Back to the Midwest

The Farm

Travis climbing Devils Doorway

Day at the Farm with Cienna

Aja & Montana's Wedding

View from our balcony at our new apartment

Wollersheim winery

 Our Trip Back to the Midwest was filled with many blessings one of which included two of our great friends Dr. Jesse and his wife Jessi,  who moved to Jakarta in August to start work with us and cover the clinic during our time away.   After investing so much into our latest adventure "the new clinic" we were relieved to leave our hard work in such capable hands.


The land of Curds and way:


As I hopped off my plane in Chicago I could already smell the beer soaked brats of WI that were sure to be awaiting my return.  With a belly full of tube shaped meat and without a moment to lose I put all those calories to good use by starting my first week back to WI with a Lia Sophia party, two bachelorette parties and a wedding...phew.

My return to the Midwest came about a week and a half before Travis in order to attend the above mentioned festivities.  I am truly grateful to have made it back in time to join Aja and her girls "up north" in Minocqua for her bachelorette party where I had a super fun time making a total fool of myself tubing for the first time ever!  Immediately following my over indulgence of alcohol and tubing I drove 4 hours down to Deerfield to be a bridesmaid in my dear friend Theresa's wedding.  I found it was totally worth all the traveling required to make the occasion as I watched one of my dearest friends in the world say I do.

After Travis' arrival things calmed down a bit and  we had some much needed time to enjoy spending with our families and close friends.  Although most of our adventures in WI included the consumption of large quantities of cheese, alcohol, and of course various forms of sausage, we managed to squeeze in a day of hiking at Devils Lake state park & a wine tasting trip with the grandparents at Wollersheim Winery in Prairie Du Sac.  As we soaked up our time with family and friends the main reason for our return rapidly approached.

Aja and Montana's wedding was by far the most perfect wedding I've been to.  She was absolutely stunning in her off the shoulder gown and  Montana's dance moves were nothing short of epic.   The entire event was all good times and smiles shared with those we love most.  ...and it included the birth of one very special little guy who came about 2 weeks ahead of time.

Two days after the wedding Travis made his way back to Indonesia.  I stayed behind mainly to spend time with my new nephew Chase, my god daughter Cienna and Heidi and Elliot.   As always they opened their home up to me.  I loved waking up and spending time with the kids. We maximized our time together as we went on walks, made animal pancakes, played at the park and visited the farm  yet nothing melted my heart quite like when Cienna stopping me while we ate lunch and said..."Aunt Sara I love you"...  boy it's a good thing I already had my ticket for Jakarta bought or that may have changed my mind :)


Alas my day to return came all too quickly.  I enjoyed a long stay in the Middle East again on the way home and picked up a nice Hookah long the way.  I was welcomed back to Jakarta with 90 degree weather, a beautiful bouquets of flowers and the amazingl sky view of our new apartment....ahhhhhh It feels good to be back.

Welcome to the Jungle

You know you are in for a good time when your guide says "Welcome To The Jungle" and means it literally!

This was truly a dream trip for me. All of my life I have been fascinated with volcanoes. I have already climbed Mt. Tangkuban Perahu in Bandung and visited Merapi Volcano in Yogyakarta but climbing Mt. Krakatau tops my list of the coolest things I will ever do. The entire trip was private we were literally the only people on these deserted islands other than a few local fishermen.

Me and 3 of Travis' buddies from WI took the trip(unfortunately Travis had to work) We started by taking a scenic 3 hour drive from the vivacious city life of Jakarta to the listless villages near Carita. I find the drastic variance from posh to poverty within a step or two indescribable. Although common all over Indonesia it is something only the senses can experience. The striking colors and odors of the village along with a wide smile from a local give a feeling of warm tranquility, despite the prevalent destitution.

Reaching the coastline,
our destination hardly within view, the vastness of the Indian ocean compared to the size of our boat seemed quite the joke. After 2 hours of waves larger than our boat on the choppiest ride you can imagine up the Sunda Straight we landed on the beach of the deserted island of Krakatau. Mt. Krakatau (or Krakatoa as we say in America) is the site of the largest volcanic eruption in the recorded history of man kind in 1883. It is an active volcano and erupts regularly with the last eruption about 6 months ago. With no time to waste we started through the jungle and up the volcano. The mountain was covered with black sand making the climbing a bit slow and littered with hundreds of boulders that are spewed from the belly. The air thinning and full of sulfur we reached the highest ridge we could safely navigate. The cool winds from the top were a welcome relief to the 90 some degrees below.

Destination paradise,
After our descent we boarded the boat and circled the island, it's massive piles of pumice and lava rock stacked on the shores, making our way to the smaller island of Anak Krakatau ("child of Krakatau")we found paradise.... and our snorkeling spot. I was awestruck by the bright colors that existed in the other world just feet below our boat. After snorkeling we explored the beach a bit while our guide prepared our lunch and found ourselves just feet from a Komodo dragon walking by. Eventually we saw 3 more on the beach and swimming around and we were all thankful we had not noticed them while snorkeling :) I was very happy to be soaking up the sun spending my time collecting pumice and shells from this exotic paradise.

about an hour into our boat ride back to Cartia
we were passed by a massive oil tanker which put in perspective just how small and inadequate our little speed boat really was for the type of water we were in. The drive back to the city was elegantly dotted with terraced farms along the rural outskirts of the coast.

This was such a memorable trip for me I only wish Travis had been there to take it all in with me. What a crazy wild beautiful world we live in!!!