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We don’t usually get up at 4 a.m., but if anything will get us out of bed it’s the end of our hike to Machu Picchu! (Only a little over 4 miles to go!) After a fast breakfast we got in line at the checkpoint to the trail, which opened at 5:30 a.m. The first part of the hike was in the dark but soon the sun was out and not too many steps later (including about 30 huge, steep steps up) we were at the Sun Gate. Here we got our first glimpse of the great city. Another 45 minutes or so and we arrived at Machu Picchu. The city is much bigger than you can imagine when looking at photos. Everywhere you look, the views are stunning and the stone work is amazing.

Saul gave us nice tour of some of the best parts of the city, and the rest of the afternoon we just roamed around this once lost city. After several long days of hiking and years and years of dreaming of being there, it was hard to believe we were actually in the city of Machu Picchu. The photos say it better than we can, but the immensity of the city is striking. Agricultural terraces, many religious temples, the royal palace, and the huge urban district. It was a lot to take in, but we saw a lot of the city and took a long, well-deserved rest in the grass.

We all got to have one last lunch together in Aguas Calientes before some of the group headed back to Cusco with Jose and Saul. The destination for the rest of us: The hot springs. We were a little worried when we asked Saul and Jose about the springs. All they said was to take a shower when we were done. So we weren’t expecting greatness! All I’ll say is, if you make this trip, don’t feel bad skipping the hot springs. They’d be better named “dirty pools of kind of warm water.”

So we showered. And then crashed. Probably would have slept through dinner, but they came and woke us up. Didn’t realize dinner was waiting on us!

Since we did the hot springs yesterday, there wasn’t a lot left to explore in AC. So we shopped. (Kari was desperate for some clean clothes.) And we had a nice, long lunch with Bill, Jane, Pam and Alen in the square. It was Mother’s Day, so there was a celebration going on in the square. Celebration might be pushing it. More like kid karaoke. But they all were having a great time, and it was evident how important mothers are in their culture.

We had a nice train ride back to Cusco on the Vistadome train. Big windows with nice views. Not too speedy though! Our hotel tonight (Amaru) is fantastic. Huge room, great view of the city. Wish we had stayed here the entire time.

It was great to get a good night’s sleep in a nice bed. But it’s our last day, so we have to make the most of it. We decided to hit some of the museums we never got to check out. We also had a few long cups of coffee (saw an FC Dallas shirt at the first place we were at) and a traditional lunch: Alpaca! It was really tasty. Better than steak even… But I’m afraid to say we’re going home without trying the guinea pig. We just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it. Anything served with teeth intact is a little too much for me.

The big place we visited today was the Temple of the Sun. Gorgeous gardens and architecture. It’s a mix between Incan and Spanish architecture. The rest of the day we just strolled around, enjoying our last glimpses of this great city.

Twenty-one hours later, we were home. We won’t bore you with stories of canceled flights and such, but I will say, we wish we were on a balcony in Cusco’s square right now. If only the flights had been cancelled for good…

We have been training to hike the Inca Trail for a couple of months now, but recently we’ve moved into high gear. In addition to our regular dog walks and trips to the gym, we’re walking up and down the stairs at TCU’s football stadium twice a week, and we’ve headed out to Lake Mineral Wells State Park a couple of times in the past few weeks. It’s less than an hour away, and it’s surprisingly good hiking. We found a great trail today that heads out to their backpacking camping sites, but unfortunately Bailey decided it was time to stop about a half-mile down that trail.

For those who don’t know, we’re headed to Peru soon to visit Machu Picchu, known as the Lost City of the Incas and recently named as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. We’ll stay in a city called Cusco for three days before the hike begins to acclimate to the altitude. Cusco is at an altitude of about 10,800 feet above sea level. For comparison, Fort Worth is at around 580 feet.

The hike itself will be three nights and four days. We’ll climb as high as 13,200 feet on the second day, and we’ll get our first glimpse of Machu Picchu at sunrise on the fourth day. Looking forward to sharing the stories from our trip here when we return.

We made it back from our trip to Acapulco, a little more tan and a lot more relaxed. Our hotel was incredible, a five-star resort that Kari’s parents arranged for very cheap, thanks to a friend’s timeshare.

We sat on the beach, drank daiquiris, sat by the pool, and then started all over again in the morning. The weather was great, the waves were big and we weren’t exactly happy to have to come back home. Check out some photos from our trip.

Update: We forgot to include our harrowing tale about how we survived an earthquake! Well, it wasn’t all that harrowing really, but it was still our first experience in an earthquake, so that alone is pretty exciting. It was so small my mom and dad didn’t even wake up, but Jason and I flew out of bed. We weren’t sure what was going on, and after enough time had passed we convinced ourselves we were dreaming. But after talking to some others the next morning, we confirmed we weren’t dreaming and had indeed survived our first earthquake, as small as it might have been!

We made a quick trip over to Shreveport a couple weekends ago for Kari’s first Mardi Gras. She had no idea what to expect, and although it wasn’t as crazy as New Orleans, thousands of people turned out on a beautiful night for the parade. And Kari got a pretty good idea of what Mardi Gras is all about.

We didn’t catch a ton of stuff — a couple of tall guys in front of us saw to that — but we got our fair share and had a great time hanging out with Jason’s dad and his dad’s friends. And wow, we had some of the best Chinese food (home-cooked eggrolls and spring rolls, beef and broccoli, rice with chicken and plenty more) that we’ve ever tasted.

We’ve just returned from Columbia, where we met our nephew Ford. He’s so tiny! And so cute! It was my first prolonged (maybe first ever) time with such a new baby, and it was such a great experience for us. It is amazing to hold something that is so dependent on you (really on his parents, thank goodness!) for everything. It gives you such an awesome feeling of purpose and responsibility. Thanks so much to Jeff and Allison for sharing it all with us. He is a lucky baby to have such caring parents (who are able to keep their great sense of humor through it all). We can’t wait to watch Ford as he grows up.

The last time that it was snowing when our plane landed in Minneapolis was in April (seriously) a few years ago. This time around it was December, which made a lot more sense to the boy from Louisiana. Over the course of the next five days, it snowed about seven inches, with a lot of it falling on Christmas Day. It was Jason’s first white Christmas, and it was well worth the cold. Check out more photos from our trip.

We recently made a trip up to Portland, Oregon, to visit our friends Sean and Christine. Three days of great hiking and four nights of great eating later, we’re back, and all we have to show is these pictures.

We went down to Baton Rouge to visit family and watch some college football in the rain this weekend. Doesn’t get much better than that. Just ask Kari.

We spent a lot of time hanging out with everyone in our nice condo a couple blocks from Tiger Stadium. It was a lot of fun getting to spend some time with our family, some of whom we haven’t seen for a long time. Thanks to everyone for making the trip, we had a great time.

Check out some photos from the weekend.