Nothing to worry about today, just traveling

2011-11-23T14:52:00.000-08:00

After the bus adventure I am in Guatemala where my friend lives. I came to go to his wedding on Saturday November 19, 2011. I was named the official wedding photographer and took lots of pictures between the two ceremonies and the reception. Here are a few pictures.

I wish I would have known I would be the photographer so I could spruce up my camera and gear before coming. Oh how I wish I had all the goods I used to play with during my time at Bell Photography. I would have worked miracles!

The day before my friend got married by a lawyer. It was a small gathering and a neat thing to witness.
Cousins and the lawyer who married them.
Just about married

Here I am with his sister, brother, mother, bride, and him.

Somehow I ended up with the flowers and I tried to show the bride how I would look if I won Miss America. Turns out, they took a picture and didn´t even try to mimic my surprise face when it was their turn to pose.

We all worked hard to make the wedding cake. After midnight I just took pictures instead of helping. It turned out very nice. We stayed up until about 2:30 am putting the finishing touches on everything...or so I thought. The next day was full of work too and I actually worked so I didn't have the chance to take pictures.Chocolate covered pineapple at the reception.

On Saturday my friend was sealed for time and all eternity in the Guatemala City Temple. That was a pretty neat experience as well and I was glad to be a part of it.

There I am again with his sister, mother and two friends.

I was expecting the food to be the main event but turns out in this world, speeches and dancing are more important. You better believe I broke out my best moves and was sure no one took pictures to blackmail me later.

I am still alive and travelling

2011-11-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

I have been travelling but have not managed to write for over a year. Maybe in my plan ot have more spare time in the coming months I can update this with all my travels.

I have been out of the country for 3 weeks now and I finally found a computer that accepts my memory card so I can put some pictures on here.

I wanted to travel by donkey but couldn´t find one. I ended up travelling by bus but I did find this horse later on that I thought about taking for a night out on the town. Not too many strong looking horses around here.

Let us start with border crossings. I flew into Liberia, Costa Rica and took a bus to the Nicaraguan border.

Hopped on another bus

and I spent the night in Managua.

I found a bus to the Honduran border in the early morning hours

The bus really was this full most of the trip. It would stop and people would get on and off but I was lucky to have gotten on at the beginning so I had a seat.

and this time took a bike taxi with my 24 hour friend, Ivan from Mexico.

I found the smallest seat possible in a what was something like a minivan but a little longer. If you have ever been in a minivan you know they fit 3 across. Well this van put 4 people in each row. I sort of felt bad for being larger than the tiny latinos sitting around me. I made it to Choluteca, Honduras about 11 am and first things first,

I found a hotel so I could quit hauling my bags around and take a nap. I forgot that cockroaches come free with a paid nights stay. I only saw them 2 days, but I think I killed 3 each day.

This is my friend Carmen and her son Angel. I spent quite a bit of time playing Wii and soccer with them. Carmen sells stuff in front of Angel´s school so I went a couple of days to hang out with her in the morning as she fed me breakfast.

Here my friend Gredis is in a coconut tree. He ended up cutting down 18 cocos and I learned how to chop them up with a machete. I then drank the juice and kept chopping until I cracked it open and ate the meat inside. Not my favorite food but I had to eat it since I wanted to chop it up.

I love Honduras. Especially this area where it is hot and the people are so kind. I spent a few days hanging out, walking the streets, helping people with random chores, visiting friends,

riding in the back of trucks(AKA Hitch Hiking), and playing a lot of soccer with whoever had a ball.

I went to Tegucigalpa for 3 days with my friend.

We went to a soccer game. (sorry, the battery on my camera died so I didn´t have many good pictures to choose from)

We went to the top of the mountian and took pictures of the city as well as the Picacho

and there is a zoo up there so we stopped by and found

a loose monkey. I think we were the only ones to see it running around. It was quite funny as the ones still in the cages yelled at him. I don´t speak monkey but I think they were cheering him onto freedom and hoping he´d bring something back for the rest of them.

After that I was on my way to the border with El Salvador.

This took a little more effort. There were no buses at the border so I had to take a 20 minute taxi ride to the next town where I found a bus to San Salvador. I ate 2 delicious pupusas for only 50 cents, spent the night playing the original Mario Brothers on Wii and woke up to catch the 5 am bus to Guatemala.

Good thing was this bus went all the way to Guatemala City so I didn´t have to find another bus after crossing the border. Bad news is, it dropped me off in a pretty bad part of town. In fact, my friend came to pick me up and said he didn´t know where to find me because the bus station I came to was so dangerous he didn´t go there. I found it to be exciting and to my knowledge I still have all the things I started with.

Content may not be appropriate for all ages, parental discretion advised.

2010-08-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

So I am cashing in on my $299 flight deal to Cancun by doing the following things...

#1. Taking Public Transportation

I felt smart this time since I found a bus from the airport to the b

us station ($4) because last time I thought I was getting a good deal when a man robbed me blind and charged me $43 for the same ride. I had recently traveled to Costa Rica and got the exchange rates confused so I thought it was a good deal at the time.

#2. Walking

I am staying in this sweet place called Hostel Kankun, not only is it a hostel but they spelled Cancun with two K's, usually I'd avoid places like this, but I'm a budget traveler and all I need is a bed. $12/night is a steal, a nice double bed, large fridge, and a bunk bed to hang my clothes on the sweat can dry. I thought this place was close to the bus station and it is, but I honestly walked around for 2 hours when I got into town before I could find it. No one knew where it was and the huge banner I was looking for was actually hiding behind some bushes so I passed by it 3 times at least without seeing it.

#3. Cultural

I love this little park in downtown Cancun. If you ever come and stay in the hotel zone, where most normal Americans stay, you must come here on a weekend. They have everything going on here, great food including a bag of churros for <$2, variety of entertainment for adults and kids (basically powerwheels are overtaking half the plaza with kids driving and parents chasing, it is very interesting to watch), shopping and a safe atmosphere to hang with Mexicans. I put these pictures on just to see if the amount of clicks I received on my blog were due in part to the preview picture on my sister's blog.

I happened to make it to the public square during the 2nd Annual Mr. Cancun Pageant.

Then the Miss Cancun bodybuilding pageant took place, there were only 5 of them and none of them were as buff as bubba joe...however, I've never seen her in a swimsuit so I might be wrong.

The final act I stayed for was these two men who did all sorts of tricks, this one was my favorite, the touchless balancing act since I've always liked to walk around with things on my head to show off my great balance. Maybe they'll need a backup one day?

CANCUN from Bay Area $299

2010-07-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Many dates to choose from, I just booked from a Saturday to a Thursday for $299 from San Jose. Pretty great place to see, Chichen Itza, beaches, Tulum, etc...

Days 3-6 Island Style

2010-04-01T00:26:00.000-07:00

Top 10 things I learned about myself while on this trip in no specific order are...

#1. I like to take pictures and go into pure tourist mode while at the same time trying to look cool and keep people guessing if I'm on vacation or am I an undercover spy just trying to look like a tourist.

#2. I realized I don't need to do my hair each morning when it becomes what it is right now...some type of weave thing.

#3. I love Snow Cones, shaved ice, Slurpee's, otter pops, or anything else that is cold.

#4. I don't like sand in places, whether I know I have those places or not. But I do like putting it on others.

#5. Long car rides with real adults opens me up to various questions about girls, dating advice and free pick-up lines to try to use.

#6. I love waves, they are so entertaining and relaxing to watch, not touch, just watch. I love it when they crash into the rocks, forgive me for being sentimental, but no two waves are alike, and I like to guess what type of wave will be coming next.

#7. I like walking, hiking, public transportation as long as I can get cleaned up somewhere (like wash my hands).

#8. Renting kids is a great easy alternative to having to support a wife and my own flock of little birds.

#9. Like most singles, I do enjoy sunsets and long walks on the beach, just as long as there is a paved path and I don't have to get sand anywhere.

#10. I have no culture. I don't beat drums, dance around half naked in public or on canoes, wear leaves of any kind, or dance with fire. At least not to the knowledge of any of you reading this.

Day 2, much better

2010-03-27T00:36:00.000-07:00

Who knew a short drive could get you out of the craziness of Honolulu and into relaxing vacation mode. My day started early, I woke up before any of my other cell mates, I set off to hike Diamond Head Crater. I thought I was in Asia a few times but enjoyed it. It wasn't as great as I was expecting but here are some pictures, you can be the judge. I also found what I want to be doing with my life when I retire. I took the rowdy city bus again, only missed it a few times but met some nice folks at the bus stop. Then found my way to the real Hawaii. Pretty good day.

You get what you pay for

2010-03-26T02:38:00.001-07:00

Hirama reminded me I had this blog and asked if I would be updating it. Since my last post, I have spent 2 weeks in Tahoe in August, flew to Salt Lake, then drove through Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia with my friend Jordan in September, went to Utah in October to see some old friends I met while in Honduras, then hung out with Grandma and Grandpa, oh wait, they weren't home, they were off tailgating at a football game all night long and I wasn't about to break into their house again and have the cops come so I slept in my car, then drove to the Cardon house to hang with my sister, brother in law, nephews and Big Al's Food Town. Duchesne is quite the place to be. Found grandparents on my way back as well as hail, snow, rain and an ice cream bar taped to my front bumper, it lasted the whole drive, just wasn't frozen when I got to the Griff-Inn.

November I had the chance to go to Honduras with my dad and younger brother Jaxon. I pulled a last minute Santa gig and went to Idaho in December, went on a cruise to Mexico with my parents and unmarried siblings, since the single folk are allowed to have fun. That was January. In Feburary, I had a friend come out for the weekend and we did the City stuff and now it's March and I just got back the depths of Parker Arizona/Lake Havasu area and stayed in town for one Sunday and now find myself in Hawaii. Internet is too slow right now to add pictures but I will add some later.

But before I go to bed I want to say I found a sweet deal on a room in Waikiki. $23/night. The bad news is I've stayed at dives before, but I always end up being alone, this one is packed. I have 5 roomates for the night, two are guys from England, two are in the same bottom bunk (I'm guessing boy and girl but they have a sheet around their bunk) and one more girl on my top bunk. Just like home. I got in late so I didn't really get to meet them but the two guys from England talked back when I asked questions. I don't care about sharing a room with strangers, I'm more worried that I just had to put a $1 down to rent a towel to shower with. It would be a good deal if I was here longer though because that dollar buys you as many clean towel exchanges you want. What a shame I'm only here for one night. And so I end with I did get my towel because I paid for it. Best news of the night was the sheets came free!

Cancun Day 2

2009-08-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

In my prevoius post I said I fell asleep a little late. It was probably around 11:30 pm which is not late for me by any standards. Well I had shut the curtains in my cave dwelling and the sun woke me up about 12 pm. That's right, 12 hours of sleep in Chichen Itza!!! Some vacation this is. I got up all flustered thinking I was going to miss check out time and be charged for another day. So I hurried and got showered, which was an amazing shower and left on my trek.

My trek started in the opposite direction I wanted to go. I was planning to go to the Balankanche Caves near Chichen Itza. I was looking for a taxi as the man in the hotel said it was about 5 km. I quickly found a taxi on the side of the road but he wanted 100 pesos to go there. I said no to that idea and thought it would be cheaper to walk. I walked right back to the hotel, tried to find out where I was going by looking on the internet and worked for a few minutes and was off.

1/2 km into the journey I thought to myself, "oh self, look, you have reached the main road. The ruins are to your left, the caves are to your right"? I wasn't really that sure so I walked towards the ruins only for a minute until I saw a sign pointing me in the right direction. So there I was, walking and walking and walking. It really wasn't that horrible but it was hot. I enjoy a good walk but usually off the main highway. Cars were zipping by me and I kept on walking. I bet you'll never guess what song came to mind? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njzeq9t95ZE

If you don't want to go there it a minute video of "If I could walk 500 miles". After about 1 km I reached an open space where I asked a guy on a motorcycle if I was headed in the right direction. He said yes and do you see where this is going? Next think I know I'm one his bike crusing along highway 180 going faster than I enjoyed but it was awesome. It was a quick ride, much faster than walking and he dropped me off at the enterance. He offered to take me up the path but I was fine walking. It was about another 1/2 km to the caves. It was well worth it all. I loved them and wish there was a way to take more pictures. I learned in the cave that on my camera the flash takes about 10 seconds to recharge after taking a picture. I took lots and will post them once I get to but here is a pic from the internet to keep your attention.

I met two people in my group and while we didn't really talk during the tour, after we talked for a few minutes. They were from Mexico City and worked for some Anthropology place. I was jealous of them and they gave me lots of good ideas of what to see next time I'm looking for a place to go. I got away from them to go buy water and pick up my things only to start walking back to the main road to find a bus to Cancun. As I got to the parking lot they were just leaving and asked me if I wanted a ride. Hmm, to walk in heat or ride in AC? I took the ride and though the thought crossed my mind that they could be Mexican druglords and kidnap me I stayed. They didn't drop me off on the side of the road as I asked, they took me all the way to the bus station. They were very kind to do this and it saved me alot of time.

The bus ride was pretty uneventful, got back to Cancun, realized I like the no taxi life so I walked to my hotel and ya. I got in about 8:30 at night, left about 9 to go find some food and because on my walk to the hotel I saw a great party going on in the downtown plaza. I went there and it was really neat. They had all sorts of things and I guess they do some sort of activity every weekend. It wasn't full of tourists, just locals having a good time with their families. I ate great food and drank some tasty horchata. Also had real Mexican Churros for dessert. It was way too much food in a short amount of time but I was still able to watch this comedy show of clowns but it was mostly a dance off between two kids from the crowd. It was so funny. I liked it so much I even gave them money when they asked which is not something I do.

Cancun Day 1

2009-08-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

First day was simple, landed around 10 am, took a taxi to the bus stop, traveled 4 hours to get to Chichen Itza and toured the ruins for about 90 minutes. Bought some little things on my way and took some pictures of the great Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. It really was a great place. I found myself wishing I had studied more about them before I saw them and also wishing I had booked two nights in the area vs. only one.

The park closed at 5pm so I went back to my hotel. I was going to walk but forgot and took a taxi that overcharged me and I paid it. It cost 70 pesos ($5.45) and was a quick ride. My hotel was pretty cool. Much nicer than I was expecting for $30 a night. If you ever plan on going let me know and I will hook you up with a hard to find deal at this hotel. Of course I will charge you a booking fee, I don't care who you are...Brother Tyler.

I sat around the hotel, relaxing, working, enjoying the AC until about 7:30 and then I walked over to the ruins the back way and watch the light show. The show was cool but after they shine lights on the ruins so many times it got boring. I was sort of listening to the story that went along with the lights but then I fell asleep. I'm pretty sure the guy next to me thought I was dumb but I couldn't help but doze off. Pictures will come once I can upload them from my camera. I went back to the hotel and enjoyed a poptart I had brought for dinner. Nothing sounded good at the restaruant and besides, it cost money. It was a pretty fun day and I would recommend seeing Chichen Itza to anyone. However, you cannot climb up them like before. The ball court was also cool to see. I went to bed a little late which was weird since I was so tired at the light show.

Cancun Anyone?

2009-06-21T00:52:00.000-07:00

I have this problem...it may not be one of my many problems you are thinking about. My problem is I am wanting to go to Cancun for a quick little getaway in August, but the fares are so cheap that I feel bad not telling people that from SFO it is only $247 and from SJC it is only $258. If you are into the beach thing you can do that, but I just want to go see the cool ruins of Chichen Itza. I have heard great things about them.

I was going to take my brother but since he is only 13 it would end up costing another $200 since he is a minor and I don't want to fly to get him. If you are flexible, let me know. Pictures to come after.

CRUISE DEALS OF YOUR LIFE/ No passport needed.

2009-05-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

SO I just bought a cruise in January. It will be the whole fam damily. But I looked at some cruises today and I had to tell someone even if no one reads this, you can go on a 7 night cruise for $200 plus taxes. See there is this flu going around so no one wants to go to Mexico. This cruise normally goes to Mexico but has been changed to go from Los Angeles to Canada. It really is a sweet deal. You can see your friends Victoria and Vancouver CANADA. I just verified for two people in the interior with taxes is only $510 AND A BRAND NEW CLASS OF CARNIVAL SHIPS!! If you want a balcony it is only $100 more per person.

The more you put in the room the lower the price per person goes but for just 2 people the price is a $510 for a week long vacation. That's no cooking, cleaning, just relaxing and free food, entertainment and ocean view. Act now you need to be cruising next week! I would invite myself to go with you if I had not just bought a ticket to go see my wonderful Grandma on her 91st birthday. Oh and you don't need a passport to go either, the new law takes effect in the summer so all you need is a driver's license and birth certificate.

Idaho again random pictures of the night in no order

2009-02-10T22:36:00.000-08:00

The best part is this picture is how my blog will be seen on Hayley's blog until I travel again. I just loved all 5 years I had in the 80's.

The party animal sister of mine getting the last things ready before Mike walked in.

I still wanted to rock out 80's style after the party was long over, my brother had to control me.

Good news is, Idaho wasn't freezing cold this time around. I last went home at Christmas but a few weeks after Sally invited me to a party for Mike's birthday. I happened to be looking at airfare that day and was looking for a reason to travel as it was so cheap. So I went. This was the cheapest trip home I have ever taken. Even when I flew one way for the holidays and drove back with the Atwood Family was more expensive.

Here's how it went down. Tyler dropped me off at the train station, I paid $4.25. I got off and onto BART, paid $1.5o. Got to the airport just in time to have some time to work instead of traveling during good working time. The plane never got there. That blasted United flight was delayed 2 hours. The pilot tried to make up time by flying like a fighter pilot. I have no reason to believe we were under attack. He just had a date with his Salt Lake hottie.

Picked up my rental car, made the girl at the counter laugh a few times. She loved it. We had a great time and next thing I know I'm being offered a free upgrade from the lowest economy car to a minivan. I guess she just was looking to the future and saw me in a minivan. I sort of laughed at her offer and asked if she had anything that would get a little better gas mileage so she gave me what she called something like a small minivan. It was a Kia something. May not be the best looking car but it ran well. I got it with only 1850 miles and added a good 600 in 2 days. I went on down south where I had a great time and dinner with Grandma Bird. I loved seeing her and she was so funny. My favorite part about seeing her was as we walked down the hall she was holding onto my arm and she nudged me and asked if I could speed up. She's wonderful and by far the greatest 90 year old in the world.
After Grandma's I was going to go to the Griffin's house to sleep as I was pretty tired but instead I went to my cousin's house and was shocked when there were lots of people there. My favorite part of seeing all of them was hanging out with Ralph and looking at his pictures of Honduras from 30 years ago. Turns out we went to the same church when we lived there. I loved the idea of going back with him so hopefully that will happen soon. I finally wore out my welcome there and headed to the inn where I triumphly found the secret key (Grandma gave me the secret code) and then entered the house to the alarm going off. I put in the code with Grandma also gave me but it didn't seem to work. It was so loud and it finally calmed down and I got Sally on the phone to tell me the code. I entered it and all was well for about 10 minutes when I got to meet a fine officer of the AFPD. He must of thought I looked like a nice boy because he just laughed at me. Too bad I didn't get a picture of his face.

Woke up at the crack of dawn and I drove up to Draper to attend an open house for the new temple there of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was really neat and I was glad I had the chance to see it. Then I met some old friends for breakfast and spent an hour or so hanging out with them. Then I drove to Ogden where I picked up Chrissy because she was cool enough to go home with me for one day. We got to Idaho on Friday about 4 pm. I hung out with my family until about 6:45 then met up with Chrissy and this is what we looked like before we left her house a little after 7.

Mike's party was sweet. When I walked in I was a little nervous as I looked around and everyone looked weird. I wasn't sure who these people were and if they were dressed up for reals or really dressing up to the 80's theme. I tried to get the party started with my dancing skills but that didn't seem to work. I tried again at limbo and I claim that the bar holders always put it lower for me since I was the first one in the round. I took a close second place...tied with about 5 other people. I split my pants a bit and possibly threw out my back in the process. I love limbo but that was the first time I actually tried it. Usually I just watch. Must have been those sweets on the table that got me into the fun.

We did group performances as well that were well cool to say the least. Ours was highlighted with my old friend Trent running and diving across the stage many times. It was so funny he even burned a hole in his pants. Mike on the drums, Trent and I hitting the high notes.

Please note everyone is watching me bust a move. Too bad it wasn't a 90's party, I could have thrown down my Carlton dance.

The bad part of being with the hosts was the rope in job into clean up. I got home, hung out with the family. Went and saw Whitney's nook and went to bed about 1am. Woke up to Chrissy knocking on the door about 3:20 and I quickly got ready and we left about 3:40. The fog on the drive back was crazy but we made it. I made it on the plane and was asleep before takeoff. There were many things to see and do but for some reason when I'm in Idaho I'm kept under close watch. If I move towards an exit, I'm almost tackled as if I were trying to steal something. But it was great to hang for a few hours. Thanks for the fun party sister. Also thanks to my buddy Jake for the sweet shoes he let me wear. It was all worth it.

What a Shippy Life

2009-02-09T01:21:00.000-08:00

HER MAJESTY OF THE SEAS

(The Ship, not my mother in the lower corner)

Ever been on a cruise? I now am proud to say I have. I spent my first of many cruises to come on rough waters between Miami and the Bahamas. It was a short cruise that left on Friday and came back on Monday morning but it was a good way to get in touch with my inner seafarer desires. So funny thing was while we were docked I looked around and saw everything and enjoyed the beauty of the ship. I couldn't help but think why I had never considered being a captain on a cruise ship. How hard could it be? Then we did a little drill...
After the muster drill we sat down for dinner and from that moment on I realized people that works on ships must not get seasick like I do. Here is my mom showing off her investment in an attempt to put the pains aside. She claims they never worked and I tend to believe her as I heard regurgitation more than once.

The sickness I felt wasn't enough to make me want to never go on another cruise but it made me realize I was not meant to be on sea, birds are meant for land. This bird, the odd and rare Brooklyn Bird loved life at sea. She was convinced that she could take the pizza man home with her to bake her pizza anytime she wanted as if she were still on the ship. She also loved the little pool party they had one night. They started dancing and I had to snap a few shots of my little sister who was breakin it down with the best of them.

Besides food, I don't remember much. The food was extremely good. The first night I had lamb with something I didn't understand, the second night I had Steak that didn't need A-1 and the last night I had the option for snails but I passed and went with the shrimp cocktail to start, a ceaser salad, a roast and banana something custard cake with a special order of ice cream.

There was some time to do other things. I spent the early afternoon hours sitting up on deck getting a little sun as I relaxed. I loved to just stand on the deck and watch things. The sports court was a fun place to hang out as well. We watched a competitive dodge-ball tournament as well as basketball games and little kids playing soccer. I tried to hook Brooklyn up with them but she was a little skiddish with the idea of a teen club. It was all fun. I was often scared I'd be marked as "gone overboard" if I didn't check in with my mom so I did that as she sometimes forgets things like I know how to not fall off a ship and I don't even like to swim.Being away from everything was great, knowing how inexpensive this little vacation was really great and having everything I needed and more all confined on a moving resort was awesome. I mean hey, they even let me board with my mom and sister. They made the journey fun and I was happy to be with them. If I had to do it again I'd probably drug up my mom a little more so she could enjoy things other than the shuttle from the port back to the airport. I thought for a second she was going to exchange me for the driver. Afterall, he was the guy that reminded us if anyone asked we needed to say we made a reservation last week. Everyone on the shuttle was thinking the same thing but we made it and I'm glad I dont' live in Miami.

Where I've been and what I've seen

2009-01-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

One may think that I haven't been doing anything with my life since I came home from Guatemala. Truth is, I've had many adventures since then but other things on my mind besides posting about them. While the Guatemala trip was awesome, a quick trip driving to Idaho was pretty enjoyable and made me think I must be crazy.

After work my friend and I took off. He drove for 2 hours, I drove for 2 hours. During my shift we had a close call with the Nevada Highway Patrol but nothing serious. We took an exit soon after where he drove for the next 4 hours and I drove the rest of the way to Idaho.

We got there about 8 am and the Spud Day Parade started at 10 so we had some time to relax. The small town parade life was awesome.

I was impressed with the turn out of Spud Day fans. It hailed, and rained, and was also sunny and bright. It just changed as quick as could be. I ate a world famous Winder Funnel Cake and I was in heaven.

At about 2 pm we left the small town fiesta and went home where we were quickly sleeping in the recliners that can only be found at the Bird house. We slept right through the Spud Tug or as some call it a tug-o-war over a pit of mashed potatoes.

When we woke up we went to the tourist spots as my family heavily insisted and while it wasn't much, my compadre was liking it. We saw potatoes in a cellar, I guess it doesn't get much better than that.

Next thing I knew it was 11:30am we were leaving church and out on the open road again. We made pretty good time for some reason even though I thought I did a much better job at keeping Bonnie around the speed limit. It must have been when my friend was driving. So we drove about 26 hours and spent about 27 hours in Idaho. It was a great trip but next time I think I'm just going to fly. Driving is so much work and it only makes me want to be a trucker.

I also went to Phoenix where my best friend I met on my mission got married. Sadly there is no proof to show I was there. I took my camera but never took a picture. I'm not exactly sure why this happened but most likely because I was not in a tourist type mood. I only like to take pictures when I'm feeling like a tourist.

I got to go inside the Mesa temple where he was married and that was pretty neat. My favorite part about this was his dad, I call him Mayor since he is the mayor of the great city of Duncan AZ, met me about 4 minutes before and was asking everyone in the temple if they had any single girls in their parties about my age. It was really funny as moms and grandmas would look me up and down to see if they could find a match. I told him there was no need to do such a thing as I never hope to live in such a hot place.

Another great part about Arizona was the family I stayed with. My fake grandma and grandpa I also met in Honduras were there and I stayed with them, their son, his wife and their 3 kids. That was really fun because we got to see the sights together. Costco was on place we went that sticks out. The two younger kids had on those shoes with wheels and they kept skating into me and I'd spin them around and get them in trouble but the adults didn't know I was doing anything to make them go faster and the kids didn't tell on me! It was a quick trip as my trips usually are but it was worth it to see my friend and his beautiful bride together.

Last day already

2008-09-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

I´m sitting in Guatemala, not really sure where the last few days have gone. Sorry there aren´t more photos like I had hoped. My plan was every 2nd day put the pictures I had taken on a cd and then I´d be able to put them on this blog. Sadly the memory card went bad and so I had to buy a new one but if fits like 10 times the amount of fotos so I didn´t have to keep putting them on cd´s. The pictures will come later when I am back in the good old USA. For my dad this has been an eye-opening experience. He really did love it and I feel that he came to understand why I love it so much here.

It is the people. Every where we went the people were wonderful. They are so happy and they love to live each day. They have simple lives without all the distractions that we face in the U.S. There wasn´t a day that I didn´t run the numbers to see how I could live down here. Old friends and new were so kind and friendly. Wherever we went we found friends and many of them you just feel like you have known them forever. I feel very lucky to have been back here and especially to have been able to bring my dad so he could see some sights and sounds of a very different world.

He says he wants to come back so there may just be another chapter later on. We will see how well that works out because afterall, today he tried to buy a stuffed squirrel for my little sister. It was very expensive though, better just catch one outside and give it to her. The world is a great place and I´m glad to have seen some more of it this last week.

Sunday is well, lots of sun day

2008-09-01T08:25:00.001-07:00

A picture with Fernando in the corner, read about him below.

Hola from Honduras. We slept well in the high rollin hotel and woke up to go to church in a little pueblo called Buena Vista. This is a pueblo where I lived 3 years ago. I could find a few landmarks but we ended up having one of my old friends take us around so we didn´t get too lost. We got to church and of course we were the only white people and everyone was very excited to see us. It was hard for me because many of the people I recognized but couldn´t remember the names. Of course we were all gathered in this little house converted to church and I was asked to share a message with the people. I was very excited to do this and it really was a great experience. However, when I stood up not 3 minutes passed by when the power went out. The little fan that we had going would no longer work so I knew it was going to get hot. I spoke on many things and reminded them of how lucky they are to live in such a great place. As I did this I was just sweating to death. Then I was done and I guess I didn´t talk as long as they wanted because the leader asked me to see if my dad wanted to speak too. So he got up and would say a sentence and I´d translate it for the people. It was a great experience to be there but I was soaked in sweat as this happened. My old friend Fernanado who used to just run around the streets without clothes was there with only shorts on and he wanted to keep touching me and hugging me as well and flip me off. He´s not all there and how Downs Syndrome but is one funny kid. I think I scared him a little when he blew me a kiss so I blew one back. Everyone laughed and I was just full of more thoughts of living in Buena Vista forever. Here are some pictures from Sunday.

Washing my hands in the PILA before going inside to help a lady make tortillas.The fire where the tortillas were cooked, you can also see some amazing meat that we ate cooking over the fire as well. It was a meal fit for a king.

The hotel where we stayed. Funny thing is the bottom line reads with all your extras. My dad thought that the spots on the sheets, hidden hairs between covers, toilet that leaked into the shower and the sink faucet that sprayed more water out the top that out the correct spot were all extras. He was very shocked by all the things that could happen and needless to say we had brought out sheets and he broke them out to sleep tonight. I froze as my dad insisted on having the AC on all night which was pretty much like sleeping with a semi truck. It was quite the night but we woke up in one piece and to the driping of the shower. I´ll find a picture of that later.

Sort of sideways but just tilt your head to enjoy the bathroom where we tried to get clean. I however think I was cleaner before, the towel I used didn´t exactly smell like roses.

Day of Travel

2008-09-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday 30 August 2008

Today was an eye opening experience. For some reason I thought that a trip down the old PANAMERICAN HIGHWAY would be quick and easy. Little did I know that pretty much the entire trip would be in the winding roads of the mountains. It was a long drive but it was all so cool that I couldn´t close my eyes. Besides that if I would have tried chance are I´d open them only to find a car trying to pass coming right at us honking the horn. So I was able to see many pretty places in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. I´m going to try to attach some pictures of that. Most of you who know me would be proud to know that I actually paid full price for something. Our first night in Honduras we stayed at the nicest hotel within a 3 hour ride. It was nice and the gecko in the shower didn´t scare my dad as much as it scared me.

The Guatemalan city of Antigua and my dad.

We slept well and I was enjoying the AC because it was so hot without it. You can´t just sit down and not sweat. It´s very humid and sticky like no other. It has been 3 years since I´ve been here so I guess I forgot how great it was.

The road ahead, we passed quite a few buses and one even had people hanging out of it. Sorry but I can´t see the pictures before I select them so I just have to add them without being too picky.

A small view of the valley below. I took this going about 80mph so I figured it turned out ok.

Some deep question of life answered today

2008-08-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

I am here in a 8x8 room in Mexico City using internet. The plane leaves soon but I had to document this before I forgot.

#1. We are taking off and for some reason every time I fly on MEXICANA, they ask us to open the windows for take off and landing. I told my dad what they had just said and asked him why.
His response was classic.
That way if we crash the Mexican newspapers can get good pictures of the passengers since they love to put that bloody stuff on the front page.

I think he may be true.

#2 Also my dad confessed that since 1963, he has been wondering why Chino in West Side Story was called Chino. Without knowing I told him today how some latins are nicknamed Chino because they look a little Asian or what not. The light clicked for him and it all made sense, it was as if I solved a 43 year old mystery. I just laughed. What fun.

#3 I love watching people look at my dad when he says things in spanish I tell him to say. On the second flight I taught him how to ask for peanuts. I was sure he could do it but as soon as the lady came with drinks he woke me up and said PEANUTS! PEANUTS! I was not sure what he was trying to say but I told him to ask the stewardess and she said I will go check and never came back. I wish I could have taken a picture of his face after he asked. It does not get much better than this. Pictures to come soon.

Let the fun begin

2008-08-28T15:03:00.001-07:00

This time tomorrow I'll be hanging out in Guatemala. Not sure what I'll be doing but it will be fun. This is my farewell to America for a few days. My blog should keep you updated on my whereabouts if I can find the necessary equipment to post. You are invited to enjoy this wild ride.

Almost two years ago I lived in Honduras. A small central american country. I lived there for two years as I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the best experience I have ever had. I loved every moment of it and loved the people and the lifestyle. From day one I said to myself, "Self, my family has to come here." Finally I am going to be able to take my dad to see some of what I lived back in my prime.

We will mostly be visiting the old towns I lived in and visiting with the many people that became my family away from home. My dad is a little nervous but I don't blame him, I know it will be fun though and it will most certainly be an adventure, from the flight to the dogs lining the dirt roads, I'm sure his eyes will be wide open the whole time trying to believe what he is seeing.

I'm excited to go and I'm glad you are interested in following my journeys.

Here's a schedule of my next few trips I have planned:

Guatemala/Honduras 8/29-9/9/08

Shelley Idaho Spud day 9/19-9/21/08

Phoenix Arizona 10/16-10/18/08