Peru

Carla, Jeanne & I traveled to Peru for one very unique adventure. None of us had ever been to South America and it was truly a beautiful place. It had been several years since the 3 of us had been able to take a trip together & I must admit that it was a lot of fun hanging out with my sister & sister-in-law.
Destination Lima, Peru.
Let's get this trip started. Here are Carla & I before leaving outbound from Atlanta.
Carla & Jeanne getting ready to board the bus that would take us to our river boat in Puerto Maldonado.
On the boat ride over to our resort. Do you notice who that is in the background? None other than Julia Louis Dreyfus (Elaine) from Seinfeld. She and her family were staying at the same resort as us. Absolutely beautiful in person.
Cool shot aye? Two butterflies in the butterfly house at our resort.This is what the inside of our cabana looked like. It was awesome.
After a long day of traveling these hammocks came in handy. Jeanne enjoying the simple comforts of our trip.
This is the outside of our cabana. The name of the resort was Inkaterra & it was unbelievable. Notice the ginger growing right outside our door.
The infamous tree that Carla couldn't get enough of. haha.
Me Tarzan!!!! On our hike through the rain forest.
Here we are above the rain forest. We climbed 200 feet & were amazed at the beautiful views.
Here I am crossing one of the suspended bridges that connected us to multiple platforms in the forest.

Crossing the canopy.
Carla & Jeanne before we took our LONG hike in the forest to Lake Sandoval.
Dang girl, lose some weight. So we get to Lake Sandoval and all of these Rickshaws are there in the middle of no where.
One of my favorite pics from the trip. Carla hates it because she looks like death warmed over, but it is beautiful with the sunset overlooking the rain forest.
Another shot overlooking the rain forest.
Here I am at Sacsayhuaman. Carla called this "sexy woman". :)
Carla & Jeanne after their Peruvian makeovers.
We had a blast white water rafting while we were there as you can tell by this shot.
Man overboard! We thought we were going to lose Carla. Dang Cletus, get a grip!
The Apple Dumpling gang before our horseback riding through the Sacred Valley.
I think Carla & Jeanne are actually bigger than their plugs :)
Giddy up cowboy!
Overlooking the Olay tambo River in the Sacred Valley.
Fun night in Cusco enjoying our Pisco Sours.
What is that on the plate you might ask? Why it is Cuy otherwise known as fried Guinea Pig.
Tastes like chicken. The guinea pig actually tasted quite good minus a few hairballs.

Actual video of the experience.
Later in the evening after enjoying too many Pisco Sours. As Jennifer said, "nice cavity".
Market in the Sacred Valley
Here is a picture of our resort in the Sacred Valley called Sol y Luna. Ron Howard was actually staying at this same resort while we were there.
All aboard the Orient Express which takes you to Machu Picdhu. A beautiful train ride that takes you through some amazing scenery in Peru.
Some of the native Inca dancers as we are boarding the train.

Cool video of the dancers. Bless the far little guys heart in the back. Poor guy just doesn't have rythym.
Jeanne & I enjoying the views from the train.
I just want to say that Ron Howard could not have been a more gracious person. He took countless pictures for all his fans. Here we are as we arrived in Aguas Calientes. He stayed at the same hotels that we did for the next several days.

The back of the car they had entertainment adjoining the bar. Hmm, go figure :). Here are some of the musicians getting the passengers involved.
This is what I wanted to see most on this trip. Machu Picchu is truly a sight to behold.
This IS my favorite picture of the trip. We made it! Yay!!!
Another shot of Machu Picchu in the background.
Carla & Jeanne at the gate of Machu Picchu.
What's the password to get in?

The Inti Ramey festival.
Carla & Jeanne with some of the native dancers that were participating in the Inti Ramey festival which is the shortest day of the year in Peru.


Go Carla Go! Dancing through the streets of Cusco.
Here I am with 2 cute little girls & their goat in Cusco.

Hinkle's at the Beach

It is summertime & that means one thing in my family, FLORIDA. I met up with my family for a few days in the sun. We celebrated 3 birthdays while we were there. Dana, mom & Christopher all enjoyed another birthday & Christopher turned 21. Woohoo!!!!
Soaking up some rays & listening to waves roll in. Nice!
Dana with her oldest Bailey & youngest Lauren.
My Uncle Harry & Aunt Ramona whom I adore. They just bought a place in the same subdivision as my parents, so we will be seeing a lot more of them in the future.

A right of passage :). Lesley, Dana & I took Chris when the clock struck 12:01 to buy his first legal case of beer. As Elvis says, "Memories pressed between the pages of my mind".
Here's Jake after he face planted per Christopher's instructions into his birthday cake. Classic!!
Ahh, my crazy cousin Lesley. Gosh how I love this girl. She will entertain you to no end. Always so much fun to be around.
The night that will go down in history. This is after dinner & before many shots that would be consumed by Christopher. I can honestly say that Jamie, Dana, Lesley & myself will NEVER let him live this night down. :o)

Moab

I traveled to Moab, UT for Memorial Day with my friends Steve & Chase. None of us had ever been there & I must say that it is absolutely beautiful. The red rock in this area plus all of the National Parks make this a stunning party of our country. We were able to see Arches,Canyonlands & Dead Horse Point Parks.

Isn't this a great photo? Look at how massive this arch is in comparison to the person standing in it. In order to be considered an arch, an opening must measure 3 feet in any direction. I'm guessing the height on this opening was about 60 feet.

Chase & I hiking in Arches National Park. We hiked about 6 to 7 miles and lucked out that the rain stayed away. Our weather wasn't the greatest while we were there, but it held off enough for us to get outdoors.
This is Landscape Arch in the background. It is the longest of all the arches in the park and measures 290 feet.
Look closely and you can see Chase standing at the base of Partition Arch. This arch is massive & I'm guessing measures about 50 to 60 feet in height.
Steve and Chase standing in Navajo Arch. This arch got its name since it was discovered by a Navajo Indian many years ago.
Pit stop & I need a cocktail. I wonder if I should have put vodka in my Camelpak instead of water. Delish!!!!
The lighting just wasn't great for Chase's glamor shot. SMILE!!!!!
I know you really can't tell from this photo, but the drop off from this rock I'm standing on was probably 100 feet. Yikes!!!!


I couldn't help myself and had to make a video of Chase climbing out on the rock. Hilarious!!!!
It is the mayor of Pruderia signing new legislation into effect in Moab. We loved this restaurant called Buck's while in Moab.So I ate somewhere for only the 2nd time on this trip and I swore 15 years ago that I would never eat there again. DENNY'S!!!!! Good thing they have Coca-Cola. Luckily it wasn't as bad as I remembered. Our waiter with his missing lower teef's (teeth) was real nice. :)

Chase trying to make me understand what it must be like to go out with someone who is 7 feet tall. Really???????
The three of us standing on Dead Horse Point which stands 6000 feet above sea level. The point is unique in that it provided a natural corral for the band of mustangs that roamed the mesas. The cowboys would trap the mustangs on the point which only had a 30 ft opening to escape.