Getting to Argentina!

hi!... we are finally able to get to an internet cafe. we are in salta argentina. our flights the last two days took longer than expected, but we are safe and sound! our flight from abq to atlanta went smoothly. we met up with ashlee and kylee who are twins from minnesota and they are great! we boarded our flight about an hour late and then proceeded to wait almost three hours on the plane so a nine hour flight quickly turned into a 12 hour flight! so we arrived around 10 45 am to buenos aires. unfortunately they must have forgotten an entire cart of bags, because a lot of people did not have their luggage. luckily none of our bike bags were missing, just tito and my backpacking bag (we put my bag inside his to check) we did not have anything in it that we needed for the bike trip and they said it is supposed to have arrived in buenos aires this morning and they will secure in a safe location for us until august 7th when we get back with the students. phew! then we took taxi´s across town to another airport. our flight was supposed to leave buenos aires at 4 30, it didn´t leave until 8 45! so we arrived to our campground at about midnight and it was chilly! we set up our tents and got situationed, we are fixing up the bikes today and doing grocery shopping and we will be headed out tomorrow... i will upload pictures probably after the biking trip... stay tuned!

love you all c & t :)

Flying out today!!!

Hi everyone! Tito and I just got back from breakfast with my brother, Erik here in ABQ. We have spent the last two days packing with the students and we are ready to go! The students and their families are nervous but really excited! We will be calling our parents when we arrive in Salta, Argentina sometime tomorrow if all goes well! I will update the blog with pictures later...

woooo hooooo - South America here we come!

lots of love and hugs!
Cassie & Tito ;)

Fun in Connecticut...

There is lot's to celebrate! Connecticut has been filled with visits with lots of friends and family... We celebrated our going away to South America/Cassie's Birthday today. Most of the pictures you see are from that party at my Parent's house in CT. 

But first, the beautiful Miss Carrie met Tito and I in Mystic CT, she's in green - nice tongue! We had a great time catching up and eating yummy pizza - so glad we could see each other! Tito an I

 also visited my friend, Jaime Keeler who I have actually known since before I was born - our parents were in La- Maz (sp) class together. We spent some time on Lake Zoar enjoying an evening. 

Among the fun today included Tito getting his eyes poked out by my

 Cousin's children (j/k it was fun - do you see how hard I am laughing in the picture?) - my mom fell into the pool with all her clothes on, we tested our waterproof camera, and my parents dog Lola stole food from the kiddos... come on Lola, grow up ;)

Tito's parents were able to come to the gathering today as well and now they are headed back to Ohio thanks for all the help and support carting our butts across country! 

Long time friends Jen

and Brian were among the ones who closed the party out. Jen's wedding anniversary is tomorrow, Jen's wedding seemed to have helped me spark major changes in my life and for that I am grateful - Jen, it was fun reminiscing with you and seeing your wedding album... we've come a long way and I love you! Brian... you should totally come to Peru and meet us... think about it!!!!

Thanks to everyone who we were able to visit and came to visit us, sorry to those we were unable to see. We certainly appreciate all the well wishes and prayers on the journey we are about to embark on. We look forward to this adventure and a lot of new adventures beyond this trip. Thanks for being a part of our lives. We promise to be smart, make good decisions, to have fun and keep in touch!

New TOY.....YEAH!!

Cassie's Parents have invested in the GPS messaging system called the SPOT. It is a way for us to push a button and it will pinpoint our location and send emails out to 10 close people to let them know we are ok. They can track us at that time and follow our route through South America. We are putting in a link to our webpage so you can go and check it out as well. You are actually able to zoom in on Google Maps/Satellite to see where we are in the world. Let me know if you like. Just copy and paste the link below and it will take you to our page. Enjoy our travels with us.

The Link is long so you might have to copy the first line and paste then copy second line and paste. You all are familiar with the internet. You will figure it out if not comment and let us know:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?&glId=0
SnMm3vEdlURgjkufRBAkSTEEKxTa2qKq

IN MAINE.... WE EAT....

The last few blogs were written by our traveling assistant. We hired a person to write for us and we are paying them with food in Maine. Now we have left Maine so they are no longer willing to work and are on strike. I will work to make this a first person blog.
We arrived in Maine after visiting Cassie's fantastic friends in Boston, Tasha and RJ. It was great talking of wedding plans (not ours, but theirs), also talking about sports with RJ. "Don't be too furious RJ after all it is just sport, but continue to stay passionate". Best of wishes to you two for the upcoming year.
In Maine, I was introduced to some of the Benson Clan (Russ, Cheryl, Kate, Molly, Michael, the baby on the way with no name yet given but the gambling pool is up for anyone wishing to place bets on a name, Hambone (the angry dog) Annie (the quiet dog) ) Thank you for the Southern Maine Hospitality.... NOW we begin with food. Michael and Cheryl prepared a fabulous meal Grilled chicken with fantastic pasta salad and a regular veggie salad. I was able to sample the World renowned Shipwreck or Sailing ship or OOOOHHH Yeah SHIPYARD, Shipyard micro beer. Summer Ale...tastes so good when it touches your lips. The Stafford Clan came along and enjoyed the festivities as well. The Clans stayed up into the night telling stories of Benson's Past and the Stafford future's. Aaahhh the stories these clans can tell. We made it to the late hour of 9:15 before Ken (Cassie's pop's) was falling asleep at the table and my father was talking to him while he was sleeping without even knowing.
We awoke the next day bright eyed and cheery. We at a lil fantastic cereal and fresh bagel with fruit breakfast. From there the Number 1 (Kate B), The funny guy (Michael; gotta love this guy), the new guy (Tito) and the motivator (Cassie) hit the water running in some fantastic kayaks. We had to tighten up the PFD on Kate first then we were ready to go. We paddled in the Maine marsh area with fantastic clear water. Talking about the history of Goose Rock with Michael and his Abenacki (sp) stories of great Indian tradition and folklore. Thank you for the fabulous conversation and history of Goose Rock. Kate and Cassie I don't know what you all talked about because you were far behind but thanks for the picture taking. We paddled out of the tidal area to the open ocean where the trip was abruptly changed because Kate Capsized (flipped) her kayak in the ocean. A wave broadsided her and that was it. (no water skirts for us we were too cool). So she walked her kayak to the beach where we met up and helped her empty the water. From their we played STINKY FISH. Oh what a game.
Later we arrived on the beach and were sandblasted off of it because of the wind. So the beach day was limited. The children all ate lunch that day and talked. Then all the parents came and ate lunch together.
That afternoon Kate took Cassie and I to Kennebunkport to see the Bush Estate. Rather nice on its own island. Too bad I could not stay to chat but they threw me out away from the gate quite quickly MAYBE Next time. We walked around town. Ate some Fried Scallops and Fried Clams. YUUMMMMY.
That night we all sat around the dinner table eating steamed clams, maine lobster With lots O BUTTER MMMM GOOD. Chips and beverages were flowing. Great conversations. GOOD TIMES.
The next day there was no planning. We waited like a resting cat waiting for an opportunity to pounce on an unsuspected mouse. So I pounced on paddling the kayaks from the ocean back to the house with Uncle Russ and Ken Benson. The ocean was calm and beautiful. From their I ran 6 miles to visit where my parents had been camping. It was nice.
We returned to the Benson establishment and my mother made a quality lunch of homemade beef stew. Another yummy meal. From their we went to the beach and the Stafford Clan proceeded to play sling golf vs. the Benson clan. (it is some horseshoe like game) We won many of the matches until the last game where my father became captn. Limp wrist all of a sudden and our win streak was over. Either way it was fun. Fun winning and fun losing. From their we went to eat at Federal Jacks in Kennebunkport. Fantastic micro beer known as the Shipyard brewery above. Great sunset at dinner. Good stories and great family time. From their we went to the dairy to partake in a little Ice Cream. This was actually the third night of ice cream but I forgot the mention the the two night before. The ice cream was great. Flavors like Mint Oreo, Freedom of Esspresso, Cherry Moose tracks, Chocolate xxxtreme, plus more.
Our trip sadly ended by saying goodbye to the Benson clan and the Stafford Clan. We returned to Connecticut with a tour of Portsmouth New Hampshire by accident. Quite fun and historic. After many direction changes we made it back to the interstate and back on our way. Quite the detour. Our trip back to Connecticut ended with Lola running free from the back yard and chasing two baby deer and not returning for like 4 hours. A little nerve racking but that cute lil dog came back home all on her own. Thank goodness. NEXT up is 5 days in Connecticut with the immediate family. More to come soon. Pictures will be added soon!

Cape Cod

We arrived to the Cape on Wednesday morning where our parents finally met! We spent a few days enjoying the beach... the water, the sun, and the sunsets... we were able to have quality time to get to know each other and had a lot of fun! Tony and Cassie rented bikes and took a 36 mile bike ride up the Cape to Wellfleet. We explored the rail trail and bike paths in Nickerson State Park. We visited with Joan's brother Pete and his wife Pat and drank Bill's home-made wine and ate ice cream. Ken's favorite was the Cowabunga flavor ;) Bill & Sue took everyone on a lunchtime trip to Kreme 'N Kone on the Cape where we ate some delicious whole belly fried clams and fried scallops. After our Cape Cod adventure we got up on Saturday morning to prepare to head to Maine.

Massachusetts!

We arrived in South Deerfield, MA and had a great time with Tito's relatives. We visited Grandma, went to Petarski's for some great Kielbasa, played Domino's, ran up Sugarloaf Mountain, went to the Yankee Candle Factory and enjoyed our time with family. One picture is of Tito with his two cousin's Brian and Lisa and Brian's wife Stephanie. Another is Tito's cousin Lisa's sons, Christopher and Keegan. And the other is of Brian and Stephanie's son Jacob with Bill, Sue and Bill's sister Lorralyn. We had a lot of fun laughing, playing dominos, and sharing stories.

Cross Country Traveling...

  So we left ABQ bright and early around 5 AM on June 30th... Our bundle of sage burning brightly in the morning air (thanks Ema :0). We caravaned with Tito's parents (Bill & Sue) who helped us move our belongings across the country. Our first stop was Tito's Brother Tom's House in Oklahoma where we saw Tom, his wife Jaime and their daughter Desiree. We ate some yummy Thai food and had a good nights rest. The next morning we were up by 6 AM and drove all the way to Tennessee to Tito's other brother's house outside of Nashville. On the way, we stopped by Graceland, but were too cheap to pay the outrageous price to get in, instead we took pictures from behind the wall and ate at Marlowe's BBQ joint, where Elvis used to eat. We thought that was good enough - the local man we met there told us "Marlowe's BBQ is SO GOOD, it'll just 'bout make your tongue slap your brain!" We are not quite sure what that man meant, but it was the best brisket we have ever had! :) Then we got to White House, TN where I got to meet BJ and his wife Angie and their four kids Nicholas, Jarred & Jacob (twins), and Heather. Tito and I spent a day with the three youngest hiking a nice trail in town. We had a lot of fun.  Then we headed on to Ohio where we made it in time to unload our stuff into storage and get to "Red, White, and Boom" which is the 4th of July celebration in Columbus (which they have on the 3rd of July). We spent that evening with Bill, Tito's brother Tim, his wife Karen and their two kids Cheyanne and Garrett. It was a beautiful fireworks display! We spent a few days in Ohio doing various things including visiting family, driving to Aunt Ronna's to visit and to drop off the truck, and we even made it to Shortie's 90th birthday party! On Sunday July 6th we left Columbus Ohio at 6 AM, Tito, Cassie, Bill, Sue and their husky, Kenai all in the big diesel truck. Kenai was nice enough to share the back seat with us... we drove about 14 hours, and made it to South Deerfield, Massachusetts by 8 PM. Whew... what a trip so far. Tomorrow we will be visiting the Massachusetts Stafford Clan and then on to the Cape where Bill & Sue will meet Ken & Joan... we are very excited!