Tenq

 Our day in Tena started with a two hour walk through the jungle.  The Amazon rainforest is a unique ecosystem where you can see wildlife, insects, animals and plants.  The vegetation was very dense and not at all familiar to us.  

We did meet some interesting characters 

Later tonight we will do a night walk through the jungle to check out the sounds and sights after dark.
 

 

 We began our trip to Ecuador with a non stop flight to Orlando, FL.  On Friday morning, before boarding our flight south, we walked around a small lake near the Ramada hotel.  We watched at this bird was working on getting his breakfast.

We arrived back at the airport and boarded our flight to Quito, Ecuador.  We arrived at night and saw very little but could tell that this was a very hilly area.  Saturday morning we began with a city tour that took us by several churches, a high end chocolate shop, the Presidential palace and the central square.  The streets were very busy and there were all kinds of street vendors.

 We went into the San Francisco Church

 After our city tour we boarded a bus for a five hour drive to the Amazon Basin and the small town of Tena.  Along the route, we climbed to the highest point in Ecuador, in excess of 12,000 feet.  We were really in the clouds.

We stopped to see several waterfalls along the route.

Arriving in Tena we took a mile long dirt road to our hotel which consisted of several wooden cabins.  Our room was on the second floor with a great balcony and a view of the forest.  We met our guide who would be with us for the next few days.  

Dinner was great and we look forward to our jungle walk tomorrow.
 
 

Nutcracker

Again this year we were able to see Bennett appear in the local version of the Nutcracker.  He has been doing it for several years with ever increasing parts, this year as the Prince.  He really did a great job in his part.  

 

We were privileged to see professional dancers from the Dance Theater of Harlem.  Needless to say, they were really good.

Bennett has been awarded a nutcracker for each year that he has participated in the show.  His collection of five is displayed above the fireplace at home.  This year he was given the one with the sword since he was the Prince.

We also took a family picture, including Lilly the dog, as our last shot of the trip.  It is snowing but we are heading home shortly.

Black Friday

 We have been in Saranac Lake for the better part of a week and generally confined to the house.  It has been really cold here and on Thanksgiving day we got about five inches of snow.   On Friday we finally ventured out to town to get some coffee and do a bit of shopping.  Both Jeff and Cheryl found some bargains in one of the outdoors stores and we were able to get a few steps in. 

 The town and river looked good with the snow.

 

Saranac Lake

On Wednesday we saw  the Roommate and then met Cheryl and Dave for Our Town.  Both plays were great.  We also went to MOMA for a brief shopping trip.   No pictures on this part of the trip although we did get one of our dinner.  

On Thursday we took the train to Albany then drove to Saranac Lake.  It was rain and snow all the way up.  

The first thing Anna Lee had to do was see if Bennett was taller than her.  He made it.    

On Friday it was Bennett’s school day and we joined in the program.  Bennett was working on animation for an art project and he chose a movie of a character jumping.  Really cute. 

Then it was into his play.  He played three segments in a play called “The Nine Worst Breakups of All Time”.  He did well but then we are prejudiced.

New York, NY

After several years we have returned to New York City for a visit.  We will be meeting Cheryl and Dave in a few days but first we have the opportunity to eat and see theater on our own.  We flew in on Monday night and, needing dinner, we walked a few blocks from the hotel.  We happened on a tiny restaurant featuring Uyghur cuisine.  Never having had the experience, we went in.  To say it was wonderful is an understatement.  That they served rice noodles which satisfied Anna Lee’s diet needs was all we needed to hear.  It would be our go to place if it was in Sacramento. 

 

Tuesday morning we went to walk the High Line.  It is an old railway track site that was used from the late 1800s to about 1950 to service the industrial area of the City.  When it fell into disuse, deteriorated, and was abandoned, the City acquired it and transformed it into a park and a two mile long walking area.

We did a short part of the walk which was only a few blocks from our hotel and it was well worth the effort.  Interesting art work.

 

 

 

 The path is planted with greenery which is not at its best in November but still full of attractions including art displays, restaurants and sights including the old rail yard.  There is even a view of the cruise ship terminal with a couple of liners currently in port.  

Tuesday night we met our friend’s daughter for dinner at Carmine’s.  It is an old and touristy dinner house near Time Square.  All of the dishes are served family style and huge.  The suggestion was that we simply order one salad and one dinner.  We decided to skip the salad and go with two dinners and still had a bag of leftovers.  

 After dinner we went to see Left on Tenth, a play about relationships and dealing with cancer.  It was great and the acting was out of this world. 

Even later in the evening walking the streets of NYC is noisy, busy and a treat for us.

Nutcracker and the Wild Center

For the third year, Bennett has a part in the Lake Placid Performing Arts Center performance of the Nutcracker Ballet.  He is playing Fritz, Clara’s brother and does an excellent job.  We were allowed to take pictures at the dress rehearsal the day before the actual performance so we could share them with you.  No photos allowed during the actual performance.

In case anyone wonders, it is cold in upstate New York.  After the rehearsal, we spent the evening at the Wild Center, a museum in Tupper Lake to see their holiday lights display.  We wandered the grounds for about an hour in 15-17 degree cold.  As there was snow on the ground we really had to walk carefully but, fortunately, no slipups.  One of the features of the program was lights decorating the stick house that we saw during our a previous visit.  It really looked great at night. 

 

Having had enough cold, we went into the museum building where Bennett enjoyed a VR experience flying through an ancient landscape.  The device has a fan in front of the travelers head so the experience is not just visual, it does seem as if you are flying.  The screen in the background shows what the flyer is seeing but not in 3D.