What's Been Up

Since I last waxed fantastic, we have had some grand adventures and some great company.

Grandpa Larry and Jamma Diana visited us in pre-Thanksgiving November, and we spent a most excellent weekend in the mountains of Monteverde, hiking through the cloud forest, gazing at various flora and fauna, and satiating ourselves on food, drinks, and shopping. On our ramble through the forest, we got to catch a glimpse of the resplendent quetzal, an elusive and colorful bird we most certainly would have missed had we not stumbled upon a tour guide who let us “ooh” and “ah” over one he’d spotted through his telescope. Bird enthusiasts come to Monteverde specifically to see this bird and sometimes spend weeks without spotting one. Que suerte!. We also went to the butterfly gardens where countless of nature’s most beautiful insects, including dozens of giant Blue Morphos and orange Sweet Oils, fluttered about our heads and shoulders, and to the bat caves, which weren’t really caves at all, but where we got to see various vampire, fruit, and nectar bats flying around behind glass under cover of simulated darkness. Once back in Arenal, we ventured toward Fortuna where we all took a Skytram ride up through the jungle to catch an incredible view of the volcano. The boys took the easy way back down on the tram while my mom and I zip-lined our way down out of the forest, screaming and sliding across wires 600 feet above the canopy. The views of the lake and volcano were tremendous! By the time we reached the bottom, it was pouring down rain and, let me just say that speeding across the sky during a tropical rainstorm, freezing cold, and being pelted in the face by raindrops is indeed the ultimate experience!

A few days after my folks left, we were visited by our friends Deanna and Nick from LA, who stayed with us over Thanksgiving. They came from San Jose with their friend Monica, and had a surprising time reaching our house in the dark, out in the middle of nowhere. Incredulous with laughter as they ventured down Tit-Shaker Road after a long day of travel, they doubted whether or not they were going the right direction, and stopped along the way to ask the cows on the side of the road if they knew where we lived. Ha ha! Once they got here, we had a great four days hanging out, soaking in the hot springs, cutting down banana trees with Nick’s new machete (go, Macho!), and partying like rock stars. For Thanksgiving we feasted at Caballo Negro (the restaurant at Lucky Bug) with Eric, Silja, and Kaleb, the highlight of which was Chef Danny’s macadamia nut stuffing and gravy. Yummmm!

Now, we’re all preparing for a trip back to California, the bulk of which we’ll spend in Santa Maria celebrating the holidays with my folks and family and Chris’ parents, who are coming to see us from Arizona. We are so looking forward to it!

We hope you’re all well and have a beautiful solstice and happy holidays!