Here we are....

....back at the scene of last year's ferry disaster. So far we've only
had to wait about 3 hours :-)) The adventure continues.

Rough Day at the Beach

Flying was awesome again yesterday, but the landings weren´t the greatest. The problem is that the flying is so great that you never want to land. And, unfortunately, the landing field gets smaller and smaller as the day went on. High tide was an hour later than yesterday, but it was still a few hours too early. There was very little beach left at 4pm when we all decided to land. Most of us pulled it off ok anyway, but two landed in the surf. The first one was super scary because Jack and I were the only ones there to try to pull him out....and I am already quite afraid of the waves. By the time the second one came in, nearly all of us were on the ground and so we were right there ready to pull her out. The first glider was destroyed, the second one survived, just a little wet.


Here's Jack setting up to land in ankle deep water.

Moyes Kids

There aren't many Moyes gliders here in Ecuador. But, at least those that are here match beautifully (and will win the race at Canoa ;-)






It is killing Dustin that my harness is so much cleaner than his. Poor boy.




I do love my baby!

You´re Going Flying Agaaaaaain?

I always wonder if things are really as great as my recollection or if I just have an extremely positive memory. I'm sure it is a little of both. But, we arrived back in Guayaquil to the same royal treatment we had last year from Raul and Mike...airport pickup, glider hauling, a few drinks and lot of catching up. Because of the renunion concert of a famous Spanish band, all of the rooms in the city were taken and so we drove straight to Crucita, the small beach town were we tried to fly last year but couldn't. After an all night drive, we hurriedly assembled the gliders for an early flight. Our landing field would be covered by the high tide by 3, so we needed get a few hours in the air before that.

Last year when we were here the road up to launch was gated off and things were shut down up top due to, what we were told, some infighting among the drug lords ;-) Who knows if there was any truth to that - maybe it was a joke. But, this time, the road was open and the cafe/bar at launch was as well. Our group of 6 were the only hang gliders, but there was plenty of pantie flying going on.

I had another glorious flight in Ecuador. I was trying to figure out last night what it is I enjoy so much about this place. I think it is the complete lack of pressure and the easy easy easy flying conditions. Then, of course, there is the fact that we can hop in the ocean and have a swim after every flight....and go off to dinner and the disco every evening. Although from the looks of everyone this morning, I'm doubting the disco thing will happen again soon ;-) Last night was our second night in a row getting to bed at 4am. I'm too old for much more of that!

We will fly Crucita again today and then head straight to Canao for a few days of practice before the comp starts. I'm kind of missing the Guayaquil flying this year, but I know the beach will make up for it.

I'm enjoying what might be my last few days as HRH, the Queen of Ecuador :-( I have competition this year for the top female pilot ;-) Claudia is here from Colombia and I'm told she's flying fast! Uh oh!!! I might have to pull that VG all the way on this time!

I have a ton of pictures, but can't upload anything at the internet cafe in this little fishing village. Hopefully tomorrow when we reach Canoa.

On the way to Guayaquil.....tippy!

....and I think the gliders even made it on!!!

Shuttle Launch

Mom and dad stuck around an extra week to catch the shuttle launch. There won't be many more of these as they are ending the shuttle program in 2010, I think. So, we were lucky to catch this one. Since 9/11, you have to be someone very special to get terribly close to the launch pad, so we couldn't get as close as we would have liked. We drove about 15 minutes north along the beach to RonJon's surf shop where there is a 5 story parking garage. We watched from the top deck along with about 20 other people. Even from nearly 20 miles away, it was an exciting and impressive site.

Condo Update

Mom and Dad finally had to head home yesterday. It was really sad. We have had such a great time working on the house and really hope they decide to move out to Florida. They seemed to love it at the beach- they were out in the surf every evening.

The house is looking great. Dad did such a great job on everything. Here are a few pictures of the more finished rooms. There is still a lot to be done. But the bathroom, kitchen and bedroom are fully functional, so I can live here and finish things up at the same time.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My crazy dorky sister sent me a special birthday song yesterday. Mom and dad took me to this lovely French restaurant in Melbourne and I got the message on my iPhone during dinner. We laughed so hard, our French waiter thought we had lost it (we had).

Thanks to Natalie!

Happy birthday to you
We welcome you to
The fabulous forties
Happy birthday to you

My sister is trying
To live her life flying
But before she descends
She may need Depends

She once was "trailer trash"
Tornadoes tried to smash
She now has a condo
Her mind may ritardando

Happy birthday to you
We welcome you to
The fabulous forties
Happy birthday to you


Ritardando???

Delta II

I got a text message this morning from my buddy Jim saying that there was another rocket launch this morning. I ran out the door just in time to see it half way up to the clouds.

This isn't my picture...couldn't grab the camera quick enough ;-)



The Delta II is the launch vehicle for a new Air Force GPS satellite which will replace on old warn out one. Apparently the satellite is housed inside the nose cone of the rocket...pretty cool! The Delta II launches with a kerosine main engine and six boosters generating over 700,000 pounds of thrust! The boosters separate after about a minute when the rocket is already 10 miles up. Then just over an hour after launch, the rocket spits out the satellite and it's work is done for the day!

Perfect sky today....

Sometimes it looks as though the tide will come right up into my
bedroom! The waves went from mostly flat yesterday to too big for me
to body surf today.

Rocket Man

An Atlas rocket launched from Cape Canaveral last week. From the patio there's a great view of Canaveral's launch pad across the water. It was a spectacular site and made me really anxious to see the shuttle launch that's scheduled for next week.

I have no idea how to photograph rockets, especially after dark, so nothing turned out really. But, here are a few anyway.

Housework

Mom and Dad, Mark and Myshel and Max arrived in Florida about a week and a half ago to start the work on my condo. We've been having fun and working hard (and swimming a lot in the in between time). Florida is having an unseasonably warm autumn that feels just like summer to me. Normally I would love that, but we just got the air conditioning in and working yesterday, so it's been sweaty going of it.

The walls that were coming down are down, the bathroom is nearly finished but for some little touchups. The travertine on the floor and in the shower is beautiful.

Dad did an awesome job of that and I'm guessing he won't want to lay travertine again anytime soon ;-) I've painted most of the walls yellow and baby blue. It looks at bit like a nursery to me, so I may need to repaint a more "adult" color.




The demolition was my favorite part!