The Big Easy

After staying in Ocean City, Mississippi (a town that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina), we made our way to New Orleans. Since we've never been to there, we couldn't tell if it had changed since the hurricane struck. The architecture and the streets really made you feel like you were in an European city.



Apparently what didn't change, though, were the multitude of strip and gentlemen's clubs throughout the French Quarter. Scantily-clad ladies were strategically placed in front of the clubs to invite patrons to the "show". Also, the entrances were covered with pictures of what goes on inside...leaving little to the imagination. Here is Johnny covering his eyes near one of these clubs.







...a stroll down Bourbon street.

In one of the souvenir shops, the owner gave Johnny a spider man/duck mardi gras necklace. In this case, skin didn't win!

We asked around for a restaurant and the people recommended Oceana. How could we leave New Orleans without having Jambalaya and Gumbo? Johnny of course opted for the food made famous by the town's French founders.....the French fries. Maybe one of the days he'll appreciate better food!

Disney World

Before leaving Florida, how could we not make a pit-stop at Disney World?? Here is Johnny with the stars of the show. You probably can't see it, but Johnny has his Indiana Jones figure in his hand.

"Where is my super suit!" Frozone from The Incredibles wasn't exactly the most popular character to pose with there - actually, no one was in line to meet him. So, Johnny showed up for a sympathy pose.

We caught up with Mickey Mouse at Universal Studios. Sure, it's really a guy making $4.25 an hour under that suit, but to Johnny it was the equivalent to the second coming.

Johnny with Mr. and Mrs. Incredible - one of his favorite movies.

Our package also included Disney Quest. John and Johnny played video games until they kicked us out. This was the true Disneyland to John, since they had all of the classic video games from the 80's - Battle Zone, Jungle Hunt, Donkey Kong, Zaxxon, and about 100 others.

You can't tell from this picture, but it felt like it was 150 degrees this afternoon.

Miami Beach-June 21, 2008

Miami =Caliente!

Tampa Sea Aquarium

We were able to visit Tampa and met up with our friend Bobby. We went from Naples to Tampa, it is about a two and a half hour drive. If you haven't driven to Tampa one of the ways to get there is via the Sunshine bridge. And you do feel like you are going to reach the sun, the bridge is obnoxiously tall.

Johnny had a great time seeing all the sea life. It is not as big as the Shedd Aquarium and doesn't have as many exhibits but it had a lot of unique sea life. Johnny got to pet the sea rays.

We also got to go to a Rays game in their stadium dome. Johnny saw most of the game, mid way through the game he fell asleep and woke up in the ninth inning. The stadium is really nice because it is air conditioned, that Florida sun is hot.

Florida

Since our Peru trip we have been in Florida enjoying the great weather.
Unfortunately, our time here is ending and we are heading out west. We have been seeing the sites in Florida. And there are a lot of things to see in Florida. Our first trip was to the Naples zoo.
This is a great zoo, there are many animal exhibitions. We were able to see "feed the lions" and "feed the alligators". You can also go on a boat and see all the primates they have up close. They have eight different little islands with different types of species.

The lion was hungry and had a tendency to spray the audience. We kept our distance. There were a few people that got hit with the spray.

The alligators were huge. There were about twenty alligators and the biggest one was fifteen feet. We had a great time at this zoo and if you are in Naples you should check it out.

El Hipodromo- Horse track

We couldn't leave Peru without going to the horse track. The horse track is beautifully located in the town of Monterico.

You can sit in the stands or go to the lower section and see the horses up close. There is also a restaurant that is not expensive and the food is good.

John and mama Julia (or Mama Who-Who to Johnny) always seem to have the best luck. Mama Julia won money on the first few horses. John bet 20 soles on the last horse to win. The odds were pretty low. This was the horse's first race, "extreno". Number 8, and wouldn't you know it, number 8 came in first. Making John's bet of $8 worth $120.

We headed back home to finish packing. Unfortunately, I got ill and we couldn't fly out the next day. We left the following Wednesday. We had a great time in Peru. It was fun hanging out with the family and seeing the relatives.

Our visit to Lima, Peru

One sunny afternoon we decided to visit Lima. The center of city is home to the capital building and its many government buildings. Make sure when you enter the city to observe the buildings with beautiful Spanish balconies. Many were torn down over the years, and recently the government realized this action was destroying a significant portion of Peru's history and beauty. Therefore, they recently began restoration projects to bring the architecture back to its original incarnation.

Safety precautions are a necessity before you visit the city. Do not wear fancy jewelery even if it is fake. Thieves have been known to rip earrings and necklaces off unsuspecting women. One Peruvian woman, after noticing John and his western look, told us we should get off the street by sundown. We listened! If possible, place your wallet in your front pocket or a kangaroo pouch. Just take the basics: one form of i.d., one credit card (no Discover), and cash. Before you set off, exchange your dollar for some Peruvian soles.

Downtown Lima sells anything and everything you can think of. We bought extra pairs of eyeglasses for $20 with and without tint. We picked up painting supplies for John and Johnny for less than $5 (this included paint brushes, acrylic paints, and canvasas).

You can also find many restaurants with lunch specials. We ate at a restaurant that offered lunch for $3.00. We had an appetizer (Papa la huacaina, causa, soup or ceviche), an entree (arroz con pollo, pesto noodles with roasted chicken, Lomito or carne asada), and dessert (jello). The special also included salad, bread, and a tall glass of Chicha (Incan beverage made with fermented corn).

Ruins of Tucume

The Valley of Pyramids of Tucume are also found in Lambayeque. Locals call this area Purgatorio (purgatory). The locals never go into this area after dark. And healers believe the pyramids have special healing powers.












This location is huge, covering over 540 acres (including 26 major pyramids and platforms). From the entrance you have quite a walk with only a few small trees to block the intense sunlight. Make sure you have on comfortable shoes, sun block, and water.


The stairs up to the top of the pyramid are the ultimate stair-master. We had a few people stay in the bus, while others made the walk to the pyramid but then turned back when they saw the long stairs. That left a few suckers, er....um...I mean brave soles to climb the path. These stairs were not all the same size. Also, some were taller and steeper. In the end, the climb was well worth the lactic acid build up, with the awesome view of the mountains and pyramids.




It was a great adventure, as well as a workout. On your way back to the entrance there is a small park with a lot of shade and also sinks with cool water to clean yourself from all the desert dust. To see all the excavated items from this site visit the "Museo de Tucume" which is located in Lambayeque.

The wedding

The wedding was at 8:00 p.m.. A quarter to eight everyone was gathering to go into the church when the lights went out. The bride was taking her pre-wedding pictures when this happened. The reason we weren't in the church seated was because another wedding was taking place. Can you imagine when the priest is about to pronounce you man and wife the lights go off. The whole town was in the dark for about 15 minutes. The priest quickly finished the first wedding and then we witnessed my brother and Antone get married. It was a beautiful ceremony.

The place was very elegant and the food was great. Here in Peru there usually is no bar - what they do is put the liquor on your table. There was white wine, red wine, champagne, whisky and soda. Johnny mastered the ice tongs. If you needed ice in your glass, he was the man.

With all the liquor people were having a wild time. These two gals to the left got drunk on apple juice. In Peru, receptions typically last until 6:00 a.m the next morning. The meal finished around 10 p.m. and the party promptly began. The dance floor was packed. We have a lot of blackmail pictures...these offenders will remain nameless, but you know who you are. If a lot of people ask to see the incriminating photos I will post them.





This is around 3:00 a.m. All night Johnny wanted to dance and play these drums. The band let him come up several times. This is him performing "Babalu" I think. He took a 25 minute nap at midnight and was ready to hit the floor again. We finally left at 4:30 a.m. We had initially said good-bye to everyone at 4 a.m and were going to catch a cab with Kristine, Vilms, and Micheal. They were ready to go and I told them we would meet them downstairs. We waited and next thing I know they were back on the dance floor. I think they ended up closing the place down. Everyone had a great time.

Chiclayo Part II: The Ruins

The main pyramid of the site. Scientists determined this was man-made since it consists of adobe mud.

"Snakes....why'd it have to be....snakes?" An actual tomb with imitation artifacts. The tomb was discovered under a soccer field.

Another tomb....

Young Indiana Jones: The New Chronicles

Either the world's first elevator, or another tomb.

A view from the top of the pyramid.

This is actually good advise...if the pyramids eroded this badly from wind and rain - imagine what a good leak would do.

Walking the trail...

A view of the Andes Mts. in the distance. Although these appeared huge, they were probably considered speedbumps compared to the mountains toward the west.

Chiclayo is near the ruins of the Moche culture (which ruled the northern coast of Peru prior to the Incas - from 1AD to 700AD). The main village was known as Sipan, and houses an archeological site known as Huaca Rajada. The site consists of two large, eroded pyramids (built by the Moche people using adobe mud bricks). In addition, several tombs have been found in this area of upper echelon Moche people - including the Senor de Sipan (the tribes leader) which was located in 1987. Some archaeologists believe this is the most important discovery in the last 30 years because it was untouched by looters.

I imagined the ruins as quite a tourist attraction. Maybe they had a mall next to the pyramids that sold things like t-shirts with "I partied with El Senor de Sipan" printed on them. They could even have a McDonalds there that sold Moche burgers. How about a 80-foot water slide? The possibilities were endless.

On our third day in Chiclayo, a group of us decided to visit the ruins. We charted a bus we could fit in - which reminded me of the bus that Kathleen Turner rode and broke down in "Romancing the Stone", except that our's was smaller and in worse condition. As the bus ventured onto the highway, we wondered how long the ride would be. A member of the group, who shall remain nameless (but her name rhymes with "baron"), said "Oh, only about 10 minutes".

For the next hour, we passed several dirt farms, sugar cane fields, donkeys pulling carriages, and places along the side of the rode where people just dumped their garbage. Then our bus slowed down to about 2 mph, as we realized we were crossing a river on a one lane bridge. The bridge made one of those in Madison County look like the Golden Gate. This prompted Alex to turn white as rice, which was unusual considering he had developed a tan which rivaled George Hamilton's. He began muttering "This just isn't right! Something's wrong." Little did we realize at the time that he had rented a movie called "Turistas" before the trip. The movie was about a group of American tourists that go backpacking in Brazil, only to have their bus drive off a cliff, and then ending up in a cabin in the jungle where they begin to be murdered for black market body parts. I believe this was a new Disney film.

After crossing the bridge, the bus drove through a very run-down village. The driver pulled over and asked a man where the ruins were. He said, "You're looking at it!" Well, I guess they call them ruins for a reason.

After another half mile of driving we found the entrance to the site. Upon entering, we learned from our tour guide that an archeological team had just located a new tomb and had begun excavation. They allowed us to peer in dig, but we could not take any pictures. We were also able to climb a section of the pyramids, which yielded a beautiful view of the Andes Mountains.

The bus ride back seemed much shorter, and everyone was happy they took the journey to see this beautiful Peruvian landmark.