July 3rd through July 9th

 July 3^rd through July 9^th: Monday morning early we took the Prices to the airport.  We will really miss these two dedicated missionaries.  They served 23 months and while we were here they never missed a day and were the last ones to leave with us at the end of the night.  They did all the recording for the afternoon shift.  They will be hard to replace.  

The Price's are all loaded up and we are headed to the airport.

We then loaded up with the Winkfield’s and the Gordon’s and headed for El Salvador.  It only took us 3 ½ hours to get to San Salvador.  We found a mall and had lunch and then found the home we had rented.  It was an older home in the foothills of the San Salvador volcano, but it was clean and comfortable.  

This is the back patio of the home we are staying at.

This is the backyard.  It is filled with beautiful plants.

Chris and I went shopping and got food for dinner and for breakfast.  After dinner we went and found the temple.  We stopped in for ice cream with the Ward’s, a missionary couple who had visited us in Guatemala during their break and who the Winkfield’s were originally going to start their missions with.  The temple is beautiful at night and in the day for that matter.  

So incredibly beautiful.

L to R the Ward's, the Winkfield's, mom and the Gordon's

Tuesday we got up, had breakfast, and went to a session at the temple.  It is really a beautiful temple.  We had a nice experience there.  

Tuesday morning at the temple.

These carving were around the large windows on each side of the building and the entry.

The craftsmanship was evident in every detail.

The stone work on the temple was amazing.

The front doors had matching details.

I enjoy the adventures we are sharing.

Each side of the temple has this massive window.

We then drove to the beach and had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the ocean.  We found a beach where there are waves for surfing and watched the surfers for awhile.  Mom got her toes wet.  

Lunch at the beach with a great view of the Pacific.

The waves were crashing onto the cliffs.

Click below to see the ocean.
View the waves and the ocean.

Looking west up the coast. There was a sea cave right below the restaurant. 

The beach was all rocks no sand.

Those tiny black dots are surfers.

Mom headed out to get her feet wet.

We then drove back to San Salvador and went downtown to see the cathedral and the main plaza.  The Plaza was under construction and there were a lot of construction walls.  So we did not see much.  We played hot dice after dinner.  Thanks Bob and Tammy for that Christmas gift from our time in Bolivia.  

The cathedral in downtown San Salvador.

Beautiful stain glass windows.

This is the national palace.

Wednesday we drove to the top of the volcano or at least as far as you can drive and had to wait for the man who collects the entrance fee to come so we could climb to the top and look down into the crater.  Mom did not climb, but instead stayed behind with Sister Gordon.  It was a huge crater and only took about 15 minutes to reach the top.  The views were spectacular. 

View from the parking lot at the top of the volcano.

The climb up was not bad but there were a lot of steps.

I am trying to get a picture of the steps.

The sides were very steep.

The crater with a small crater in the bottom of the huge crater.

After our hike we needed a picture of everyone. 

On the way down the volcano, we stopped at a view point. 

The views were indeed magnificent.

We then headed for a small town called Suchitoto.  Mom read about it and it is suppose to be like the Antigua of El Salvador.  Well it does have a nice church, but is tiny in comparison to Antigua.  We ate lunch on the main plaza.  We had pupusas, an El Salvadorian food of two tortillas filled with beans and cheese or spinach and cheese or chorizo and cheese.  You get the idea.  They were delicious and filled us up.  

The church in Suchitoto.

The three amigos.

The church was massive.

Beautiful carvings.

All the columns had been stripped and you could see how they had been made.

The church without people blocking it's architecture. 

She was making up our order.

Waiting for lunch.

We then headed home.  We got home about 5:00 pm.  Thursday we took everyone shopping and then spent the rest of the week doing family history and painting.  Sunday we went to church at our ward and then went to dinner at the Frampton’s.  He is one of the two area medical advisors.  They live here in the temple housing.  It was a very relaxing week but filled with some good experiences that we will not soon forget.  One more week until the temple is back open.