WHAT'S NEW

As of January, 2010, we are no longer updating this blog. The main purpose of this blog now is to serve as a permanent record of our travels in Mexico and Guatemala in 2005 and 2006. There are also a bunch of pages documenting our early years of parenthood in Mississippi, which you can find here. However, to keep up with our latest activities, you'll have to friend us on Facebook.


OUR ADVENTURES SOUTH OF THE BORDER
(Winter 2005 - Summer 2006)


In the spring of 2005 we loaded up the car and the dog and left the USA for awhile. We spent 30 days driving through Mexico, checking out lots of cool sites along the way.


After crossing into Guatemala, we decided to settle in the city of Quetzaltenango (Xela), where we stayed for a little over a year.

The following links will help you to navigate our travels and adventures.

Leaving the USA

• Truckin' - Our First Blog Post! (Jan 2005)


• And They're Off!! Almost... (Feb 2005)


• Leaving the USA! (Mar 2005)

Roadtrip Down Through Mexico: March 21 to April 20, 2005

• Day 1: Monterrey




• Days 2-3: Guanajuato


• Days 4-6: Morelia and the Michoacán Countryside


• Days 7-10: Uruapan, Volcanos and Colima


• Days 11-14: The Michoacán Coast


• Days 15-17: La Costa Grande - Zihuatanejo and Acapulco


• Days 18-20: The Oaxaca Coast - Puerto Escondido and Mazunte


• Days 21-22: The Oaxaca Mountains - San José Del Pacifico


• Days 23-25: Oaxaca


• Day 26: Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Capital of Chiapas


• Day 27: San Cristóbal De Las Casas, the heart of Chiapas



• Days 28-29: Ancient Mayan Ruins at Palenque


• Days 29-30: Jungle Waterfalls in Chiapas


• Impressions of Mexico

Living in Guatemala: April 20, 2005 to June 30, 2006

• Overview of Guatemala




• Living in Quetzaltenango (Xela)


• Our Home in Xela: The Yoga House


• Our Friends in Guatemala


• Rob's Work in Guatemala


• Rob's Volunteer Projects


• Carley's Volunteer Project


• Say What? Strange Sights in Guatemala




• The Harsh Realities of Living in Guatemala


• The Guatemalan Weight Loss Diet!


• Hurricane Stan (Oct 2005)


• Norcal Reunion in Guatemala


• Goodbye to Guatemala

Places to See in Guatemala:

• Side Trips Around Xela


• Fuentes Georginas: Hot Springs Near Xela




• Lake Atitlán: Our Favorite Weekend Getaway


• San Marcos: Bohemian Getaway at Lake Atitlán


• Antigua: Central America's Most Beautiful City




• Jamtigua: Music Festival in Antigua


• Guatemala City: The Capital


• Volcán Santa María




• Volcán Pacaya


• Pacific Beach at Monterrico


• Cobán: Coffee Town in the Mountains


• Semuc Champey: Jungle Waterfalls


• Finca Neuava Alianza: A Worker-Owned Coffee Cooperative


• Copán: Mayan Ruins in Honduras


• Lake Yojoa and Giant Waterfall in Honduras


• Petén: Guatemala's Jungle Frontier


• Tikal: Majestic Mayan Ruins




• Guatemala's "Riviera": Río Dulce and Lago Izabal


• Livingston: Guatemala's Caribbean Culture


• Todos Santos: Indigenous Mountain Town


• Lagos de Montebello: Beautiful Mexican Lakes


• Random Camping Trip in Guatemala

Holidays in Guatemala:

• Semana Santa: Holy Week and Easter in Guatemala


• Huelga de Dolores: A Strange Guatemalan Pre-Easter Tradition


• Independence Day (Sep 15)


• Christmas in Guatemala


• New Year's Eve in Guatemala

Roadtrip Back Up Through Mexico: July 1 to July 21, 2006

• Yucatán: Caribbean Beaches


• Yucatán: Mayan Ruins at Chichén Itzá


• Yucatán: Valladolid and Mérida


• On the Road in Mexico


• Mexican Highlands: Orizaba


• Mexico City



• Mexico City: History


• Mexico City: Anthropology Museum


• Mexico City: Art Museums


• Mexico City: Political Protest

MAJOR MILESTONES

• Our Wedding (Oct 15, 2005)




• Our "Southern Honeymoon"


• Our San Francisco Wedding Party (Oct 22, 2005)


• Our California Honeymoon


• Pregnant (Spring and Summer or 2006)

2006 - BACK IN THE USA

• Our New Home: Tupelo, Mississippi


• Our New Baby Boy!! (Sep 9)



• First Weeks of Family Life


• Garaj Mahal in Memphis (Oct 17)


• Happy Halloween


• Trey Anastasio in Memphis (Nov 2)


• Thanksgiving Roadtrip to Pennsylvania (Nov 25 to Dec 2)


• Carley's Brother Barrett Engaged! (Dec 22)


• Merry Christmas!


• New Year's Eve with STS9 in Atlanta

2007 - OUR FIRST YEAR IN TUPELO

• We Bought Our First House!


• Rowan A-Growin'


• Spring Break at the Beach near Destin, Florida (Mar 10-17)


• Widespread Panic in Huntsville (Apr 14)


• New Orleans Jazzfest (Apr 26-29)


• Gumtree Art Festival (Mother's Day - May 13))


• Rowan's Baptism (May 20)


• Peter Rowan and Rowan Oak in Oxford (May 25)


• Bonnaroo Music Festival (June 14-17)


• Summer Vacation at the Beach in Florida (July 4th week)


• Summer is Time for Picnics in the Park


• Summer is Time for Backyard Parties


• Al Green at Memphis Botanical Gardens (July 21)


• Back to School (Aug 10)


• Big Sam's Funky Nation in Oxford (Aug 31)


• Rowan One Year Old!


• Hangin' at the Hanna Cabana


• College Football at Ole Miss (Sep 22)


• Celebration of Cultures (Sep 29)


• Willie Nelson in Tupelo (Nov 4)


• Thanksgiving at the Beach in Florida (Nov 17 to 24)


• Bear Creek Music Festival in Live Oak, Florida (Nov 18)


• Holiday Roadtrip to Pennsylvania (Dec 22 to Jan 5)


• Merry Christmas!


• Rob's Hometown: Bangor, PA


• Day Trips: Philadelphia and New York City


• The Five-Day Roadtrip Back Home

2008 - ANOTHER YEAR IN TUPELO

• Greyboy Allstars in Oxford (Feb 2)


• Snowy Spring Break (Mar 8)


• Bill Clinton in Tupelo (Mar 7)


• Carley's Brother Got Married! (Apr 5)


• Galactic in Oxford (Apr 18)


• Beale Street Festival in Memphis (May 4)


• Yikes! A Tornado! (May 8)


• Summertime in the Backyard


• City Stages Festival in Birmingham (June 13)


• Staying Busy in June


• The Big Roadtrip Out West (June 29 to July 18)


• New Orleans


• Houston


• Austin


• Tucson


• Los Angeles


• Santa Barbara


• Pismo Beach


• San Jose


• Bonny Doon


• Pacifica


• Oakland


• San Francisco


• Walnut Creek


• STS9 and Umphrey's McGee in Atlanta (The Debacle - Aug 1 and 2)


• Rowan Almost 2 Years Old


• Summertime Fun in the Park


• Stanton Moore Trio in Oxford (Sep 4)


• Rowan 2 Years Old! (Sep 9)


• College Football at Ole Miss (Sep 20)


• Celebration of Cultures (Sep 27)


• College Football in Starkville (Oct 11)


• Halloween 2008


• Titans vs Packers in Nashville (Nov 2)


• Election Day in St. Louis? (Nov 4)


• Thanksgiving at the beach in Florida


• Christmas 2008


• New Year's Eve in Atlanta with STS9

2009 - THE YEAR OF BIG CHANGE!

• Almost Two-And-A-Half


• Forty! (Jan 8)


• HOUSE FOR SALE


• Happy Valentine 2009


• Fun in the Snow


• Winter Visitors


• The Children's Museum of Memphis


• The Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo


• Rob's Job Teaching ESL in Pontotoc County


• CARLEY'S NEW JOB at University of Mississippi


• Umphrey's McGee in Memphis (March 28)


• March Madness in Memphis (March 29)


• Introducing Johnny Travers Hanna (April 10)


• Happy Easter


• Galactic in Oxford (April 15)


• Wilco in Oxford (April 23)


• Double Decker Festival (April 25)


• Rowan's First School Musical (April 28)


• Umphrey's McGee in New Orleans (May 1)


• Umphrey's McGee in Oxford (May 2)


• Fiesta on Chesta (May 30)


• OUR NEW HOUSE


• Bonnaroo Music Festival (June 11-14)


• Weekend at the Beach (July 3-4)


• Visit With Rob's Family in Pennsylvania (July 7-14)


• The Land of Make Believe (July 13)


• The Don Myers Memorial in Missouri (July 29-30)


• Swimming at Sardis Lake (August 8)


• Labor Day Getaway to Florence, AL (September 4-6)


• Derek Trucks Band in Oxford (September 15)


• Rowan's 3rd Birthday Party (September 19)


• Carley's National Geographic Conference in Puerto Rico (September 22-26)


• Allan's Wedding in Sonoma (October 2)


• Rob's Visit to San Francisco (October 2-3)


• NFL in Nashville - Titans vs Colts (October 11)


• A lazy Sunday afternoon in Oxford


• Football Saturday in Oxford (October 24)


• Ween in Oxford (October 29)


• STS9 in Birmingham (October 30)


• Halloween


• New Mastersounds at Proud Larry's (November 11)


• Thanksgiving at the beach


• Tupelo Christmas Parade (December 5)


• Merry Christmas!


• Galactic in New Orleans for New Year's Eve

NEW YEAR'S EVE IN NEW ORLEANS

We have a long-running tradition of seeing live music on New Year's Eve. It's a perfect holiday for leaving Rowan with his MeMe and Papa and getting out of town for a couple of days. We had planned on making the trip to Miami to meet up with a bunch of friends to see Phish, but unfortunately that fell through when we found out we could only leave Rowan for 2 nights, which wouldn't be enough time to make the 15-hour drive and back. (No way were we ready to pay $900 for plane tickets.)


So, we settled on Plan B: Galactic at Tipitina's. Galactic is a long-time favorite of ours, and Rob had seen some excellent Galactic New Year's shows in San Francisco back in 2000, 2001 and 2002.


After an opening set by John Mooney and Bluesiana, Galactic took the stage around 11:45 and played 3 sets, finishing their encore around 3:30am.


Corey Henry sat in all night on the bone.


Mo' Money!


Big Freedia (a local sissy-rap artist) joined Galactic for one of several new tunes from their upcoming album.


It was good to see our friend Cathy, a local New Orleans music fanatic.


Despite our reverence for Tipitina's, it seems that local Galactic fans consider New Year's at Tip's to be "amateur night". And sure enough, the guy with the huge fuzzy hat proceeded to spill Carley's beer all over her moments after this photo was taken.


Settle down there Fess! You dropped your cigarette.


Happy New Year! (These weren't the bubbles we were hoping for.)


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