Bri: Daddy, that old guy that just drove by was listening to an ipod.

Dave: Old people listen to ipods, too………..

Bri (incredulous): What do they listen to — Eye of the Tiger?!?

Check out this video of airplanes landing at the airport in St Martin. When I was in the Navy, my buddies and I sat on this beach and watched them come in.

In the video, you can see all sorts of tourists standing around, amazed at the proximity of the incoming planes.

When we were there, it was just a bunch of guys on the beach and it went more like:

“Wow, that runway comes all the way out to the……………HOLY CRAP!!”

Tonight, the Travel Channel showed the Madrid episode of Samantha Brown’s Passport to Europe. She toured the city, as she tends to do, and hit the usual spots you see on any travel show, places like the Prado, Retiro Park, etc.

Then she went into the food, glorious food. A big deal was made about the fact that the Spanish eat dinner at 10pm or so, preceding it with tapas and drink. Jen and I salivated as Samantha sampled chorizo al vino, calamares, and croquetas, then followed that up with a huge dish of paella.

However, the bit that moved us to act was about a favorite treat of ours when we are in Spain: Churros con Chocolate!

As soon as the segment was over, Jen asked me to find a recipe online. I did as I was told and found this (reproduced below after the jump, in case the site disappears). But then I took it to the next level; I said let’s make some now! Since fried carbohydrates covered in sugar accompanied by the thickest hot chocolate you’ve ever seen makes perfect sense at 9pm, I ran out to get a couple ingredients and voila!

If you’ve never had it, the chocolate is a thick, viscous beverage. I can’t really drink the stuff. As a matter of fact, I don’t recall ever finishing a cup, and tonight was no different. I tend to use it for dunking the churros into, as this is where it shines. Mmmm. See how it coats the spoon? We’ll be making this again.

While in Spain, Bri and I had it last in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, next to the second-oldest hotel in the world (yes, we stayed there). In 2004, we enjoyed some in Barcelona on Las Ramblas. It was awesome, but we were essentially ripped off, having been charged just under $30 for two servings of churros con chocolate, two orange juices and a serving of toast (or something similar). Ah, the memories.

Check out the recipe below.

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oh Boy! what a name!

One week ago, we arrived at Bristol Hospital with butterflies in our stomachs in anticipation of finding out the sex of the baby. Bri and I were *really* hoping for a boy. We thought Jen hoped for the same, but afterward she admitted to having secretly wanted a little girl.

When Jen was pregnant with Bri, three ultrasounds ended with no determination of sex. Arrgh!

Even so, almost everyone we knew had been convinced Jen was having a boy. They’d all used various old wives’ tales to come to that conclusion. Jen’s carrying high (or was it low?). There was a glow about her, that only happens when it’s a boy, everyone knows that! It’s obvious!

They were wrong. All of them.

I knew it because I’d had a dream and in this dream, she was a girl. There were no details beyond that. But when I woke up, I was convinced. We didn’t even consider boy names from that point forward. (I’m not normally this superstitious. Or at all. I don’t know what came over me.)

This time around, events played out in much the same way. (There is one pretty big twist, but I’m not going to write about that today. Maybe another time.) Once again, everyone predicted a boy. And once again, I did not.

After an agonizing 20 minute examination where the ultrasound lady measured every little body part, she announced that it was a boy! Jen was disappointed that she didn’t bother to show us a penis, but I was so excited I didn’t bother to do a proper verification.

In any case, we were very excited to have arrived at this milestone.

Having already discussed the possibilities, it allowed us to settle on a name: Santiago Jose Rodriguez. We’ve continued the tradition of taking a family member’s first name and using it as the middle. Bri’s middle name is Margarita, after my father’s mother. Jose is Jen’s father’s name as well as that of Jen’s great-grandfather on her mother’s side. I love the fact that the entire name can be pronounced in both Portuguese and Spanish.

Only 4 more months!