Dear Friends and Family

We hope you are all having a wonderful summer! Ours is going splendidly so far!!!! We are on a marathon vacation that has included a road trip up the California Coast, Oregon, and the Brazilian Pantanal. Here are some highlights:

6/12 Day with Grandma Vera in L.A.

6/13 Santa Barbara Tour, Andreé Clark Bird Refuge

6/14 Monterey Aquarium, Cannery Row

6/15 Elkhorn Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Santa Cruz Boardwalk

6/16 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA)

6/17 San Fransisco City Tour, Bay Cruise (Alcatraz, Golden Gate)

6/18 Point Reyes Marine Sanctuary, Redwoods

6/19 Portland, Oregon Tour

6/20 Day w/Family in Salem, OR

6/21 “Uncle” (Christina’s Brother) Shawn’s Wedding in Salem

6/22 Enchanted Forest (Theme Park in Salem)

6/23 Travel: LA–>Mexico City–>Overnight in Plane

6/24 Arrive São Paulo–>Brasília–>Cuiabá

6/25 Tour Chapada dos Guimarães (The Mtn. Border Dividing the Pantanal & the Amazon)

6/26 Pantanal: Horseback Ride on the Floodplain, Night Safari

6/27 Pantanal: 5am Safari, Boating on the Rio Claro

6/28 Pantanal: Horseback Ride on the Floodplain, Safari Walk

6/29 Pantanal: Fishing for Piranha on the Rio Claro, Evening Safari

6/30 Pantanal: Horseback Ride on the Floodplain, Return to Cuiabá

7/1 TODAY! Cuiabá, Red-eye to Brasília–>São Paulo–>

7/2 We’ll arrive in Rio and stay with the kids’ grandparents for 2 1/2 weeks, then we’ll

return to São Paulo, hang out with Marlise (My–Christina’s– “host mom” from my

exchange to Brazil in ’94) for a couple of days, then on 7/23 we’ll return to Honolulu by

way of Panama City–>Mexico City–>Seattle (where we’ll meet up with Grandma Julie).

Obviously, we’ve done a lot! It’s been truly amazing. The Pantanal people said we’ve had the best luck of anyone they’ve seen in seeing rare animals and birds. We were able to see some that people try for weeks to spot in the Pantanal: giant river otter, jaguar, puma, king vulture, howler monkey, white-tufted marmocet, coati, tapir, anteater, capped heron, PLUS the ones that the Pantanal people just take for granted, like the cayman, capibara, rhea, rufescent tiger heron, jabiru, caracara, black-collared hawk, nunbirds, toco toucan, roseate spoonbill, capped heron, keel-billed toucan, burrowing owl, spectacled owl, etc. etc. etc. etc. … :0)

I’m attaching some pictures that we took in the Pantanal. Keep in mind that these were taken in the forest and on the floodplains, NOT in a zoo– that’s what makes them so unbelievable! We actually saw these guys in their natural habitat. Also keep in mind that I had to make the files smaller to be easily sent by email, so the quality is not what it is in the actual picture.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the update– sorry it was so long. Let us know what you’re up to, too!

Have a great day,

Aloha,

Christina, Elisa, Garrett