Friends and family - Road trip 2018

More stuff I missed from June. Catching up with the Underwood's, a bonus visit with George and Stephanie, the Alabama Sharma and the Davises all in a few days.

USMC JROTC Academic Team National Champions

Congratulations to Neil's team on earning top honors for the Marines.

Washington DC in June

We picked up Neil and met up with Marvin Williams for a quick visit in Washington DC on our way to the reunion.

Nichols Family Reunion 2018

Just realized that I never posted anything from the Reunion back in June. Tommy and Nancy hosted us again on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

Guayaquil sights

We've said good-bye to Las Palmas and returned to Guayaquil to prep for the next stage of our trip. While here we walked the Malecon which is a combination of amusement park and boardwalk. We rode on South America's largest Ferris Wheel, Las Perle ($3.49/ea for one 12-minute revolution). We were up for sunset, the pictures weren't great but the view was.

Then we had dinner and climbed the 500 steps to Faro Cerro Santa Ana, the lighthouse. It's a steep, but easy climb up through a very touristy part of town with list of shops, restaurants as bars along the way. Again the view was worth it. And again we still for a drink near the top on the deck of a "sailing ship".

Whale watching tour

We joined Mary, Lory, Barb, Tom and Angela for a few hours of whale watching. It started with a ceviche breakfast at House De Chuky, included tons of whales, snorkeling under the blue footed boobys and ended with drinks on the beach. Best day ever.

The sulfur spring at Agua Blanca

>
> The laguna at Agua Blanca is sulfurous. The mud is rumored to be beneficial for your skin. $10 gets you a 20 minute therapeutic mud massage. Swimming in the laguna is included in the price of admission. The hike in was beautiful with many birds and bands of pigs.