Leaving for Quito

Jon and I left Santa Barbara on Wednesday, July 26. POD all packed, we drove away from our first home, excited to finally be on our way. With a quick stop at my mom's house, our final destination for Wednesday night was my grandparents house in San Diego. We arrived late and had a sweet yet short time with them. The next morning we left to make our way to Tucson where we were going to store our cars. Friends of ours offered to let us use their garage if we were able to get the cars there... what a gift! After spending the night with friends, we headed to the airport and began the next leg of our trip. The flight to Washington DC was smooth and hassle free. For the past 10 days we have been visiting with friends and getting time with folks who have spent time in Ecuador themselves. It has felt like another wave of encouragment being with these people and feels like we are being lovingly "sent" by our east coast friends as well. We had the opportunity to drive up to see my sister Molly in Boston. It was so great to see her new apartment, her school, her neighborhood and ride the metro to her favorite spots. We slugged through muggy hot 100 degree heat to tour the beautiful city of Boston, popping frequently into coffee shops or buildings to get an ice water or a blast of cold air conditioning. We made our way down the Freedom Trail, ending in North End, Italian quarter for a lovely dinner. It was so great to get a glimspe into her world and we feel like we know her even better.

Tomorrow is the big day....we leave on a 3:00 plane out of Dulles airport for Miami, with 2 hour layover there. We arrive in Quito at 10 pm. Our good friend Gaston is scheduled to pick us up. And the adventure begins......