Big Cedar Landscapes

Big Dreams: Lake Atitlan

This is Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. This picture was taken from a resort called Lomas de Tzununa. We'd like to go there every year for New Year's. A dream is a dream. Maybe not this year or next. But a dream is a great thing to have.

Omaha's Third Place: Neigbborhood Swimming Pools

Omaha is a special, special place. One of the things that makes it special to me is its network of neighborhood pools. In the District -- that's what we call our part of town -- most elementary schools have swimming pools across the street. As a kid I spent nine months of the year in school, the other three I spent at the pool across the street. The pools aren't managed by the schools; they share only a name and a parking lot. A volunteer board oversees pool finances and hires lifeguards.

Community. That's why you want to live somewhere.

What do I mean by third place? Find out: TEDx Omaha

Nebraska, America

The new masthead photo is Nebraska stretching out like God's own hands, taken from just across the Missouri river on the Iowa side. This really is a blessed little portion of creation we've got ourselves here.

No, I am not joking.

Rio Zacate -- Atlantida, Honduras

We're homebodies for the most part, especially me. I am happy as a clam standing in the backyard barefoot watering the plants. That's my idea of a weekend. Our friends have been trying to get us to visit this spot for months. Sometimes it's good to leave the old ranch and see what the wide world has to offer.

Stuff We Like: Craig Drives South

Karine discovered the blog Craig Drives South last night while doing some research on Central American tourism. Its the story of a guy who drives from Seattle, Washington to San Jose, Costa Rica in a junky Subaru. He has some pretty hilarious adventures along the way. And he writes with style. Here he is describing a character he met crossing the Nicaraguan border into Costa Rica:

"A couple customs checks later I was reduced to one faithful, non English speaking guide that had the breath of a dragon. If he was within a 6 foot radius the compost pile which was his mouth would almost asphyxiate you. I tossed him a couple cordobas for some Chiclets and he returned to duty as fresh as a daisy."

He travels into Honduras briefly, but most of the blog describes adventures which occur in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. He traveled between February 13 and April 23 of 2008. Anyone interested in visiting Central America would benefit from a gander at Craig's blog.

Craig took the picture below near Santa Rosa National Park in Costa Rica. Its the first place that Karine and I visited in Central America, sometime in January of 2002.

Photo: Craig, Craig Drives South

Copan, Honduras

Photograph by Kenneth Garrett, National Geographic

Sunday on the Cangrejal

We've been enjoying the spledid weather the past couple of days. Its been about as good as it gets here in La Ceiba. We took a Sunday trip up the river yesterday. Here's Karine looking pretty in the sunshine.

It sure is pretty up there.

Biking the Río Cangrejal After School

Today we got a welcome break from the almost constant rains of the past couple of weeks. The sun came out late in the afternoon and I took the opportunity to ride my bike up the river. Sometimes we forget that we live so close to the foothills of the Sierra Nombre de Dios mountains. I started peddling from my front porch and six minutes later I was on a dirt road following the curve of the Río Cangrejal into the mountains.


I think there is a lot to be written about and photographed concerning mountain biking in and around La Ceiba. I'm going to put it on my to do list. This blog was written by Tom, the one who is not pregnant. The one who is pregnant will be featured in a maternity wear fashion feature tomorrow.

Cayos Cochinos and other stuff

Yesterday, we took our second annual trip to the Cayos Cochinos. (Follow link for pics from last year's trip) This group of small white sand islands are located just 4o minutes by boat and a 25 minute car ride from our house. Yesterday, a group of 8 teachers headed out for a day of snorkeling along the pristine reefs, swimming, eating, and fun. We had a blast!

One highlight for me was that Josue, our guide for the day, asked me how many months I had. This may not seem significant to many people, but for me it meant that I actually looked pregnant and not just fat to someone who didn't know! Here's a picture of Tom and me with Josue and our friend Jason.


While we waited for our lunch of freshly caught red snapper to be prepared in the local Garifuna village of Chachauate, we were entertained by a few of the island kids. There is no tv, electricity, or arcade to keep people entertained out there. Instead, the locals make their own entertainment in the form of kids! One little boy, Pedro, was hanging out with Tom and was loving the Gatorade I shared with him in his cup.


We are so excited for all the celebrations coming up this week. I've got 2 student birthdays in my class on Monday, so we're enjoying cake on Monday and cupcakes on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, the kids are very much looking forward to one of their favorite Honduran holidays- Children's Day. This is a day where the whole country celebrates youth and spends time appreciating children. The PTA has organized a 30 minute, mini-train tour around the city for each grade and a big party at the end of the day. Tom is hoping to accompany all the grades on the train ride since he loves trains so much.

Then on Thursday, we celebrate my 30th birthday. I think I'll make monster cookies and bring them to school for the kids (we're going to have sweets every day this week!) For my birthday, we'll celebrate with an ultrasound and dinner. I'm hoping that the baby will show itself to be a boy or girl as a gift to me on Thursday- we'll keep our fingers crossed!

Finally, on Friday, we will celebrate Independence Day at school. Honduras actually celebrates its independence on the 15th of September, but we've got a 5 day weekend due to the holiday, so we'll celebrate on Friday in school. I'm sure there will be more treats.

In baby news... I felt the baby move for the first time this week! Now that I know what it feels like, I've noticed it every evening. In fact, the little guy/girl is squirming around as I type this blog. It's exciting!

Also, we'd like to thank our readers for their dog advice. After much deliberation and thought, I think we're going to hold off on a second dog for awhile. Ruby might just have to settle for us for now, and then once the baby is born, there will be someone here all day, every day to keep her company.

Riding the Ducks

We had a nice time riding the Ducks in Wisconsin Dells. The Ducks are amphibious WW II military vehicles. You ride them through the forest and on the river while the driver makes corny jokes. Its one of those things that everyone is supposed to do in the Dells. We did it.

Vacation Pictures: Plants, Animals, Sunsets

Copán

We were sad to leave Antigua, but we had heard that Copán Ruinas, Honduras had its own charms. So, we hopped into a mini-bus and headed back across the border into Copán . Here are a few highlights of this final leg of our trip...
Since the streets are cobblestone, and the terrain is hilly, instead of standard taxi cars, they use the tuk-tuk in Copán . Here's Tom after he hijacked one.

On our first night, we rested our volcano-weary muscles in the jungle hotsprings at Luna Jaguar Spa. This place was awesome. In fact, it was possibly the highlight of my Copán trip! We arrived at dusk, and were led through a gorgeous jungle path to these sulpheric hot springs which came bubbling down the mountain. Luna Jaguar Spa has created a small round rock hot tub in the middle of it. So we sat in the jungle by candlelight in this fantastically hot pool. Again- it was awesome. The pictures are a bit dark, but you can see all the steam and jungle...


We spent the next morning visiting the ancient Mayan ruins in Copán . The kingdom was established here around 159 A.D. and the empire was at its peak between 425-822 A.D. Artifacts and buildings from ancient Mayan civilization have been found all over Central America, but here we were able to see several buildings in their still "buried" (under trees and some dirt) state, as well as restored architecture. It was very cool! We even saw the scene that Honduras chose for its 1 Lempira bill...


Later that day, we visited the Parque de Aves (Bird Park). There, we spent some time learning about and interacting with our local feathered friends.


On our last day of vacation, we headed out on a horseback ride up the mountain. It was picturesque and beautiful.