Kris and i have been having a great time here in the states visiting the kids. One daughter graduated from the UT Doctorate Program in Physics, we were so happy and proud to be able to be there when she received her diploma. She and her husband will soon be leaving for the Seattle to start work for Microsoft. We had a great time in Austin and can't wait to visit the kids in Seattle later this year.
I’m in California now, so I figured I’d wrap up the last of my Texas photos. Next, there will be baby photos! (and other photos from California, but what is more interesting than the baby?)
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We’re having a good time here, and we’re happy to be able to help out the new parents a bit. Yesterday we went to the store for ingredients for meals for the next few days. The prices were a shock which will become another post at some point. And, of course, it just feels different here in the US. I’ll have to give that some thought and see if I can put it into words.
But, we are so happy to be here! My daughter and her husband are doing wonderfully, but I’m glad to be able to help out a bit and take some of the chores away so they can concentrate on taking care of the baby. And, sometimes I get to play with the baby too 
Life is good and we are so fortunate on so many levels.
To me, escape means getting away from something I don’t like. Fortunately, at this point in my life, there is nothing I want to escape from. But, escape can also mean leaving your daily routine, your usual place, your typical activities. Often this involves travel. Since I am currently travelling, this works for me!
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We are currently in California visiting my daughter and her new son, after spending some time in Texas for my other daughter’s graduation. These photos were taking on the flight from Austin to San Francisco which touched down in El Paso and Los Angeles on the way.
My daughter graduated yesterday, and I have decided to allow myself one week to be a proud mother and brag to everyone in my path! 
The new graduate and her husband.
She has worked very hard for a long time. Elizabeth started school (at her insistence) at age 4. She has been a dedicated student, always focused, always persistent, and always self motivated. She thinks I’ve been a positive influence but she has done the vast majority herself. I never told her to do her homework or asked her to go to class. I tried my best to provide good opportunities, and then tried to stay out of her way while she built her own life.
Elizabeth and I after graduation (photo taken by my sister)
Elizabeth was at the top of her class in high school, was an award winning cross country runner, and an outstanding oboist in the Florida Youth Symphony, all while taking AP and honors classes, and working part time after school. Her excellent grades earned her an undergraduate degree in physics at Florida State Universtiy paid for by the Bright Futures program, and then a masters and doctorate at the University of Texas paid for by her work in the physics department.
Elizabeth and Joel, who has been there every step of the way.
There was a party at Elizabeth’s house after graduation and I had an interesting conversation with one of her professors, another one of the few women physicists. She said Elizabeth had not only done an outstanding job, but she was always kind to her coworkers, helpful and patient with other students, and never arrogant in spite of her considerable expertise. She said Elizabeth holds great promise as a scientist, and is also a wonderful role model for other young women considering a career in science. Because of Elizabeth’s success in the program, UT is more likely to consider other women interested in entering the physics program.
Elizabeth and Drew, and one of their three cats.
Elizabeth is married to Drew, also a very intelligent, capable, and successful scientist who works in the computer field. Next month they will be moving to Seattle, her to start her job at Microsoft, and he to work for Redfin. It will be very interesting to see how the next stages of their lives unfold!
Of course, there are more pictures….
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The only person missing was Elizabeth’s sister who has a brand new baby, but she was definitely here in spirit. We kept in close touch by phone, sent pictures, and carried her around the party by iPad so she could talk to everyone and attend from afar. Technology is a wonderful thing!
My week of bragging is up on Tuesday, well… bragging about this anyway. Tomorrow we’re going to CA to see my other daughter and her husband, and meet the new baby. There will be more news and pictures! We won’t be back in Panama for a couple more weeks but I will keep in touch from afar – maybe work on the website, study some Spanish, and do some other things between helping my daughter and son in law, and spoiling my new grandson. Whew! What a month this is turning out to be.
These are some photos I took at the beginning of the week. I had to go back and visit the river after it settled down from a couple days of heavy rains. This day it was calm, and the water was much less muddy. Things have gotten so green from just a bit of rain too. We are so lucky to have this beautiful place right behind our house!
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I asked the neighbors about the caiman and apparently it is very unusual to see one here. One neighbor who has been here for maybe 10 years had never seen one before. People swim in this river all the time and no one knows of anyone having a problem in the water. I wonder if his appearance here has anything to do with the low water levels, or maybe the recent heavy rain? I’m happy to say it took off when I got too close, so he didn’t seem interested in being close to me any more than I wanted to be too close to him.
We are in Austin now for my younger daughter’s graduation, and then we are headed to CA to meet my older daughter’s new son. The next couple weeks will be more about these experiences, and not so much about Panama except for a few left over things I never got around to posting.
A couple pics of the food court in the Panama City bus terminal:
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Yesterday we had breakfast in a hotel in Panama City, and today we had breakfast in a hotel in Austin. It’s an interesting contrast.
Panama – lots of fresh fruit (melon, papaya, pineapple, watermelon), yogurt, scrambled eggs, a couple meat products (ham, stewed hot dog/sausage slices), cheese, pancakes, toast, coffee, tea, fruit juice, water
Austin – hard boiled eggs (very hard), scrambled eggs that were a bit odd, very sweet muffins that tasted like chocolate brownies, low fat yogurt, white toast, plain white bagels, waffles, cereals, coffee or tea
A couple pics of Panama City:
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US people seem so much bigger, so much taller, but also heavier. The Panama breakfast seemed better balanced than the US breakfast which was so sugar and white carb heavy. I know not all breakfasts are like this in the US, but it sure made for an interesting comparison. We’re also not used to people who smoke so it’s been odd to smell smoke in many places.
But overall, the trip so far has gone very smoothly. We took the bus from David to Panama City. It was a bit chillier than usual even with a sweater but it is a comfortable trip, and now that we are getting more used to the trip it didn’t seem especially long or tedious. I did notice that central Panama still looks quite dry and brown though. Send in the rains!!
We stayed at the Hotel Costa Inn in Panama City – Avenida Peru and 39th St. It had mixed reviews but we thought it was fine. It’s older and showing it’s age, but it was very clean and comfortable, the staff was very pleasant, and it was certainly nice enough for a decent place to sleep. At $66 with free internet, breakfast included, and a ride to the airport included (which would have been around $30 in a cab), we thought it was an excellent value. We would definitely stay there again.
We had a layover in Houston. What is it with the 10 mile hike from the international flights to the domestic flights?? It’s that way in Miami too. Thank goodness we had a 1 1/2 hr layover because we needed every bit of it. We were the last to board our flight to Austin, but we made it and all was well. The TSA inspected one of our bags though, which caused enough delay it didn’t make it on the flight so we didn’t get it until this morning. United gave us a care package of toiletries and had the bag delivered to the hotel, so they did what they could to make it easier. We know to have a couple days of necessities in the carry on’s, so we’re fine.
We’re at the Quality Inn in Austin (6911 N Interstate Hwy 35 78752). It’s also a less expensive hotel, older and showing its age, but it’s perfectly comfortable, clean, and adequate for our needs so we’re happy here.
Tomorrow is graduation and related festivities, so there will be news and photos! It’s going to be an exciting weekend and a great couple weeks in the US.
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I’ve heard that there are Push Buttons all over Latin America, and I have seen many in Panama. A push button is a hotel that you can rent by the hour. From the outside they look like something fancy and … Continue reading
Kris and I love taking our cameras down to the river behind our house, we never know what we'll see. I was busy taking some close-ups when Kris called to me to come quickly, NOW!. I got up to see what she was talking about and was quite surprised to see a small caiman floating about 20' from shore.
I say small because in Sarasota, Florida, where we lived before coming to Panama, I had seen many alligators from 8' - 10' long.
This weeks photo challenge is patterns. To me, a pattern is something that repeats, a predictable element - an idea, a color, a texture. I had no idea where I was going to go with this until we took a walk down to the river this morning.
Many types of grass are flowering, and when you look down on them the flowers look like stars, or snowflakes, or patterns of lace.
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There were many leaves with interesting color patterns and textures.
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A few other things that caught my eye.
The sounds of the river behind our house have been much louder since all the rain this afternoon, so we went down there to investigate. It does not look the same! The water is very muddy, flowing fast, and a bit higher than it was before. Apparently we got quite a lot of rain.
It was very late in the day when we went down, and so dark we were glad for our flashlights as we made our way back up to the street. The photos have a dusky bluish tint because of the low light, but you can see how muddy the water is. It’s quite different from the calm, clear water of less than two weeks ago.
