Welcome to the Azores!

Above: A view from the Dental Clinic

Ola!

What a ride the last month has been! We've definitely had our ups and we definitely had our downs. The adventure began on Friday, August 19th, Denver, the kids and I loaded our 9 pieces of luggage, 4 car seats, 6 carry-ons and ourselves in two vehicles to get to the Sky Harbor Airport where we would be leaving to fly to Baltimore. Can you even begin to fathom what getting through security was like!!! Not pleasant. But we made it in one piece, not without tears being shed from multiple kids (disclaimer...they were tired, right?). Did I ever tell you how much I love Southwest Airlines! The last few plane rides I've taken have been with other airlines and although they do get you to where you want to go, they aren't as good as Southwest. Just sayin'. The pilot had us all laughing...great sense of humor. Anyways, we made it to Baltimore and called a Hotel to stay in for the night. They had a shuttle service that picked up our 9 pieces of luggage, 4 car seats, 6 carry-ons, and ourselves. The Hotel I chose was one of the most inexpensive ones on the list (hey, I'm thrifty) and you could tell! It stunk, had bugs, no continental breakfast (not that I would eat there after seeing the bugs anyways, but I would've liked a choice) and the beds were UNcomfortable. No naming names here, but it's a hotel somewhere in Baltimore about a couple miles away from the airport, so keep a lookout.

Day 2, Saturday: Our second day of flying. We had to be at the airport by 8:30am (keep in mind that at Sky Harbor the time is 5:30am so we were tired and maybe some of us a little grumpy). We LOVED the emptiness of this part of the airport. We were the only ones there at the check in! Security wasn't bad either because 1) there was no line and 2) we didn't have to speed through so the guys behind us wouldn't get mad because there were no guys behind us! Once we found our gate we saw others there waiting too. Some were moving to the Azores, like us and others were going back to the Azores after being in the states for 1 reason or another. The wait there was long and we were tired out before we got on the plane. To get on the plane, we walked into a big elevator type thing that fit a ton of people. It lifted us to be level with the entrance of the plane. No going through the gate and down the walk like normal flights.

The plane was interesting. The front of the plane was used strictly for cargo and such. The back of the plane was where we sat. There were about 40 seats in the plane, but yet the plane was just as big as the planes I'd ridden in before that could fit over 150 people. Most of it was used for cargo. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how big our seats and feet room were! We all had a pillow and blanket too! It looked like the first class seats on a commercial plane. It was NICE! During the flight 2 movies were played. Both were kids' films so the kids were kept occupied. They served us a hot meal on a tray. We had 2 options-chicken over rice or pasta. It was pretty good. The stewardess also came around with a basket of chips and treats for us and we got to take as much as we want. Yes, we went crazy. It’s kind of embarrassing because when we see free stuff, we overload! It’s a good thing, though, because the flight was long.

Eventually we saw land amidst all the ocean we travelled over the whole time. It was exciting! The kids were excited. However, it wasn’t our island and we kept flying. It felt like FOREVER once we saw land, but it really was only about 20 minutes or so. Finally we landed around 8pm Azores time, but 1pm our time. We climbed down a metal staircase to get out of the plane and then loaded, like a herd of cattle, on a blue bus. We ended up at the baggage terminal and customs location. We had been warned of this before so when we went through the doors, we weren’t surprised to see tons of people (colonels, commanders, coworkers, etc.) there to greet us. Every single person that worked in the dental clinic was there and met us. It is all a blur now, I was so overwhelmed. I had to keep the kids happy, try to meet others, shake hands and get a new ID all while carrying 3 carry-ons, Colson and keeping a perma-smile on my face.

We got to our Temporary Lodging Facility-TLF (our sponsor, the other dentist here, let us borrow his 2^nd vehicle until we could pick up our van) and all our stuff (9 pieces of luggage) was already in our room! The people from the clinic had gathered our stuff and taken it to our room and we didn’t have to do any of it! Also, our fridge and shelf had food! It was so nice. Although we were overwhelmed, it was a really nice and awesome welcome.

Day 3, Sunday: We decided to attempt to go to church, tired. We got lost on our way and although we left 30 minutes before church started, we ended up arriving 30 minutes late, but we found it! Throughout the summer church was only 2 hours long so we only got 1 ½ hours in, but we were able to meet some of the members and talk with our branch president and did I mention we were tired? But we were glad that we went. That night, after the whole family (yes, all 6 of us) took a nap, we ate dinner at our sponsor’s home, (the other dentist and a member of our branch) the Binghams. They have a family of 5 boys so our kids had fun playing with them and their toys. Throughout the day we also found time to walk around the base and take a few shots of the beauty all around (see pics below).

The mailboxes. Here I am trying to figure out how to open our box.

I love this tree. It's so different from what I'm used to.

This bldg. is the gym. Nice view while working out, huh? There is also a great view from the track. Running on it is nice :)

Sunday night was rough. We found out that my grandma had passed away. We were so lucky to be able to see her a week before died. It seemed then that nothing was wrong and she would live still a long while. Throughout the last week her health was failing and then a week later, 3 days after my grandparents 71^st wedding anniversary, she died. She had 4 children that lived only 2 months to 4 years and I’m sure was able to have a wonderful reunion with them. My grandpa is sad, but he felt peace at her death. He didn’t want her to be in any more pain.

The speed limit is in kilmeters. It's not 25mph, it comes to 15mph. You take the speed, multiply it by 6 and then drop the zero. The fastest speed we've seen so far is 100 km, which is 60mph. Not bad for a small island. That speed was on the via rapida, which is the one freeway here.On the 29th the kids started school. They have loved it so far.
On the 31st we celebrated Sterling's birthday. We were still in TLF so it was small and we didn't have a lot of things or space to work with. He seemed happy with his small birthday celebration.


On the 31st we also went on our Island tour, put on by the outdoor recreation on base. This is a picture from the bus. One of the excuses for tardiness to work or school that is acceptable is cows. Yep, cows in the road is common and they are an allowed part of traffic. You just have to wait.


We went to a water hole surrounded by volcanic rock that many people swim in. There are places for young children, with very shallow water and places with deep ravines for older swimmers to jump in and swim.



This is called Duck Lake. Around the island you see the coasts and ocean, inside the island you see mountains, pine trees, caves, and this lake.
These are the bulls they're prepping for the evening bull fights. To 'prep' them they lock the bull up all morning. The bull goes crazy being in such a tight space so by the time they get out, they are ready for a fight. We have yet to see the bullfights (from a distance-we will not get too close), but at these bullfights, they don't do as the Spaniards that kill the bulls. These bulls are not hurt at all.
A windmill on the island
For lunch on the tour we stopped at this restaurant. it's the blue bldg in the background. We each tried something different. it was pretty good.
This is called Mount Brazil. From this side view it looks like a buffalo.

Our bus broke down for about an hour. Denver and I and another couple walked down to the water and put our feet in. It was nice and relaxing to watch the waves crash against the rocks.
This is a view of the city Praia. Our branch meets in Praia. Here you can see one of the small beaches.
This is a statue of Mary.
Another shot of Praia.
This is where we picked up our van. It was so nice to see it again and drive it again! After being without our vehicle for almost 2 months (mostly in the states) it was nice to get it back.
The land is mainly used for cows. These squares are marked off by a waist size fence made of rock. These blocked off pieces of land are found all over the island.
On one Saturday we took the kids to the city of Angra do Heroismo, the capital of Terceira (the island we're on). This is a statue of bulls within the roundabout. Roundabouts are everywhere. We've only seen 2 street lights here and they are both in Angra. Roundabouts are quick and smooth, I like them.
And once again, cows. This time a whole herd.

We walked the streets in Angra. If you look in the middle you'll see some decor above the street. They put this stuff on parade days or celebration days. they usually have bull fights those days on the streets in different parts of the island. In the summer they have those days a lot! Also, the Portuguese have a lot of holidays. while on our walk down a street in Angra, we saw the Elders. We spoke with them and they helped us talk to a lady while we bought some souvenirs. It was fun to see them and I'm sure it was nice for them to see some Americans.

Another little beach.
We went to the top on Mount Brazil and took some pictures. I think this is the view of Sao Bras.

A flower on Mount Brazil.

This is a view of Angra, the capitol.


This (from the same mountain top) is a view of Feteira and other neighboring towns.

We almost (twice) decided to move off base. We found a house that was AWESOME with big sliding door windows that faced the ocean. The views were incredible, the yard was big, the landlord was super nice, but when we prayed about it we didn't feel good about it. It was far from the base, about a 25 minute drive. If it was just Denver driving that to work everyday, we would be okay with it, but the school is also on base and that far. We felt like it would be better for our family to live closer to school and work. When Denver is on call, he will also be close. So, with somewhat heavy hearts, we opted to move on base. It has been very nice so far and Denver has been able to come home for lunch. Also, we were able to get the kids in soccer and the kids can walk to and from school everyday.

This is a view from our bedroom. We have a peek at the ocean, which is better than nothing. All the officer's homes on base look pretty much like this. The enlisted homes are a bit different, but still really nice.


Another view from our bedroom.
We have really enjoyed our time here so far. We're trying to learn the language and see more of the island. We've enjoyed our branch. We've gone to 3 members' homes for dinner the last 3 Sundays. I think there are about 15 or so families. For every couple there are about 3 to 5 kids - so a lot of kids.
I know there's a ton of things I'm forgetting to write, but this is a long post and I'm done so if
I remember it I'll post it later. Keep checking in as I'll be trying to post frequently!
Adeus!