Brooks Family

I Love this place by justino Someday I will live in Buenos Aires. I don't know when, but someday. I may be 80 years old, but I'll still take daily walks through the markets admiring the ecletic buildings. I'll wander through the family burial grounds in Recoleta and along the waterfront in Puerto Madero. I'll sit in a cafe, eat an empanada, and watch the world go by in this beautiful city. Someday. ... read more

BY JUSTINO I got home 2 weeks ago today, but still have not adjusted to day to day life off the road. After 27 flights (San Diego to Houston to DC to Newark to San Francisco to Newark to London to Newark to Beijing to Hong Kong to Guangshou to Saigon to Hoi An to Saigon to Singapore to Sydney to Wellington to Aukland to Wellington to Melbourne to Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to Phuket to Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur to Beijing to Newark to San Diego) totaling 46,631 miles, and thousands more driving across Australia and New Zealand and taking trains and buses across China and Vietnam, I'm not tired of traveling. In fact, right now I'd happily repack and head back out. The trip home took us to Melbourne, Phuket, Bangkok, ... read more

by Justino Easter break at the law school allowed us to take a family trip to the New Zealand South Island. It started with a beautiful 3 hour ferry trip across the Cook Strait from Wellington to Picton where we picked up a rental car. We then drove to Nelson where we stayed in an old English cottage with wooden beam and brick construction. The place looked four hundred years old, but it was actually built 6 years ago out of recycled materials. From Nelson we drove down the spectacular West Coast, which may have knocked the drive around the Big Island of Hawaii off the list as my favorite drive in the world. Around every corner the scenery changes. It's a combination of Big Sur, the English Peak District, and the Rockies. The highlight of ... read more

BY JUSTINO To lead this nation onward and to glorify and grace the land. Its voices echo down the years -the voices of the pioneers. In my experience, the spirit of Australians hasn't changed much since E.J. Brady described it in the 1800's. Like the United States, Australia is a country of pioneers and community building was required for survival. Sometimes it feels like we've lost that spirit in the U.S., especially in our large cities. In Australia, a country larger than the U.S. if you don't count Alaska, but with a population of 21 million compared to our 300 million, there is an incredible spirit of generosity. We're visiting Australia in extraordinary times. There are the worst fires ever in the south and the worst floods ever in the north. The news each night tells ... read more

BY ZACK It was weird watching the inauguration of Obama late at night in our little hotel room in Hoi An, Vietnam. My dad had trouble staying awake for it and kept drifting in and out. People in Vietnam seem to like Obama, but there was no celebrating on the street...or no more than usual. The Tet festival is approaching (Lunar New Year)...so there is lots of celebration going on all through Asia. One of my favorite things we have done on this trip so far is a cooking class in Hoi An on the last day we were there. I volunteered to help the chef cook vegetable spring rolls, and when we were all putting our spring rolls in the fryer my Dad accidentally dropped his in the oil and burned another woman in the ... read more