Morada do Sururu: Hot like hell vs. Pretty like you've never imagined

Yes you've guessed it.... we were out and about again! And yes, we do have wheels instead of feet! Even worse, we've been back for only 2 days and I'm already dreaming about our next adventure: a RV trip to Orlando with the kids! But we'll leave the RV trip for a future post...

So we wanted to go to Alaska on a cruise... but having emptied our piggy bank on our trip to France, we just couldn't afford it. One day for sure! But before I knew we couldn't pay for the cruise, I had sent my good friends Crica & Vudu (aka Cristina and Antonio) an email asking them if they wanted to join us on that trip. To my surprise, those two were already booked to spend a couple of days in Vegas and then the Grand Canyon and invited us in. I was so excited to see them again that Chiquito booked the tickets that same night :)

A little bit of a background: Antonio and I met during our MBA in Halifax, Nova Scotia... and became instant friends. Better yet, he immigrated to Canada with his better half, Crica, who became a sister to me. We spent 2 years glued by the hips... and I was there glued to her right leg even during the delivery of their daughter Buzuca (aka Victoria). Got the picture? I LOVE these people!!!

Back to the trip. I don't want to whine too much but Vegas is not my bread and butter kind of trip. It's all about sex, gambling, alcohol and cigarettes. urrrgggg. To make matters worse the heat is like I've never felt before in my life. You don't know if you run from the heat into the smoky casinos or vice-verse. But hey, we had our friends so in some ways we were in heaven!

Now the Grand Canyon was a different story. We arrived at the hotel, dropped our bags, went for a 5 seconds pipi stop and immediately headed over to the park. As soon as you start driving into Grand Canyon National Park, you see all these cars parking on the curb and folks leaving the cars in a hurry, armed with their cameras and curiosity. We were no different.... and WOW!! The first time you see the Grand Canyon it literally takes your breath away! And the second, the third, the forth... there's really no end to it. The magical thing to me was to see how the canyon changes before your eyes during sunrise and sunset - yes, we've attended both spectacular occasions - and it was unbelievable! The other amazing experience we had was the helicopter ride... what a treat!! Again, it took our breaths away! Like I told the pilot Ryan... I don't blame the rich and famous anymore :)

Crica, Vudu and Buzuca - seeing and spending time with all of you was priceless! It's really like we've been together all these years. The jokes, the friendship, the love has never left us. Thank you so much for everything, we had a blast! Seeing Antonio enjoying the boring lecture about rocks, plants and billions of years, shaking his head like he's in heaven was great! Seeing Crica paying $225 for the helicopter ride to later throw up all her fears was also funny (sorry), and Buzuca you are so smart and funny, I'm not sure who you got that from! And thanks for being so sweet to Be and Miguel... you indeed would have been a great big sister! Hey, you can be their big sister, how about that??

Love you all and miss you already...

:) Maricota

Here are the Fogaca-Goldins at hot like hell Las Vegas