Konnie and I have ventured off to Peru with time to be spent in Lima, Cusco and Macchu Pichu.  First Stop – Lima.  The setting is beautiful, the streets are busy and the people warm and gracious

My grandson Ryan was interested in an “adventure trip” this year instead of another baseball excursion.  So we planned a trip to Belize where I had been nine previous times and thus being a bit familiar with the country.  Unfortunately somebody, and we’re not quite sure where to pin the blame just yet, had other plans as we were denied boarding for our flight last Thursday due to United’s insistence that we needed special documentation to take Ryan to Belize.

Being in a helpless position we had to comply and we were able to get the documentation on Friday and be scheduled to fly out on Saturday only to wake up to a message that the aircraft that would take us to Houston was delayed and we would miss the connection.  A supervisor named Barb at DIA worked for nearly an hour to find us another way here and we did successfully arrive Saturday afternoon on American Airlines.

We tried to make the most of our first full day with a nice show by a group of Howler monkeys in the morning, a hike on one of the trails at lovely The Lodge at Chaa Creek, a posing Toucan and then a rugged upstream canoe trip (sans Konnie) where Ryan and I overcame a half dozen rapids before concluding a two and a half hour paddle.  Not Colorado style rapids mind you but water flowing at a speed that presented a significant challenge to overcome.

Chaa Creek is very lovely and the food is very good here.  And, as always in this part of the world, the people are warm and friendly.  Because of our truncated visit here, we are off to Chan Chich in northwestern Belize on Monday.

Lara Jane was born to my son and daughter in law, Benjamin and Fernanda, on March 31 and showed up weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces and sporting the near standard baby length of 20 inches.  She is my fourth grandchild with my daughter and son in law, Kristin and Rob McDade, having the other three, Isabelle (16), Ryan (14) and Logan (12).

We have been sharing many photos through various IPhoto applications so I am making this post of her first 19 days for family and friends who are not a part of that setup, either because we don’t want to constantly annoy you or you don’t have an Apple device.

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Pictures taken at Finnerty Gardens at the University of Victoria and Hatley Gardens at Royal Roads University, both in Victoria British Columbia.