Choo Choo

We've been adjusting to our new location this weekend -- visiting the Saturday morning market, taking a drive up the coast, getting kicked out of a meditation center, eating at little cafes and riding on a miniature train along the ocean. This photo with the conductor was taken just before the train blew its whistle and we took off.

We're staying with first-time llama owners, Mark and his partner Trish. They live with Mark's elderly mother, Hazel, in a large house overlooking the town of Thames. Mark's a transpersonal psychotherapist (still not quite sure exactly what that is), while Trish is an organic grower.

In their kitchen they have a chalkboard shaped like a rooster where they write things they want, things ranging from a first aid kit to a chess board to a yurt to a kitchen sink plug. For a long time they had llamas written on it until Hazel bought them a pair for Mark's 50th birthday. They have two adult llamas (a male and a female) and a baby cria who was born at the beginning of the year.