Adventure – Valerie's Voice

Week Two in Virginia

*Forgive me if this comes to your email twice. I tried publishing this at 6:30 am but it hasn’t gone through so I recreated the post and am trying it again.*

Continuing a photo journal of our adventures from week two, visiting family, in Arlington, Virginia (showing one to three…photos a day).

The impressive nave and chancel of the National Cathedral. It filled up for the advent service.

Sunday, November 30, was the first Sunday of Advent, and it was a special one. We went to an advent service in the Washington National Cathedral.

Heavenly voice and Bible readings filled the spectacular cathedral, and made for a memorable event.

Gary and I decided to take an overnight trip up to Pennsylvania to visit Gary’s family. His hometown is only about three hours away from where we were staying in Virginia, so we got up early Monday morning and drove to Pennsylvania for an over night visit.

One perspective of the farm where Gary grew up, in Pennsylvania.

We stopped at his younger sister’s farm for a visit. Then, we drove to the farm where Gary grew up. The friendly Mennonite folks who live there invited us in for a chat. They are lovely people.

Another perspective of the farm…this is the field where one of my favorite pictures was taken of our two young boys running in the field.

Later that evening, a lot of family members joined us for a dinner out, even though it was last minute.

We decided to drive back Tuesday morning, forgoing another farm visit to Gary’s other sister’s farm, simply because it was snowing and slick driving conditions. But we were grateful to be able to take this time to reconnect…our short stay was very enjoyable.

On Wednesday we ran errands and did some laundry and just hung out. Zoey and I made enchiladas for dinner.

We were ready again on Thursday to take the Metro into the city. The Metro is such a great system. We stopped at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, honoring the 34th U.S. President, on our way to the United States Botanic Garden.

The Lincoln Memorial model made of plant parts.

There was plenty to see indoors with special December exhibits: models of DC landmarks made from plant parts, and thousands of poinsettias were placed in groups all around the gardens.

A lovely display of pink/white poinsettias…I don’t think I’ve seen this sweet color of poinsettias before.

Next, we walked to the White House to check out the new ballroom construction, but we couldn’t see a thing.

After school the kids helped us count the miscellaneous coins the family had accumulated over the year. The bank said the coins had to be counted and put in wrappers. It turned out to be a fun project…and profitable.

Fun looking at and counting all the coins, and finding several foreign coins in the mix.

We went up to the rooftop to observe December’s full moon, Thursday December 4.

Lunch on Friday was in DuPont Circle. We met friends who were former neighbors in Northfield for many years. They moved to the DC area a few years ago.

We had a lovely lunch with our friends from Minnesota.

We arranged to meet at a restaurant along the Metro line so both parties could just hop on the Metro. We had a great time. As we walked back to the Metro station we stopped at a pop-up Christmas Market which was fun to peruse. There was leftover dusting of snow on trees and roses… it felt “Christmassy.”

Still swinging on the playground. The previous dusting of snow melted.

Zoey had Portuguese lessons again on Saturday. We went on another pleasurable walk with Ezra. Mid-afternoon we walked to a park near their apartment. The kids still enjoy play grounds. We stopped for an ice cream cone on the way home. It’s never too cold for ice cream.

Week One in Virginia

We left Northfield a week before Thanksgiving to go visit our son and his family in Arlington, Virginia. On our way to the airport I realized I still had my slippers on! Fortunately, we were close enough to home so we had time to turn around and get my shoes! (I won’t mention the full cup of coffee I spilled all over my backpack at the airport.)

I guess I was excited. We were going to spend time with our son and his family. They are moving to India. We were happy to have some quality time to create more memories before they leave… and it was fun to take the grandchildren on adventures while mom and dad stayed home to work and pack! 😉

The nice apartment building where our son’s family has lived since January 2025.

This blog post will be a diary: a photo essay, with one, or maybe two, pictures per day to capture our first week. It was challenging to select the photos out of the hundreds I took!

A walk in the woods with Ezra. Still a touch of fall in the air.

Our first full day we dropped Zoey off for Portuguese lessons and Gary and I went for a long walk with Ezra. This is the day we made chocolate chip cookies which I blogged about a couple weeks ago.

We also “packed” Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes online. This is an outreach project by Samaritan’s Purse that delivers gift-filled shoeboxes to children in need worldwide.

For breakfast on Sunday morning our granddaughter, who especially likes to cook and bake, made waffles. Her brother made blueberry syrup.

Ezra had a play date scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Zoey and I made a mosaic candle holder from a craft kit.

On Monday, we walked the kids to school. We did so each morning, and we also picked them every afternoon. It’s a .8 mile round-trip walk.

…a beautiful building made with marble from Italy.

On our first Monday while Tim & Andrea worked/packed, Gary and I took the Metro to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Performing Arts. We walked down the Hall of Nations (flags from all countries) and the Hall of States (flags from all states). Minnesota’s new flag was on display. The Kennedy Center is a beautiful building, made of marble from Italy, with chandeliers from Sweden. We had a fantastic tour guide…all to ourselves.

A hall inside the Kennedy Arts Center, with beautiful crystal chandliers.

Tuesday morning Gary and I went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. This is a somber, yet incredible, must-see museum.

Pictures of shoe piles and pictures of hair piles (from the victims) left a lasting impression. We also went through a special exhibit designed just for kids, which was very well done.

Tuesday afternoon, Zoey taught grandma how to make Flan!

The kids Thanksgiving break started on Wednesday. We took the grandkids to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center which is a Smithsonian Museum near Dulles airport (not to be confused with its companion museum, The National Air and Space Museum).

The Udvar-Hazy Center displays hundreds of air and space craft, including the Space Shuttle Discovery, a Concorde, and a Blackbird SR-71 (fastest manned jet).

The space shuttle Discovery was a sight to see. There were so many interesting aircraft in this museum. It was impressive, and a lot of fun.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner together. The kids and I made apple crisp to go along with the pumpkin pie.

Of course the kids were off school on Friday too, so Gary and I and the kids hopped on the Metro …

The Metro system is so easy to use and a great way to get around DC.

and took it to the National Gallery of Art.

I really liked this place.

I was immediately drawn to the first painting I saw in the museum. I envisioned myself in the painting…looking out over Lake Superior.

One really needs multiple visits to do justice to this art museum (I could say that of all of the museums), but this first time for me in the National Art Gallery was a lot of fun. We each chose an animal, color, and object to look for in the art works.

In the courtyard of the apartment building.

On Saturday, we walked through the Farmer’s Market near the apartment, took a short drive along the Potomac River, the kids showed off their skills on their hover boards, and we all went out for dinner at a Japanese restaurant.

*****

Night falls over Washington DC…

6:49 pm on November 24, 2025.
Views of the capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and the Kennedy Performing Arts building (the large building with white lights on left side of photo) to name a few…

Are we in Idaho?

When I was younger, I wrote a letter to Pan Am Airlines (a viable airline at the time) asking to be put on their waitlist to go to the moon. They wrote back (I was amazed), and told me the list was full!

I guess I’ve always been fascinated by the moon. I do enjoy the moon, and especially a full moon. Seeing the moon’s reflection on the water is always spectacular. But, crescent moons are sweet too…like a wink, or smile from heaven.

Full moon over Lake Superior, Minnesota 2020.

So, when I saw on Idaho’s map, Craters of the Moon National Monument, I added it to my list of places to see in Idaho. It is a 750,000 acre park. According to the internet, the difference between national park and national monument are:

 “...are their establishment [1] method, [2] primary purpose, and [3] scope of preservation. National parks are created by an Act of Congress to preserve a broader scope of natural and recreational values, while national monuments are designated by the President under the Antiquities Act to protect a singular, significant natural or natural object.”

It was a sunny, but chilly day when we visited the Craters of the Moon National Monument. It features vast lava fields deposited from volcanic eruption of deep fissures years ago. At the Visitor’s Center we picked up a map of a seven-mile driving loop through the park. There were designated stops along the way to get out for a scenic overlook, or take a hike. We did both.

The short hike through Devil’s Orchard was level, and paved, and I felt like we were walking through a strange botanical garden. Although we missed the peak for wildflowers in the park, there is amazingly diverse plant life in these lava fields. Most common is the sagebrush.

Dwarf buckwheat is an interesting plant…they look like white spots dotted almost evenly on the black lava rocks…

Dwarf Buckwheat growing like polka dots on the dark terrain.

There are numerous mini volcano formations known as spatter cones and cinder cones. We hiked up a cinder cone named Inferno Cone.

A cinder cone is formed from the accumulation of gas-charged volcanic fragments (cinders) ejected from a single vent.

On top of Inferno Cone…the top is level, but the cinder line on this photo is where the steep conical sides meet at the top.

The hike was a steep climb, but worth the view at the top.

It’s so hard to show depth in a photo. This tree is hanging over the edge of the cinder cone.

From the Craters of the Moon brochure, “astronauts confirmed that most lunar craters resulted from meteorite impacts, not volcanism. The craters of Craters of the Moon however, are definitely of volcanic origin…. from a series of deep fissures known collectively as the Great Rift that cross the Snake River Plain.”

I may not have gone to the moon with Pan Am, but I think I am satisfied with seeing Craters of the Moon and its diverse landscape. When you enter the park and drive through this amazing area, it sure looks like you are on the moon!

It was a great adventure.

Although not related to the moon adventure, we visited another site in the Idaho wilderness worth mentioning.

A barrack and the mess hall at Minidoka Internment camp.

The Minidoka National Historic Site is remnants of a Japanese Internment camp. We drove miles into the desert to find the visitor’s center and the remains of a few camp buildings. During World War II this camp held over 13,000 (out of 120,000) Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes and incarcerated without due process of law.

A root cellar built by those incarcerated to store crops grown at Minidoka. It is surprisingly large.

As most Visitor’s Center are, this one was full of information. And to make our visit even more interesting, the National Park ranger we talked with was a granddaughter of one of the incarcerated. Her grandfather was interned at this very Camp Minidoka. She was passionate about its history and she could answer any question we asked. The site preserves a real, but sad chapter in our history.

Idaho

When I told others we were taking a trip to Idaho most people asked why. I explained. “of the fifty states, Idaho is the only state I haven’t been in” (although my brother told me we were on a road trip with our parents and drove through Idaho to get to Washington when we were young. He is four years older so he remembers.)

Now, if people were to ask me, “Why Idaho?” I would say because it is a beautiful state with a lot to offer…including a large portion of the Rocky Mountains and 3,500 miles of rivers. We spent a lot of time by the Snake River.

This ice cream is shaped to look like an Idaho baked potato with sour cream. It was fun to try.

Idaho is known for its potatoes. While doing some research I learned about Westside Drive-In in Boise, that offered potato-shaped ice cream. That was curious. We made the drive-in our first stop out of the airport. It was tasty treat and a great way to start our vacation. Then, we drove two hours to Twin Falls and settled into an AirBnB in southeastern Idaho. We took day trips from there.

We spent a lot of time along the Snake River viewing canyons, gorges, water falls, and watching Base jumpers jump off the Perrine Bridge…counting on their parachutes to open and land safely on the ground 486’ below. It was fascinating to watch.

An experienced jumper attaches another person to his harness for a tandem jump. Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out how to post the video of this endeavor.

This screen shot is of the BASE jumper from one of the videos.

The Perrine Bridge is a stunning arch bridge and stands 486 feet above the Snake River, and has the distinction of being the eighth highest bridge in the United States. The Perrine Bridge attracts BASE jumpers from all over the world because it is one of the few structures they [jumpers] can use without getting special permits.

Trying to capture how deep this gorge is…this is looking down at the river…ripples from a motor boat and a kayak in the picture too.

(BASE jumping is an extreme sport where an individual leaps from a fixed object and uses a single parachute to land. The term “BASE” is an acronym for the four types of locations: Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and the Earth (cliffs).) We were fortunate to witness four jumpers, (one tandem) while walking next to the bridge.

At the visitor’s center, on the other side of the bridge, was a temporary 911 memorial display (we were visiting close to that date). The group hung a gigantic American flag on a cable over the gorge. It was impressive.

Shoshone Falls…there is not much water flowing over the falls this time of year. (Twin Falls is considered high dessert.) However, in the spring Shoshone Falls is called the Niagara of the west and the falls are gushing and look very full (in photos).

We picnicked at Shoshone Falls, and saw Perrine Coulee Falls and many other miscellaneous waterfalls.

We also walked to the Devil’s Washbowl, a waterfall within the Malad Gorge in Thousand Springs State Park.

Looking down on Malad Gorge, formed by the Malad River that flows into the Snake River.

We hiked in Adams Gulch and caught the beautiful sight of quaking aspen trees, their leaves turning from green…to lime green… to a brilliant yellow, that contrast beautifully with the green evergreen trees.

The striking contrast of the yellow aspens and evergreen trees.

We hiked on a well-defined hiking, and mountain biking, trail.

We drove to Ketchum, the ski village near Sun Valley Resort, nestled within the Rocky Mountains, specifically in the Wood River Valley at the base of Bald Mountain.

Beautiful Bald Mountain and the Sun Valley Ski Resort.

Sun Valley was America’s first destination ski resort.

The mountains are inviting so we continued to drive north of Ketchum for several miles to see their majesty.

On our way up a mountain…and then down into a valley.

Looking at a valley from Smiley Lodge. We turned around here and drove back up the mountain pass.

We also spent time in Craters of the Moon National Monument. I will write about that another time.

Our final evening, a farewell dinner on the deck at Redhawk Gastropub, overlooking the Snake River.

Our time went fast, as it usually does while on vacation, but I’m glad we were able to see a few of the wonderful sights in beautiful Idaho, and to make some fun memories there.

And I did it! I can say I’ve been in all 50 states.

2025 Villa Louis Carriage Classic

As soon as I learned of the Carriage Classic, I knew I wanted to attend. A few years ago we toured the 1871 historic home, Villa Louis (on the National Register of Historic Places), on St. Feriole Island on the Mississippi River.

It is there where I learned the Carriage Classic is an annual event, going on 45 years, and is always held the weekend after Labor Day.

We visited with the owner and learned this restored carriage was a 1864 Studebaker Trap, originally owned by the Studebaker family.

Carriages came in all colors: black, yellow, cranberry, green…

…and a beautifully restored wooden carriage.

Folks from all over the United States trailer their horses and carriages and gather together in the park across the lawn from Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. They come to participate in contests and to show off their pride and joy, their horses and carriages.

Many of the carriages had an area for picnic baskets and/or luggage in the back.

The idea of yesteryear with horses and carriages, and my fairly new interest in horses, encouraged me to put the date on the calendar earlier this year, so as not to miss this event. I’m glad we made time for it.

It was a wonderful drive down the Mississippi River on our first day, stopping to take a bike ride on the Root River State Trail and discovering lefse chips. We continued on to stay overnight near the Carriage Classic so we could be at the entrance soon after it opened on Friday morning. Friday was the first day of the three-day event. We enjoyed our one day attendance a lot.

A modern horse in the front of this line…

It was unusually cold and windy. Due to the wind, I did not wear my “fancier” straw hat that I had brought along, but many of the Classic participants did wear their hats, and some dressed in costume, which is part of the tradition we were told.

There were several miniature horses too.

Many of the carriages were restored, and shone beautifully. All the horses were groomed impeccably. The carriage drivers meandered on a wide-open field before participating in their special events. Spectators could meander along with them, and take photos. That was special.

This carriage was pulled by four horses…we only saw one with four horses this day.

I enjoyed taking over a hundred photos, of the horses, carriages, hats, temporary stables, historic hotel, flowers and more…there was so much to see. It was all so picturesque.

There was a food stand with delicious breakfast and lunch items for reasonable rates so we didn’t have to leave the grounds. There were table and chairs set up for comfort, and small bleachers were at some venues. There was live music – a man and his synthesizer – playing tunes during the competitions. There was no entry fee, and no parking fee.

Even though the temperature was chilly, the sky was mostly sunny and it was a delightful day to be at the Carriage Classic watching the nuances of “another world” go by.

The large open field where we could walk among the horses and carriages.

Root River Trail and Beyond

It was a sandwich board that caught my attention while biking on the Root River State Trail.

I saw the words “lefse chips” and, being the Norwegian that I am, all things lefse makes me curious. So we veered off the trail and biked a block into the small town of Peterson, population 227.

We found the store (not too difficult) and walked through the middle of the magnetic screen door – a great invention.

This screen door is flexible. The two screens come together in the middle and latch with magnets. One can easily walk through the door. It was unique.

Tiger Trail Lefse Chip Co. is a small store that makes and sells lefse and lefse chips. I had never heard of lefse chips (much like Mexican tortilla chips) . They sell mainly online, and mostly to breweries and wineries. However, in this small storefront there were several samples of the lefse chips to taste. We liked them all. We bought a bag of the Hot Honey BBQ chips to bring home (and support this small business).

More cyclists stopped to explore the store too, and it felt festive on this chilly morning in this small town… that has big displays of gnomes, including statues, flags and wall murals.

This mural is painted on the side of the Post Office.

The light poles in the town of Peterson have banners with gnomes on them, in multiple colors.

After a good rest, we got back on our bikes to ride the “rail to trail” bike path that runs along the Root River. Yellow coneflowers, goldenrod and black-eyed susan’s were blooming along this beautiful portion of the trail.

Even though it was a chilly morning, the sky was partly sunny and the trail was busy with hardy bicyclists. Earlier in the morning we left Northfield and drove a couple hours to get the trailhead. It was about 50* when we started to bike.

After our ride, we ate our picnic lunch outdoors, at the Rushford trailhead (it had warmed up by then).

An old jail house. Through the windows you can see the bars of the small, cell inside.

The old train depot, in Rushford, is currently being renovated. Next door was an old school, a chapel and a jail house. Presumably those three buildings, along with the depot, will be part of the trailhead museum when all is finished. The town of Rushford, population 1,852, seems to be growing.

The Root River trailhead in Rushmore, Minnesota.

After lunch we continued to drive to Marquette, Iowa for an overnight stay. The drive took us through southeastern Minnesota bluff country and along the Mississippi River.

It was picturesque with green bluffs, the blue skies and puffy white clouds. A great day for a gorgeous drive. The place we stayed had some beautiful annual hanging baskets that are still vibrant.

We stopped to observe an interesting boat while driving back from the restaurant that evening.

It was intriguing to see this “pushboat” resting on land on the banks of the river, near Prairie du Chien. (This is when the internet is so useful. We found the faded name of the boat, on the outside of the bridge, so we looked up Wade Childress and found information.) We learned it had sunk near Fort Madison Iowa in 1985.

It was a fun day of discoveries.

Miscellaneous Curious Photos and Flowers on the Islands

A beautiful old catholic church (1834) in the city: The Cathedral of Angra do Heroísmo.

I really liked this wooden sculpture of Jesus the carpenter we saw in a church. I’ve never seen Jesus portrayed as a carpenter in a sculpture form before.

A landscape view of San Miguel, the green isle.

There were several types of roosters “strutting their stuff”, on all the islands.

These two parrots, in an enclosed area in a park, were fun to watch.

I like this photo of the exposed tree roots, growing down, down, down into the earth.

This tree was called the elephant foot…must be a nickname! 😉

And then there were so many flowers…these photos capture a few unusual ones…

I loved the way the twilight reflected in these windows.

Painted Doors

For our last dinner together in Funchal on Madeira Island, we walked to the Mozart Restaurant, located on Rua de Santa Maria. This is one of the oldest streets in Funchal.

On our way down Rua de Santa Maria to the Mozart Restaurant.

It is a pedestrian-friendly cobblestone street, with some car traffic. It is lined with small restaurants, cafes and a small art gallery or two. It is also known for its painted doors.

The Painted Doors Project began in 2010 with the idea of revitalizing the Zona Velha (Old Town) area, specifically Rua de Santa Maria.

It invited artists to transform old doors into unique works of art. The project was successful and continues today. It features a diverse range of artistic styles on painted doors, creating a vibrant outdoor art gallery.

This public art form continues today, so the street art is ever-changing.

It seems to me that public art does promote community, and I personally, always like to see art in the public.

These photos are a sampling of the many painted doors along Rua de Santa Maria.

It was an entertaining walk to one of the quaint restaurants along this historical street.

Madeira

The last island we visited on our two-week trip to “islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean” was Madeira, a separate archipelago consisting of four islands. Madeira island is southeast of the Azores and about 600 miles west of mainland Portugal.

The view over the infinity pool looking towards the Atlantic Ocean, on the roof top of our hotel in Funchal.

Funchal, the capital of Madeira, where we stayed in a lovely boutique hotel with a rooftop pool and fabulous view of the city and ocean, was winding down from a Flower Festival on the island…beautiful carpets made of flowers along the sidewalks, and stunning flower arrangements everywhere.

A carpet of flowers found on sidewalks and in hotel lobbies.

It was the last days of the festival.

One of many stunning flower arrangements.

We went on a grand driving tour to: Camara de Lobos, a fishing Village, Cabo Girão, a striking overlook of the sea (the cliff is 589 meters above sea level or 1,932 feet), and Serrado da Eira, a picturesque mountainous region of Madeira.

Looking straight down from cliff overlook, 589 meters (1,932 feet) above sea level. photo gb

Another view looking down from the high cliff to the shoreline. photo gb

We went to a rum factory and a farmer’s market, walked down a historic street with unique painted doors, and went on a cetaceans-watching tour. We didn’t see any whales but we did see dolphins and a beautiful coastline. (I have no photos from our boat tour because I do not bring my camera/phone near any bodies of water after having lost electronics in lakes a couple of times!)

We ate at several fantastic restaurants on Madeira Island. A huge European breakfast buffet was offered at all our hotels, on all the islands, each morning. Lunch and dinners were a mixture of eating as a group in small, local restaurants, or visiting a quaint sidewalk café when dinner was “on our own.”

We ate lunch at Quinta do Furão, part of this lovely hotel complex.

In Madeira we ate together at several special restaurants but three stand out…lunch at Quinta do Furão on the outdoor patio with lovely views of the ocean,

il Vildali, a Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant that was eloquently set for us at a huge table with luxury tablecloth and candelabras,

il Vivaldi Mediterranean Cuisine Restaurant.

and on our last night together we ate at Mozart Restaurant; with a fun wait staff and interesting bathrooms.

The Mozart restaurant was on the Rua de Santa Maria, one of the oldest streets in Madeira. It is a pedestrian-friendly cobblestone street, with some car traffic. It is lined with small restaurants, cafes and a small art gallery or two. It is also known for its painted doors.

Funny to say, but bathrooms can be very interesting. I have always liked to check out bathrooms in different places, but in the Mozart Restaurant we all checked out the bathrooms. The room was all mirrors, including floors and ceilings. It was unique!

The room of mirrors…the separate room with the toilet was the same; all mirrors.

It is here where we had to say good-bye to our new friends whom we shared so many wonderful adventures together over two weeks. We were so happy to have had our paths cross with these fine folks. It was sad to bid farewell.

These peace lilies were growing wild all over the islands.

The Natural Wonders of São Miguel

São Miguel Island is the poster child for the Azores. When you see brochures for the Azores, you see a picture of a caldera on San Miguel Island. A caldera is a large, bowl-shaped depression formed by the inner collapse of a volcano’s summit. It’s distinct from a crater, which is a much smaller, depression typically formed by outward explosion of material during an eruption.

This is photo of a photo in an ad promoting the Azores, taken on Såo Miguel.

This is our photo of the famous caldera the day we saw it…still beautiful even with the cloud cover. photo gb

For this discovery adventure with OAT, we were divided into small groups, and rode over rough terrain in jeeps to the western part of the island to see this caldera. Although it was overcast, we enjoyed seeing the stunning landscapes along the way.

Mata Jardim José do Canto – one of the botanical gardens on São Miguel.

Also, on this island we went to a botanical garden (Mata Jardim José do Canto) with a thermal pool. The hot springs look muddy, but its minerals in the water that make it look that way.

The thermal pool, in the botanical garden. photo gb

We were told to bring an old swimsuit since they would get stained from the water. It felt good to be in the hot pools.

Inside one of the greenhouses on the pineapple plantation. photo gb

We visited a tea plantation (Henrique -our tour guide- worked there when he was younger), and we visited a pineapple plantation.

Cascada (Portuguese) = Cascade (English).

We stopped at Ribeira dos Caldeirões Park, with beautiful waterfalls and more lush, green plants…São Miguel…aptly nicknamed the green island… Ihla Verde.

On this island we experienced a local dairy farm, milking about 25 cows. It is run by a Gena and João, a couple dedicated to a small, self-sufficent, organic farming operation.

Gena and João, in the barn on their dairy farm. photo gb

As we stood out in the field with the dairy cows, one cow in particular kept nudging everyone. Later, back in the barn (which was connected to electricity just last year) we gathered around the milking stalls and took turns milking a cow by hand.

Henrique at the head of the farm table. photo by Gena

Back in the soon-to-be remodeled stone outbuilding, a wonderful dinner was set for us and we ate their home-grown food. This type of farming reminded Gary of his grandparent’s farm…with their old-fashioned ways of doing things.

At the grocery store, with our assignments.

Earlier that morning Henrique divided us into groups and gave us some Euros and a short shopping list, in Portuguese, to buy a few items to bring to dinner at the farm later that day.

The local grocery store. (Decked out for the upcoming festival. Most store fronts are decorated for the special festival.)

He showed us which store to shop for local fare, and asked us to try and not speak English. That was a fun outing. We succeeded in finding the food…not sure about the not speaking English.

The lighting ceremony on the plaza in Ponta Delgado, on São Miguel Island. The ceremony marks the beginning of the festival “Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres” (Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles).

On our last night on this island there was an opening ceremony for a huge annual religious festival. We were leaving the island the next day, but were able to walk to the main plaza after dinner to watch the lighting ceremony. It was a festive atmosphere and a pretty sight to see.

As I was walking in the cobblestone plaza, I tripped and fell into two women in the crowd. They kept me from falling…I said “Obrigada (thank you)”, and they replied, “that’s what we’re here for – to hold each other up!” Another fun interaction with strangers!

A very small village along the coast of São Miguel. photo gb

We enjoyed the natural wonders and beauty of São Miguel.