Mississippi River

We took Hank to the Crosby Farm Park along the Mississippi in South St. Paul, MN today. He got to meet lots of other dog friends while we got to see all the bright green budding trees.

 

Two Dogs and a Pup

Morgan and I are dog sitting for a friend in Minneapolis this weekend. She has two sweetie pies, Charlie(an old beagle) and Jasmine(a doberman/lab mix). Along with Hank we have our hands full, especially because all three are attention lovers.

Duluth.

Just a couple photos from our last day in Duluth. Pretty standard Duluth Harbor stuff.

Yard Colors.

Pups and Slugs.

Wisco Breakfast.

New Boots!

On the second to last day we were in Quito with Jax and Caye they mentioned that there was a custom leather boot shop which Jax had just purchased some hiking boots from and the prices were reasonable. Being the leather boot connoisseur that I am I couldn't pass up the chance just to check it out. So we went there and i realized I could get any type of boot and in any color for 120 dollars. That is when the gears in my head started turning, realizing that I wouldn't be able to find a deal this good with all the customizing I want anywhere else. Also the woman who owned the shop was fantastic (although I was very happy to have Caye there to translate) and to me meeting the person making the shoes made it even better. After a fitting and a look through the shop at what she had already done I decided on my design. My design was as follows: six inch cap toe boot, matte black leather, heel-pull tab, straight-lace system, natural wood sole, rubberized heel and toe, and stitching which matched the wood sole. They turned out so amazing although they are still in Ecuador right now so I haven't been able to wear them yet. But for my enjoyment and yours Caye took some photos (which of course are amazing).

Spring has Sprung... For now.

So Hank got himself a haircut. He looks a lot smaller now, he is gray, and he has a Mohawk.

Puerto Lopez, Ecuador

 After Montanita, our next stop was Puerto Lopez which is just about an hour north along the coast. With no real plans we took a recommendation from Caye's cousin to stay at Hosteria Mandala which ended up being a great place. Super relaxing, beautiful, and still within our budget. The 5 giant dogs laying around the hotel helped with our homesickness for Hank.

More Montanita

 All the photos from this post were taken on my birthday, February 7th, in Montanita, Ecuador. It was an awesome day of surfing in the Pacific and lots of sun. The sun is so intense there because of the proximity to the equator and despite our continual application of sun block we all got burned badly! The day ended with a rainbow and beautiful sunset. I'm pretty jealous of the people who get to enjoy this place year round.

Beach Cows

 While hanging out in Montanita, Ecuador we had the joy of seeing a herd of cows soaking up the mid-day sun. Growing up on a dairy farm in Minnesota accustomed me to the sight of cows, but cows on a beach? To me, that is awesomely strange. One attempted to go in the water, but got scared and ran away.

Montanita, Ecuador

After our couple of weeks spent in Peru we ended up back in Ecuador to meet up with our friends Caye and Jackson. Our goal was relaxation, so we headed to the coast. With the help of the beautiful scenery and weather in Montanita we accomplished that goal very successfully. Montanita is not only known for it's stretch of sand beach but also for the waves. It offers surfers the longest and most consistent waves in Ecuador. For us, the waves were awesome and most definitely some of the biggest waves I've ever attempted, cresting at about 10ft.