Puerto Cayo, Ecuador

Visits Before Heading South


In April of 2017, with a new adventure awaiting us, it was definitely time to make some of those visits that had been put on the back burner while we moved out of Gina's house...

Falls Park, downtown Greenville
First, we flew into Greenville, SC to visit with Gina's longtime friends, Kandy & Dennis.
Kandy & Dennis wanted to show Doug the downtown area - so we headed to a favorite spot, Falls Park on the Reedy River! Falls Park, downtown Greenville
Gina and Doug in the Park

After a short visit with our friends, we picked up a rental car at the airport and headed for Rome, Georgia to spend Easter with Doug's son and his family.

Kallia and Kayden with their Easter baskets
It didn't take Kallia (3) and Kayden (1) very long to discover the Easter Baskets we placed on the low table in the family room!

Kallia was really excited at the box of "pink marshmallow peeps" she found... (Mom Melja looks on). Looks like Kayden was more interested in the paper grass!
Kevan, Doug's son, plays soccer with a local Rome adult league (he coaches ladies' soccer at Shorter University in Rome, in addition to his position teaching psychology @ Georgia Northwestern) - so we all went to his game. Kayden was "ready to play"! Melja, Kevan and Kayden at the soccer field
Kayden
Back home, Kallia gets a new bike helmet, so Kayden gets the "hand-me-down" which he seems to think is pretty cool! Now, if his legs would just grow long enough to reach the pedals on the small bike!
A trip to the driveway to try out all the new gear is certainly called for!







Below - their beautiful backyard.
Kevan, Melja and the grandkids
Great backyard!

After Easter, we drove back to Greenville to spend the night with Kandy & Dennis, and catch our flight back to Florida the next day.

Doug at BMW
We took this opportunity to show Doug the BMW Zentrum - museum and gift shop. It sits in front of the BMW plant in Greer, halfway between Greenville and Spartanburg.
Doug and Kandy check out a restored BMW that once belonged to Elvis! Elvis' BMW
Gina at BMW
Gina picked out her favorite...
The "Erkel Car" - the Isetta - now has it's own cafe named after it at the BMW Zentrum. Isetta Cafe
Kandy at BMW
Seems that Kandy "fits perfectly" in this BMW car!

Back in Florida, we have just enjoyed a week-long visit with Gina's Dad and Kathi (the end of May).

Below: the extended "Florida Family" gathers during the visit of their "Dad, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather" - who, at almost 92 years old, still plays saxophone at multiple jam sessions per week in South Texas!

The Thurn Family - May, 2017

Now we are ready to get busy with plans for our upcoming trip!....

We leave on June 8th to Quito, Ecuador. From there we will continue our journey on the coast, visiting all the towns and villages we find interesting as a possible retirement location. Please join with us during our travels by following our photo posts on this website. We hope you will enjoy!!


See our upcoming itinerary!