Saturday, May 20, 2023

Ohio spring break

 Since we didn't get to go to Ohio for Christmas, we decided to drive out for a few days during spring break.  Some people know that I ordered a Piecaken for Christmas and had it delivered directly to my sister's house in Ohio.  It comes frozen, packed in dry ice, so she put it straight in the freezer, in case we got the chance to come out to visit.  

So here it is...






It has a layer of pecan pie on the bottom, pumpkin pie in the middle and spice cake on the top.  The cake is covered in a spice buttercream frosting, and topped with apple pie filling.  I thought it was delicious and now I want to try one of the other flavors. 


We played a lot of games


Playing ukulele









Some people went to the zoo so they did this photo re-creation.

  

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Bali, part 4

 After leaving the hospital, we went back to the same hotel we stayed at the beginning.  We did this because the hotel is closer to the airport, and it turned out to be a good decision because this was a little easier for someone who needs crutches or a wheelchair to get around.  

So the invalid stayed behind and we had one last adventure on Nusa Penida.  This was a beautiful island that offers lots of Instagrammable places to take pictures.  Once again, we saw lots of couples posing and women posing for their boyfriends to take photos, while they pretend that they are not posing.  









Our guide got up into this tree to take photos of us





Pretending not to pose...


That night we packed up and left, and sat on an airplane for 26 hours!!  Despite the unfortunate events that happened, I felt that we got lucky in that the hotel staff were so kind to us, the hospital staff were (mostly) super helpful, and the scenery was beautiful to experience in between hospital visits.  After our plans got derailed, we started talking about going back another time and maybe experiencing the rest of Bali.  However, after that flight, I'm not so sure.  There are beautiful beaches in closer parts of the world...

The End 

Bali, part 3

 So, after that beautiful day in the rice fields and the temple, we were on the way back to the hotel and got a text from our friend that decided to stay behind to take a cooking class at the hotel.  The text said that she broke her leg.  We got back to the hotel in time to get into the ambulance to go with her to the hospital.  Unfortunately, she slipped on the stairs when it was raining a little and broke her leg and dislocated her ankle and then she was stuck in the hospital for the next three days and had to have screws put her in her leg.  


With our trip sidelined, we had to cancel our next stop at the northern end of the island.  But luckily, we were able to stay in the hotel for that time and they treated us so well.  



Here are some meals we had at the hotel restaurant. 

While our friend was laid up in the hospital, waiting for the surgeon to travel from one hospital to the next, my other friend and I went to the monkey forest.  We were warned not to wear hats or sunglasses, because they might get taken by the monkeys.  I'm still wondering what happens to people wearing regular seeing glasses.  We did see a guy that was posing with a monkey lose something out of his backpack.  They were just sitting there, and then all of a sudden, the monkey grabbed it and took off.  I think it was a magnet or something that he bought a tourist shop, so nothing too expensive.  But surprising to see how fast and sneaky they are.  


You can pay a few dollars to have this monkey trainer get the monkey to sit on your lap while he takes pictures for you.  I didn't do this.  Monkeys are kind of gross.  


But also, can be kind of cute...