This was a very different trip to us as we generally visit museums, castles, historic sights, sit in cafes..... We usually visit several countries and cities. This trip was nature, nature and more nature. A month in one country. Many people go to Costa Rica to do zip lines, white water rafting and other adventures. Neither of us likes to sit at the beach either. We knew that we weren't going to do those things. Frankly, I worried that we might be bored or that I would be freaked out by the creepy-crawly things.
But, it was a wonderful vacation, exceeding our expectations. For one, we were in four, quite different climate environments which made it interesting. The central valley was spring-like, the cloud forest was cold and remote, the northern Pacific coast was hot and dry and rather 'touristy' and the southern Pacific coast was hot and wet.
This was probably one of the most relaxing vacations we have ever had, but we were NOT bored. The birds were interesting every single day of the trip and we frequently consulted the bird books we brought with us. (Thanks to Willy) We hiked, but never too strenuously. (With the exception of Santa Elena, I guess) We ate well. We did a lot of reading. (The Age of Acquiescence and Richard Ford's Bascombe Trilogy) We met incredible people, some of whom, I think will be friends forever. We hope so. The Costa Ricans were unfailingly friendly. When we first arrived, it felt incredibly foreign, but, by the time we left, it felt familiar. The roads were a challenge, but Mark rose to it. I was a coward and "let" him drive the entire trip. I guess it would be more accurate to say that he let me be a passenger!
There were some creepy-crawlies, but they were not an issue. Mark said that I stepped over a tarantula, but I never saw it. We did not see any snakes, nor did we look for them! We saw one dead scorpion. We heard and saw monkeys, but they kept their distance. My fears were completely unfounded, although Mark did kill some pretty good-sized spiders at the house in Monteverde.
We were cut off from the internet a lot which was both good and bad. We were frustrated not to be able to do the blog daily or keep up with the news, but it was also nice to be unattached. We did not miss television at all.
Both of us were very relaxed by the end of the holiday and both of us wanted to stay a little longer, a very good sign.
We are both open to a return visit, although there are SO many wonderful places in the world to see that I don't know whether we will. Life is short. But, getting to Costa Rica is not a long trip, especially from Florida, so maybe we will. We do want to see some of the friends we made again, that's for sure.
If we go again, we might consider using more taxis and maybe even going without renting our own vehicle.
We were very pleased that we chose to stay in a lot of bed and breakfasts because you meet people at them especially if you stay for a number of days. People do not mingle nearly as much at big hotels and resorts, nor do you meet as many people if you rent an apartment. We will definitely continue to stay at bed and breakfasts.
I was worried about the food a little bit because I don't really eat rice and beans, although Mark loves them and did eat quite a few of those dishes. But, it was not a problem for me as there was almost always good fish and fresh vegetables and fruit. Neither of us put on weight which was also a nice surprise.
Taking up birding made the trip have more dimensions to it than it would have had otherwise. Hiring guides was wise as they spotted things we never would have seen and also identified them. If we had gone to Costa Rica before taking up birding, it would have still been a good vacation, but birding has opened up a new world to us. Birding people are almost unfailingly nice to know, so birding has also meant meeting a lot of great people.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Home, April 6, 2015 - Right into Town Meeting!
We got home on the 2:45 boat after doing some typical shopping along the way. The car was filled "to the gillens" as Jecca used to say when she was little.
We arrived home to a wonderful new bathroom upstairs! We are thrilled; it doesn't feel like it's our house. After being agog at the bathroom, we hauled our weary bodies to Town Meeting where there was a vote to see if funding for a new school could be on the ballot. Surprisingly, it passed without even a discussion! But, it was a very personal and intense town meeting with a lot of zoning articles that mean a lot to the people in the various neighborhoods. Most discussed was the proposal to develop the land known as Glowacki's Pit. It failed. The result will probably be more development which is too complicated to explain in our travel blog. The town also voted to put a new firehouse on the ballot. We went for all three nights of Town Meeting, quite grueling. The second night was important because it had to do with the town tampering with the pensions of town employees. Town employees were out in force and the article was defeated. Another emotional discussion concerned the banning of lighter-than-air balloons which threaten sealife and the beaches. It was very personal because it is the livelihood of Tammy Bunting King, a former student, who has delivered balloons since she was a teen. The article, however, passed. And, the other very personal issue concerned a nonprofit funeral home, proposed by Catherine Flanagan Stover. She proposed it be built next to Newtown Cemetery on land that the Cemetery Commission wanted for new burial sites, which made it a complicated vote for me as a Cemetery Commissioner. At any rate, it passed.
The next week the town voted to override proposition 2 1/2 so that a new school and firehouse can be built.
At any rate, it is good to be home, although we are both COLD!
We arrived home to a wonderful new bathroom upstairs! We are thrilled; it doesn't feel like it's our house. After being agog at the bathroom, we hauled our weary bodies to Town Meeting where there was a vote to see if funding for a new school could be on the ballot. Surprisingly, it passed without even a discussion! But, it was a very personal and intense town meeting with a lot of zoning articles that mean a lot to the people in the various neighborhoods. Most discussed was the proposal to develop the land known as Glowacki's Pit. It failed. The result will probably be more development which is too complicated to explain in our travel blog. The town also voted to put a new firehouse on the ballot. We went for all three nights of Town Meeting, quite grueling. The second night was important because it had to do with the town tampering with the pensions of town employees. Town employees were out in force and the article was defeated. Another emotional discussion concerned the banning of lighter-than-air balloons which threaten sealife and the beaches. It was very personal because it is the livelihood of Tammy Bunting King, a former student, who has delivered balloons since she was a teen. The article, however, passed. And, the other very personal issue concerned a nonprofit funeral home, proposed by Catherine Flanagan Stover. She proposed it be built next to Newtown Cemetery on land that the Cemetery Commission wanted for new burial sites, which made it a complicated vote for me as a Cemetery Commissioner. At any rate, it passed.
The next week the town voted to override proposition 2 1/2 so that a new school and firehouse can be built.
At any rate, it is good to be home, although we are both COLD!
Friends and Family, Easter Weekend, April 3-5
We had an uneventful, but long drive, from Washington, D.C. to Westport, Massachusetts where we stayed with good friends, Ted and Bev for a night.
We left Washington before 6 a.m. as we did not want to hit traffic around NYC, especially as it was Good Friday. We made amazing time. Thanks to the directions of the Garmin, we avoided two traffic jams, one just before crossing the George Washington Bridge and one shortly thereafter. We pulled off the highway to get gas and, by sheer good luck, wandered into Branford, Connecticut (Exit 54) where we found an excellent delicatessen, Shoreline Deli, which we intend to remember for future trips. (Hence, writing it down in our blog!) They had a great salad bar and sandwiches made to order, too.
We had a nice late afternoon with Ted and Bev who are recovering from having to put their beloved Scottie dog, Molly, to sleep. We went to the Bayside for dinner, a tradition with us and had yummy fish dishes.
The next day, we drove to Concord to be with Jecca, Willy, Otis and Henry for Easter. We were amazed to see how frozen the ponds still are and the heaps of dirty snow that are still very evident. Jecca and Willy went out to dinner with a friend, so we got to hang out and make dinner with the boys, which is always a treat. The next day, Easter, we all went into Cambridge to go through Harvard's Museum of Natural History which has the amazing glass flowers collection. Afterwords, we walked to a vegetarian restaurant in Cambridge. Then, we split up. Jec and family went to a nice playground the kids had memories of and Mark and I got lost going to Newton in hopes of finding the museum where I gave a talk in January and where I left some copies of my Cyrus Peirce book which need to be picked up. After wandering lost, we did eventually find it, but it was closed, no surprise it being Easter.
Later we had a great Easter dinner made by Jecca. Steak on the grill and ratatouille made with a lot of the vegetables they are getting through their CSA. Then, after dinner, Willy treated us to a slide show of his amazing trip to Peru. Wow. His shots of birds were amazing and his tales of the adventure were entertaining. Macchu Pichu looked very impressive. His journey was way too rugged for us, that's for sure. Long, long hikes in high altitude, roads closed due to landslides, boating down a tributary of the Amazon, fairly primitive lodging.....fascinating. A trip of a lifetime, really.
Then, we had a real treat. We went with Willy and Otis to watch the woodcocks doing their quirky courting displays. We went to a field at dusk. Luckily, Willy has sharp eyes and picked out the woodcocks and was able to shine his flashlight so we could see them. They also make interesting little hiccups during their process. It was very special as Mark and I have never seen them do the display.
We left Washington before 6 a.m. as we did not want to hit traffic around NYC, especially as it was Good Friday. We made amazing time. Thanks to the directions of the Garmin, we avoided two traffic jams, one just before crossing the George Washington Bridge and one shortly thereafter. We pulled off the highway to get gas and, by sheer good luck, wandered into Branford, Connecticut (Exit 54) where we found an excellent delicatessen, Shoreline Deli, which we intend to remember for future trips. (Hence, writing it down in our blog!) They had a great salad bar and sandwiches made to order, too.
We had a nice late afternoon with Ted and Bev who are recovering from having to put their beloved Scottie dog, Molly, to sleep. We went to the Bayside for dinner, a tradition with us and had yummy fish dishes.
The next day, we drove to Concord to be with Jecca, Willy, Otis and Henry for Easter. We were amazed to see how frozen the ponds still are and the heaps of dirty snow that are still very evident. Jecca and Willy went out to dinner with a friend, so we got to hang out and make dinner with the boys, which is always a treat. The next day, Easter, we all went into Cambridge to go through Harvard's Museum of Natural History which has the amazing glass flowers collection. Afterwords, we walked to a vegetarian restaurant in Cambridge. Then, we split up. Jec and family went to a nice playground the kids had memories of and Mark and I got lost going to Newton in hopes of finding the museum where I gave a talk in January and where I left some copies of my Cyrus Peirce book which need to be picked up. After wandering lost, we did eventually find it, but it was closed, no surprise it being Easter.
Later we had a great Easter dinner made by Jecca. Steak on the grill and ratatouille made with a lot of the vegetables they are getting through their CSA. Then, after dinner, Willy treated us to a slide show of his amazing trip to Peru. Wow. His shots of birds were amazing and his tales of the adventure were entertaining. Macchu Pichu looked very impressive. His journey was way too rugged for us, that's for sure. Long, long hikes in high altitude, roads closed due to landslides, boating down a tributary of the Amazon, fairly primitive lodging.....fascinating. A trip of a lifetime, really.
Then, we had a real treat. We went with Willy and Otis to watch the woodcocks doing their quirky courting displays. We went to a field at dusk. Luckily, Willy has sharp eyes and picked out the woodcocks and was able to shine his flashlight so we could see them. They also make interesting little hiccups during their process. It was very special as Mark and I have never seen them do the display.
Back to the U.S.A., March 25, 2015
We had breakfast at our hotel, the Hampton Inn. We felt like we were already back home as the hotel is just so American. We got the shuttle to the airport which was a short ride. Our flight was slightly delayed, but it was no problem. Once again, we were happy to have paid a little extra for roomier seats, plus it meant that we boarded early, also nice.
The flight was smooth and we got great views as we flew over Cuba which looked very green with barrier islands. I hope that we get to visit and to go birding there some day.
The airport scene in Fort Lauderdale was TERRIBLE. We waited in useless line after line and the staff seemed as confused as the passengers were. The first long line was passport control. As usual, we were questioned longer than most people because Mark lost his passport back in the 90s when it flew away when we were in Exmouth, England. The next snafu was getting our luggage. There was confusion which carousel it was on because another plane landed at the same time. We actually went back and forth between two carousels as the airport personnel also had no idea which one our flight was using. It took well over half an hour to get our luggage. It turned out that the bags from our plane were sitting in the middle of the floor. We gathered that and waiting in an even longer line to go through customs. All of this took longer than the entire almost-three hour flight!
Finally, we were outside. I called the hotel (Cambria Suites) where we left our car. They said it wouldn't be long. Well, it was about an hour before we got our car and headed toward Lake Worth to stay with Michael and Nancy. Our plane landed around 4 and we got to their house after 9. Not impressive.
But, it was nice to be at Michael and Nancy's and it was great to have them both feeling much better health-wise than when we last saw them.
The flight was smooth and we got great views as we flew over Cuba which looked very green with barrier islands. I hope that we get to visit and to go birding there some day.
The airport scene in Fort Lauderdale was TERRIBLE. We waited in useless line after line and the staff seemed as confused as the passengers were. The first long line was passport control. As usual, we were questioned longer than most people because Mark lost his passport back in the 90s when it flew away when we were in Exmouth, England. The next snafu was getting our luggage. There was confusion which carousel it was on because another plane landed at the same time. We actually went back and forth between two carousels as the airport personnel also had no idea which one our flight was using. It took well over half an hour to get our luggage. It turned out that the bags from our plane were sitting in the middle of the floor. We gathered that and waiting in an even longer line to go through customs. All of this took longer than the entire almost-three hour flight!
Finally, we were outside. I called the hotel (Cambria Suites) where we left our car. They said it wouldn't be long. Well, it was about an hour before we got our car and headed toward Lake Worth to stay with Michael and Nancy. Our plane landed around 4 and we got to their house after 9. Not impressive.
But, it was nice to be at Michael and Nancy's and it was great to have them both feeling much better health-wise than when we last saw them.
Friday, June 26, 2015
The Trip Home, March 30 - April 3
We had a good trip home, although the weather got colder and colder!
Our first stop was in Savannah where we stayed at a mid-town hotel. We got in early enough to enjoy the city. We tried to contact Nicci Aguiar who is a junior at SCAD, but we didn't give her enough advance notice. (We didn't know how long it would take us to get there). Mark checked out Trip Advisor and we went to Sweet Spice, a little Jamaican restaurant to eat as it had such a high rating. It was a little hole in the wall with just a few tables. But, wow, was it delicious. We both had jerk chicken with a bunch of sides. (I had plantains, having gotten very fond of them in Costa Rica.) And, they had a delicious lemonade with ginger. We had time to then stroll the waterfront which was a lot of fun. We bought the grandchildren in Concord some chocolates from the candy store there. We really enjoyed our visit to Savannah, brief as it was.
Our next stop was Emporia, Virginia - just a stopover. But we had a very delicious late lunch in downtown Emporia at "The Bank" restaurant, converted from an old time bank. As we were between meals, we were the only customers. The food was fantastic. I had a seared ahi tuna salad which was as good as we had in Costa Rica. It had a cucumber sauce made with a touch of wasabi. Mark had .....
It is a good idea to go into the towns off the major highways and not just eat at the standard Denny's or Cracker Barrels.
Next up - two days in Washington, D.C. We stayed in Alexandria at a dreadful Days Inn. All that can be said for the tired, dingy place was that it has a good location. We had to stop in Washington because the digital copy of the Cyrus Peirce petitions that we got at the National Archives on our way to Florida got destroyed. Mark left the flash drive in a pocket and I washed it. But, going back to Washington is never a hardship for us as we love the city. The cherry blossoms were in bud, but only a few were blooming.
The first night we met Meaghan Lynch, a former student and now an employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency. It was a very special evening. We went to Willow Restaurant in Alexandria where Meaghan has worked since her undergraduate days at Georgetown. Meaghan picked us up at the hotel and also insisted on picking up the tab. Dinner was excellent. I had ahi tuna again - I sense a pattern here and a lingering vacation feeling from Costa Rica. Great conversation and just an overall wonderful time. It was just so nice to see such an accomplished and wonderful young woman.
The next day we got up early and went to the Archives. Mark parked right across from the Natural Science Museum in the smallest possible parking space. He had onlookers, it was so amazing. We easily copied the petitions and then we wandered for a while in the Art Museum. Then we drove to G Street where we at at Absolute Thai for lunch, the same place we ate on our last trip as it was so delicious.
Then, we tried a new museum to us - the National Building Museum. The building is amazing. It was built in the 1880s to house the records of the Civil War Veterans. It has a huge middle area with four stories of balconies and has been used for many inaugural balls. The stairs were made very wide and short to make it easier for all the disabled veterans. (The money ran out before they could add elevators, although the shafts were put in.) As everything was paper records, they had ingenious ways of moving paper in baskets along wires and dumbwaiters. The exhibitions were interesting, too. We saw prints by architects of the Art Deco age which envisioned buildings in cities. They were full of social commentary about the rise of cities, railroads.... Very striking. We also went through an interesting exhibit about buildings being able to surviving disasters such as floods, storms, earthquakes, fires. And, we saw models of fanciful buildings, some built, some not, from around the world, many from Copenhagen, interestingly.
That evening we picked up another former student, Lizzy Skokan. She is doing an internship with Senator Jeanne Shaheen of N.H. and really enjoying it. We went to a restaurant in her part of the city, called Dumku, a Scandinavian restaurant, although the food seemed more Hungarian to us. It was another very good meal and another delightful evening with a competent, intelligent young woman. Her descriptions of what she has learned and who she has met were wonderful. She said that a lot of familiar politicians are so much shorter than they look on television.
The next day, we drove back to New England, having had another nice trip home, one with good driving weather, although it was a bummer to abandon our shorts and sandals and have to dig out long pants, jackets and gloves.
Our first stop was in Savannah where we stayed at a mid-town hotel. We got in early enough to enjoy the city. We tried to contact Nicci Aguiar who is a junior at SCAD, but we didn't give her enough advance notice. (We didn't know how long it would take us to get there). Mark checked out Trip Advisor and we went to Sweet Spice, a little Jamaican restaurant to eat as it had such a high rating. It was a little hole in the wall with just a few tables. But, wow, was it delicious. We both had jerk chicken with a bunch of sides. (I had plantains, having gotten very fond of them in Costa Rica.) And, they had a delicious lemonade with ginger. We had time to then stroll the waterfront which was a lot of fun. We bought the grandchildren in Concord some chocolates from the candy store there. We really enjoyed our visit to Savannah, brief as it was.
Our next stop was Emporia, Virginia - just a stopover. But we had a very delicious late lunch in downtown Emporia at "The Bank" restaurant, converted from an old time bank. As we were between meals, we were the only customers. The food was fantastic. I had a seared ahi tuna salad which was as good as we had in Costa Rica. It had a cucumber sauce made with a touch of wasabi. Mark had .....
It is a good idea to go into the towns off the major highways and not just eat at the standard Denny's or Cracker Barrels.
Next up - two days in Washington, D.C. We stayed in Alexandria at a dreadful Days Inn. All that can be said for the tired, dingy place was that it has a good location. We had to stop in Washington because the digital copy of the Cyrus Peirce petitions that we got at the National Archives on our way to Florida got destroyed. Mark left the flash drive in a pocket and I washed it. But, going back to Washington is never a hardship for us as we love the city. The cherry blossoms were in bud, but only a few were blooming.
The first night we met Meaghan Lynch, a former student and now an employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency. It was a very special evening. We went to Willow Restaurant in Alexandria where Meaghan has worked since her undergraduate days at Georgetown. Meaghan picked us up at the hotel and also insisted on picking up the tab. Dinner was excellent. I had ahi tuna again - I sense a pattern here and a lingering vacation feeling from Costa Rica. Great conversation and just an overall wonderful time. It was just so nice to see such an accomplished and wonderful young woman.
The next day we got up early and went to the Archives. Mark parked right across from the Natural Science Museum in the smallest possible parking space. He had onlookers, it was so amazing. We easily copied the petitions and then we wandered for a while in the Art Museum. Then we drove to G Street where we at at Absolute Thai for lunch, the same place we ate on our last trip as it was so delicious.
Then, we tried a new museum to us - the National Building Museum. The building is amazing. It was built in the 1880s to house the records of the Civil War Veterans. It has a huge middle area with four stories of balconies and has been used for many inaugural balls. The stairs were made very wide and short to make it easier for all the disabled veterans. (The money ran out before they could add elevators, although the shafts were put in.) As everything was paper records, they had ingenious ways of moving paper in baskets along wires and dumbwaiters. The exhibitions were interesting, too. We saw prints by architects of the Art Deco age which envisioned buildings in cities. They were full of social commentary about the rise of cities, railroads.... Very striking. We also went through an interesting exhibit about buildings being able to surviving disasters such as floods, storms, earthquakes, fires. And, we saw models of fanciful buildings, some built, some not, from around the world, many from Copenhagen, interestingly.
That evening we picked up another former student, Lizzy Skokan. She is doing an internship with Senator Jeanne Shaheen of N.H. and really enjoying it. We went to a restaurant in her part of the city, called Dumku, a Scandinavian restaurant, although the food seemed more Hungarian to us. It was another very good meal and another delightful evening with a competent, intelligent young woman. Her descriptions of what she has learned and who she has met were wonderful. She said that a lot of familiar politicians are so much shorter than they look on television.
The next day, we drove back to New England, having had another nice trip home, one with good driving weather, although it was a bummer to abandon our shorts and sandals and have to dig out long pants, jackets and gloves.
Florida - Cal's 91st birthday
We spent two nights at Michael and Nancy's in Lake Worth. We had a lovely time, including a nice bike ride at Okaheeli Park.
Then, we spent three nights in Vero Beach with Mark's parents, Cal and Alice. We had a nice birthday party for Cal. Mark made a heap of sea scallops, roasted vegetables and Cal's favorite mashed potatoes. Nancy made a delicious cake. We also invited Terry Wells, Cal's apprentice in clock making, a very nice guy from Canada who keeps a close eye on Cal and Alice and runs errands for them when necessary. And, Mark's cousin, Noreen came up with Michael and Nancy to help celebrate, so it was a nice gathering.
Then, we spent three nights in Vero Beach with Mark's parents, Cal and Alice. We had a nice birthday party for Cal. Mark made a heap of sea scallops, roasted vegetables and Cal's favorite mashed potatoes. Nancy made a delicious cake. We also invited Terry Wells, Cal's apprentice in clock making, a very nice guy from Canada who keeps a close eye on Cal and Alice and runs errands for them when necessary. And, Mark's cousin, Noreen came up with Michael and Nancy to help celebrate, so it was a nice gathering.
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