Panama at Last

In September, Scott and Wendy left Quinn with Grandma Jan and Grandpa Glen and travelled all the way down to Panama to go surfing, see the sights, and remember what it was they used to talk about before the little man came along. We can't thank Grandma and Grandpa enough for coming down from Portland to let us do that. You guys are way cool awesome (and other adjectival contrivances too horrifying for Jan's English class to tolerate).

The journey down to the surf camp was a marathon. We arose at o'dark-thirty for the flight to Houston followed by the flight into Panama City where we met up with five dudes on a bachelor party surf trip and were transported to a bus terminal. Hanging out in a bus terminal waiting to catch a midnight bus for a 4-5 hour trip could have been much worse. Instead, we all bonded, drank some Panama beer (that's the brand) and watched the clock. At last we boarded our bus and immediately were chilled to the bone. They are serious about their air conditioning. By the time we got picked up and transported to the boat launch area we were zombies. However, once we hit the island, had breakfast, and got our room, Wendy was ready to hit the surf. Scott was actually a little hesitant and considered just staying in the room and sleeping. Thank goodness he didn't because that first morning's surf was the best of the week. We headed over to a rivermouth on the other side of the island and after a LONG LONG paddle, we started tucking into some juicy peaks with just enough peal to make things interesting. Since there were only seven of us and plenty of peaks, everyone got tons of waves. At last we called it a morning and headed in. If only we'd known, we would have stayed out there until we couldn't move any longer.

The rest of the week was spent waking early for breakfast then heading out in search of waves. After that first day size steadily decreased we even got hit with a crazy lightning storm that dropped at least 5in of rain in an evening (the rain gauge was completely full). Then the afternoons were spent doing yoga on the deck overlooking the local break, hiking to one of the disney-esque waterfalls, or just hanging out reading, playing scrabble or cribbage, or snoozing in the hammocks. We really lucked out in getting a week with some very cool Santa Cruz/San Francisco area people. One guy injured his arm the first day and spent the rest of the time fishing, providing some VERY tasty supplements to our meals. Even better was getting surfer muscle-oriented massages during the week to ease the strain of surfing so many hours at a time. By the end of the week we were ready for some hot showers and some more variety.

The journey back was slightly less grueling than the ride in; the air conditioning wasn't as powerful and there was an amazing storm to watch out the window. Panama's landscape is incredibly rugged yet covered with lush jungle in the west, giving way to more rolling hillsides closer to the capital. There are signs everywhere proclaiming the success of Panama's governmental programs in action, presumably funded by the fees from the Canal. Once we got back to the City, our taxi driver from the ride in met us at the bus terminal and took us to our hotel; a modest but serviceable place that had excellent #s of satellite tv stations. Wendy even got to watch the last few innings of a Padres/Rockies game (a portent of the end of the season to come since the Padres lost in 14 innings).

Panama City is crazy with new high-rise developments, international business of all stripes, typical Latin American crazy taxi drivers, and scary-looking slums. Fortunately, all taxi rides are $2, wherever you go.

We checked out the museum at the locks and found Scott's great-grandfather's employment record. We had lunch at the ritzy restaurant on site (yum!) and drank a bottle of wine while watching the boats go through.

We hiked ALL the trails in the municipal park and ran into Rich and Claudia from the island (of course!) after seeing amazing butterflies, hidden frogs, and troops of coatimundis. We saw many lovely songbirds, frigatebirds and hummingbirds but never caught a glimpse of any toucans or quetzals (next time).

We visited the OLD part of town from the days of the conquistadores and heard about some English explorers in a VERY different light. They were all pirates.


During our time away we spoke to Quinn on the phone a couple times and he really didn't miss us much at all. We missed him but we had a great time being a couple once again. Hopefully we'll be able to do it again next year. Have to admit, though, that the smile Quinn gave us when we walked through the door at last was one of the best memories of the trip.

Just 'cuz

I was rambling through photos and saw a few of Quinn that I had to throw up. Just 'cuz I'm his mom and I love looking at him. so there.

And Scott, too. Cross-stepping w/ style.

Mountain Climbing

The Meadow!

The new tent!

We have discovered a new fun place to go in SD county. Well, Scott already knew it was the best mountain biking in the county but now we all know that it also has some wonderful car camping where Quinn can run around naked and get covered in grime and it's all good. Talking about Mt. Laguna which is just shy of the Anza Borrego desert area. We'll definitely be going back and we definitely won't be making reservations. The place was nearly empty, most likely because temps had been in the upper 90s to over the century mark. Luckily our visit coincided with a slight cooling trend and we had a campsite rich with shade and a good breeze.

We shared our first night with many friends

Adam (~12 days younger than Q) came w/ mom, Sara and dad, Robert

Steve, who went on a couple of rides w/ Scott and had adventures.

Plus Auntie Ami, Uncle Bob, Adrienne and Mike who found us, eventually, and fed us well. Ami's lovely pix are at: http://www.flickr.com/gp/8927186@N07/8671B0

While Steve and Scott went for a ride the next day and pushed their limits, the rest of us went for a hike that can only be fully appreciated by those who have attempted to go on a lovely stroll with a couple of exhausted two-year-olds. Ah well, we'll make it out to the lake another time. It was actually very nice. Then everyone else left and the three of us stayed for one more day. Although Quinn was very sad to see his good pal, Adam, take off, we managed to amuse ourselves around camp and went for a couple more strolls down to the meadow. Anytime we headed down to the meadow for a hike, we had to climb over the sprawl of granite boulders that lay enticingly close to the entrance. Quinn is a natural scrambler (as his great-grandparents know) and conquered each peak with ease (and with mom and dad).

Then we went home via Julian and had pie. Yum!

Dude's gotta have his own stick

Costco is an economic marvel. Although we are not currently members, we have several friends who are and when Ross called to tell us that foam boards were currently on sale for 100 bucks, we asked him to pick one up for us. Living as close to the beach as we do, it's customary to offer a surf lesson to all visitors or even to loan a board to a friend who didn't want to bring theirs all the way up to north county. Now we have a worry-free option. An unexpected bonus in all this has been Quinn's reaction. The little man has been going to the beach since before he was born but has not really displayed a huge attraction for submergence in seawater. Granted, it's been a bit chilly of late. Since we returned from La Paz, we took the big blue sponge out to give it a try and the water is quite nice, in the 70s. Thus, it wasn't too surprising when Quinn finally consented to some water time, kicking through the waves in Wendy's arms while watching Scott take in a surf. However, when the board was offered to the little man, his enthusiasm for riding multiple waves and a declaration that he wanted to ride big waves by himself warmed the cockles of his parents' hearts and provided hope for a future that is not too distant where we will all hit the waves together.

Growth

Since changing from the website to the blog, I have not updated Quinn's growth chart. He is now 36 inches high and just over 1 1/2 stones in weight. You may want to click on the chart to see it in a size that is easier to read.

La Paz

We started out with a taste of many modes of transportation; the car ride to the train station to take the bus to the airport which ended with the taxi ride to the hotel. Whew! Quinn loved every second of it. Scott bought Harry Potter 7 in the airport since Wendy's pre-order was due to arrive the day we departed and she couldn't wait a whole week! No spoilers here.

Our hotel was quite lovely with a view of the bay, air conditioning, cable TV and a delightful swimming pool and playground area. We spent much time in the pool with Scott being instructed to be "an underwater shark" by our imperious small companion. Quinn would cling to Wendy's back and alternately shriek "run away! run away!" or "go get him!" while Scott swam around. Often there would be other children in the pool with inflatable toys to share. Good fun.

There is a wonderful element to travelling in Mexico with an attractive blue-eyed child. Most waiters, servers, and women passing by in the street tousle Quinn's hair, pinch his cheek or otherwise exclaim about the "bonito" child turning his head away shyly. We made him, we'll take all the credit for the magical genetic jumble that has produced this little guy.

Before Wendy's professional conference got going we had time to explore some of the beaches near La Paz together. There are many beautiful sandy beaches on which to relax, swim, rent kayaks and partake of the local fresh seafood nearby. The water is sparklingly clear but not all that warm considering our latitude, probably the mid to upper 70s depending on the depth. At the rockier parts of the shore, thriving coral reefs teem with butterfly and angel fish, wrasses, eels, needlefish, and other amusingly shaped tropical fish. We spent some time chasing after porcupine fish, trying to make them puff up threateningly.

Wendy, of course, neglected to take any pictures of the conference she attended. Suffice to say that the four days of the conference (Western Society of Malacologists' 40th annual meeting) were mostly pleasant, full of friendly academics and interesting science. While she was away Scott and Quinn continued to explore the area and rented a kayak to poke around the mangroves; observing schools of tiny fish, beautiful birds, and more clear water. Yes, that is Quinn hidden in his life jacket below. Safety first! Being on the kayak was his favorite part of the whole trip. He was very helpful paddling the kayak.

By the end of it all we were tired of delicious Mexican food, days spent in the water under beautiful skies, and not being able to get Quinn to take a proper nap. We took our taxi to the airport and the bus to the train and finally arrived back at our car which took us to our loudly complaining cat (thanks for watching after her Ross!) and home.

Girls love horses

It's true. It doesn't seem to matter much whether they grew up in the country or in town and Wendy is no exception. Her good friend, Megan, has a ranch up north of Escondido and the other weekend took her out on a trail ride. It was a lovely day, a lovely trail and although she has no authentic footwear, she managed to stay in the saddle without too much trouble. Of course it helped that Meg had already ridden the "girls" the previous day and had given them lots of food to keep their tummies settled and their demeanor calm. Thanks Meg!

Nor-Cal Trip: Mom's House and Eric and Indiana Visit

Next it was time to head to Grandma Pat's and Grandpa Norm's house for some hangin' out time. After the Medak clan headed home Scott's friend Erich came over with his enormous 20 month-old, Indiana. Quinn definitely needed a nap after that much fun and passed out with moments of his head hitting the pillow.


At last we had to head home; more fun in the airport watching airplanes and trucks and another nap in the air brought us safely home to a little high tide evening glass off. We couldn't have asked for much more in a vacation.

Nor-Cal Trip: Jamie and Casey Baby Shower

We all met up again at Great-Auntie Penny's and Great-Uncle Greg's beautiful Grass Valley cottage for Cousin Jamie's baby shower. Jamie looks beautiful, baby-to-be Estelle kept her squirming to a minimum and daddy-to-be Casey didn't look too nervous. It was great to meet him since we had narrowly missed being able to attend their wedding 2 years ago.