Trip To Visit Choya And Her Family -
August 13 - 20, 2006

While Rocke and I were back east in Florida for Sunil and Hiral's wedding, we decided we would take advantage of the opportunity to visit Choya and family, who live in West Palm Beach, Florida. Choya is our exchange student daughter from Ecuador, who spent a year with Rocke and his family in 1981-1982.

Choya immigrated to the United States a few years ago and now has a beautiful family of her own. She has three children, Denisse, who is married now and the mother of a beautiful little girl, Kleber, who is in college, and Diana, a junior in high school.

Arriving at the Orlando International Airport on Sunday evening, Rocke and I rented a car and drove down to West Palm Beach. We were both anxious for me to meet Choya and for the both of us to spend some time with her and her family. After hugging Choya, we greeted other family members and visited, until we could hardly hold our eyes open.

Monday, Denisse's husband, Oswaldo, was kind enough to take the time to drive several of us to Sawgrass Mills. Denisse, along with their baby (Gianna), Diana, Andrea (Denisse's friend from New York), Rocke and I. Sawgrass Mills is Florida's largest retail & entertainment center and features more than 350 name-brand stores and outlets like The Gap Outlet, OFF 5th Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet. It also hosts full-service restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory; cinemas and other high quality entertainment venues. We all had fun walking around in the mall (and keeping cool!) to see what they had to offer.

On Tuesday, Choya's son, Kleber, offered to take Rocke and I to the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge. Kleber is a fine young man and Rocke and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with him. The wildlife refuge was a very interesting place to visit. Rocke had never before seen an alligator in the wild, and this was his chance to see one.

Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, "Where the Everglades Begin", is located within the northernmost part of the legendary Florida Everglades. Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR is the only surviving remnant of the northern Everglades. The 146,000-acre refuge consists mostly of the sawgrass marsh that is so characteristic of the Everglades environment and is one of the few places where lucky observers might see the endangered snail kite searching for food. It is also the home to the American alligator. In any given year, as many as 257 species of birds may use the refuge's diverse wetland habitats.

Kleber, Rocke and I took a walk on the boardwalk into the swamp, which gave us a chance for an up-close swamp experience without getting our feet wet. After our walk, we drove down to the dikes to get a look at several American alligators that inhabit the refuge.

After visiting the wildlife refuge, Choya treated us to lunch at the local mall and then it was time to get Kleber home, so he could get ready for work. Diana talked about how she like hot spicy food, so Rocke decided he would like to fix her a hot spicy meal, Spicy Pepper Beef. So off we went to find a place to buy a wok. We finally had to break down and call Choya and scream for help. She came to our rescue and met us at the mall parking lot. From there we went to Target and purchase a wok. Then, of course, we needed to go to a grocery store to pick up a few items necessary for the hot recipe and again, Choya came to our rescue and got us there. Without Choya, Diana wouldn't have gotten her hot spicy meal that evening. Thanks, Choya.

Rocke decided to cook a Hot Spicy Pepper Beef for him and Diana and a Mild Spicy Pepper Beef for Choya and I. Everyone was happy and we settled down to enjoy dinner. To Rocke and my surprise, Diana ate the Hot Spicy meal without one complaint. Way to go, Diana!! We're proud of you!!

After dinner, Denisse and Oswaldo invited us over to their place for drinks. Joining the group were Choya's mother (Delia), sister (Susana), Kleber (Choya's son) and Andrea (Denisse's friend). We all had a great time visiting. After another late night or you might call it an early morning, we returned to Choya's place to get some sleep for the following busy day.

Wednesday, Choya took the day off from work, so she could take us to The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Before going to the Gardens, she treated Rocke, Kleber, Andrea, and I to breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. Yum, it was so good! After breakfast, we drove to the gardens.

The Morikami Museum and Gardens is considered the only museum in the United States dedicated to the living culture of Japan. This exceptional cultural site was made possible by George Morikami and is owned and operated by the Palm Beach County Department of Parks and Recreation. At the beginning of the 20th century, Morikami left Miyazu, Japan with a group of fellow emigrants to establish a farming colony called Yamato in Boca Raton, Florida. The community did not survive, but Morikami remained in Florida as a farmer and businessperson. In 1977, he bequeathed 200 acres of land to Palm Beach County and the State of Florida to honor his fellow colonists and both their original and adopted homelands.

Today, the Museum includes both permanent and changing exhibitions on Japan and related cultural topics, the Yamato-kan villa, sculptures, bonsai collections, gardens, pavilions, cafe, museum store, the Donald B. Gordon Memorial Library, IBM Infotronic Gallery, annual festivals and nature trails. Performances and film series are held in a 225-seat theater. Tea ceremonies are held in a dedicated tea house, Seishin-an. The institution also sponsors classes and workshops in origami, bonsai, ikebana, haiku, sumi-e painting, orchid cultivation, Japanese language, photography, kite-making and other topics.

The weather was hot and humid, something Rocke and I are not used too, so we were in a hurry to get through the gardens and back to the museum, where we could enjoy some air conditioning while touring and seeing what was in the museum.

On Wednesday evening, we enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner at Bellagio at CityPlace with several of the family members and friends. An enviable setting by CityPlace's courtyard fountain makes Bellagio a focal point of the complex. After dinner, Rocke, Choya and I joined her sister, Susana at the Blue Martini for some drinks and to listen to some music. Didn't take long for Choya, Susana and I to get out on the dance floor. What a great day and evening!

On Thursday, Choya's brother, Ivan and Kleber drove Rocke and I into Palm Beach. What a beautiful area. Palm Beach is between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Worth. Henry M. Flagler built the huge Royal Poinciana Hotel there in 1894. Palm Beach was first a hotel resort and then a region of luxurious winter residences. Many of America's richest families, including the Rockefellers, Mellons and Morgans, built homes there. We also saw the famous Breakers hotel.

Rocke and I had the day to ourselves on Friday, so we drove down to Miami and Miami Beach. What a beautiful part of the country.

On the way back to Choya's, Rocke and I decided to give Pam (Sylvia's sister) a call and visit with her. Pam, her husband, Mark, and two boys live in Miramar, Florida. Pam didn't know we were in town, so I surprised her with a phone call. She invited Rocke and I to her home. We had a nice visit with her and her boys, Hunter and Tyler. Mark was at work and we later found out that we had only missed him by about 5 minutes. Sorry about that, Mark! Hopefully we'll get to visit with Mark next time.

Arriving back in West Palm Beach at Choya's, we spent part of the evening with Choya and her parents. Then we went over to visit Kleber (Denisse, Kleber and Diana's dad) and his wife, Maria's home, to spend the evening visiting with them. We had a great time with both families.

Saturday was our last day to spend with Choya, and she took Rocke and I to Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee is the "liquid heart" of South Florida, located in south-central Florida. It is 730 square mile and area and relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 9 feet.

It is the second-largest freshwater lake in the continental United States, second only to Lake Michigan. Lake Okeechobee's drainage basin covers more than 4,600 square miles.

Geological survey data indicate that Lake Okeechobee was formed about 6,000 years ago, when ocean waters receded and water was left standing in a shallow depression in what today is known as the state of Florida. The original lake probably was saline, but over time, the salt water was replaced by freshwater from rainfall. The expansive lake that resulted from this process was named Okeechobee, which means "big water" in the Seminole Indian language.

In the afternoon, Choya's sister, Susana invited everyone over to her home. We enjoyed our last afternoon and evening, visiting with the whole family. Leonel, Choya's other brother had driven down from Jacksonville to visit and joined us there. Susana had prepared a delicious meal. After eating, some of us "young" adults ventured outside to play with some toy rockets Leonel had brought for Ivan's kids, and visit with some of the younger members of the family. What a wonderful fun time we had!

On Sunday morning, Rocke and I were "up and at 'em" early to drive back to Orlando to catch our plane to Portland. What a great time we had with Choya and her family. We can't wait to visit with them again.