Day 1,707 - Adventures in Ecuador: Day Uno

As you may or may not have noticed, I’ve been missing for a bit. Of course, that goes along with the territory when one is out of the country for ten days. My destination? Ecuador. Whenever I go on a trip like this, I always strive to spend time journaling about my experiences. After getting back on Saturday morning, I thought that I might share some of those entries as people might be interested. So, with that in mind, let’s get started.

3/21/24

It’s finally here. The first day of my Ecuador trip has come. It honestly kind of felt like this day snuck up on me. Even though I’ve known that it’s been coming for a bit, I honestly didn’t let myself think a ton about it until this week. Part of the reason for that might be because I don’t fully know what to expect. I know we’ll be working at a VBS-like kids’ camp for several days but I really feel like that’s the extent of my knowledge.

I started off my morning by making it a priority to spend time playing with Ellie and Ethan. Honestly, I wanted to do whatever they wanted to do this morning since they wouldn’t see me for 10 days! Their choice was to spend some time playing board games and reading a bit. Before we knew it though, it was time for us to take Ethan to school. I gave him a big hug in the hallway right outside his classroom and told him that I’d miss him. I don’t think that he really understood that I was leaving though.

After that, Ellie and I made a last-minute stop at Dollar General as I realized that I hadn’t picked up any kind of granola bar or snack to have on hand. As I didn’t totally know the food situation, I wanted to be prepared for any uncertainty that might arise. From there, I decided to treat Ellie to a scone from Joelle’s. I made it clear though that she needed to share it with Bethany who was working from home for the day.

When we got home, I slicked Ellie’s choice of a white chocolate scone in half and Ellie took half up to Bethany. With that, Ellie and I had a little bit of time to hang out and chat before it was time for Bethany to take Ellie to school. When that time came, it was definitely hard to say goodbye. That was especially true since Ellie was near tears and continually proclaiming that she didn’t want me to leave. Fortunately, my ride was arriving just as it was time for Bethany and Ellie to leave so I didn’t have a ton of time to sit and think about it.

Attempting to go from left to right:
standing in rear: Amber, Levi, Mason, Micah, Dan, me, Jamie, Matt, Richard, Sharon, Andy
standing in front: Terry, Eden, Kalynn, Adrianna, Hannah, Jordan, Leslie

When I arrived at the terminal, it didn’t take long for me to meet up with the rest of our team as we checked our bags and headed through security. Once we were done, there was still more than an hour to spare before boarding so I took some time to explore the airport a little bit before it was time to leave for Charlotte. Soon enough though, it was time to board our flight to Charlotte where I killed time by watching old episodes of The Office while simultaneously wondering if I should really be allowed to still watch it on an airplane in 2024.

Once we arrived in Charlotte, our team of 18 disembarked and began searching for food. I found myself at a little deli in the airport along with five other members of our team where I ate a chicken Caesar salad. After lunch, I spent some time chatting with the Bettis family who I really didn’t know prior to our trip and exploring for a while before it was time to head to Miami on the biggest airplane that I’ve ever been on. Seriously, there were eight seats per row!

In Miami, we claimed our bags and headed to the shuttle zone to await the van that would take us to the airport Ramada. Unfortunately for some of us, the van wasn’t large enough to take our entire team at once. Therefore, Matt, Micah, Mason, Jamie, and I ended up staying behind and waiting for the next one which took nearly an hour. While it was a bit of a bummer, at least the five of us were together. Finally, though, the shuttle arrived and we headed to the hotel.

Once I arrived at the hotel, I headed to the room that I would be sharing with Andy to drop off my stuff. Then, Andy and I headed downstairs to the hotel’s sports bar where we met Jamie and all four Marrs for dinner. With all of the excitement of our trip, I had honestly forgotten March Madness was beginning today so enjoyed getting to take in a few games since I knew that wouldn’t be a thing the rest of the week.

Once our dinner was over and we paid our bill, I made a quick phone call to Bethany and then it was time for bed. After all, we’ve got a busy week ahead and I can’t be too tired or I’ll never make it!

#DaddyWrite