November 2010

We have recently returned from a 3 week collecting trip to Brazil. Wayne also taught a class to complete the requirements of the grant he received.

 

The trip to Brazil went well until 15 minutes out on our flight from São Paulo. The right engine had an explosion and fire. We had window seats, right behind the wing with a night departure. It showed up really well. I'm glad that I didn't know at the time that the plane only had two engines. Hopefully this is a once in a lifetime experience. We made it home 12 hours later than scheduled, but safe. ********************************************** We now return to our normal life. Martha, Madelyn, and I attended a Thanksgiving Feast at Aaron's preschool. The day was beautiful and the kids enjoyed playing in the playground. Madelyn, our brave granddaughter who loves all insects, met her match. She kept her distance from the "daddy long legged" spider that I was trying to show her. She even gave it what I called "the evil eye".

 

We found lots of leaves in our yard, not a surprise. Fortunately a scout in our ward is earning money for an Eagle Project and we greatly appreciated his work.

 

Summer Fun

We had fun this summer with the grandkids and are now back in Curitiba, Brazil, finishing the project we started last December. We will be here for two and a half weeks. We arrived yesterday and attended our first churrasqueria today--the High Priest's Group "Dia dos mortos" (= Memorial Day) celebration. It was fun to see many of our Brazilian friends. By the way, they told us fly collecting would be great, and it was. We even had helpers!

Every child loves a fire truck and to have a fire truck and jeep compined....

 

 

And, every child dreams of riding a horse. Our grandkids were able to ride several this summer--thanks to horse owners who wanted to make a little extra $$$. Please notice that we hire a secret service agent to accompany our kids.

 

 

I'm A Cowboy

Favorite movie character--"Woody". Favorite vintage toy: "the cowboy", which is the first thing he finds when he walks in the door. We'll be having beans for dinner, best eaten cold.

 

 

 

Cousin Fun

Aaron is staying with us while Michael and Jenny are visiting Arizona. Aaron and Madelyn love playing together. We visited the playground at Lunga Lake on Quantico Marine Base--very safe! They enjoyed the equipment and loved the sand.

 

 

 

We also visited Westmoreland State Park on the Potomac River. It was the day after school started. The weather was great and we had the whole beach to ourselves!

 

 

 

 

New Neighbor

 

Something new to the neighborhood--interesting but not necessarily welcome.

Columbia River

Wayne has been in Costa Rica and I traveled to Washington to visit family. Hopefully my sisters will send me some pictures of our Oregon Coast vacation because I forgot to take my camera. Dad, Clair, and I went fishing one day on the Columbia River, very close to the farm. We were unable to catch any fish to keep, but were successful in hooking some small sturgeons. It is only catch and release so we didn't keep any. The water was so smooth that it would have been great water skiing, but Columbia River water is cold--probably because it is released from the bottoms of so many dams.

 

 

 

These unfortunate campers pulled their boat up to their campsite and went peacefully to bed. Over night, the water level dropped so much that their boat was left high and dry. The amount of water released from the dams controls the level--too bad they forgot to check the web site.

 

June, 2010

Since we returned from Brazil, we have had a great time seeing our family both in Virginia and Utah. We were in Salt Lake for the 4th of July. We are now off on separate travels. Wayne is in Costa Rica for two weeks attending the International Congress of Dipterology and Dianne will be in Washington on vacation.

 

 

 

 

 

The End of Our Brazil Adventure Is Near

We are nearing the end of our six months in Brazil and have enjoyed our stay. We will return in the fall for 1 month when the weather is warmer. Yesterday we packed the last of the flies that we are taking to Washington--everyone excited? It is winter and we are no longer able to collect. There is still has a lot of work to do to complete the project, but Wayne can do it at the Smithsonian. We have seen beaches, mountains, waterfalls, jungles, and several large cities with lots of traffic. Many people have been very helpful to us and we have enjoyed associating with them. All aspects of the project have been successful.

Our neighbors when we first arrived:

 

Our neighbors as we leave. They work long hours.

 

On June 2 we will be back home in Stafford.

 

Mother's Day in Manaus

On Mother's Day, which is an important holiday in Brazil, we were invited to one of the scientist's home to celebrate with his extended family. We ate a favorite fish, Tambaqui. Fish is a mainstay on the menus in Manaus but we also had sausages, cuts of beef, rice, farinha, and salsa. We enjoyed the day.

 

 

Our Jungle Hike

On Saturday we were taken on a collecting trip to the jungle north of Manaus. We visited two different forest sites. Both times the vegetation was very thick and so was the hot, humid air. We came out soaking wet, and not from rain! Collecting seemed a bit poor, but Wayne was surprised to find a lot of diversity in the flies we found.

 

 

 

 

This jungle camp was on the trail we were hiking. I'm assuming that it is for the use of scientists since we were on a preserve.

 

 

This stream was crystal clear, complete with white sand and...

 

a convenient community drinking glass. We passed.

 

Our collecting crew--a student, 2 professors, and us.

 

Manaus Opera House

While we were in Manaus, we visited the world famous opera house. "Any traveler seeking world-class performances and cultural tradition awash in vibrant, living history should add the Manaus Opera House to their list of destinations." Unfortunately we only took a tour and were unable to attend a performance. Remember, this is in the middle of the Amazon. There is one road out of town and it heads north into Venezuela. To get to Manaus there are two convenient options--plane or boat.