Tag: Bella Esguerra

Posted on

Never a Dull Moment…

It’s been weeks since we got home. We’ve had more than 200 people read our travel diary from Africa, and we’ve taken a peak ourselves to remind us of what a great trip we had. 

It was sweltering the weekend we came back, and the girls mostly spent the first couple of days in and around Adrian and Penny’s pool. John had to return some rented camera equipment and continued south to Carmel and got back in the saddle riding the beautiful 17-miles drive. 

Once home John and Adriana got busy power washing the drive way, patios, and outdoor furniture. With what looked to be a terrible chore, the neighbor, Liz, had John suspected of being in the dog house, but it was quite therapeutic and very satisfying to see the moss and dirt disappear, and also to see the brown teak color come alive behind what was mostly gray chairs and couches. The free mud bath was a just a bonus that both Adriana and John enjoyed. Less so the ones who showered after us. 

As mentioned in a previous blog post, John was fortunate to get a couple of Hamilton tickets from Olivia. They went to the Orpheum Theater on July 14 and loved every minute of the show. It really is a great musical, and although had cast has changed several times over, every performance was to a tee. It’s a shame that the tickets are a small fortune – the music is perfect for a younger audience and was a great piece of history. 

Dinner was eaten at 54Mint. Great food but the basement turned out to be very dark and very loud. Luckily the staff could help get a couple of seats at the bar. 

Bella’s been busy working at a pair of event planning businesses. Long hours and much planning, but rewarding when the event is successful and both the hosts and guests are happy. Pia has been enjoying her new license and is always (and still) glad to run errands around town. Late last week she blew a tire but managed to drive back to the house. AAA replaced it within the hour. AAA is also where we have an auto insurance policy and the bill, for now, four cars – with two young drivers – is something we don’t care to think about a whole lot. 

Adriana’s summer camp schedule has been tight, and so far she’s enjoyed volleyball camp, a camp focused on producing YouTube videos and finally an art camp. So far we have not seen anything posted on YouTube, but it won’t be long – she reviews several products each day and is often recording her slime making skills.

Posted on

Breathtaking Victoria Falls

First day of July and a day that was mostly spent at the Victoria Falls. We did start out with a morning drive, but most had their thoughts on the adrenalin-rushing activities they had signed up for at the falls. 

Departure from camp was at 11:00 and it took almost and hour before we were at the entrance. The guides offered ponchos, umbrellas and waterproof phone pounces in participation of the rain and sprays of water that comes with a visit to the falls, and while it started pretty dry, some of us got completely drenched and gave up trying to stay a little bit dry. It was no big deal – the weather was warm, and it never became an issue. 

The Victoria Falls were breathtaking and the 16 viewpoints each offered different views that all brought “ooohs” and “aaahs”. We also got a close-up view of the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe from where Jilly would later let a bungee cord prevent her from falling head-first into the Zambezi river. 

Eleven family members signed up for either gorge swing, bungee jump, or zip-lining; which is how the time between 2 and 4 was passed. All of them seems to defy what any human should be doing, but all had fun and agreed that if you were ever going to do any of these things, then Victoria Falls was the place to do it. Out of respect for parents and grandparents, we will not post any pictures 😉

The afternoon brought a lovely reunion with many of the local family members. All-in-all we ended up being 34 for high tea at the famous Victoria Falls Hotel, from where the famous “Dr. Livingstone, I presume” saying originated. Whether is was the first time connections were made, or it was a welcome chance to catch us since the last visit, the afternoon was spent with much laughter and tales from African, Australia, and California. Good times!

The activities, walking, and playing with cousins took its toll on the group, and dinner at camp was with a little smaller group than usual. We agreed to skip the early morning drive and get a good night rest. (See July 2.)

Posted on

Las Vegas in 24 hours

Las Vegas in 24 hours

 

Partly to celebrate John’s birthday and partly to introduce Pia and Bella to Las Vegas, all six set out to enjoy what at one point looked like 115 degrees (46 celsius) in the shade. As it turned out the temperature never went higher than 100 but only after Las Vegas was mentioned in the national news because of severe thunderstorms that brought hail with them. The flight was therefore diverted all the way to Los Angeles to avoid the stormy weather before making a left turn.

John and Olivia were lucky to sit next to a couple of winemakers who had brought samples of their wines. The extra hour of flying time came in handy for that reason. Good stuff – look up Enriquez Wines and Vokel Cellars if you’re ever in the Healdsburg area.

The trusted Mandarin Oriental was the base for the 24 hours in Nevada. All jumped in a cab and drove to The Wynn hotel and slowly made their way to the Bellagio where Olivia treated all to the ‘O’ show by Cirque de Soleil. Dinner was consumed at Otto in the Venetian. Despite Adriana begging the urge to ride the gondolas was resisted and the Venetian remained a visual-only experience.

Isabella had unfortunately caught some stomach bug days before leaving and the effects were still very much present upon takeoff from Oakland airport. She was, unfortunately, uable to join the rest of the family for the dinner and show and instead rested in the hotel room. It helped and she felt much better on the second day of the trip.

The following day was mostly spent relaxing on the strip and ride the roller coaster at the New York New York hotel. Adriana was deemed too short during the last visit, so she was thrilled when she was allowed on the bumpy ride this time around.

After a burger at Bobby’s Burger Palace and a quick scoop of Pinkberry, it was time to fly back so that they could all join the rest of the family for an early 4th of July dinner at the MPCC Beach House in Carmel.


Posted on

Wrapping up another school year

Bella graduated from Burlingame High School on May 28. The ceremony at the on the football field was followed by a small dinner for the family. Nice event with good speeches and even of couple of performances of the school band and choir.

Pia had a to wait a few more days before she wrapped up he final exam with a two-mile run. There was no end in sight for Adriana and as we write this, she’s still go on strong at Saint Catherine’s. She just wrapped up the last book report of the year, and got to pretend to be Ella Enchanted in front of the camera. She’s quite enjoying those type of assignments.

Bella had invited 75 people to Adrian and Penny’s home for a reception in her honor. The place looked beautiful and Pia record effort from handing 100 rice paper lamps paid off.

Across the country Isabella was starting to her final exams and it all kicked off on Memorial Day (May 30). Five days later and she was done for the year. John went out to help help pack up the room and freight laundry from Connecticut to California. They spent the day hiking Kent Falls but also completed a rather long drive to Collin’s Creamery – surely some of the best ice cream in CT.

John flew back Sunday evening while Isabella stayed behind. She’s on a small team representing Kent School at the Independent School Gender Project. The conference starts June 16 so until then she’s staying with a very good friend – Hannah – from school. She’s back home June 18.

http://www.isgpsummerconference.org
http://thecollinscreamery.com