Rockets 'Round the World

SUBJECT: RE: An unforgettable adventure awaits your child in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland!

Dear families,

A quick friendly reminder – our informational meeting for the Capitals of Scandinavia trip is almost here, and we’d love to see you there! This is a wonderful opportunity to learn how this trip could be a transformative experience for your child, and we don’t want you to miss out.

Meeting details:
Date: October 28
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: RHS Library
RSVP here to join us: https://rsvp.eftours.com/9sgsxaj

We cannot wait to tell you more about this trip of a lifetime!
Melinda Bilyeu and Lisa Wycoff

An unforgettable adventure awaits in Scandinavia!!
We’re thrilled to share that we’re heading to Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Estonia in the Summer 2027, and we’d love for you to join us!
This is an incredible opportunity to explore new places, experience different cultures, and gain lifelong skills. We’ll be sharing all the details, including what we’ll see and do, learning activities, trip costs, and how to secure a spot at our informational meeting.
Meeting details: 👉 RSVP here to join us: https://rsvp.eftours.com/9sgsxaj
We hope to see you there! Lisa Wycoff & Melinda Bilyeu

Your travelers should be arriving home (or heading to their next trip) soon! Our last 36 hours went fast with a super full day on Wednesday - a beautiful (and significant) waterfall, more Ecuadorian food, artisian demonstrations and shopping!

Boarding now for Houston - seems to be running on time.

And in other news…we got through 8 of the 10 items on our food challenge. It’s a win because the other two weren’t available!!

Tuesday was a big, wonderful day! After breakfast in the hotel, we drove to the Mindo Cloud Forest for gondola riding, hiking and waterfall swimming. We also learned about butterflies - all before lunch! After a sleepy drive back, we had a delicious dinner in the new part of Quito before heading back for our last night at the hotel.

Monday was a travel day - by chiba, boat, bus, plane and another bus - from the islands to Quito. But it went smoothly and we enjoyed being back in our cool hotel in the city.

Sunday started out dark and dreary with a 5:00 am bumpy boat ride leaving Isabela Island, but tuned out beautifully! There was a nice hike to Tortuga Bay to discover a gorgeous beach. We were able to swim and kayak there before taking an even wilder boat ride back to Santa Cruz.

After lunch we got to explore the Charles Darwin Research Center and learn more about his connection to the Galapagos. Dinner was a fun surprise of pizza and soda AND a happy birthday celebration for one of our youngest travelers. It is very cool to turn 15 on an island in the South Pacific!

On Saturday we got to do some hiking through lava rocks and snorkeling in the ocean. We saw so many different creatures - sea lions, marine iguanas, sharks, lava lizards, sea turtles, penjuins, flamingos and blue footed bo***es! We also got to visit a turtle breeding ground before heading back for dinner and some free time in town.

Friday (I think it was Friday) was maybe the best day ever. We got to snorkel a bit, go through a lava tunnel and visit the giant tortoises. We took another boat ride to get to Isabel Island which is a beach paradise. 🐢

Oh my gosh you guys - our day three of touring was so fulll. The highlight was snorkeling in the ocean! We traveled by boat from San Cristobal to Santa Cruz. Not everyone loved the boat ride, but the island was beautiful and we enjoyed some shopping and strolling after dinner.

Travel morning and WOW afternoon!

We landed in San Cristobal just in time for a beautiful lunch overlooking the ocean. After checking into our hotel and changing into our suits, we got to tour the San Cristobal Interpretation Center and hiked the Tijeretas Hill. The most exciting part of our day was swimming in the Pacific with sea lions!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We finished our day walking around the Old City and up the hill to the Basilica of the National Vow. And once we got up there (9,300 feet!) we had the option to climb another bell tower. We got off our feet for awhile after that with a quick lunch stop (empanadas) and a trip to the equator.

The Intiñan Museum was a cool experience and hopefully you’ll hear some stories about the earth’s natural forces. We had dinner inside the Bishop’s Palace and crossed two more items off our food challenge list (llapingachos and mote pillo). It’s curfew for tonight because we have a super early start tomorrow!