Points South

You will have to take my word for it, but our tomato plants are going like gangbusters. Our pepper plants are getting tall and leafy. The creeping thyme I planted in the herb garden is looking to start some static with the sage and rosemary. All of which would I could feel good about in advance of a 4th of July party if it weren't for the mostly dead lawn. Our front and back yards are much on our minds, but then so too is vacation.

We'll be travelling to the Galapagos Islands for a kayaking trip. Flying into Quito, where we'll stay for a day before flying to Santa Maria Island (also known as Floreana). If the list of recommended items for purchase, and the list of recommended amounts for gratuity didn't make the trip excruciatingly real, the arrival this afternoon of two dry composting toilets --I prefer the term EcoBaños-- on our door step certainly did.

We first learned about the possibility of kayaking through the Galapagos in a New York Times article. The photo below ran along side the article, took up the front page of the Travel section that week actually, and I never really recovered from seeing it.


I intend to do some homework prior to our leaving. Brush up on my Darwin, that kind of thing. Reading through The Flamingo's Smile I was surprised to find that Darwin had set out from London as a doctrine-embracing fellow, who only reluctantly accepted the theory we now associate with him. Of course, prior to booking this trip I thought of Darwin only rarely. Usually as an otherwise indistinct white male wearing period knickers.

Amy's pregnancy has reached the point where folks often ask if we're excited about the baby's pending arrival. Having the baby, being through the pregnancy is very much on Amy's mind. But I think the reality of it is mitigated to some degree by the trip we'll be taking. We'll take lots of pictures.