land there has ever been.

Happy Fourth of July!!!!

Peru - 3rd Time the Charm

The idea of traveling to Peru is always in our thoughts. Not only is it a chance to travel out of country which is something thoroughly enjoyable but we also have a close friend in Lima. We'll refer to him as Carlos since he is retired military and want to keep his last name out of print. Carlos had a particularly interesting and precise occupation in the not so far past.

His job, and thus the requirement for anonymity, was to hunt down terrorists who belonged to the Sendero Luminioso (Shining Path). The Shining Path was a group of murderers and thugs led by Professor Abimael Guzman who went into the hinterlands of Peru terrorizing the farmers. Guzman espoused a Maoist form of Communism and wanted the government of Peru to have a total regime makeover. The military government of Peru allowed for the first time a free election in 1980 but instead of getting involved Guzman and his followers decided to start a guerrilla war against the government which left countless dead in the next twelve years until his capture in 1992. According to a report from 2012 there is supposed to be nearly 4,000 current members of this terrorist group who still raises its pathetic but dangerous head to murder innocents.

Then again, what terrorist group doesn't kill innocent men, women, and children? Remember Beslan in 2004? If not read my novel 'Soft Target'.

Unlike many countries who want to treat terrorists as common criminals, Peru had a different approach. Elimination versus long stretched-out court appearances which tend to make terrorists into celebrities. No, Peru's idea was efficient, quick and permanent. As a Russian spy once told Carlos - "In Russia we will build monuments for any civilians who die as we wipe out these terrorist thugs. It's how we do business and our business is short and lethal to those who want to vent their nonsense by taking hostages." Barbaric? I'm just a writer and not in the first hand field of ridding the world of those who make it their goal to terrorize.

Enough of the philosophical typing.

My lovely spouse, Lauren, and I first met Carlos while on our honeymoon in Peru. Typical tourists we took in everything we could see in that first short trip in Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu.

What you looking at?

 It had been such a marvelous trip that we decided to return to Peru with our three daughters, Erica, Jessica, and Kelly. This time we stayed for a month and they loved it just as we had, but despite the occasional complaint since "Dad's" idea of an easy day while vacationing is leisurely twelve mile hikes around cities and sites.

"Rub your feet tonight but let's get some miles in. Never know if you'll be back here again in your lifetime."
The three girls grinned and stepped up. 

It seems only a few short years, later we found ourselves back on a Lan Peru airliner heading to South America to see Carlos. This time there were three of us, John, Laureen and our great friend Paul Bakas who would be the videographer and confidant.

We have action

The purpose of this journey was six-fold: visit with Carlos and family, research for John's new novel, obtain material for our blog, film a trailer in the Amazon, do some twenty-two minute video segments on traveling, and to have fun.

The fun, there was no doubt, would be had.

When we land back at LAX we will be hitting the keyboard with tales from Peru and especially from Iquitos - the largest city in the world, with a population of over 400,000, which can only be arrived at by boat on the Amazon or by air. There aren't any roads in or out.

And the golf course issues machetes with each bag of clubs.

If my ball is eaten by a Caiman - is it a one stroke penalty?