The Queen City

Keagan and I are on the road again today looking at prospective schools with soccer programs. Today’s first two schools that we visited were in The Queen City, Charlotte. 

Stop #1: UNC Charlotte

This school was beautiful and large - so large a bus system and train system can be utilized to get students to class or downtown to watch a game. We headed to the soccer field and we were surprised to see athletes training. This campus was perfect in my eyes - even with the round about - but it was too big for Keagan.

Stop #2 was a small, very small, D3 school in the heart of downtown Charlotte. The campus was closed and so small we couldn’t even drive into the entrance to walk it. However, it backed up to the Panthers stadium and training facilities. The location was perfect for a pro sports fan because soccer, football, and basketball games were all within walking distance. Keagan wants a small school, but this school, in my opinion, was too small. 

Stop #3 and our last school to visit this weekend was a D2 school just outside of Charlotte. Keagan will spend the next five days here playing soccer in front of ten college coaches. Yesterday he commented, “Five days of nothing but eating, sleeping, and playing soccer. I can’t wait!” 

Keagan is settled into his dorm, he has been assigned to team Portugal, and he is rooming with a guy named Dylan. There are no pictures of the boys because that would not be cool. I’ll have to be satisfied with trying to catch a shot later in the week in the midst of 180 other campers, taken from a distance, and grainy with indecipherable faces. 

College Road Trip 2022

Keagan and I hit the road today headed East; our week of college school visits starts now. I got in the car today and jokingly said, “This will be smooth sailing! We won’t see any round abouts this week.” Would you know we found the only round about in North Carolina while looking for a gas station! 

Stop #1 was Maryville, a D3 school 15 min from Knox. The new field’s grass looked great, and the campus itself was much more modern than I had envisioned. I would have preferred a formal tour but summer tours are limited. It appeared money was being funneled into athletic improvements, so this school is a contender.

Stop #2 was Gardner-Webb; this is a D1 school in Boiling Spring. We drove by it last summer and we didn’t think much of it. It’s in the sticks - so far out my phone dropped its signal. Today we saw the backside of campus and it was actually very beautiful. The sports facilities were nice, too. This school was also added to our list of possible choices.

Tomorrow we see two more schools. 

Week with the Nieces

My nieces have spent the week with us. We have swam in the pool, played basketball with the cousins, and been kissed by the sun.

We’ve played all time quarterback in the backyard.

We’ve shopped for bedding and fluffy pillows for the bedrooms in the new house, eaten ice cream every day, and made chick-fil-a pizza.

We have learned about the Amish living in Kentucky, watched late night TLC tv, and hiked a creek bed. 

We have visited (and picked out our favorites) kittens at a rescue organization, eaten burgers at an old timers soda shop, and watched a pro soccer game. 

It has been a loaded week! Tomorrow we take the girls to their new house in Tennessee! 

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July! This weekend marks nine years in Tennessee for us, and nine days for my sister’s family to live in Tennessee. We celebrated with great food.

Corn hole, or Bags, for those Northeners.

Pool time.

Family time.

Alone time. 

Healthy competition.

And of course fireworks!

Fun, family, food, and fireworks. What could be better?

Last Day in Lima

Our final day in Peru took us to Lima. We took a boat out of the Amazon, a bus to the airport, and two planes to finally arrive in Lima. 

The Peruvians typically eat the biggest meal of the day at 2:00. Today was no exception. We had a quinoa salad and sea bass. It was excellent! And the view was spectacular; it overlooked a pre-Incan pyramid that dated 200 years after Christ. It was discovered after people began motor crossing over it in the 1960s.

We drove along the coast in the beautiful Miraflores district where locals were surfing, playing soccer, paragliding, and shopping at the mall that opens up to the beach. We stopped here to buy local goods, (coconut candy, chocolate. coffee, and quinoa) to take back home. 

Our last stop was at a beautiful archaeological museum, Museo Larco.

This museum showcased a mummy, our guide taught us the significance of various pottery styles, and we awed over this beautiful headdress. 

It’s time to go home. We have loved this trip, but we (some more than others) miss our own beds, Sports Center, Diet Dr Pepper, and Ryker. 

We now have 8 hours of plane rides ahead of us. We are armed with Bonine and Melatonin in hopes of sleeping on the planes. 

Thanks, Peru, for a fantastic week! 

Adventures in the Amazon

Our hikes into the rain forest were filled with great opportunities to see animals, plants, and unique trees. We began the day coaxing a tarantula out of his hole. 

We learned about island trees, communication trees, kapok trees, walking trees, and ficus trees. 

The walking tree actually walks or moves forward upwards of 10 cm a year looking for sunlight. 

But my favorite tree we were introduced to was the red ant tree. This tree is home to a colony of red ants. Thousands of red ant bites can actually kill a person, and just a few years ago Peru’s justice system allowed criminals to be slowly killed by red ants. The criminals were tied to the tree and then died a painful death as the red ants bit them. Our guide retold a story about a robber who got caught stealing goods from a shopkeeper, and the store owner tied the robber to a red ant tree as punishment. Can you imagine?

We ate plants that taste like wild ginger. 

We made rope from dried tree palm fibers. 

And Keagan got to play Tarzan.

I was dressed in palm leaves, and to the dismay of the boys, gave it a bit of a shake. 

We took another rickety boat into a lagoon hoping to spot the local anaconda, but we sadly had no luck. The guide reported the snake was out of the water and ate three days last week, so today he was probably lying low in the water, the same water Evan thought it would be fun to drag his fingers in as we paddled. This picture was taken before any talk of anocandas.

We climbed a fire tower for a sweeping view of the lagoon, and the clouds reflected perfectly into the water.

After a hot, steamy four hour trek through the forest, we headed to the hotel bar. We introduced Keagan to refreshing rum and coconut drinks. He said, “Una mas por favor.”

After lunch we hiked to Caiman Lake. True to its name, we saw caiman. 

But the best part of this hike was hearing the howler monkeys. The alphas from two groups got into a screaming match warning the other to stay away. We were right in the middle of a National Geographic episode! Fantastic!!!

The stars here are beautiful! There is so little light pollution, the Milky Way can be seen at night; it’s easy to see how the Incans’ traditions and interests would center around the sun, moon, and stars. 

Tomorrow is our last day in Peru. We are headed back to Lima in the morning for one last pisco sour, one last dish of lomo saltado, and one last look at Incan history.  Then we are back home to sodas, hamburgers, and our own beds. 

Amazon Rain Forest

We were up early this morning to fly from Cusco to Lima and then to Puerto Maldonado for our outdoor adventures in the rain forest. While driving through the biggest city on the outskirts of the rain forest, it appeared we had taken a trip back in time. It was not modern or city like by our standards by any means. Our open air bus dropped us off at this dock. 

We caught a sixty minute boat ride to Tambopata, an ecological resort in the Amazon. This was our boat. Not gonna lie. I found it a bit sketchy taking such a boat through caiman infested waters. 

Upon arrival, we were served a special meal “Juanee” to celebrate St. John the Baptist day. It was basically chicken paella steamed and served in palm leaves. 

Then we took a quick boat ride across the river into the rain forest on a hike to Monkey Island. This is a reserve for injured monkeys that have been rehabilitated to live in the wild but they are still “domesticated” to some extent. We hand fed them bananas and had the best time being entertained by the three different species. 

Back at the shore, we had some fun with the guide’s machete. 

We took the boat back to the resort and spotted our first caiman. 



Our resort has no wi-if, no television, no AC, and electricity is available if the sun shines. Luckily we are in the dry season and have had a lot of sun. In between meals and scheduled tours, and with no phones, no tv, and no communication with the outside world, the boys have played pool in the lobby with their Spanish teacher. 

Tonight is the NBA draft, the annual June must see/must watch event, and the boys have no idea who has been drafted or what is going on back home, and yet, they’ve handled it with lots of patience. I’m making do with the lack of technology and AC with drinks from the bar.