In May of 2008, for my birthday, we decided to take a short trip to New York. It was my birthday but the intent was to make sure that Cody got to a Yankee’s baseball game their last year playing in Yankee Stadium before they moved to their new stadium across the street. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, especially knowing that Cody had fulfilled one of his lifetime goals at the age of 14! New York is a place that cannot be satisfied in a short trip! I HAVE to go back, there is so much more to see, so much more to do, so much more to explore. I know that this may seem strange, but I absolutely loved the subway and wanted to ride it everywhere-it is what I missed the most when we arrived home in Orlando. I also could not get enough of Central Park-we spent quite a bit of time there. The serenity of this massive park amongst the high rises and busyness of the city brought a sense of peace to me. I told my husband I wanted to go back so I could spend more time soaking it all in. So what did we do in our short trip-saw the Today Show taping and Alanis Morissette perform, went to the Top of the Rock, ate at Carnegie Deli, had canoli in Little Italy, shopped at H&M, went to a broadway show, visited Ground Zero, went to Wall Street, ate from a street vendor, shopped on Canal Street, had pizza, walked Central Park, at PinkBerry yogurt, saw the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, traveled by subway, bus and taxi…and yes, went to a Yankees game!

Today is the first day of my mini-series called Traveling Tuesdays: with the Roots. I absolutely love to travel and as of today do not have one single trip planned, so instead of wallowing in the fact that I am not traveling in the foreseen future I decided to relish in all of the places we have been. Not all of our trips are glamorous but every single one has inspired me in some way. I decided to start with a trip that Jonathan and I took in the summer of 2007 (I have constantly been reminded by Cody that we did not take him and now somehow “owe” him a trip to a foreign country of his choice…and, if I can oblige I will be happy to!)  Jonathan and I contemplated several different places that we would like to visit but Ecuador was our final decision. And you ask…why Ecuador? Well, first we wanted to go to South America so we discussed several different south american countries. Jonathan’s aunt and uncle-Bruce and Cinda-had lived in Ecuador as missionaries for 13 years and were getting ready to move back to the United States. Once we found out they were moving back we decided that we had to take the opportunity to travel to Ecuador while they were still there. So, we brushed up on our spanish (Jonathan more so than me) and off we went to Quito. We stayed in our own little villa on Bruce and Cinda’s property and were treated to oritos (those little mini bananas) every morning for breakfast. We explored Quito, went on a road trip to several different towns, spent a few nights in the rain forest and ate lunch at 13,400 feet. I came home after 9 days ordering my water as “agua sans gas” and telling people “gracias”. Jonathan missed the ketchup and I missed the pastries, but we were home (we missed Cody more!) The images below are highlights of our trip…

The beauty of Ecuador…so greenSouth American ice cream, papayas at market, an old church and yes…go cart racing (and that would be Jonathan and I-I think I am winning, maybe not!)
La Basilica church amongst the landscape of QuitoLa Basilica Church a little closerThe intrinsic detail inside La Basilica
We climbed to the top tower of La Basilica…well, as you can see Jonathan climbed higher than me (I had to sit down for a while!)On the equator…juggling and kissing with each of us standing in a different hemisphereWe even celebrated my husband’s birthday with a great italian meal!It was a little chilly at 13,400 feet