Travel Plans

Good morning Caracas.

This is the view from my window this morning. Despite crazy dictators, crumbling infrastructure, soaring crime rates and recession, we have a great life here.

Water rationing is not that bad. You just need good planning. We have running water 6 hours a day - 2 in the morning, 2 at noon, and 2 in the evening. My kids are experts in hand sanitizer, timing bathroom breaks and do not argue with me at bath time.

Thank you to everyone for your outpouring of love and support after our beach adventure. It was rough the first week, but after Chris got home, the girls seemed to realize that I was not going to go anywhere and settled down back into their routines. We have a healthy respect for rip tides and are officially back to normal.

Last night was my favorite Mardi Gras ball in Galveston. So many of the people I love most in the world were there, dressed up, happy, laughing, dancing, gorgeous. Mardi Gras is one of the things I love most about Galveston. I even got a super fabulous action shot from the ball from good friends around midnight (shout out to S and T).

There is a celebration here in South America equivalent to our Mardi Gras. It is called Carnival. Monday and Tuesday are a national holiday in most countries here and Venezuela is no exception. Caracas does not have a large celebration, and most people who can leave the city for the beaches. The Havers are no exception.

On Friday, we are pulling the kids out of school early and flying to Panama City. Why Panama?We waited until November to make a decision about where to go for the holiday, and that turned out to be quite late. We could not get a flight to Miami, Houston, and all of the beach posadas in Venezuela were booked. I told Chris to get us flights SOMEWHERE and I would figure out the rest. So Panama was the lucky winner. It is a nice direct flight and not very long. After we got tickets I searched for hotels and found the Decameron Resort All Inclusive.

The Decameron is one of those Mega Resorts with 50 buildings, 10 restaurants, activity directors etc. We went online to Trip Advisor and got the scoop on the hotel (after we had booked it and paid in full). It is not the Four Seasons, but it should be fine.

Speaking of travel, the next few months are going to be very busy for the Haver family. It seems like we have trip after trip scheduled and I could not be happier. Chris is joining the Galveston Guys annual ski trip to Aspen.

On March 20, Jim and Rosemary Haver arrive for a month long visit. Chevron is rolling out the red carpet for them and setting them up with a car, driver, and phone while they are here. Of course, they have to attend a security briefing on the day after they arrive.

They day before they arrive, Chris is leaving for Buenos Aries for a business meeting. After getting the Havers acclimated to our schedule with the kids, I am flying to meet Chris for a few days of kid-less fun in Argentina. Sadly, this is the first time in our marriage since we had kids that I have been able to join him on a business trip!

On March 29 through April 5, the Havers (all 4 plus J and R) leave for Quito, Ecuador and then fly to Galapagos Islands for cruise around the islands. This is one of our dream vacations and you cannot imagine how excited we are. We discovered ITunes has lots of documentaries and BBC/NOVA specials on the Galapagos and we have downloaded them and are watching them in preparation for our trip.

Ciao for now. We have to get ready for the Superbowl! Lots of Saints fans here.