Nicaragua Vacation

Earlier this month, Jill, Adrian and I flew down to Nicaragua to spend a week with Jill's family (her brother works there as the director of Nicaragua Christian Academy). Since I've included more photos than anyone really cares to see, I'll just give a brief overview by answering the FAQs about our trip.

1. How did Adrian do on the plane?
Just fine. He slept more or less the whole way. He was actually kind of fun--people's faces would light up when they saw him, and then their smiles would get even bigger when they saw our seats were not by them. And of course, we got plenty of helpful childcare tips from complete strangers (including a flight attendant who had strong opinions about where babies should and should not be changed.)

2. Did you stay at Liam's house?
We love each other--but not that much. While Liam's two bedroom home serves its function for him and his family, it would have been a bit snug for all of us. Instead, we rented a three bedroom, three bath home just outside of San Jaun del Sur--a small village on the Pacific. Among the homes many perks were plumbing that allowed us to flush our toilet paper and showers that provided hot water without the threat of severe electrical shock.

3. What did you do?
As the pictures suggest, we sat around and read, splashed in the pool, played board games (I even let my in-laws win a game or two of Ticket to Ride), sweat, and stared at babies most of the day. San Jaun del Sur is known for its surfing--and I had brief visions of taking a few lessons--but that never materialized. I'm sure I would have dazzled them all with my sweet farmer/biker tan and cat-like agility.

4. Did you stay healthy?
Yes. Thankfully. Last time we were in Nicaragua that was not the case. All that needs to be said about that is that there are better ways to spend your vacation. Oh, while we stayed healthy, we had a close encounter with a scorpion (found one on a car seat, inches away from baby Judah's elbow) and I may have feared for my life when I was forced to drive on Nicaraguan roads while trying to keep up with my Nascar inspired brother-in-law.

Stranded!

I've been in Grand Rapids the past few days (see my other blog for more info.). It was a fine few days, but much to my chagrin, I'm still here. That's right, I got up at 4:40 am and drudged off to the airport only to discover that my flight had been cancelled due to fog. So now I'm stuck here until 3:30 pm. Ugh.

I came here full of good intentions, of course. I was going to finish this week's sermon and get started on next weeks. Finish the four books that have been staring me down for the last month. Prepare for my adult ed class on Sunday. Read the Bible through in a single sitting. Oh, the mighty plans I had.

But, needless to say, few of them came to fruition. Somehow, I found other things to occupy my time. I got caught up in my novel. Chatted with old friends. Adjusted my glasses (new frames last week are still driving me nuts). And, oh yeah, watched cable TV.

I used to want cable. Secretly, of course. In fact, Jill and I used to have a "deal" (I'm not sure how serious either of us where) that if we made x amount of dollars we could get cable. I don't know if we've crossed that magic line yet or not (I don' think so), but we have made a choice not to get cable in our home. This week, I was reminded of at least three reasons why I'm glad we made that choice. (And pardon me if I sound like a real snob here--don't want to be one of "those people" who says, "Sure, I watch TV--did you see that new episode of Nova last night on PBS?). Here they are in, descending order:

3. Espn2/Espn Classic--Okay, I'm sure its hard to find sporting material to fill all 18 Espn channels (they could try bike racing, but I digress). But seriously. Turn on ESPN2 and you know what you get? Poker. Yeah, you heard me. Poker. What's next, Nascar? (Oh, wait...). And you know what was on ESPN Classic? An episode of "American Gladiator" from the mid 80s. At least there is some physical activity involved there (and some impressive mullets), but give me a break.

2. VH1--it's depressing to me that as a culture, we actually care so much about so-and-so's divorce/shopping habits/weight gain/weight loss. Even more depressing is that many of the shows on this channel make "Paradise Hotel" look tasteful.

1. "The Pussy Cat Dolls." Do I really need to say more?