A Day in the Sacred Valley

It was with mixed trepidation that we approached the latest Leonard family road trip - this one to the Peruvian Andes. Neither of us, of course, would ever had made such a trip on our own. It was the sense of adventure of our children that has brought us to almost 13,000 ft. elevation today.

John lived a very full life. As his parents, we experienced much of his life with him. As with all persons, he began to carve out his own life - parts of which he would share but, of course, there were those parts which we could only glimpse. His life with Alex, his work life, and the adventures upon which he embarked with his normal sense of zest, are all examples.

One of John's most noteworthy adventures and which had a tremendous impact upon him was his hike up the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The email embedded in the below blog post captures it all for JW - "amazing."

In a sense, we feared returning to Machu Picchu as a family would only further emphasize his absence (as if it needs any help in that regard). But once again our children propelled us on a path we didn't think we were ready to take.

Today, in JW's words, was amazing - and we didn't even make to Machu Picchu yet. Together, we explored the Sacred Valley of the ancient Incan civilization visiting many ancient archeological sites and as a result experienced first hand the exhilaration JW experienced almost five years ago. In doing do, we achieved more than just a glimpse into the wonderful life John carved out for himself during the time he was allotted in this world - it was almost as if we got to share this adventure firsthand.