September 2012
2 posts
Mountains and Lakes and Volcanos, Oh My!
So after a wonderful, amazing, thrilling, fast paced month long trip through Patagonia, Tom and I were so ready to settle down and relax for a few months. As previously mentioned we chose Pucón, our favorite little mountain village, as the perfect spot to satisfy our craving.
We had already visited Pucón on two separate occasions and had thoroughly fallen in love with the small town...
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Patagonia Part...
It’s been a bit hectic lately with being back in the States, getting married, and looking for our next step (hopefully a return to Chile, fingers crossed!!), so it’s been awhile since I’ve written. Sorry. Luckily here we are, so let’s get going.
The last leg of our month long journey through Patagonia was a trip to Ushaia, the southernmost city in the world.
When Tom...
June 2012
2 posts
A Message from Our Sponsors
Hi, this is Tom. I’m taking a break from my usual duty of paying for
these adventures to write a little bit about a special weekend get
away we took recently to a cabin near Parque
Huerquehue, a national park just
outside of Pucón.
We’ve been renting an apartment in Pucón since 1 April from a really
awesome Chilean couple. They’ve just been really wonderful hosts. When...
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Patagonia Part...
Half a month of travelling through Patagonia from Pucon to Puerto Varas to Chiloe and we still had half an adventure ahead of us! Next up was Torres Del Paine, the highlight of our trip. We had been looking forward to visiting Torres Del Paine from the moment we decided to move to Chile. Torres Del Paine is a very special spot in the world, there aren’t many places like it these days....
May 2012
1 post
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Patagonia Part...
After a wonderful week spent in Pucon and Puerto Varas, we hopped on a boat and headed to the nearby island of Chiloe. I’d really been looking forward to this part of the trip because Chiloe is not just any old island. Stepping foot on Chiloe is a bit like stepping in a time machine and heading back in time a hundred years or so. It’s an island made up primarily of tiny fishing...
April 2012
1 post
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Patagonia Part...
In March Tom’s contract with Start Up Chile (our reason for being in Chile) ended. But instead of heading back to the States we decided that it was high time for a serious vacation. So we packed up our stuff, moved out of our apartment in Santiago, and set off on the road for a month long adventure through Patagonia (Chile and Argentina’s Southern tip). Tom had been dreaming about...
December 2011
2 posts
Into the Wild: Laguna del Laja and Pucón
A couple of weekends ago Tom and I decided to take a last minute trip out of town. We weren’t sure where to go so we asked our Chilean friend, Alex, who didn’t hesitate for a second to recommend Pucón. We grabbed another couple, rented a car, made some tentative plans and sleeping arrangements, and took off into the wild with pretty much no idea what we were up against. I cannot...
A Hop, Skip, and a Jump Over the Andes
A couple of weeks ago Tom and I boarded a plane bound for Buenos Aires, Argentina. One of our goals of moving to Chile was to travel as much as possible in South America. Tom has already traveled extensively throughout South America, but I have much to explore still! So, although he has already been to Buenos Aires twice before, when the opportunity came up, Tom jumped at the chance to take me...
November 2011
1 post
Please Folks Step Right This Way...
That’s right, I’ve become a tour guide in my spare time :)
A couple of weeks ago Tom’s family came to visit us in Santiago. This was exciting for a couple of different reasons. First, it was only my second time meeting them and since Tom had to focus on the business and work during the day it was my responsibility to show them Santiago. I was both excited and nervous about this...
October 2011
2 posts
Some "Real" Chile
A couple weekends ago Tom and I decided it was finally time to leave the city and see some “real” Chile. We picked a beach town called La Serena about 6 hours north of Santiago for our maiden voyage. We didn’t do much research before we set out. Tom and I both enjoy as much spontaneity as possible when we travel. So we weren’t really sure what to expect when we got there....
A Fonda and an Earth-Shaking Drink
Despite our pretty disappointing adventure on Saturday at the Yein Fonda, we decided to give the holiday festivities one more try. After all, the entire city was closed down for the weekend, so searching out a Fonda was really our only option. We caught the news Saturday night and found that where we should have been that day was at the Parque O’Higgins Fonda. All the cool kids where there...
September 2011
2 posts
Two Foreigners loose in Santiago During the...
This past weekend Tom and I celebrated our first Chilean Holiday, and my was it a BIG holiday! Dieciocho (eighteen in Spanish) is the day traditionally heralded as Chilean independence from Spain. It is celebrated on the 18th of September every year, which is actually the start of their war for independence. Technically the war didn’t end until 1826, when the last Spanish troops...
We Put the "Fun" in Funicular
That’s right! It’s another funicular fiasco :)
As far as I can tell funiculars are pretty popular down here in Chile. Which is fun for Tom and not so fun for me. I think it’s the fact that I can’t quite conceptualize how two cars could counterbalance each other so perfectly that they would be capable of pulling a group of people up and down a steep and very long incline....
August 2011
3 posts
Wine and Cheese Please!
Tom and I made an agreement before moving to Chile that the weekends would be about us. Which meant absolutely, under no circumstances, would there be work done on the weekends. Our weekends would be about spending time together and exploring our new home. So far we’ve done an excellent job sticking to our promise. Tom works so hard during the week to make our dream a reality and I do my...
A Drive to the Coast
Today we hitched a ride with some Start Up Chile friends and headed for the coast. For the last seven or eight years I have lived about a mile from the ocean, first in San Diego and then in the South Bay Los Angeles area, so I’ve really been missing the ocean since we moved to Chile. Yes, it’s only been about two weeks, yes, I am spoiled. Anyway, as it turns out a couple of other Los...
All I know about Chile is...
I have been in Chile for a week and a half now, and I have avoided writing this post because I’m not sure what to say or where to begin…
I’d like to be able to say that Chile is exactly as I expected, but it’s not at all. I’m not sure what I thought it would be like; Tom has asked me that several times and I haven’t really been able to describe it. All I know...
July 2011
2 posts
It's time for Dodger Baseball (and the best tacos...
This sign is misleading
This sign is misleading because it is next to the freeway and it is in Baldwin Park.
Because I am homeless I have moved back to Covina to stay with my parents while I wait for my real life to begin.
A few weeks ago Tom and I tackled one of the most important things on our bucket list. I have to admit, a few of our bucket list items got lost in the shuffle and madness...
My heart left last night on a plane bound for...
And I don’t get him back for another three weeks
Tom took off last night to kick off the beginning of our journey to Chile. He had to be there by July 14th and I will be staying behind to attend my parent’s 30th wedding anniversary on July 30th. Which means we’ll be spending three weeks apart. It also means that in the five weeks since he asked me to marry him we will be...
June 2011
2 posts
L.A. Bucket List Stop #1
We went to The Griddle this morning for breakfast. Our housekeeper came to clean the condo this morning, which means that we are not allowed to be in the house. Which is fine by me because that means that we got to go out to breakfast and make the first stop on our L.A. bucket list…GIANT pancakes!! I mean seriously giant. But before you even see the giant pancakes and experience the angst...
