When Life Gives You Lemons...

go on a picnic   :-)

That's exactly what we did yesterday after having a very eventful morning.  It started off with an early morning "concert" from our neighbors.  Normally it is fairly quiet but for some reason yesterday they decided to play their favorite song over and over and over VERY loudly and very early in the morning.  Not my favorite way to start the day.  Once up I tried to shower but the hot water heater in the shower was not working.  It's been cool here in the mornings so the thought of a cold shower was out of the question.  Later in the morning we discovered that the washer was not working either.  After checking things out David decided to climb in the attic to check the wires.  It was definitely a wiring problem.  So instead of getting right on it we decided to just pack up a picnic bag and head to a local park right on the edge of town.  It just seemed like getting away for a few minutes would make the day go a little better.  As were we trying to get into the car he discovered that the keys would no longer unlock the drivers door.  I mean, could it get any more crazy! 

So, back to the picnic.  We've passed this entrance sign below on every trip we have ever made to Sayaxche.  We have often wondered what it was.  Then this past Sunday while eating at the restaurant next door we saw a painting from the place.  They have napkin holders pn each table with paintings from several tourist places around Guatemala.  When I spotted one for this place it had a picture of a lake and pier I knew we needed to check it out.  

The park was right off of the main road.  We parked our car and got out.  We were not greeted by anyone and kept looking for someone to pay but soon discovered that it must be free.  There was an information center but it was locked.  Looking in the windows we could see a lot of posters and things on the walls.  There was also a table that had snakes (dead) in jars.  I freaked out and was pretty much ready to go home, haha.  

We then spotted this trail that led down to water.  I knew that was where I was headed.

We were not disappointed!  It was very pretty.

I got tickled when I saw this sign, and a little nervous too. 

We walked down the steps and out onto the pier.  The water was crystal clear.  There were ladders on the pier which meant that it must be a swimming place for the locals.  There were a lot of small fish to see swimming around as well. 

We walked back up and got ready for our picnic lunch

there were several of these places to sit and eat 

I liked the way the trunk of this palm tree was laying

We took peanut butter, jelly, bread, chips, cookies, and bottled water to eat.

Cruz ate before we left so he just chewed on whatever he could get his hands on.  Here he has David's pack of Ritz's and cheese crackers.  He loves chip/ cookie/ cracker bags because they make a fun noise.

This was the view of the water from our table.

a quick family photo

We then walked back down and sat on the pier and fed our extra bread to the fish.  It was a beautiful day and a very quiet and peaceful place to enjoy a meal and a few moments. 

Ahhh, we will definitely be picnicking here again soon!

This place is less than ten minutes from our house.  It will be a great picnic place for our teams and visitors in the future.

We came home and David went to work repairing everything.  He got it all back in working order while Cruz and I enjoyed an afternoon nap.  He works better when we are out of his way, or at least that's what I told myself, haha.