Help! No room at the inn...

Ok, apparently I post too many pictures. Guys, just let me know if I'm going overboard. I can cut back.

Google just let me know that my 1GB of storage is full, and I can't post any more pictures to my blog. Suggestions? Help? Another blog site that doesn't have a limit? What's a blog without pictures?

Family in TX

I (Mackenzie) spent last week in Texas with my mom visiting my grandparents and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was a working vacation (aka, not actually vacation, I just happened to be working in Texas that week) so there wasn't a ton of 'activities' but I did get my third ever pedicure and enjoyed a lot of good food and drink. It was great to see everyone and catch up!

Andy (Stephs bf), cousin Steph, me

Cousins Kate & Kyle, + Kyles gf Elizabeth

Mom, Grandmama, & Aunt Sue

Grandmama & Aunt Anne

Jeff's wife Katie, me, cousin Jeff

Sunset at 30k ft on the way home

On another note...the Christmas tree is decorated, we are excited for a Chrismas celebration with my side of the family next Tuesday, and we're off to Medford in eight days!

 

Cayo Coco, Cuba

After two days in Trinidad we were off to Cayo Coco, a beautiful island off the north coast to relax and enjoy the beach a bit. There was a 26km causeway out to the island and we were staying at an all inclusive resort. It wasn’t terrifically luxurious but perfectly nice, had a great pool and beach and all the ‘free’ food and alcohol you handle.

Aside from swimming in the ocean, laying by the pool, working on our tans, reading, and taking advantage of the amenities, the highlight was scuba diving. Us ‘kids’ spent a morning out on the boat doing two dives. Matt and I have only had the pleasure of diving in warm water one other time, so this was a special treat for us. I think the guidebooks talked up the quality of the diving a bit too much (it’s just not the Caymans) but it was beautiful, warm, an interesting sunken ship and great practice to get out in the water again. We loved it.

After a long drive back to Havana and one last dinner of amazing paella in Habana Vieja we were off to bed for a 3am wakeup call and a long trip back to the states. There were some nervous moments coming back through customs/immigration but we made it through with no problems whatsoever.

Overall, it was a great trip. It felt like stepping back in a time machine in many ways and was a beautiful country with lots of very nice people. We learned a lot about a different way of life and felt like we really experienced Cuba. It wasn't the 'easiest' trip ever but there were no serious problems and we are very glad we did it.

Trinidad, Cuba

After three days of touring Havana we picked up rental cars (a whole experience in and of itself, typical of Latin America) and headed to Trinidad, on the south side of the island. We had a bit of an issue with a girl who was trying to give us directions, ended up in our car, and in the end tried to extort us for about $100. It’s a whole long story so ask in person if you care but it was a really frustrating experience that made us somewhat less trustful of others that we met later in the trip. After a long day of driving we rolled into Trinidad late afternoon. The guidebooks said it was a beautiful colonial style city (possibly the best in the Americas) and it was very nice and enjoyable but didn’t quite live up to this expectation. We stayed at a Casa Particular and our amazing hosts Mila and Bury cooked us a fantastic dinner, were super welcoming, gave us great suggestions and a very interesting insight into Cuban life.

Random church on a hill that we found

Looking towards the ocean in the distance

Dad's birthday dinner at the casa particular

Out front of our casa

drinks in the town square

Casa rooftop patio

Military. Lots.

After spending the morning wandering around town Matt and I headed to the beach for the afternoon while the rest of the family spent some time reading and relaxing in their rooms. We didn’t take a camera because we wanted to be able to go swimming and there was no where safe to leave it, but the beach was beautiful, the water quite surprisingly warm and extremely clear, and Matt had a great time trying to snorkel without a snorkel.

Later that evening I dragged my husband and my sister out to listen to music and do a little salsa dancing. (Everyone was game for music, it was the dancing that required dragging). There was an awesome band playing on the steps in a plaza and tons of people sitting around enjoying the music while some danced in the warm night air.

Last up: a few days relaxing on the beach of Cayo Coco.

Havana Part III

We started out the last day in Havana by taking a tour of the Partagas/Cohiba/Romeo y Julietta factory. It was amazing. The whole family went mostly for Matts sake but we all ended up loving it.They make all of the Cuban cigars of all of these brands here and they are all rolled by hand. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside which was a bummer bit it was amazing to watch them making all sorts of different cigars.

Inside the Museum of the Revolution:

(It reads: Corner of the Cretins. That would be Batista, Reagan, Bush HW, and Bush W)

Pieces of a shot down U2 bomber.

Cuban tank used in the revolution

Adrienne being a guerilla with Fidel and Che

Our last night we went to Tropicana a song/dance/cabaret show. Pretty interesting.  

Matt, Adrienne & I all got dragged onstage at the end. You can see Matt and I in this picture if you look closely. :)

Just about everyone that we met was extremely nice and friendly, and all seemed quite excited to have Americans there. While there was certainly state propaganda demonstrating the evils of America the population seemed to have a very different view of things. Everyone we met had a cousin, aunt or uncle in Miami and they all seemed to think it was great that we had made the effort to get there. We had some very interesting conversations with taxi drivers about history, economy, sites to see, America, and Obama that provided a lot of insight. One asked me if I was scared that when I got home Obama would have the keys to my house and throw me in jail for going to Cuba. I told him I was just a little scared, but it was worth it. J

Up next: two days in Trinidad