Chandler Mountain, Alabama

I am sitting on a hammock overlooking Chandler Mountain, in northern Alabama. I have a glass of wine, a sweet dog at my feet, and there's a little hint of fall breeze in the air.  Could life be any better at this moment?  Oh!  And I celebrate two years married to my love this weekend.  :)

We are here for a family reunion tomorrow, and decided to make the most of it by bringing our bikes and renting a cabin here from the Nature Conservancy for a little weekend/anniversary getaway.  My grandmother grew up on this mountain raising cotton and running wild through the hills and creeks.  And today I showed Ethan all of the hot spots like the swimming hole, Horse Pens 40, and the scenic overlooks.

After all of the sights of Egypt, Central America, and the big cities we have explored, it feels right to slow down for a weekend in the South and soak up some of our roots (and fall weather, oh how I've missed Fall!).

I love:
...the feel of tired legs after a day of hiking and biking.
...finding fossils in the dry creek bed.
...showing Ethan my Alabama...and bonus!  It's even more awesome than I remember up here on the mountain.

the namesake for this place; Bonsai Point

Nicaragua

I love:  the crazy lighting and heat lightning, the farmers and workers in their black rubber boots, the cow herds on the beach, the cute pigs in every yard, the horses on the beach, the acid-trip sunsets, hammocks as the primary form of lanai furniture, the surfer boys, the pretty Nica girls, colorful Granada town, and Espanol!

sunset on our beach

Sleepy Little Granada Town

If you study a map a Nicaragua, the geographical feature that you won't miss, is Lago de Nicaragua. Near the southwest coast and nestled between towering volcanic mountains, Lago de Nicaragua is enormous!

Boots 'n All

One website that has been very helpful to us in researching and planning our travels is BootsnAll.  They have ticket deals, suggested itineraries, and best of all, lots of articles written by travelers who have been there and done that! 

Check out their Round-The-World page for all things global.  They have monthly postings of some very inexpensive RTW ticket deals...like this one, for instance, which is currently enticing me!  What a deal...I have paid $1200 before just for a round-trip flight home from Hawaii to Tennessee!

Come on A Surfari With Me...

It may seem backwards for two people who live in Hawaii to pay to go somewhere else to go surfing (something we can do for free in our own backyard).  But that's just what we did in the latest installment of "Ethan & Stacey flit around the world in search of architecture, culture, cheap flights, and friends."

West Coast cruisin

Well, as you can see we have been too busy to write much lately. We are sitting in LAX waiting on a red-eye clear across our great country to Baltimore. Hopefully there we can relax, reflect, and write some catch-up posts.

In the meantime, say hello to Mr. Turtle.  He lives in Malibu.

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