R&R 2014 Part II: New York: Little Peanut in the Big Apple

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From the Brooklyn Bridge to DUMBO to the High Line and Ground Zero...Annika got a nice taste of New York, and her dad got more than a few photos. Nate, Gigi, Dave, and Seth made cameo appearances. We picked up the Grand-MiMi, who had just flown in from Africa after hanging out with adorable baby elephants. We were fortunate to spend time in the city with "new" New Yorkers Sandy and Dan, and seasoned New Yorker the Gotham Girl herself (now known as Auntie GG). After leaving the city, we made a quick stop in Old Greenwich to catch up with Jordan and meet Harrison and Bennett (so photogenic!). To view the entire album click here.

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R&R 2014 - Part I: Washington, DC/Virginia/West Virginia

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We kicked off our 2.5-week R&R in DC with good friends and food. Our hosts, Nate and Gigi, treated us like royalty. Annika visited Virginia vineyards with Uncle Jon and Aunt Nancy, and we enjoyed oysters and steak with Uncle Sergio. We then drove south to Roanoke. Annika loved meeting her Grandma Betty and Auntie Diana, and we were treated to another wonderful home-made meal at the Bright Tower. We had a beautiful taste of fall in West Virginia, where cousins Amos and Daisy kindly shared their birthday with us! We loved seeing Aunt Patty, Uncle Bill, Anne, and Darren, too. We made a quick stop in Thomas, WV to see Johnny and the Purple Fiddle before heading back to DC to catch up with lots of friends--Annika attended her second happy hour at Lyon Hall (luckily bringing a baby to a bar seems to be well-accepted in Arlington). And then we were off to New York...whew! And we're not even half-way there... To view the entire album click here.

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As Close As I'll Get To A Tornado In Quito

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Yesterday morning started out very sunny and at 9,500 feet the sun can warm up the surface pretty quick. Marcela mentioned that usually if the day starts out with a lot of sunshine we could expect some storms. Sure enough, storm clouds began to build over the Cumbaya valley just east of Quito. As the storm headed towards us, I noticed some rotation in the clouds above just north of the storm. This is about as close as I'll get to a tornado here in Quito. In any event, we got about an inch of rain and small hail from this storm. Annika enjoyed it as well of course. http://svelazquez.smugmug.com/Random/i-XFHcK9x/A

Cotopaxi Part Deux

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One of the things we love most about Quito is its proximity to incredible scenery such as that found at Cotopaxi national Park. So we made our second trip to Cotopaxi, this time with the little peanut in tow. We were lucky to catch clear weather that permitted unobstructed views of Ecuador's second-highest volcano and the highest active volcano in the world. I may have taken a few too many photos of the peak, but it's not often that Cotopaxi comes out of hiding from the cloud cover. To view the entire album click here.