Updates

Yesterday (Tuesday) was our "off" day when we did not get to visit Ellie. I have LOTS of paperwork that is due by May 30, so I spent the whole day working on that. Josh and Kevin walked over to the Beta store for more Pringles, soda and water and found the Italian restaurant that Allison told us about. Then they went swimming for awhile. Don't believe the brochure saying that the pool at the Silk Road is heated. It is not and is about 68 degrees. I am NOT getting in that pool as I require 90* and sunshine before my toes dip into the pool at home.

We all ventured out of our comfort zones at the buffet this morning and tried some things we didn't know what they were. I had something like cheese bread/pizza combination that was good. Kevin and Josh had some type of pastry with a hamburger filling. Kevin also had some kind of roll that had hamburger and rice in it. We all walked away full. Joshua has developed a LOVE for pineapple juice and has a couple of glasses every morning.

Early afternoon (3:00 ish) we went to dinner at the Italian restaurant. Kevin had tortellini; I had spinach ravioli with a cream sauce and Josh got spaghetti with meat sauce. We all ordered Pepsi light. Be forewarned, there is NO ice in this country. Our first drinks were, at best tepid and in a juice sized glass. The second drinks for Kevin and Josh were cold but when I asked for another, they had run out. Mine and Kevin's food were really good, but we noticed Joshua kind of playing around with his. When I took a taste, it wasn't really all that good. He only ate about a third of it. I ordered tiramisu for us but Kevin said he was too full and didn't eat any. Josh tried a bite and determined it tasted like coffee (surprise!) and didn't eat any. Well, I did, and I promise you it was the BEST tiramisu I had ever had. Total bill $37.71 American. Since we had not spent any money today, we felt like it was a bargain. :-)

Joshua exchanged some of his money at the Beta and we bought more batteries for tomorrow, and then we went to a toy store and kids clothing store combination down from the Beta store. My GOODNESS those sales people followed us everywhere we went in the store. It was creepy. Finally, Kevin picked out a 1000 piece puzzle to work on over the next few days. 200 soms - $5.52 USD.

We returned to the room where I started working again and they worked on their puzzle for a while. They then went swimming for an hour. Josh took his shower and again stated he was NOT tired and thought that going to bed at 7:30 was just crazy. He laid down and was asleep in minutes. It's almost 4:00 a.m. and he's still asleep, so I'm guessing he WAS tired after all.

I had been asleep for a while when the phone rang. Kevin apparently had fallen asleep on the couch and stumbled over to get it. It was our interpreter telling us to be ready at 9:00 tomorrow to go to visit Ellie. Since we thought they were picking us up at 9:30, it's a good thing she called. Kevin called to tell Elizabeth and fell into the bed and we slept.

That's it for Tuesday!

Oh, and a final tidbit, the Silk Road Lodge does not have washcloths so bring your own. We had heard this somewhere and brought some and are thankful we did.