I've always wanted to own my own business. In fact, I think that's one of the things that attracted me to optometry in the first place. My father had his own business and the thought of working my way up the corperate latter, possibly changing jobs every 5-10 years, and ultimately not being able to do my own thing didn't appeal to me. So, I discarded my plans to be a chemical engineer and pursued optometry from day one of college (which decision was reaffirmed to me as I struggled through my organic chemistry classes).
Now the way in which I was to obtain my own business was not clear, but as we began optometry school we took the recommendation of a certain neighbor to start listening to a radio program that in large measure would change our financial leanings and ultimately my core business philosophy. That radio program was none other than Dave Ramsey.
We had already been seriously pursuing a military scholarship to pay for school. Iraq was not going away and troops were starting to go to Afghanistan. It looked more and more likely that I would be deployed if I joined. Nevertheless, when doubts set in weather we really wanted to do it or not, acquiring as little debt as possible and a lot of prayer really gave us that extra courage to go for it.
Our time in the Army was wonderful, and professionally it was just what I needed. I was busy seeing patients from day one and always had an optometrist and an ophthalmologist just down the hall if I ever needed a second opinion. I really enjoyed my time in the military, but I knew that it wasn't what I wanted long term.
The Army was great, but ultimately Ruth and I wanted to own our own business and find a community where we could settle down and stay for the rest of our lives. Since my profession allows me to work in any community where the people have eyes, it became a challenge to find a place to which we both wanted to move. Our desire to make this move a one-time deal made it even harder to know which place would be best.
I researched just about every place imaginable and had lengthy conversations with Ruth about the pros and cons of many of them. Ultimately, we felt drawn to the Shenandoah Valley area via fasting and prayer. After driving through both Charlottesville and Waynesboro we decided we liked Waynesboro better.
Due to the fact that I wanted a debt-free business, I knew that I would need to work for somebody before I would be able to buy into a practice, and/or buy/start my own. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a doctor in Waynesboro that was in a position to hire an associate. Nevertheless, I did meet a doctor that would lead us to the opportunity we really wanted, but had written off as improbable considering our desire to not borrow any money to start up a business.
Dr. Leeth of Waynesboro told us of a Dr. Downey in Elkton VA that had retired and closed his doors the year before. Elkton was a very small town just 30 minutes north of Waynesboro. I didn't call him right away, again, because I wasn't in a possition financially to buy a practice. As time drew nearer, and the few job opportunities we had were not looking like what we wanted, I decided to give Dr. Downey a call. The rest, as they say, is history. Turns out his business had been closed for close to 2 years and he had all but given up hope of finding another doctor to come in and buy the business. When I called, all he wanted was somebody to buy the actual assets (equipment, frames, and furniture). This was something we could manage, and what we couldn't, we would pay him over a set period of time.
In May of 2011 we started making preparations. I got a lawyer and had an LLC registered with the Commonwealth of Virginia and established as Elkton Eyecare LLC. We enlisted the help of our brother-in-law Mike Erekson to design a website and Jeff Heit to design a logo. Both the website and the logo can been seen here: www.elktoneyecare.com
By June I was starting to shop for and buy some essential equipment that I knew Dr. Downey either didn't have, or was so out of date it was obsolete. The main ones being an non-contact tonometer, Goldmann applanation tonometer, slit lamp, and a more modern phoroptor. As time got closer and money got spent, I decided to forgo a new phoroptor and hoped I'd learn how to use the old one. I started to design ads for the paper and flyers (mailers), and of course got started with my Medicare application. I had made the decision to not take any vision plans, but I did want to take Medicare and some other major medical plans (BCBS, UHC, etc).
I contacted his last two employees and enlisted them to work for me. Luckily they were both still available and excited to come back. Sounds pretty good so far right? Well, the down side was the practice was old. I mean, REALLY old. The building the office is in is very old, and the decor has not been updated in more than 30 years. Most of the equipment is obsolete and most if it has not been updated in 20 years. To top it all off, the office was on the second floor. Oh yeah, one more good thing, and it's a deal-maker, this was the only optometry office in the area and served more than 15,000-20,000 people spread out over several small towns! The closest eye doctors were in Harrisonburg, just over 20 minutes away. Unfortunately, that is also where we would be going to church, so that was a little disappointing. We decided we'd make up for it by living close to work and school (which wouldn't be hard since the office and the elementary school were less than half a mile away from each other).
To complicate things, a nice practice in Harrisonburg called me up and wanted an interview. I met with them and they wanted to hire me (part time for 6 months then full time after that). It seemed like a great opportunity to try both places out. In the end, however, the larger practice wasn't willing to have me work at their place AND in Elkton as they felt it was in their "compete zone". Another tough decision...well, it seemed like it at the time. They were offering me a very generous pay, but the drawback would be working on Saturdays, commuting to the practice's various locations, and poor hours. At the time, anything with a "generous" salary seemed better than the unknown of Elkton Eyecare. After of few days of thinking about it and several long discussions with Ruth, we decided that what we really wanted was to be close to work, have our own place, and no weekend hours...all with the intent, or purpose of having more family time.
As time got nearer for us to move, we found ourselves without a place to live. Two places we had thought about turned out to be "below standard" and one that we did like (a lot) was above budget. We tried to make a deal with the landlord (which he did consider) but he did not accept. With just under a week to go, we called him back and said we'd take his original offer, but unfortunately it had been rented. The weekend before we moved Ruth found a house online that had been for sale, but recently put up for rent. It was pretty good and at a fair price so we went for it. Turns out there were several people wanting it so we had to submit an application and wait until Sunday night to hear if we were going to be able to get it or not.
We got it.
Monday and Tuesday we packed up and cleaned and on Wednesday we drove away. It was definitely a sad day to leave our home and all our wonderful friends at Fort Leonard Wood.
Friday morning we arrived in Elkton VA. I went to the bank and opened up a business account and went to the office to meet with a frame rep. Later that evening we were blessed to have 3-4 brothers from the church come by to help us unpack. We got it all done in just an hour to two, including our mammoth piano. I think we'll try and sell it before we have to move again.
Stay tuned for my next post - "Starting Up".
Here's a few pictures of the place when we first saw it in May. It had been closed down for 18 months at that point.
Front of building - we are on the second floor.
Optical
Exam lane - has become the new waiting room...pictures to follow!!
Exam lane #2 - this would become my lane.
P.S. - now we're looking at a different location, so in the end, we may not even stay in this building. Again, more to follow.
Ruth is out west for her Grandma Lena's funeral. She took Elden with her, and I'm home with the other four. So far so good, but this morning I realizied I had to get the girls hair done (which Ruth usually does).
Here are the results. The pictures aren't that great, but then again, neither is their hair. :)
So lately, every time I try and beat around the bush, or dumb-down a topic or conversation with the kids, Clark is never satisfied (like any 7 year old) and says, "so...for example??"
It's pretty funny, but it totally works because I find myself explaining to him what I had hoped to not go into.
I've always thought that Clark was good with Legos, but now that Cal is getting older and liking them just as much as Clark did at that age, it's clear that Clark has a gift for visual perception, symmetry, math, and building. Cal seems about average with them. He'll play with them and slightly modify certain things (like I used to do), but unlike Clark, neither he or I could just sit down with a bucket of Legos and create something at the level Clark does.
I'll try and post some photos of things he comes up with. Pretty cool.
On the way to Church Clark is singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas. He's having a hard time singing the "Bring us some Figgy pudding" part. Cal capitalizes on this and starts to sing off-beat and the wrong words while Clark is trying so hard to sing it right and remember the works.
Finally Clark is fed up and says, "Cal! Stop singing, you're messing up my consternation!"
Well, he didn't exactly say consternation, but it was some word that was 90% consternation and 10% concentration.
Poor Clark - I think he finally got it, but we'll have to concentrate on saying words properly. ;)
A conversation/song heard in the back row while driving in the van:
Haley: Scooby, Scooby Doo, where are you? You've got some work to do now (sung almost perfectly).
Shanna: Scooby, Scooby Doo, where are you? [something something something] (not that close - close enough you can tell what she's singing, but obviously wrong).
Haley: No, not like that, like this (and she sings it again).
Shanna: Oh, like this? (and she sings it wrong again).
Haley: NO Shanna! Like this: (she sings it perfectly).
Shanna: Like this? (and she sings the the same way she's been singing it).
This goes on for about 5-6 times when Shanna finally says: I can't do it Haley.
Shanna has to have the strongest abs out of all the kids. They like to play this game where I hold them upside-down by their ankles with their face pointing forwards (or the same direction as mine) and they swing back and forth. Shanna started it and she can do a sit-up (with a little help from momentum) all the way past parallel to the ground!...so parallel to the ground and then up a little more.
All the other kids (well, except for Clark b/c I can't hold him high enough by his ankles to keep him from hitting his head on the ground) like to swing too, but none of them can really do it without my help like Shanna can.
Many of you many know that I worked in a bike shop as a teenager. From age 14 to 15 I spent pretty much all my spending money (40% of my income) on building a bike. Most of that bike is the bike I still ride today. One of the first things I bought was the crank. Like the rest of the bike parts I bought, I spared no expense. It was a Grafton Joystix, anodized blue. It has some typical shimano chainrings on it and some really nice SRP chainring bolts (5 aluminum and 5 titanium).
Three weeks ago when we went out to Nevada I found this crank in my parent's garage. It also had two titanium bottom bracket bolts in the box with it. I brought it home with the intentions of maybe putting it back on my bike someday or maybe selling on ebay. Well, I didn't really want to sell it on ebay b/c I didn't think it would bring more than 20-30 dollars. I probably spent around $250 for it to begin with and that was wholesale and once bike parts get to be over 5-10 years old they become obsolete.
Well, about 2 weeks ago I looked on ebay to see if there were any already for sale and there was! It was selling for $78.00! And, I thought mine was nicer than the one up for bid. I figured then was a good time to put it up.
I put it up for 10 days, and by 5 days out it was already up to $100. When there was just one day left it was $220! I ended Thursday night and Ruth and I watched in amazement as it went from $220 to $441.00!! After seeing that first one on ebay for $78, I only hoped mine went at least that high, maybe up to $100 if we were lucky. A nice man in England bought it. Apparently there is a high demand for these cranks, especially in Europe (I had two bidders from England one from Span, and one from Germany).
We just got back home from our trip out west. We drove to Colorado Springs the first day and stayed with Keith and Julienne. Our kids had a good time playing with their kids and their dogs. After dinner they got Jarret's old Legos out and Clark and Cal had a blast with those.
Day two we drove to St. George and stayed with Kent and Cindy (Ruth's cousins). We first went to Sam's hotel and watched the BYU game. They lost to Utah State, which was sad, but I was just so glad that I got to actually watch one of their games. Of course it turns out we could have watched the game at Kent and Cindy's house, but we didn't know and we knew that we could for sure watch it at Sam's hotel room. During the game, Ruth and the girls went shopping. They were gone almost the whole game.
The next day was the Lena Bartholomew reunion. It was her 90th birthday. The kids had fun playing with their cousins and playing the other games they had there - plus they had really good food.
After the reunion we got back in the car and headed to Ely. We were able to listen to the entire Saturday afternoon session on the radio on the way there. We got there just in time for me to change my clothes and attend the Priesthood session with my Dad. It was very good. I especially liked President Uchtdorf's talk on Pride.
Sue and most her kids (Alan had to stay at home with Joseph) were in Ely as well and our kids had a good time playing together and it was really nice to see Sue.
Sunday we stayed home and watched conference. The kids did pretty good (it helped that we had candy to reward good behavior). Between sessions Kent and his family came over for dinner. After that afternoon session we all went over to his house for a light meal and pie that Nathan had made (so good!).
Monday morning I went on a bike ride with Kent (I rode his Hammer Head). It was cool out, but in no time I wasn't cold at all. The trails that Dad worked on and created look great and it was a really great ride. We ended up going again the next morning as well. After the ride and getting ready we met Nathan at the railroad museum and he showed us all around. I think we even saw some things I'd never seen before. After that we went down to the office basement and got a lot of my old things that I wanted. That afternoon I took Ruth, Clark, and Shanna on a motor cycle ride. Clark loved it and wanted to go again and again. I was only able to take him twice as it was getting colder and starting to rain.
Tuesday we drove to Salt Lake City and walked around Temple Square. Then we went to Provo where we were going to stay with Stephanie and Andy. While there we took them out to eat at the BYU Creamery, walked around campus (twice) let the kids watch tons of movies, played Creationary (a new Lego game), got the van "fixed", and had all my nephews and nieces over for dinner that live in the area.
A little on the van. We replaced a wheel bearing after our trip to Sam's wedding last month. Well, the other side started to make noise just before our trip out west. Jeremiah Schaffer said he'd help me fix it so I ordered the part from Autozone. When we got it all apart the bearing I bought didn't match the one in the hub! So we put it all back together and when I turned on the car the ABS and traction control lights were on! We took it to Sanman to have it fixed the next day (the day before we had to leave) and they couldn't get a part in time to fix it before we left. We found a recommend place in Orem Utah to fix the bearing and when we took it there they said the bearing wasn't really bad enough to warrant fixing yet; however, they did say that the motor mounts were really bad, and it turns out the ABS light was on because we messed something up when we tried to fix the bearing ourselves before the trip. We're not sure yet what's wrong, but we'll probably need to take it to the dealer to figure it out. They put a different (used) sensor on there and the light was still one. Could be that the used sensor was bad too (cheaper to fix) or that the used sensor (and my original one) are good and we pulled on a wire and shorted it out (more money).
Well, Thursday morning we left Provo and drove to Denver Colorado to stay with Sam and Shawna. They have a nice condo there and they fed us a really yummy dinner with dessert. Then Clark and Cal had a great time playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii. Then we all watched Beauty and the Beast. Clark wasn't too happy about turning off the Wii, but after watching it for a few minutes he really liked it.
We left really early the next day and got home around 9:30 last night. It was a great trip and we were so glad we got to see so much of our family.
"Dependence [on the government] undermines the concept of government for the people, because it makes government the master of the people."
Jim DeMint, from Saving Freedom
I've been reading this book. Very good!
I also recommend 5000 Year Leap by Skousen. If you're under the age of 70 it is likely you haven't experienced the governing of this great country the way it was intended by our founders. Please read these books and educate your self so that we can let our government know how we the people want it to work.
Journal Entry from today: (not all journal entries go to my blog, but some just seem like they should be posted)
Yesterday I took the boys to see Toy Story 3 at the free showing on post. It was really good and we all liked it! We were ALL going to go and had a baby sitter lined up for Elden, but the girls have been sick and so Ruth stayed home with them while I went to the movie and the USO with the boys.
We had to hurry home so that Ruth could meet the RS president at the church to work on visiting teaching. While she was gone we cleaned the TV and computer screens, windows, dusted the piano and shelves. Cal vacuumed up all the popcorn that I guess the girls had spilled in the living room.
Before Ruth got home I made some pizza and bread sticks. She got home just as we started to eat. The kids ended up eating outside. We'd tried to go outside several times earlier, but it was just too hot - well for me anyway. Cal didn't seem to mind and spent a good hour outside riding his bike.
Last night Ruth and I folded clothes and watched a movie. We started watching The Scarlet Pimpernel, but not long after starting it I found a old recording of The Karate Kid. We decided to watch that instead, but the tape had come off the spool inside so I took it apart and fixed it while Ruth kept watching the first movie. I think she was almost half way done with it before I finished fixing it, but eventually I got it together so that it would work.
Today I stayed home with the girls and Elden while Ruth went to church with the boys. Haley is probably almost better, but Shanna still has a really sore mouth. Everybody has been sick the last week except for Ruth, me and Elden. Hopefully we three can stay healthy!
Ruth just called and they stayed after church for a baptism. When they get home from church I'm going to go do some home teaching.
This summer Ruth and I took a trip to Nicaragua where I served my mission. This trip was really several years in the making. I think the first time we talked about going down was the summer of 2004. Of course, we had no money and a little baby, so the idea was put on the backburner.
Fast forward 5 years. This last December I had a really strong urge to go back and since we were out of debt, I thought, "Why not?" We'd have to change our financial plan a little to work it in, but after talking to Ruth about it, we decided it could happen....well...except for the small problem that we had 5 small children that would not be coming with us. We had already been planning to visit Ruth's sister Lois in the D.C. area this summer. In fact, we had already asked her to watch our kids for a couple of days while Ruth and I went up to New York, or Hersey Pennsylvania. So, Ruth just asked her if she would watch them for 10 days instead. Lois and Jeff, you guys are TOO kind! Thank You so much for watching our sweet, reverent, calm children for ten days.
So, from the beginning of the year we'd been telling the kids about staying with Aunt Lois for 10 days. Clark and Cal know that they have a Wii and they were so excited. Shanna and Haley just fed off their excitement - probably not really knowing what was in store. As they say, "ignorance is bliss."
I spent the next several months planning. Ruth spent the next sever months (well, at least a few days) playing with the budget to make it all possible.
Now I will say that in private practice it would take a lot of planning and saving up to just close up shop and take 3 weeks off, but at least you wouldn't have to jump through all the red tape that I did to go on leave to a 3rd world country.
THE TRIP:
After spending a week or so camping in Waynesboro VA (see Ruth's blog) we headed off to Gaithersburg MD (just north of D.C.) to see Lois and Jeff. Steph and Andy were also there visiting. We got there on a Sunday night (May 30th). Our plane left early Wednesday morning. Tuesday night we said our good-byes to the kids. Jeff was good enough to get up early and drop us off. We didn't wake the kids.
Day 1:
The airport was uneventful, which was nice. Our flight to Nicaragua included a quick connection in Panama. The beach/condo skyline of Panama City (which we didn't get a good look of until our return flight home) looks more like Miami than anything in Central America. Pretty fancy! Well...at least from the window of an airplane 1000 feet off the ground. Our connection was uneventful as well and we were in Managua Nicaragua by 12:00 noon.
I'm glad we brought some cash with us because they took $5.00 from us to go through customs. We didn't check any baggage and so we just had to go back through security and find the guy that was going to pick us up.
So...here I will talk a little about our bed and breakfast.
I found it online (http://www.vivanicaraguaguesthouse.com/). It looked nice enough, and had a rate of $135.00 a WEEK!!! So, you may say, "well, of course, it's Nicaragua," but most of their hotels are more like $30-60 a night! In fact, their U.S. branded hotels are more like 80-120. Anyway, it was a risk since it was so cheap, but it was owned by an American, which also seemed like a plus. His name is Lyndon. He said he would pick us up at the airport if we wanted, which we did.
So, when we got to the airport we saw him standing in the pick-up/drop-off zone with a sign, "Viva Guesthouse". He was a tall blond (salt'n pepper) with a mustache. From the beginning he was very nice. We threw our luggage in the back seat of his 4-door truck and off we went. The Guesthouse was in a little town about 8-10 miles from Managua, called Ticuantepe. It was all we had hoped it would be. Beautiful grounds with a nice pool, clean rooms, a communal kitchen, air conditioning, warm shower, cable TV, and yes...FREE WIRELESS INTERNET!!!!
We got settled, looked around, and hit the road. My plan was to go to the Masaya Volcano National Park and then go on to the Masaya artisan market to see their typical touristy art stuff - souvenirs.
We paid $1 to take a little 3-wheeled taxi (Mototaxi) down to the highway where we stood on the side of the road to wait for a bus to Masaya. It was a "microbus" which is basically a long minivan. They are probably built to carry 12 people. When we got on we made it 24 and 25! The Masaya Volcano was only about 5-10 minutes away but I forgot to tell the bus boy. We passed it and ended up in Masaya. It cost us about 0.50 cents each to get to Masaya. When we got off we asked people where the "old market" was and looked around there. We ended up going back towards the end of our trip to spend more time and some money to get some souvenirs.
On the way back we asked to get off at the Masaya Volcano National Park only to find out that they had just closed. Rats. We walked back to the highway and waited for another bus going toward Managua. We'd just tell them to drop us off at Kilometer 14 (which is where the intersection to go up to our guesthouse was. We stopped at the Pali (a little grocery store) and got some snacks and food for the next day.
When we got home we asked Lyndon if he had any recommendations for places to eat near by. He pointed us toward Las Pitahayas which was only 200 yards up the road. It was a nice place and a little pricey for our "Nicaragua living" budget. Most dishes were like $10.00! So, we asked if we could just have a plate of rice and beans (mixed together, it's called Gallopinto). The waitress was very surprised that we didn't want more than that. They charged us $2.50 for a big plate which we shared and the usual 0.50 for a soda. We ended up eating there two more times during our trip. The other two times we actually got full entrees. The food was pretty good, it was nice, but mainly it was really close.
The first thing that threw off much of my planning happened while we were eating....the sun went down and it was only 6:00!!! We walked home in the dark, checked our internet, put the pictures on the computer and went to bed. The sun came up the next day at 5:30.
Day 2:
Chinandega/El Viejo
My plan was to get the longest trip out of the way our first full day.By the time you get on a couple of different buses and taxis, it’s about a 2.5-3 hour trip up there.All I wanted to do in that area was walk around where I served and see if I could find a few members or people that I taught.In my original planning I thought we could do that in the afternoon and so for the morning I planned to go to Poneloya Beach, just west of the historic town of Leon.
Our bus ride to Leon and then over to Poneloya was fine.As we got closer I realized that the bus would be stopping by two different beaches, Poneloya and Las Penitas.So I asked a passenger which was nicer and they said Las Penitas.
It was pretty nice, but there was a river going into the ocean right there and since the river was kind or brown it made the water look dirty for about a ¼ mile on either side.The beach was almost deserted.Ruth and I just walked around a little and mainly just got our feet wet.There were some rocks there that we went out on and enjoyed the view from.
We then made our way over to the one of the ranchito style restaurants along the beach and got lunch.I ended up getting a huge fish and Ruth got some…beans and rice and tostones I think.Tostones are green plantains, sliced width wise, smashed once and then fired.They are really yummy.They basically taste like potatoes.My fish was pretty scary looking, but it was SOOO good!Even Ruth liked it.
We then got back on a bus and headed for Leon.That bus doesn’t drop you off by the main bus stop, so we had to get on a little utility truck with a plastic awning with benches along the side. This little truck was supposedly going to the bus stop but I think it went everywhere else as well.At least we got a little tour of Leon.It is a pretty clean and historic city with a lot of great colonial architecture.We finally got on a bus for Chinandega.When we got there I went over to the area where the buses were going back to Managua to find out when the last one left for Managua.It turns out the last one was leaving ~5:30 – which left us with only 30 minutes!!
Ultimately we didn’t leave early enough from the guesthouse that morning.We were only at the beach and restaurant for 2 hours max, but by the time we pulled into Chinandega we just ended having to get back on a bus headed for Managua.It was sad, but we didn’t want to have to find a place to stay in Chinandega.Plus we had a full schedule the next day which did not include traveling 3 hours back to Managua in a bus.In the end, I’m glad there wasn’t an even later bus though.As it was, we didn’t get home until 8:30 and of course it had been dark for a couple of hours.Our goal every night was to get home before it got too dark (between 6:00 & 7:00pm).When we got off the bus in Managua a fellow passenger pointed us in the direction of the buses that were going by our guesthouse.He said, “If you can’t find a bus, find a hotel or call the police!”A comment that was not very reassuring or comforting.Of course, there was a bus, and we got home just fine.
Days 3 &4:
So as to not make the same mistake as before, we left a little earlier this time.Our plan was to head south to a very popular beach called San Juan del Sur.We would spend the morning there, eat lunch, and then head back north to Rivas (San Jorge really) and catch a boat over the Ometepe Island.
We were able to catch a bus right off our street headed toward Jinotepe (about an hour away or so).There we found a bus going to Rivas (which was one of the slowest buses we rode on our whole trip).At one of the stops, a little boy (about 9-11 years old) got on.He had an old plastic bottle with rocks in it that he shook back and forth like maracas and sang songs.He wasn’t a very good singer.After he sang all his songs he started making animal noises, something he was much better at.He was pretty funny.He had more than Ruth and I cracking up for several minutes.When he was done he walked up and down the aisle asking for money.We decided he deserved a little.We probably gave him double or triple what he expected from the passengers.
standing by some typical buses at a typical bus station (Jinotepe)
Once we finally got to Rivas we were sick of slow buses so we took up an offer from a taxi driver to drive us all the way there and be back at a certain time to drive us back and drop us off at San Jorge where the boats leave from .It cost at least 10 times what the bus would have, but it was worth it.
When we got to San Juan del Sur the weather was perfect.We weren’t ready to eat yet so we just went for a walk on the beach and looked at some of the nice houses and condos along the way.The beach there is a horseshoe shaped bay surrounded by hills and cliffs.From the northern extreme of the horseshoe you can see Costa Rica.By the time we took some pictures and walked back to the center of the horseshoe (where most of the restaurants were) we were ready to eat.I had shrimp and Ruth had…chicken I think…or maybe just beans and rice with tostones again.I can’t remember.
I'm pointing to Costa Rica
The beach is to our backs
Just as we finished eating and were waiting for our bill / getting ready to change it started to rain.Luckily in Nicaragua, it’s pretty easy to wait out a rain storm.We just sat in the restaurant (which was all open-air by the way) and watched the rain and enjoyed the view and each other’s company.Not more than 30 minutes later it had stopped raining.We dawned our swimsuits and hit the waves.The water was perfect!Just the right temperature and the waves were just the right size.There were a handful of American surfers out there that looked pretty serious, but after watching them for a while we realized that they were just learning.I think we only saw one or two of them ever actually get up on their boards and ride a wave.
We asked our taxi driver to be back at 3:30 and he was.He took us all the way back to Rivas and then over to San Jorge (only about 5-10 minutes further) where we got on a boat to Ometepe Island.
Ometepe Island is (as far as I know) the largest island in a lake in the world.Lake Nicaragua is the second largest lake south of the United States (second to Lake Titicaca).The island consists of two volcanoes, one active and one dead (with a lagoon in the crater), connected by a narrow isthmus.It has about 30,000 inhabitants, with two major towns and a bunch of little villages.The east beach along the isthmus is quite the little touristy area and is where we stayed that night.
I had hoped to get to the island before dark and walk around a little in the town where I served (Moyogalpa) but the boat didn’t leave until 5:00 which got us there at 6:00.It’s only 10 miles away but obviously the boats only go 10miles/hour.The lake was surprisingly calm and so the boat ride wasn’t nearly as choppy as I remember.Ruth and I were slightly disappointed.The view from the boat was as beautiful as ever.When we got to the island we had to catch a bus to Altagracia (the other big town) and then another to Santo Domingo (the beach where our little hotel, or bungalow, was.Unfortunately the bus going from Altagracia to Santo Domingo had already left and was already on its way to where we needed to go.Luckily, the first half of its route was on the same road as us, just going in the opposite direction.Our driver was nice enough to watch for it and when he saw it he waved it down or flashed his lights I guess and we made the necessary connection.The main road all the way around the island is now paved and they were in the process of paving the little road to Santo Domingo.This meant we had to take a detour through a narrow winding dirt road.Let’s just say it made up for not getting the exhilarating boat ride we had hoped for.
When we checked in at our hotel they showed us to our little bungalow where we got settled and right back up to the restaurant to get some dinner.They had lobster on the menu for about half what it would have been in the states (but still more than we had been spending for meals).Ruth convinced me that I should get it.The waiter came back and said they didn’t have any.Oh well.I still liked what I got even though I can’t remember what it was.
the view form our little bungalow
looking back at our hotel from the lake beach
our bungalow
a little drink to start the day
The next morning we lounged around and took our time getting ready.Took a walk down to the beach and enjoyed more views.Then we ate breakfast at their restaurant as soon as it opened and then packed up.We had asked the night before what time the first bus passed by to Moyogalpa and they said 8:30.Well, at 8:20 we were out there and we asked again what time the bus came by and one of the workers said, “Oh, it just went by a little while ago.Where are you going?”We told him and he said, “well, just hold on, I think one of our guys is going into town to drop something off and he could take you.”He was going into town and he did take us.It was nice to again, not have to ride a bus, and not even have to pay for a taxi.
These are some old statues that were found in a village about 2 miles from the Altagracia. T
Once we got to Moyogalpa I realized that it had changed a lot!Much more touristy than it used to be and it looked very nice and clean.Many of the old houses along the main street were now businesses.I tried to find the old Branch President’s house, but they had paved the streets and that disoriented me since they used to be dirt and a little less strait.I asked a man selling popsicles if he’d seen any missionaries around and he said he had just the day before.I asked him if he knew where the Mormon’s church was and he did.We found it and low and behold the missionaries were there doing their morning study.I guess they lived there too.They knew the old Branch President and told me that they were all inactive now.Sad news.They showed us where they lived and we were able to stop in and say hi.I was only there for 3 months 10 years ago so he didn’t remember my name, but he did remember that I was from Nevada, that my Dad was a retired optometrist, and that I was planning to be an optometrist myself!I was honestly shocked that he remembered that!Anyway, I learned from him that the family that Elder Thompson and I had baptized had since divorced and moved away.Hopefully they have found the church where ever they ended up.
kind of hard to take a nap when you're connected to somebody else's head
where I used to live
Brother Ipolito and his wife (the Branch President on the island when I was there)
We then rented a motorcycle and drove around a little bit.This was probably one of the highlights of our stay on the island.
Uh Oh! Move over!
As you can see, something about putting one of these rental helmets on my head didn't appeal to me - so I just kept my hat on :)
The boat schedule said there was one leavening at 3:00, 4:00, and 5:00.We didn’t want to be getting home too late so we really wanted to take the 3:00 boat.We still wanted to eat lunch before we went so that meant turning our motorcycle in an hour before it was due.We had a good lunch in a nice little place where I used to always eat as a missionary.Unfortunately, when we got down to the docks, the 3:00 boat was not running that day, so we basically just hung out for an hour and took the 4:00 boat.While we waited we read little, went for a walk, drank some pop, and got a popsicle from the guy walking around that had given us directions earlier that day.
We really could have spent 4-5 days on the island but that will have to wait till next time.Our boat ride, taxi ride, and bus ride home were all uneventful.I think we went to the Pali when we got home and bought some things at the grocery store that we could eat at home.Ruth bought a avocado and onion with which she made some yummy guacamole the next day.I think we also bought some pasta and spaghetti sauce too; mainly for Sunday night so that we wouldn’t have to patronize any restaurants that day.
Day 5:
There were at least 3 Branches (2 of which are now Wards) that I wanted to go to church at one Sunday, but obviously that just wasn’t possible.Long before we left the States I had decided I wanted to go to church in the Loma Verde Branch in Tipitapa.From our guesthouse I thought it might take 40 mintues to an hour to get there.It ended up taking more like an hour and a half.
When we walked in they were in the middle of fast and testimony meeting.Two of the brothers on the stand were young men when I was there, and another brother on the stand was a man Elder Sorto and I had found and baptized.He got up and bore his testimony and told everybody that he was so happy to see the missionary that had baptized him.He, Ruth and I all started to cry.I talked to him afterward and he is in the Branch Presidency and has been to the temple 3 times.His wife and children are still not members, but hopefully someday their hearts will be softened.
Manuel Campos - 1st Counselor, Branch Presidency, Loma Verde Branch, Tipitapa.
Ruth was brave and went to Relief Society by herself.It was fun to see lots of the people there still active.It is still a branch, but has about double the attendance from when I was there.
After church I went and found the house where we used to live and as it turns out the missionaries still live there.The Gomez family owns the house and the little apartment in back there the missionaries live.They treated us to a soda and we had a good visit.She said that missionaries had been living there for 16 years.They must been good tenants.
Where I use to live. Two major events happened to me here - I got very sick, and the false ceiling caved in on us one morning (luckily both didn't happen on the same day).
After that we got on a bus back to Managua where we would change buses for one going by the guesthouse. The Lord really blessed us and watched over us on the way home that afternoon. When we got home Ruth made some yummy guacamole which we ate with some chips and we cooked the pasta (shells) that we had bought the night before.
Day 6:
Monday we went to the historic town of Granada. I never got to serve there, but it's one of the "places to go" if you're a tourist. It's full of some great colonial architecture and as far as I know it's one of the oldest cities in Central America.
We slept in a little since Granada wasn't far from our guesthouse. When
we got there we set off on foot to the city center, which is made up of
3 large churches and a sort of "central park" complete with a big
gazebo. On our way to the first church we saw a yummy bakery. After
looking at the first church and taking some pictures we walked back to
the bakery and had breakfast. As we walked back toward the lake and the
other two churches we saw an optical. It wasn't super nice, but they
had a couple of hundred of frames on the walls. I asked the lady how
much an "eye exam" was and she said it was 50 Cordobas ($2.50)! A
couple of days later we saw a nice optical in a mall and again I asked
how make the exam was and they said 100 Corodobas ($5.00). Of course,
all they're doing is getting your glasses prescription. They're not
concerned about your eye health, nor are they qualified to.
The next church we stopped at we actually went inside and paid $2.00 to
go up to the top for a great view of the city, lake, and nearby volcano
(Mombacho).
Makes sense since the river is so shallow ;)
Mombacho in the background (a big volcano that caused the little islands that we toured)
We then walked down to the central park which is surrounded
by beautiful colonial style buildings and another big church.
As we've been walking we've been getting closer to the lake. The last street
after the central park is lined with restaurants and leads to the port
where you can catch boats to the nearby Zapatera Isla or the 3 hour boat
ride to Ometepe Island. We started to walk down to the lake and then
decided to take the horse and buggy down. The driver was a teenager
that gave us a great little historical synopsis of the town as we got
closer to the lake.
We wanted to go tour the "isletas" (little islands)that Mombacho had created thousands of years ago when it blew it's top. My original plan was to go by sail boat, but we heard that the sailboats
weren't running due to the lack of wind. A tour via kayak was my second plan, but it costs almost double what we had planned to spend. So, we just did a little tour boat, on which we were the only passengers.
our captain
Our tour guide would tell us who owned certain islands and the names of them. As we came up on Monkey Island I asked if there were really monkeys on it and he said "yes, do you want them to come on the boat?" "Sure" we said. He got just close enough for one to jump on and at first he was pretty timid. Ruth was able to get close enough to "shake his hand" but then he was ready to go. I guess Ruth wasn't done yet and decided she was going to give him a little cookie.
Monkey Island
Well, just in the act of opening her backpack and crinkling a cookie wrapper that monkey was back in a flash and ready to tear into her backpack! It was obvious to me that this little monkey had opened plenty of backpacks in his day as he was climbing over Ruth and opening it just barely in time for Ruth to grab the zippers and close it shut.
When we got back to the shore we decided to just walk back to town. The horse and buggy had probably taken us a good 1-2 miles away from downtown. As we walked it started to rain - just like it did most afternoons we were there. It felt good and we enjoyed a little walk in the rain. I think at one point Ruth started singing "Singing in the Rain". On the way back we walked by a statue of the Spaniard, Cordoba.
A statue of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba -who founded Granada in 1524.
We also walked by another, smaller church that William Walker's general burnt as they were fleeing the town back in 1850-something. Pretty interesting, look it up.
Burned by William Walker the American filibuster (or his General I think)
When we got back to the "restaurant street" we found a nice little "typical Nica food" place to eat and had a good lunch.
I think that after lunch we walked to the bus terminal and caught a bus for Managua. We weren't going to Managua, but that bus would pass by the Masaya Volcano National Park. We paid about $5.00 each to get in and another couple of dollars to ride up the mountain (not very tall) in the ranger's truck. It's probably one of the more active volcanoes in Nicaragua, and probably the most visited as well just due to its ease of access. It was pretty interesting.
me and a giant smoking hole in the ground
After that we headed home. I think we ate at home again that night. It seems like Ruth made another bowl of guacamole and we had some pasta left-over's from Sunday. That night,looking at our plans, I realized we had an extra day that I hadn't planned anything for so we decided to try and go back up to Chinandega again.
Day 7:
We got up early and headed for Chinandega. That entailed:
1. Catching a little moto-taxi down to the highway.
2. Waving down a bus headed for Managua (not any bus, but one that will take you to a bus stop that has buses headed north toward Leon or Chinandega).
3. We found a bus headed for Leon.
4. In Leon we we got on a bus to Chinandega
5. In Chinandega we got a taxi to one of my old areas.
The area had changed so much that I didn't really recognized it. Well, not enough to have the taxi driver just drop us off somewhere and from there walk around. We asked him how much to take us up the road to El Viejo (my 4th area) and since it was reasonable we went on up. He dropped us off in the central park across from the cathedral. From there we walked to the church (which now is one of 2 in the town). Then we headed for my old area. I wanted to find Isidro and Sandra, and Fransisco and Adela. I new they lived over by the cemetery, but all the streets were paved which, like in other areas we visited, kind of disoriented me.
I eventually gave up and we started walking back to the downtown area. On our way we passed a brand new Stake Center. Then we passed by a business that I recognized that belonged to the old Stake President when I was there. They new where he lived and we found his house. We had a good little visit with him - he has just been called as a Mission President and is opening up a new mission in Guatemala. He also was able to tell me where Fransisco and Adela lived.
a dirty river crossing that hasn't change since I served there 10 years ago
We were close to their house before, but not close enough. When we got there, only their kids were home - all teenagers now! Their middle son showed me a picture of when they all went up to Guatemala to be sealed in the temple. Both their parents were at work. Adela just works in a clinic that is near by so their son walked us over there. She was very surprised to see me. We had a good little chat. She is one of 2 seminary teachers. She said there are 3 wards in the town now too! Her husband is in the Elder's Quorum Presidency, and the Stake that was organized while I was there 10 years ago is now two Stakes!
A photo of a photo: Francisco and Adela Moreno and their family when they were Sealed in the Guatemala Temple in 2003.
The one and only Ward building I served in - the rest were Branches
The nice Stake Center that is now in that same town!
A good view of Chinandega and the big volcano San Cristobal (which I took from the internet as it was too cloudy that day to see the volcano - or get on top of this church for that matter).
After that we had to head back to Chinandega. It would have been fun to look around Chinandega a little more but we really needed to get back. We ate at Tip Top, a fried chicken chain in Nicaragua (or all of Central America for all I know). It was really yummy!
Ruth managed to get this shot of Mombotombo from our bus on the way home.
All the round-abouts have something in the middle - this was my favorite. It actually looks much nicer now - lots of beautiful landscaping and what not. Anyway, its the "Monumento al Trabajo" or the "Monument to Work".
We went back to the bus stop. While we were waiting for the next bus to leave we went inside the Exxon (Esso) gas station and got a popsicle. We were able to get a bus going strait to Managua and so we were able to get home before dark. We stopped at a big grocery store they have there called La Colonia and got some water, snacks, and cereal.
When we got home we went out to eat at the restaurant up the street, Las Pitahayas. When we got back to the apartment we did what we always did: took a shower, got our pictures off our camera, and got our internet fix for the day. Several of the days when we got home a little earlier we would go swimming in the guesthouse pool.
Day 8:
On Sunday, while we were visiting the family where the missionaries lived (the Gomez's) they asked us if we had had a chance to go to Catarina and see Apoyo Lagoon. I had never heard of it and it wasn't in our plans. Well, since then I had looked it up and it looked like a great place to visit. It was!
We took a bus to Masaya. We walked around the city center and found a bakery where we got some food for breakfast.
Old church downtown Masaya
Then we walked across town to the main bus stop (that's right, the bus that took us there didn't go all the way to the main bus stop). Once there we looked for a bus to Catarina and while doing so ended up talking to a taxi driver that was willing to take us up there (about a 20 minute drive). He even waited up there for us to take us back.
Catarina is a little town on the top of an old volcano. The crater of the volcano is now a lake and is really pretty! While there we went for a little horse back ride. We were hoping that the horses would go down the side to the edge of the water, but they said they couldn't go that far. When we got back we stopped at some little "tourist traps" and bought a few souvenirs.
Laguna Apoyo - Catarina
There was a restaurant down on the shore of the lagoon, but they taxi driver wanted a lot of money to go down there. We weren't ready to eat lunch yet and it didn't seem like it was worth it to pay so much to just go down there to see it. Anyway, from there he took us back to Masaya.
When we got to Masaya we went to the old market to look at and buy some souvenirs. We spent the rest of the day there buying stuff. It was pretty fun spending money (since we don't do that very often) and bargaining with everybody. We had so much fun that we totally skipped lunch. When we were done we went back home, went swimming and went out to eat at Las Pitahayas again.
Waiting for our food at Las Pitahayas
Day 9:
When I was here on my mission I never served in Managua - the capital.
I'm sure there are a lot of fun things to do there, but I'm not that
familiar with it and all I've heard from the locals is that it's not
safe. We decided to spend our last day just hitting some of Managua's
highlights. On our way out of the house we were talking with one of the
other guests about where we were going and she said she was going to
Managua as well to pick her husband up from the airport and that one of
her employees was going to drive her there. She said that we could get
a ride to town and then catch a bus or taxi to where we wanted to go.
The guy driving the truck said that was fine. He asked us where we
wanted to be dropped off we just told him to drop us off at one of the
bus stations that we had gone to several times before. He said that
wasn't safe and he didn't feel comfortable just dropping us off and
letting us get a taxi so he drove us to the main downtown mall and told
us to get one of the mall's taxies to take us where we wanted to go. It
was totally out of the way for them but very nice. Since we were at the
mall we decided to walk around a little. It was not as big as I
remember it being.
From there we took a taxi to the old cathedral down in the old part of
town. That is also where some government buildings are and a the
national museum. The cathedral was partially destroyed in the 1972
earthquake and was never repaired. It's still standing, but you can't
go in. To its right is one of the government buildings and to its left
is the national museum. We spent an hour or so in the museum. Not
super impressive, and obviously biased toward the current government and
its role in the history of the country, but it was still worth it.
The old cathedral - complete with political propaganda in the background.
Government building
"National Palace" - Also where the national museum is.
inside the museum
Some old pottery
This guy's wondering how he got here...
From there we caught another taxi up to the mission office. It was fun
to see. Looking back I think I would have rather driven by the old
mission office for memory sake. While there we got to use a clean
bathroom and cool down a little bit. Next we wanted to drive around and
look at some of the more affluent neighborhoods. We asked the
secretary/receptionist there at the mission office what the names of some
nice ares were and told her we wanted to look around. Again, (like most
locals) she didn't feel comfortable about use just hopping in any old
taxi so she called a taxi driver she knew to come and pick us up. Turns
out he is in a bishopric in one of the Managua Wards. He pretty much
took us where ever we wanted to go and drove around for about 30
minutes. A lot of the nicest neighborhoods were gated so we couldn't
really see them.
There was a new mall close to our guest house that we had passed all
week and decided to have him drop us off there. He wanted more money
than I thought he would, but we didn't mind payiny. We thought about seeing
a movie, but they didn't have any we wanted to see. Too bad too because
the tickets were pretty cheap. We walked around and looked at the
stores where the rich shop. Then we ate at the food court.
A funny little statue outside the mall
After that we went to the grocery store and got an ice cream cone and
went home. I think we went swimming and then out to eat at Las
Pitahayas again. We packed up a lot of our things and started to get
ready for our trip home.
My last meal at Las Pitahayas
Day 10:
We ate breakfast at home (cold cereal and yogurt I'm sure) and finished
packing. Then we set out to eat at a hamburger place we had seen on the
side of the road during several of our travels that looked good. We got
there and it wasn't open yet and would be open for another 30-40
minutes. Normally we would have just waited, but it wasn't going to
open until 12:00 and our ride was coming to take us to the airport at
1:00. Maybe enough time, maybe not. So instead we went to the nice
grocery store down the street and ate at their bakery instead. I think
we got another ice cream cone after that as well.
When we got home our ride had come early and was ready as soon as we
were. We were glad about this since this was the last flight we want to
miss. The airport was pretty easy. They did take away a pair of hair
cutting scissors that we had my shaving kit but nothing else. Actually,
Ruth had several bottles of water in her backpack and they didn't even
care. Our flight first went to Panama City. When we landed we got a
really good view of the city and the ocean! They are renovating the
airport and so there wasn't a gate for us. They just parked on the
tarmac and had us go down the stairs into a bus that was at least as
wide as a bus and a half! When we got to our gate they had people go
through our things and had the pleasure of being frisked before we got
on our United States-bound plane. Ruth had to give up her bottled
water.
The most interesting part of our flight was getting off the
plane in Washington D.C. The gate where they let us off the plane just
funneled us down into another really wide bus. Then they shut the doors
and we just sat there for a while. It didn't really look like a bus,
but more like a small room and had I not known it was a bus I would have
been a little disconcerted. Once "they" were ready for us the bus took
us to another part of the airport where the bus could park and actually
hook up to the building so that there was no option but to get off the
bus and go down a hallway in the airport. We eventually got a huge room,
obviously designed to hold a lot of waiting people. Our flight was the
only other one there so we got through customs really fast.
Jeff was outside waiting for us and when we got home our kids were
asleep, healthy, and content.
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Masaya Market" width="500" height="375">
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