Ecuadorians know how to party...

Sunday was a little busy, and certainly lasted longer than expected.
During daylight, it was very much an extension of the day before, with
some more wandering and some more shops, and some more pictures of old
Quito. After that, however, there were two small gatherings planned
in preparation for the wedding...one for H and one for J. I can't say
how the girls did, but we had quite a bit of fun. There were almost
enough guitars to go around, a little beer, a lot of sangria, and even
more whisky. This was where the Frankenstein-like hybrid 'frisky' was
created, born of too much fruit left over when the sangria had been
consumed and too much sangria having been consumed to know better than
to mix the fruit with the whisky. It was disturbingly tasty, though.
A good time was had by all, and we managed to keep things going until
~5 AM. There was some suffering the next day, but it was worth it.

Fresh fruit for our first day

After a little nap to recover from the flight, we had brunch with J
and H. After that J had to go into the office, but the rest of us got
to do a little wandering around Quito. We made it to a couple of
different markets, but the one that best captures what we are having
for a snack today as well as probably breakfast tomorrow was this
one. We also made a trip past the supermarket for a giant bottle of
water...no drinking out of the tap on this trip. I suppose it's a
good thing there are other tasty options, since water would become
tiresome. Fruit juices are pretty good here.
We had dinner in the old town, and managed to score a sampling of
traditional Ecuadorian food that worked for both the vegetarians and
the carnivores in the party.

Miami to Quito

I missed my chance to get a picture in the Miami airport. Things still
went pretty smoothly, though. We had plenty of time between flights
and managed to sneak in a snack. In Miami, even the airport empanadas
are ok. Our flight was delayed because of a medical emergency before
they could board the plane, but we don't have big plans when we
arrive, so I think we'll be ok. The flight has been pretty smooth, the
food was not bad, and I've been told that the movie is funny. I'm
trying to catch up on TV that I missed though...two episodes of Monk
down, two to go.

Leaving RDU

The flight from Raleigh was full but went pretty well. American is
apparently still giving away the soda, but potato chips would have
cost ~3 dollars. D listened to the iPod most of the time, and I read
(which means played with my iPod).

Packing to go...

The guest bedroom was the staging area for out packing. I didn't get a
picture until things were already underway, bit tuis should still give
you a feel for how it went. We were unable to keep it too only one
bag, but I think we'll be ok, even without Barb to bring snacks.