A Kid in a Candy Store

Today we decided it would be fun to take the grandkids to the old time candy store which features candies that orginiated in every decade beginning in the 1920s. Here's grandpa and his granddaughter Mikaela and grandson Joey posing for a picture before the excursion.

Since our car was full with suitcases, Mikaela drove us in her new car.

Here's a picture of Mike picking out his favorite candies from years past.

And Pat picking out her favorite candy from her childhood: black licorice ropes (good for tying together and using as jump ropes!)

We've had a great time visiting with family in Orange County, California. Next on the agenda, will be to visit with family in Los Angeles, and then fly to Ecuador on Tuesday, August 3rd. (E day minus 4!)

Until next time,

Pat Grimm

Off to the Game

We are enjoying our downtime in California, before our long flight on August 3rd. We've taken walks on the beach, took one last trip to the Ecuadorian Consulate in Los Angeles just to get everything in order, and went to a baseball game in Orange County where the Anaheim Angels were playing the Boston Red Sox.


Below is a picture of the three generations of Grimms (me, my son Jay, and my grandson Joe). We had a great time at the game, sitting in the sun in the right field stands ... baseball under the sun - the only way it should be played. And my team (Boston Red Sox) won!





Gosh . . . a week from today, we'll be waking up in Cuenca!

On the Move

Well, we have left Arizona and are now in California visiting with family. Our flight to Cuenca starts at 2:26 a.m. on August 3rd, which will be a very long day.

We're hoping that all of our suitcases will be accepted as is. We have 3 very large ones (and very heavy), 2 large ones, and 4 carry-on bags. Let's hope that all baggage gets to Cuenca with us!

We visited with my son and his family and took pictures of Thomas, my 2-1/2 year old grandson. Full of energy and wonder.

Monsoons, Power Out, and Locked Out

Just one day to go until the movers are here. We are packing like crazy and decided we needed to get more boxes. So off to the local storage place, and also to get a bite to eat. Need to keep up our strength!

Well, while we're at the storage place, the monsoons hit with lightning and thunder, and a power outage. We were wondering how widespread the outage was because we were about 5 miles from home.

So we drive home and I remembered that we left the house without our house key because we knew we could just come right back in through the garage door (which requires electricity). I'm sure you know where I'm going with this. Yep, the power was out and we were locked out. For who knows how long. I remembered that we left our sliding glass door unlocked in the back of the house, but the back gate had a lock on it. I asked Mike if he thought he could climb over the gate to get into the backyard. Well, he said he would try. Poor guy, I felt sorry for him. It was pouring down rain but he was able to do it. I told him he was my hero because now we could be back into the house to finish the packing and I still needed to clean out the inside of the refrigerator.

Well, wouldn't you know it, the power came back on about 15 minutes after Mike climbed over the gate, and that's not the kind of thing that a 75 year old man should be doing - but his wife insisted.

So, I cleaned out the refrigerator while Mike recuperated from his breaking and entering attempt.

More to follow,

Pat Grimm

"E"(Ecuador) Minus 17 and Counting

The packed boxes are starting to crowd out our living space as we continue to uncover hidden treasures that we've put in the hidden recesses of our home and forgotten that we had. Gosh, we have some nice stuff...that we never use. Sound familiar to you fellow expats?

In just six more days, we say adios to our home in the desert. It's been fun, but time to seek our fortune and another adventure on another continent. Thanks to a year of study and an amazing amount of constructive input from our many online predessesors and friends "in print", we feel quite prepared for Cuenca and more. However, we are not so naive to think that we've got it "locked"...no chance of that.

The seasonal monsoon type of weather is now beginning to give our desert its two month dose of agua, which is greatly appreciated and longed for, after 4-5 months of no "precip". It's really neat to watch when the rains do start and all of us stand outside like we've never seen rain before.

On Monday, E minus 15, the fur really starts to fly around here when different groups descend on our home to make it look like no one has ever lived here. We already don't know where to look for the few utensils, plates, toiletries, etc., well hidden from the "pack man', and so necessary to life, that we used to be able to find in the dark, if needed. Thank goodness we don't sleep walk or there would be some serious accidents.

By Friday, E minus 11, we are officially "homeless" and headed for California for a few days with family. No time to look back...it's time to look forward with excitement...and catch our collective breaths.

Sold the Car ... and the packing continues

Well, we were successful in selling our car. A great car that we had for only 2 years. Someone is getting a really good car.

We are packing away (mostly Mike is doing the packing and I'm doing the supervising). We have established a U.S. mailing address with Earth Class Mail, and a U.S. telephone number with eVoice (which is just a message service). When someone calls our U.S. phone number and leaves us a message, eVoice emails us the actual message so we can hear it on our computer. It's amazing how you can keep connected through technology these days. Really makes it seem like you're not that far away from family and friends especially if they are on Skype where the phone calls are free.

We have all of our internet banking established and we have secured a storage unit large enough to store all of our possessions. The movers come on July 22nd and we drive from Arizona to California on July 23rd. We'll have a few days to rest and relax with family until our 2:26a.m. flight from LAX to Quito on Tuesday, August 3rd. Hopefully, our connection through Costa Rica will go as planned and our luggage will make it all the way to Quito. Once we get through customs, we'll take another flight to Cuenca which should arrive at 5:00p.m. (2pm our body time, which makes it a 12-hour travel day). It's good that Ecuador is only 3 hours ahead of California time and the same time zone for Ohio time. Our family and friends are located in Hawaii, California, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Ohio, and Florida.

We will have all of our visa documents in order after we visit the Ecuadorian Consulate in Los Angeles. It's exciting that we'll be arriving in Cuenca in less than a month. After suffering through the hot Arizona summer it will be a welcome change to be in weather that isn't in the 100 degree range! Our monsoons haven't started yet (they are in July and August and help to cool the evenings); last year was a disappointing monsoon season, hopefully this season will bring more rain.

We will continue blogging away and adding pictures once we arrive in Ecuador.

Until next time,

Pat Grimm