Ron & Carolyn's Travel Report

Fire & Ice

2012-01-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Proof to the fact that we have had a very, very dry winter; the Reno area was hit with its second fire storm in about two months time. Thank you for those that inquired about our safety, luckily we were just fine in this last fire. Cassie's house however has been close to the action in both of these fires. The last one came within a mile and a half of her house. I am sure that DNR firefighters are not called out for action very much in January but "stuff happens"!
The fire storm was finally brought under control when the weather changed, it started to rain and the winds died down. So within 24 hours we went from fire to ice as our first snow of the season arrived.

Morning's first light hits the Highlands.

A cozy look for a cold white morning.

Carolyn is getting the "Lady Cave" in tip top shape.

Storm Runners

2012-01-20T19:50:00.000-07:00

We made a trip back to La Grande via a rather circuitous route, with stops in Redmond, Or., Winlock, Wa., Gresham, Or., Pendleton, Or., La Grande, Or., and Winnemucca, Nv. And the end result was getting the rest of our goodies out of storage and instead of being a storm chaser we instead were storm runners!! We made a last minute decision to pack up the truck and get out of La Grande before a Winter Storm was to dump 7 to 11 inches of snow in the valley.
We left Reno with a weather report that looked pretty innocent. We drove up 395 through Lakeview, Or. then cut over to La Pine via State Hi-way 31. It was our first time on 395north of Alturas, Ca. The eyes are always open a little wider to take in the scenery which is noted in the first few pictures....

This mesa top was lined with Indians on their horses but just as I got my camera out they disappeared. This mesa is just east of ValleyFalls goes for miles and miles.

Just before entering the town of Paisley the Coglan Bluffs are very prominent.

The residents of Paisley didn't bother to stop and say hello to us as they were quite busy with lunch, we just nodded and drove on...

The fasted land mammal in North America, the Proghorn Antelope, also ignored us as they appeared to be focused on traveling north.

These ladies on the other hand not only noticed us but they made us stop and take note of their ability to follow a very wide path.

The photographer made good use of the car mirror to capture bovine both in front of the car and to the rear.

As we approached La Pine, Mt. Bachelor looms in the distance (to the left). While the mountain appears to have a nice mantle of white, a few days later a couple of the storms that hit the Pacific NW dumped several feet of new snow on the mountain.

We stayed a night with our good friend Gloria in Redmond, Or.

A couple of days later in Gresham we awoke to the signs that maybe Winter was going to grace the West Coast after all.

This Humming Bird was glad to find some high octane syrup on this cold morn.

Meet the snowman.....

Meet the snowman maker!!.....................oops, the picture had to be remove as the picture was a bit revealing and we did not want to embarrass anyone that was not an actual carpenter....

A brief glimpse of the Vista House at the entrance to the Columbia Gorge.

Multnomah Falls looks spectacular from her snowy top to the barren valley floor.

La Grande has many sledding spots and the kids were out in force as this was the first measurable snowfall of the season to test out those new sleds and dishes.

We only spent about 24 hours in La Grande as we got word of an impending storm. We loaded up our truck in the dark on Monday evening and then headed out of town about noon the next morning to outrun the storm. We did just that but could not make it all of the way home as we were exhausted an took refuge in Winnemucca, Nv.

A Quiet Spot in the Comstock

2012-01-12T00:27:00.002-07:00

We took a little time out the other day to explore the old "Silver Terraces" Cemetery in Virginia City. We have always found it interesting to poke around old cemeteries, and this one was no less interesting. The community seemed to pride themselves over the fact that they actually had running water at the cemetery back in the 1870's (it cost all of $3,000). This helped make the cemetery more like a park and a nice place for people to come and meditate or pray for those friends and family that now occupied the premises.
The following pictures certainly do not depict a garden setting but a rough and tumble desert setting on a mountain side that has seen it's better days. There is a foundation that was formed in the last ten years that is helping to restore the site before Mother Nature has her way with everything at the cemetery.

The plastic daisies are a nice winter touch.

A view of Virginia City from the cemetery.

The overburden or waste material from one of the old mines, Mother Nature is slowly reclaiming the landscape.

This picture kind of says it all....

Surely not the bluebird of happiness!!

A Little poking around the area....

2012-01-06T21:29:00.000-07:00

Fun Nevada Factoids #1: Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state in the Union.

First of all let me apologize for being a bit slow with my updates, but as you might surmise, everyday now has a trip to the hardware store, grocery store, lighting store, paint store, recycling cardboard, ... and the list goes on! At least we are making progress in converting a house into a home.
The other day we did do a little exploring of Six Mile Canyon. This is another windy road that goes from Virginia City down to the town of Dayton. Dayton is the first place that gold was discovered in Nevada.

This is actually the drainage outlet from VC to the valley below, I would venture to guess that this little stream has had it's fair share of toxic chemicals over the years from all of the silver and gold mines.

I believe this is a Prairie Falcon, just managed to catch a picture as he/she was preparing to liftoff.

Rocks, rocks everywhere, and this particular one has a face that kind of looks like Mr. Potato Head without his hat.

Yesterday I walked to the house from the mailboxes (about 1.1 miles) and snapped a few pictures along the way. We had some beautiful clouds as the lenticular clouds were out in force, showing off their sleek UFO figures.

Uhm-m-m Kemosabe, the tracks are fresh, maybe two hours or less...should we ride on or make camp here?

Carolyn found a salad recipe that called for chopped up juniper berries...from the looks of this we are going to have a lot of salad! Maybe we could invite Silver and Scout over to graze at our salad bar!?!

Some VC Highlands humor....

Uhm-m-m, Tonto have fun and scrape letters off of sign, make pale face go crazy!

Fun Nevada Factoid #2: Nevada is the number #1 state in the production of gold and if compared to the world would only follow South Africa in annual production.

Christmas and Beyond

2011-12-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

We hope y'all had an excellent Christmas with family and friends. We certainly had a great day, went to church, then to Cassie & Mark's house. Amanda & Violet arrived about noon then a couple of their friends came over and the following happened:

Plenty of good food, prepared by many
Football on TV
Games
Gift exchange
Plenty of chatter with a good mix of shucking and jiving

Some pictures from the day....................

Lexy was happy with her bone and yellow buddy.

Mark tells Daisy that she is not to beg food from anybody or be a pest.

Is someone trying to get attention?

Daisy finds a soft touch at the dinner table!

Goodies start to accumulate....

Unwrapping a gift or two put smiles on everyones faces.

Cassie had bigger hibiscus growing in her house than we ever saw in Costa Rica.

Violet & Amanda

Let the games begin, yours truly put together a "Minute to Win It" contest after dinner.... here we have people trying to pick up penne noodles with a spaghetti noodle ... the competition was intense ....

The other contestants watched intently....

After noodling around the next part of the game was to move a cookie from your forehead into your mouth with only using your face and neck muscles...

Rachelle gets harassed by her sister in an attempt to disrupt her process of stacking shimmer poms.

One of the prizes for "Minute to Win It" was my old Donald Trump wig that turned into an instant hit....

You go girl!

Cassie looks good in her new hairdo...

Rob, looking ever so suave, knows that this style will win him a few extra dates.

Oh my gosh, this makes me look over 21...wait a minute, I'll be 21 in a month and a half!!

Ok, enough about our Christmas Fun, now let go back to the hood with some apples and carrots....

Ok, I'll give you some apple, just don't blow snot on me!!

The big man on campus takes his fair share of goodies from the ladies!

This mare is thinking: "The Big Man thinks he is such hot stuff, well he is certainly no Trigger or Silver!!"

A few days into the Nevada Scene

2011-12-21T23:23:00.002-07:00

We have been back to La Grande and retrieved about 3/4's of our belongings, returned to Reno, got the truck unloaded and are now busy playing house. Boxes everywhere and when a box has its contents removed we now have another obstacle to contend with...but progress is being made! Our Christmas plans are to go to Mass at our new parish St. Rose of Lima, then over to Cassie and Mark's house for dinner, open presents, watch football, and play games....oh, it doesn't get any better than that!!

Never a dull moment when there is a Cabela's nearby!!

This is what the ski resorts look like right now! Pretty sad for the skiing industry. What will probably happen is that all of the snow will come in February this season! There is skiing though, some of the resorts are making snow for one or two runs.

Donner Lake from the original Donner's Summit. If anyone saw the Muppets Movie, there was a brief moment when you saw the Muppet's bus driving up this grade. The line on the mountain to the left is

I-84 between the summit and Truckee.

This is one of the Union Pacific's famous snow sheds in the Sierras.

I took this picture on the way up to La Grande. This is an abandoned gas station at Burn's Junction in SE Oregon. I thought it was amusing to see both "Regular" & "Unleaded" pumps. But when I started looking at the picture closer I noticed a couple of other things that were a bit odd. The "Diesel" pump is turned on and the nozzle is sitting on the ground as if the last customer drove off with the nozzle still in the tank! Next, look carefully at the roof, it looks like there a a couple of pretty good tires stacked up there. Well, that's life in SE Oregon, the most sparsely populated area in the lower 48.

From Sea Level to a Mountain Top

2011-12-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

Fun Factoid #1: In ancient China people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt!

We have returned back to the States and are now living in the Reno area. Our flights coming back home went without a hitch, in fact we got into Reno 20 minutes early!!
The next day we started to move some of the things that we had stored at Cassie's house up to our new house. We thought we were going to spend the night at our new pad but we encountered a couple of road blocks. The first issue was the hot water, we were getting a sulphur/rotten egg smell from all of the hot water faucets. I was not thrilled with the thought of taking a rotten egg shower in the morning! Secondly we noticed that there was a gas leak coming from the new propane tank that had been installed in the last two months. The odor was pretty strong and could be detected a good distance from the tank ...... so, we decided to go back to Cassie's for the night.
Well the leaky propane tank was fixed the next day and they did confirm that they had found two leaks. The bad smelling hot water turned out to be bacteria growing in the hot water tank. We were able to correct it by putting bleach into the water softener filter and then opening all of the faucets until the foul smell was replaced with a bleach smell (ok, ok, bleach could be considered to be a foul smell too!!), then we just needed to let the water sit for eight hours before we used it, so it was back to Cassie's house for one more night.
When we are at the house it is like being on a deserted island, we have no internet, no tv, and no cell service!! If we need to make a call we have to drive a mile and a half to get a cell signal. But next week we will get our internet hooked up, and with the internet the telephone service will soon follow.
The following pictures are from our 1.1 acre estate!!!

Our fridge was aptly stocked by the new house fairy!

Cassie finds out that Molly is the only one from herd in our neighborhood that will come up to eat carrots and apples.

Dolly is the newest arrival in this herd.

Follow the yellow brick road...ugh, ok, follow the dusty grey path?!?

A view of the rock pile at the back of the property.

A rock within a rock!

If you are into lichen then come on down because we have several colors for you to study!

Fun Factoid #2: Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts!

Final Good Bye's in Costa Rica

2011-12-05T19:20:00.001-07:00

It has been harder than expected to say our good-byes ....... we have finished our farewells and will now focus on northerly latitudes and how many layers of clothing to wear until our blood thickens!!

Here is a cruise ship you would probably like to experience, it pulled into Potrero Bay a couple of days ago it is one of the Windsong Caribbean cruise ships.

As the sun sets into the Pacific we bid farewell to Costa Rica!!

In the Final Stretch

2011-11-30T15:35:00.001-07:00

Fun Factoid #1: In Natoma, Kansas, it's illegal to throw knives at men wearing striped suits!!

We are in our final week here in Costa Rica and the clock seems to be standing still. We are anxious to get back to the States and start making our new house a home. In terms of the blog, I don't think it is time to call it quits. I think we are just ending a chapter in our book and there is so much more to learn and share in the up coming chapter entitled "Nevada". Did you know that the spanish translation of Nevada is "snowfall"! Wow, that is very interesting considering the fact that Nevada is the driest state in the Union.

A morning walk on the beach had some nice early morning light on Flamingo!

What is a morning walk without a couple of the local K-9's giving you an escort.

Anyone interested in buying a restaurant/bar/residence in Potrero? Asking price is a cool $400k.

This is the establishment, currently Tuesday night is kariokie night....but you can figure out how to spell it and if you want to be from Venice, Ca. or not!

The current sunset is over the point in Flamingo.

The latest beach sculpture has a six foot beach wall in front of the casa. If you are too close you can't see the house but you can see the for sale sign!

Whatis Costa Rica to Me?

There is not one Costa Rica to me,

Actually there are several to see.

Some is the landscape so rugged and bold,

Learning the customs and stories you’re told.

Part of the year Guanacaste is dusty andbrown,

And beautiful blue skies and sea add to it’s crown.

The other part of the year is muddy andgreen,

The skies are gloomy and the tree leaves are clean.

Come when it’s dry and it’s a touristparadise,

No mosquitos, no spiders, not even head lice.

Play in the blue surf at any beach thatyou wish,

But nobody will admit to an occasional jellyfish.

Every morning I walk out to see if theocean is still there,

Sometimes to check the tide and sometimes just tostare.

It is amazing to see what has beensculpted overnight,

Or what the sea has delivered to our doorstep with itsmight.

Costa Rica is an ornathologists dreamcome true,

The bird markings are vivid and come in every hue.

We wake in the morning to the song of theKiskadee,

In the evening the parakeets squawk in the trees.

Driving in Costa Rica is a treat and lotsof fun,

If you obey the driving laws you may be the only one.

Passing on double yellow lines on a hillycurve,

You just need some guts but be prepared to swerve.

Now get all of your business done beforeyou run out of light,

Cause driving after dark can be a real fright.

Bicyclist with no reflective gear havenothing to fear,

Livestock asleep in the road can make heavens gatesseem near.

“Pura Vida” is the slogan of the land,

But maybe this saying is not all that grand.

The English translation means “pure life”,

Is thiswhy men don’t take a wife?

The Costa Rican cuisine is not spicy orhot,

Rice and beans is the“Typical” lot.

If you are a vegetarian this is the placeto be,

Fruits and vegetables abound of all varieties.

Se Vende is the most popular sign around,

Plenty of properties but few buyers to be found.

Unfinished buildings are seen whereveryou go,

The bum economy has slowed growth to zero.

So Costa Ricans, just keep things real,

TheGringos and tourists will notice the appeal.

Zip-lining, surfing, and volcanoes too,

It is all in Costa Rica for you to see and do!

Fun Factoid #2: Organized crime is estimated to account for 10% of the United State's national income!!

Keeping Busy

2011-11-24T06:00:00.001-07:00

!!!Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Our last guests have returned home and we are now getting ready to return home in two weeks.
But while Mike and Carol were still here we stayed very busy as the pictures depict:

After visiting the open market we popped into a grocery store where everyone was smiles.

After the market we drove to the little town of Guiatil which is known for their cottage industry of pottery. The first shop we stopped at they demonstrated their skill at the potter's wheel.

An umbrella stand, urn, or dust catcher anyone?

In the back of another shop a family is studiously working on their inventory.

The following day we drove up the coast to a beachside restaurant called Lola's on Danta Beach.

Ahhhh.....adult beverages while we wait for lunch, then for dessert a dip in the ocean!

Danta Beach complete with paddle boarder. The swimming was fine until Carol & Ron started getting zapped by some jelly fish tentacles! Ouch!

The next day we headed for the Cartagena Canopy where Mike & Carol were introduced to zip lining.

How many zippers can you get in a tree at one time?

(click on the following links for your viewing entertainment)
Tarzan look for Jane

Jane look for Tarzan

Cheeta, bring my camera back!

The next day we went down to Las Baulas Marine National Park and took a Mangrove Tour Boat. We felt pretty smug because by going to the tour site we saved 50% off of the organized tour price.

Getting ready to haul the tourists into the jungle....

Just a piece of wood with a couple of eyes on top?? This croc would have gone completely unnoticed except for the keen eye of our guide. He said that they are typically hunting for birds early in the morning. He said that this croc was probably five to six feet long.

This Little Blue Heron is contemplating his fishing opportunities.

The Mangrove trees only grow where there is salt water or brackish water and they send their root systems down from limbs or from the base of the tree to drink the briny agua.

Deep into the estuary we got out of our boat to hunt down some monkeys.

A howler monkey mom with her baby!

And then the race back to the boat barn!

New Visitors

2011-11-19T19:46:00.001-07:00

Fun Factoid #1: Leonardo da Vinci was dyslexic, and he often wrote backwards!!

Carolyn's brother and sister-in-law from Alaska came on Wednesday evening for their first visit to Costa Rica. We have been busy going here and there taking in as many sites as possible. The first day we went to Flamingo Beach to enjoy the waves, some boogie boarding, and the sun???

This is what happens when Alaska comes into contact with Costa Rica!! Costa Rica - 1, Alaska -0.

This man and his oxen are obviously setting off to accomplish a task with machete strapped to his hip and his chain saw on top of one of the oxen's head...a very potent work crew by any countries standards!!

What are these buzzards hanging around for?? (shades of Jungle Book)

The buzzards are waiting for sea turtles to hatch...the white specs are broken turtle egg shells from the hatchlings. Just how would you expect a baby turtle to survive this gauntlet? They say that for every 1,000 turtles that hatch, only one survives to adulthood.

Mike & Carol fording a small stream at Ostianal Beach.

Not only are the buzzards waiting for a tasty meal, but this Wood Stork is licking his chops .... ugh ... neb, as he waits for baby turtle-tar-tar!

OSTIONAL BEACH

The only sea turtle we saw this day was a dead turtle that these buzzards were excited to see. Do you think they were establishing a "pecking order"?

Much of our trip to Ostianal Beach was on gravel / dirt roads, I was not pleased with the fact that we had to ford a stream. There was a foot path bridge but cars have to take a chance on how deep the water is in the river.

On the return home we found a restaurant that served as shelter from the afternoon rain showers.

Papayas taking an afternoon drink!

Drinks around for some thirsty travelers.

Fun Factoid #2: The United States has the highest drinking age in the world

A Day at the Big Beach

2011-11-15T08:56:00.001-07:00

Fun Factoid #1: An airplane mechanic invented "Slinky" while he was playing with engine parts and realized the possible secondary use for the springs!

We went down to Playa Grande just to walk around and see if there were any signs of turtles and this is what we found...

No turtles but plenty of shells, surfers and sand.

Playa Grande is one of the best surfing beaches...or so they say!

This bird was nice enough to pose for my picture, I believe it is some type of swallow.

Ron Rock Walker ...... no relation to Luke Sky Walker!!

I only waited for about 15 minutes before I was able to time the splash with the exact moment that my digital camera would decide it was time to execute its command.

Where is Waldo?? Ok, if you can't find Waldo how many auger shells can you see in the picture??

Senora Beachcomber...

When good shells go bad!

Ever wonder how many board feet of lumber is sitting on the beaches of the world? Or how many potential art projects........

<<< SPEAKING OF ART PROJECTS >>>

We do our own art projects in the sand says Gato Sr. & Jr.

Fun Factoid #2: Castor oil is used as a lubricant in jet planes!

Weird Stuff Prevails

2011-11-13T20:50:00.001-07:00

Fun Factoid Uno: Yahoo was originally called "Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web".
It seems like we are going through a strange period where weird things are happening.
First on the list is out rental car(s), we are renting from a local company and we got a good monthly rate. This is the third time we have used this company and each time we have had to call them and remind them that they are supposed to bring us a car on that day. So after the normal wake up call they bring us a Hyundai Elantra. It seems to be a pretty good car so we do the paper work and yeah we have wheels again! So we soon discover an issue, the rear passenger side door won't open from the inside...should be no problem, it is just the child lock that was probably on! NOT... we deal with it for a couple more days then it won't open from the outside either, so after we have had enough of this nonsense we take the car to the rental place and they have a look see and say they will come and get the car later in the day, and it should only take an hour to fix. They return about three hours later with a different Elantra that has all of the doors working. So the next day we leave for the mountains with the new rental, everything goes fine, we navigate some dreadful roads and scrape the bottom of the car a few times but it seems to do the job. Well the day comes to take our friend Gloria to the airport and I noticed that the right front tire looks a little low on air, not a problem since we were going to stop at the gas station on the way and fill up and we would just have them check all of the tires. All goes well until we are about 1/4 of a mile from the house when the car seems to be handling oddly (of course on Costa Rican dirt roads your car will always handle roughly), so we stop and sure enough the right front tire is flat. We limp home and I pull out the spare and it is as bald as an eagle... well I change the tire (not a lot of options there) and take the car into the rental office and tell them I want two new tires (oh did I mention that the rims were also bent on the flat and the spare)! I also told them that the car made a clunk sound in the rear end and it was rather worrisome...I hinted that they could always upgrade my vehicle but they just laughed. They took my bad tire and told me that they would bring a new one later that afternoon...of course that did not happen. So I called and they said that they were getting a new tire from Liberia but there was a delay and they wouldn't have it until the next day. So I call at 1pm the next day they tell me that they are bringing me a new vehicle. So now we have a Toyota Yaris ... so far so good. Now every time you get a rental car in Costa Rica you have to go over all of the chips, dents, and scratches that are currently on the vehicle. The agent works from an exterior schematic that resembles a neighborhood scavenger hunt map with numerous tic marks and x's...but don't worry about the wheel covers because they look like someone has used them as sleds on a concrete driveway!
So, now number two.... I printed a page on my cannon printer the other day and nothing printed after the paper came out. But wait what was that wiggling thing on the paper that looked like a worm. Well, upon closer inspection we surmised that it was the tail of a baby gecko! Well, if we had the tail then that mean that the rest of the gecko is still in the printer somewhere. I reset the printer error and tried reprinting the page that I wanted ..... other than a little smudge on the leading edge everything seemed to work ok. I used the page for a few minutes and then happened to turn the paper over to write on the back side and there was the baby gecko ... sorry folks, the printer rollers were just too much for the little guy so he ended up in the trash but my printer is working fine now!! (I am sure that most of you do not have such problems with your printers at home, do you?!?!)
Number three deals with the bug of the week. The last couple of days we have been inundated with some creepy crawly things that are either caterpillars or millipedes. They crawl along the floor and they all seemed to know where they were going, just like they have been here before! Well a little bug spray on the patio seems to have abated the bug crusades for now. I asked a local Gringo if he knew what kind of bugs they were and his response was, "Oh, you must be talking about the bug of the week?!?".

The day after our sunset sailing cruise with Gloria we signed up to go and see the sea turtles coming up on the beach. Now there is one problem with this, you have to go at night. For us it was not too bad because we had a near full moon on a clear evening. And of course pictures are difficult because you cannot use flash, and you cannot turn on the screen on the back of your camera, and as a result you can't take any good pictures. The only thing that the guides use are red lights which are not supposed to bother the turtles. There were three turtles that had come up on the beach that night and all three had aborted missions. The third one we did get to watch her dig her hole for the eggs but when she ran into some tree roots, she decided that she did not have the right spot and she too aborted her mission in favor of another evening. The turtles that we were watching in the dark were the Green Sea Turtles.

This is such an assume picture of a sea turtle crawling back to the water in the dark!! Or is it the face on Mars in the Sedona area?

Fun Factoid Dos: Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards!

So Much to See in the Sea

2011-11-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

Trivia factoid: "The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn it's head!"
The last few days with Gloria have been fun packed and busy. Sunday we went on a sunset cruise and had a great time! We cruised up the coast a few miles to a small beach where we all hopped in the water with our noodles to relax in the water for awhile. Prior to that we had some great viewing of sea life. We got to see Humpback whales, dolphins, sting rays, and sea turtles; all before we even made it to our swimming destination. The following pictures will give you a sampling of what we experienced...

First call for the shuttle boat....

Ready to set sail...

Virgin Pina Coladas, or is it Virgins with Pina Coladas??

Just caught the tail end of a Humpback breaching ...

Thar she blows!!!

Looks like a Humpback to me!!

We had a visit from a sting ray who was sunning his tips!!

These green sea turtles were caught in a very amorous situation!!

Grab your fins and masks or noodles and hit the waves!!

More water "noodlers" bobbing in the calm of a cove.

Mr. Moon checks out our beach activity...

A beautiful coastline ...

And finally an end to the day.

I managed to catch this boat trying to hold the setting sun on it's rooftop!!

Trivia factoid: "Honey is used sometimes for antifreeze mixtures and in the center of golf balls"

Butterflies, Frogs, and Crocs .... Oh My!

2011-11-04T09:53:00.000-06:00

We set off the other day in an attempt to try and see the Arenal Volcano during the rainy season. Well, the following picture is the best we could do...

We approached from the north and we were able to see the that the windward side of the mountain is on the WSW side (exactly where we were staying the night), but we remained positive the the mountain shroud would part for us if even for a few minutes.

We spent the night at Los Lagos Hotel and Spa Resort just north of La Fortuna. We made a beeline for the hot springs pools. We started at the top where the temp was 107 degrees, ouch!! We didn't stay there long, there is just something wrong with the fact that you are perspiring profusely while sitting in water! Each successive pool was about 2 degrees cooler than the previous. Somehow we ended up at the wet bar pool...entrance was via a long water slide into a pool where the water was a cool 90 degrees. The slide easily delivered us into the pool at a minimum of 20 miles per hour which resulted in a stinging sensation to sensitive body parts and provided ample force to cause wardrobe malfunctions. But all was forgotten after paying a visit to the man behind the bar who seemed to nurse us back into a better frame of mind and we left the semi-bad sledding experience in the past.

The resort also had a butterfly pavilion, a frog pavilion, crocodiles and beautiful grounds.

I am sure that he is smiling at me as if to say, "Come and scratch between my shoulders"!!

Waterfalls, pools, slides, and a water volcano were but meters from our door.

Nice contrast!!!!

The frog that wore blue jeans is in fact poisonous!

An impressive root system...

Off to breakfast...the foggy effect is not a special camera feature, it is just the lens clouding up after being in an air conditioned room and then being moved a warm moisture rich environment....

The head grounds keeper at the resort.

The entrance to an art gallery!

Gloria decided to try zip lining but somehow got rerouted onto the power grid where the lines have more zip!!

High fives are in order with this big bovine!

Do you know what happens to bad cows??

We stopped for dinner on our way back home at a Bar-B-Q restaurant. We all had pork ribs, they were excellent, and that is no bull!!

A Visit from the North

2011-11-01T10:10:00.000-06:00

Last week we were happy to greet our friend Gloria at the Liberia airport. She is here for a week and a half and we have lots planned to do while she is here. Since she has been here we have actually experienced some good weather and we have:

been boogie boarding three times
strolled the beach
visited the open market in Santa Cruz
golfed at Hacienda Panilla
played cards
enjoyed fine scotch

A welcoming meal.......

A bicycle that floats??

Beach Buddies

Aqua Amigo

Gloria is offered a chance to buy a chicken but nixes the potential transaction. How could you turn down such a deal from a man wearing a snake hat?!?

The Market Divas.

A glimpse at the circus under the big top(s).

We knew there was a reason an ALTO sign was placed here!!

Even the bovine were happy to see us at Hacienda Panilla!

Contemplating velocity, vector, and soggy turf!

A Violaceous Trogon watching the golfers below.

Hitting another one long and straight....would you believe short and straight...would you believe it is just a practice swing?

Howler Monkeys were very active in one of the trees along the course.

Say hello to the Double Striped Thick Knee .... we never saw them fly, they would just run like a road runner.

The greens had recently been aerated so we looked for additional methods to get the ball in the cup.

A beautiful golf hole helps a bad score!

Not Ready for Prime Time Pictures

2011-10-24T22:06:00.000-06:00

This is a collection of pictures that for one reason or another did not make it into previous blogs but you might find interesting .... but first:
"The name "Wendy" was made up for the book Peter Pan"

Developing a downpour....

The standing ... ugh ... sitting ... President of Beach Cowboys of Central America??

A sightseeing boat cruses through Potrero Bay.

Bubble bath anyone???

Check out the name of this boat, Columbus landed in Costa Rica but it was on his fourth and final trip. Actually the Pinta never made it to CR for in July 1500, la Pinta was caught in a hurricane and went down in the vicinity of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Shell hunting....

This piece of wood has been buried in the sand for who knows how long and is being scoured be some kind of sea worm.

This is Lola, he (yes Lola is a he) rides to the grocery store with his legally blind master who only has peripheral vision. Between the two of them they should see just about everything!!!

It's low tide so let's get down the beach while we can cross the estuary!!

The seawall in front of our house....

Luckily we have no crocs in our estuary, or these boys playing on large chunks of styrofoam might be viewed as a tasty meal.

Oops, a little deeper than he thought?

Hi, my name is Perry and I have the best sand box in the world!

Lastly:
"Jean-Claude Van Damme learned to speak English by watching the "Flintstones" TV cartoon program!!"

For Those That Don't Know

2011-10-22T22:19:00.001-06:00

Starting something new today...at the the beginning and end of each posting I will give you a rich nugget of interesting facts.
"In Kentucky, it's illegal to fish in the Ohio River without an Indiana Fishing License!"

For those that have not heard yet, we have closed on our new house near Reno, NV. We had a lot of last minute hoops to jump through but for The Cable Guy in past tense, "We Get er' Did"!
In just under two months we bought a home while living overseas; compare that to our court case to get our car back, we lost our car four months ago and we are no closer in getting our car back than we were three months ago.

Carolyn has plowed over every picture that we have of the house, sometimes several times in a day and knows just about where everything will go when we move all of our own stuff into the house. Carolyn wants me to talk at least an hour a day about the new house. I think this is part of her nesting instinct and meetnig her need to speak at least 3,000 words a day. I am not sure that I have made it to one full hour yet ... it is difficult to maintain focus for that long when it is not related to important things like ball scores or blogging!

I have included a few pictures for those who did not see the pictures before, and for those that did, well now you don't have to return back to the August blog that did have house pictures.

YEAH, NOMADS NO MORE!!

This evening the skies have opened up again and we are being drenched.....the next two pictures shows the difference between our river from the semi-wet season to the totally wet season.....

We get a few odd items on the beach from time to time. The choice little goodie below was getting lodged in the sand and we didn't want it to be an eye sore so we hauled it up the beach and put it out for the garbage collectors. When garbage day came they wouldn't take it! It looks like we now have an old boat fridge as a souvenir!

This makes you wonder what may have happened at the other end!!

Final Fact " All the pet hamsters in the world are descended from a single wild golden hamster found in Syria in 1930 ".

At and near the Beach

2011-10-16T10:40:00.001-06:00

As I write this we are having a heavy rainfall this morning, the house is surrounded by water and our lane is essentially a river. But we are in the tropics and it is the rainy season so what will be will be! Now I know why there is a boat on the hillside all covered up, can anyone say NOAH :-)

We took a walk down the beach the other day found some great shells along with some giant sand dollars:

This is not a sand dollar, it is at sand 10 dollar!!

For our guests coming down to see us we could probably arrange to have you picked up in a limo...

Outside of a flat tire I think this ride is ready for some fun times!!

Any ornithologist in the crowd?? Saw this bird while walking down the road the other day and it looked a bit odd; did a little research and found out that it is call a Groove-billed Ani. It is in the coukoo family and lives from southern Texas down to Northern South America.

Doesn't rank high on the colorful scale, doesn't even look tropical, but interesting none the less.

We must have a pretty cool cat hostel because we were adopted by another kitty. Perry is the latest addition to our beach lives and is still somewhat a kitten as he is very playful and curious.

This is an interesting bulls eye in a spiders web.

This dragon fly's wing looks like he just flew a mission over Nazi Germany and took a few hits from artillery flak! At least he made it home safely!!

Man's Best Friend

2011-10-12T08:16:00.000-06:00

We have a good friend who's dog is dying of cancer. I am not sure if Master or Best Friend will have the toughest time saying goodbye cause they are the best of buds!! So as a tribute to our K-9 friends I have compiled some doggie quips and quotes to make you smile if you currently have a four legged friend or fondly remember our best friends from the past.....enjoy!!

Outsideof dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

Dogshave owners, cats have staff.

I wonder ifother dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. - Rita Rudner

There is no psychiatrist inthe world like a puppy licking your face.

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wagshis tail instead of his tongue.

Don't accept yourdog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. -Ann Landers

If there are no dogs in Heaven,then when I die I want to go where they went. -Will Rogers

A dog is theonly thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. - Roger Caras

The average dogis a nicer person than the average person... -Andy Rooney

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spareand love we can spare. In return, dogs give us their all. It's the best dealman has ever made.

A dog teaches a boy fidelity,perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down.

If your dog is fat, you aren'tgetting enough exercise.

My dog isworried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3 a can. That's almost $21 indog money.

Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come backfrom a grocery store with the most amazing haul, chicken, pork, half a cow.They must think we're the greatest hunters on Earth!

You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a lookthat says, "Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!"

If you thinkdogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give Sammyonly two of them.

Until onehas loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

Acquiring a dog, may be the only time a person gets to choose a relative.

Big Dog, BigHeart, Big Love

A dog is the only exercise machine you cannot decideto skip when you don't feel like it. - Carolyn G. Heilbrun

Handle every Stressful situation like a dog. If youcan't eat it or play with it, Pee on it and walk away.

We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment ofanimals. -Immanual Kant

Every boy shouldhave two things: a dog, and a mother willing to let him have one.

Making Waves....

2011-10-03T16:33:00.000-06:00

Well, our high tides at the end of last month ended up being a "non-event"....which is a good thing. The seas have been very calm the last couple of weeks so there was no extra push to put the waves over the top of the beach.
Speaking of waves, I have noticed that zooming in on waves gives you a very different and interesting perspective that the naked eye (or the well clothed eye) can't detect. While I am not the photographer from Hawaii that stands under the monster waves to get cool pictures (then gets pummeled on the coral), I think some of these are kind of neat....

Ahhh, a nice wall of blue water!

Small by Hawaiian standards!

The crystal palace!

Bubbling mud pots!

Tranquil sky above the wave....NOT... it is actually the water reflecting the color of the sky.

The Cobra Hood!

Frog Eggs?

The morning after a light snow fall???

Oh yeah, white water....

Suds from the kitchen sink?

Did you know that you can see faces in the waves...sometimes you have to look real hard but they are there.

For example the picture below has a round glass like face in the wave in the SE corner of the picture ...

The picture below has a sea turtle in the middle with a lion just to the NW of the turtle ....

In the picture below a handsome prince appears, you can probably see the prince if you study the picture for just a couple of moments....
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Do you know the way to San Jose??

2011-09-28T11:11:00.000-06:00

We needed to make an unexpected trip to San Jose, it turns out that a document that we had notarized by a local attorney (for closing on our house) was not good enough for the title department back home. They said that we needed the document notarized at the US Embassy! After I calmed down...calmed down...calmed down... we planned a quick trip to San Jose to get the task completed asap. Whoa, not so fast...it turns out that the US Embassy is only open on Tuesday and Wednesday from 1pm to 2:30pm for notarizing documents! Ok, no problem (sort of..), so we planned a one night stay at a B&B just outside of San Jose and then we would swoop into the city get our document notarized, get it mailed back to the States and then return home.
All went well, we had a lovely stay at the B&B north of the city, we were going to stop at an orchid farm but unfortunately we missed to turn off so we drove into the city. Missed our first critical exit from the Pan American Hi-way but with all of the maps that I had printed out ahead of time and knowing the name of the area in which the embassy was located was vital in plying the city streets to figure out how to get back to the embassy. Well we did it and eventually got in the embassy only to find out that they charge $50 to notarize a document...WOW... I thought our tax dollars were supposed to cover the cost of running an embassy in a foreign country?!? We felt bad for the lady in front of us that was selling her home and needed four documents to be notarized...ouch! Well, while the trip was successful, I am sure the folks making the calls back home could care less that a simple little thing like "it has to be notarized at the US Embassy" really means in terms of dollars and cents! This little foray only set us back a tad ....
local notary $10
rental car $200 (3 days)
lodging $90 (1 night)
gas $90
notary $50
DHL $57 (2nd day service)
Costco $250
Tolls $7
$754 total for getting one document notarized
Now a little research has told me that for the same money you could doe this:
rnd-trip air fare LAX to Atlanta $343
two nights @ Hampton Inn Stone Mt. $200
One day @ Stone Mt. Park $50
18 holes of golf @ Stone Mt. GC $39
Rental Car & gas $120
$752
Oh sure you have your meals and incidentals but if you pig out on the free breakfast at Hampton Inns that would help...tsk, tsk.
Ok, Carolyn says I am whining but I just needed to vent...now some pictures from our trip...

When you are on your motor bike it is best to keep your feet dry!!!

We took a route that crosses over the north end of the Gulf of Nicoya, thanks to the Taiwanese government building the Friendship Bridge for Costa Rica at no cost to CR!!

All of that sounds so nice doesn't it, countries being friends! Well, after the bridge was completed, CR then had China build them a new soccer stadium in San Jose at no cost to CR. When the stadium was finished CR signed a trade agreement with China. More friends isn't that nice, but wait, Taiwan & China are bitter enemies...yep, you guessed it, Taiwan just paid for a bridge for their ex-friends the Costa Ricans who just crawled into bed with Communist China. Is there a moral to this story??

Entering the gate at our B&B, is that Posada, or Gosada, or Qosada??

The grounds at our B&B.

The resident pool mermaid!!

A view of the hills and mountains around our B&B.

The outdoor shower mural...

We were amazed at the size of these anthuriums, the white flowers were about 16 inches long.

Peering into a sugar cane field.

These are coffee trees, they seem to plant the trees where ever there is any spare ground.

Check your TP when you buy it!!

2011-09-25T18:53:00.000-06:00

If the title of this posting caught your eye, it may not be for what you think! We have discovered that we need to start checking our toilet paper when we buy it because we found termites in our TP!! I guess when you are hungry for wood products, nice soft TP would be a nice home...and every tunnel is a bathroom!
Can anyone identify this creature which I found on the laundry room wall?? At first I thought it was a spider but then I noticed that it only has six legs. The long antennas remind me of a cockroach but the body was very short with extra long legs.....I would say it was 3 to 4 inches across (counting legs)...

Went exploring the other day, decided to try a road we had never been on before, but we should have taken the advice from these locals... I thought they were just waving, but I guess they were trying to tell us to go back!!

Why are these horses acting like they haven't seen a car before?

Either side of the fence works, but we all know the grass is greener this side of the fence!!

Well the buzzards were correct, the road was so scarred with water runoff ruts that at times I was not sure we could get through...but being the hardy soles we are we slowly pushed on only to encounter the next picture!!

Isn't this the way they did river crossings on the Oregon Trail? Send the women first and if they make it then bring the wagons!! Besides, Carolyn is a better swimmer than I am, so it was the logical choice.

Well, the car forded the river just fine and when we got home we looked at each other and said, "It was a fun adventure but we probably won't travel that road again"!

Visitors from the North

2011-09-20T21:12:00.000-06:00

We had our first visitors since March come down and spend a few days with us. Dan & Lesa Reiff, from Arkansas came down to experience life in the not so fast lane of Costa Rica. Since they were here for only three days we stayed close to home without too many scheduled events and we had a great time doing just that.
The first day we planned to go to Flamingo Beach after lunch but the weather turned nasty so we hunkered down and played cards and sampled a beverage or two....

After the rains stopped we took a stroll down the beach...and over the river....

Fording the raging estuary and the incoming tide, Dan seems not worried about being swept into the bay or knocked down by the tides!!

A romantic sunset!

Another Sunset on Playa Potrero.

The next morning spelled adventure in the Cartagena Canopy...

All suited up and ready to ZIP!!

Everyone is happy that we have all made it to the next platform...

Wow, look at the bow in that cable...that isn't caused by me is it?!?

Surprise!!! We were not expecting to swing from one tree platform to another ... I thought it was kinda fun, but I was also relieved that Carolyn had decided to go to Zumba instead of zip lining, because this station would have been a big problem in terms of progressing any further on the zip line, and I know she would not have like climbing down the tree and up another :-|

Dan & Lisa embark on a romantico zip line, the romance was short lived as Dan did not notice the oncoming platform so he unexpectedly braked their arrival with his shin bone! OUCH!!

After zip lining we headed up the coast for lunch on the beach at Lola's. The plan was then go home and change and head for Flamingo Beach. Not so fast...the rains interrupted our beach visit again!! So it was back to playing cards and playing "Minute to Win It"...

The next morning we headed to Santa Cruz to visit the Saturday morning market and explore the town (aka shop)!

Pipa por favor! Lesa enjoys coconut water with no additives or artificial flavoring!

Carolyn chicks out the Miss Kitty Bras .... hubba hubba!

Dan & Lesa show off their flip-flop charms!

Boutique Lubricantes??????

We enjoyed Dan & Lesa's visit very much; we look forward to our next get together somewhere down the road.

2011-09-18T22:11:00.000-06:00

It has been a while but the flag is raised high above the radio station as we broadcast to the all those who pay us a visit from time to time.
Nearly two weeks ago I needed to make a quick visit to the States to take care of some business for purchasing our new house. We needed our past two Income Tax Returns for the loan underwriters and unfortunately they were not easily accessible. It turns out that I needed to go to Reno & La Grande to access two different computers that we have in those locations. So as a result my blogging suffered as did my fantasy baseball teams! But the end result was good as I was able to get copies of both returns into the proper hands to keep the wheels of progress moving.
The night before I left we had a grande rain storm and in the morning I went out to check the beach and found the estuary flowing like a real river ....

Can you name the type of commercial jet liner that is in the picture?

From what airport was this picture taken?

Violet from the balcony of her apartment.

This is Mt. Rose above Reno in the Sierras, can you spot Rose?

The river walk in downtown Reno.

The Catholic Cathedral in downtown Reno.

Things that Drift!

2011-09-05T13:51:00.000-06:00

When you are at the beach and you hear the word "drift", probably the first thought that comes to mind is driftwood!! But did you know that there are multiple kinds of driftwood!! Such as......

Sea Slug Driftwood

African Central American Driftwood

Egyptian Hieroglyphics Driftwood

Sea Serpent Driftwood

Drill Sergeant Push-up Driftwood

Drift Plastic

Drift Dog

Drift-O-Tire, complete with barnacles.

Ex-Con Tiki (a.k.a Freddy Kruger) oversees all that happens and appears on Potrero Beach!!!

The Power of Water

2011-09-04T21:45:00.000-06:00

After getting blasted with high tides with a significant ocean surge the accounts of just how bad and strong the high tides were have began to surface. For example, a B&B down the beach from us not only had sea water come into their yard and swimming pool, their pool was completely filled with sand!! The following pictures show what the sea did to the pier at the marina just down the beach from us. One nice thing is the beach is nice and clean now, the high water has washed all of the garbage onto the beach front properties!

Recovering concrete planks that were knocked down by the heavy surf.

I don't know how much each plank weighs, but if it takes a tractor to pull one out of the surf it must be pretty heavy.

I guess there will not be anyone fishing from the end of the pier for a good long while.

A typical beach front yard in Surf Side Potrero after two high tides.

I feel very fortunate that all we have to do is remove some sand and debris from the yard!

I managed to catch a glimpse of the estuary serpent on it's way out to sea.....

You thought I was kidding didn't you!!! Here is the serpent as it dives into the surf!!

High "TIDE" In the Old Town Tonight

2011-09-01T18:58:00.000-06:00

The moon is up to some nasty tricks these days! Tugging extra hard on Earth's oceans...the bottom line is we move much closer to living in the ocean twice a day! Yesterday afternoon we had a +10.0 high tide, then this morning at 4:30 am we had a +10.62' high tide. This afternoon it is a mere mortal +9.9' and tomorrow we will have a +10.5 high tide at 5:30am.
This morning around 4am when the waves sounded like they were crashing at our back porch, so we got up to check and the house was nearly surrounded with a few few inches of sea water. My garden rake, 5 gallon bucket, and other items that are normally left in the back of the house were found in the front driveway!
Part of the problem is that we are also having a swell in the ocean that is causing very large waves in the bay. Yesterday I would say that there were a couple of 10'+ waves that we saw crashing on the beach. This swell just gives the water that extra little boost that we need to get the water coming over the beach into our yard.
The following pictures tell the tale...

Wednesday's high tide seeped into the yard, but nothing that we had not seen before.

The surge made the surf muy bravo.

The condo down the beach had a salt water lake in their garden area (and salt water in the pool) from Wednesday afternoons tide.

This morning about 4:30am we were greeted to a flood of salt water around the house.

Not only did we have more debris at the beach gate, the sand piled up against the gate and now we have tongues of beach sand in the grass and walkway.

Note the high water mark, on the beach side of the house the water was literally a half inch from flowing onto the patio.

The aftermath....

The condos that had the lake in their lawn yesterday woke up to having their beach fence broken down in two places from the surf.

This afternoon we went to a neighbors to watch the high tide from her upstairs balcony but it was luckily all bark and no bite! Now if we can just get through one more high tide we should be set until the end of the month.

Walking the Walk

2011-08-30T09:03:00.000-06:00

Grabbed the camera and headed out the door for a walk today, hoping to spy something with my little eye that I could share with you. I headed north along the beach, turned inland to Camino Potrero and walked along the road back to our house.

We have had some rough seas of late and in conjunction with some high tides there has been a fair amount of driftwood deposited on the beach.

With high tide only a couple of hours away the waves will frequently wash over this bar and into the stream.

This Ibis was checking me out, and little did he/she know that I was checking him/her out!

Once he/she knew that I was checking him/her out, he/she had to hide their head in embarrassment!

I guess this little guy forgot to exhale....

Shrimp boats are a coming there's dancing tonight, shrimp boats are a coming the sailors have lice ... well the lyrics are something close to that aren't they?!?

Catching the curl!

Upon looking back towards the house I noticed that Gato Lotto had followed me down the beach and had come as far as he could without getting wet.

For some reason this piece of driftwood begged to have its picture taken! I guess it is interesting because it is all one piece of wood.

Beach Condos....

Beach Cows....

There is a tree somewhere underneath this climbing vine!

Something tells me that we won't have cute little ferns growing on the trees at our new place in Nevada!

I "SLOWED DOWN" to obey the sign but I can guarantee you that most of the motorists pay no heed to the signs warning!

Did the person that put up this sign really think that up high was a good location for the Granite & Marble sign? The next picture would be what an approaching motorist would see of the sign! Oh its there on the right hand side, what you can't see it either?!?

A view of the estuary and ocean from the one lane bridge.

It is what it is....

I don't think that we have ever shown you a picture of our road, ugh.... street, ugh....lane! Our house is on the left just beyond the sleeping dog.

How many parakeets can you spy with your little eye in this coconut palm?

Exciting News!

2011-08-26T15:13:00.000-06:00

You may remember a couple of months ago I posted a picture on our blog of a sunset which showed images that looked like rock islets miles off shore under the setting sun. Upon the suggestion from one of the blog faithful I sent the picture to Earth Science Picture of the Day. It took over a week to get a response and now over two months later EPOD has posted the picture as their picture of the day ... Whoopee!! The following is the link to the web site and if you don't catch this today (Aug. 26) you click the previous button until you come to "Costa Rican Sunset & Mirage"
http://epod.usra.edu/
And while you are at the web site you might as well rate the picture too! :-)

A local roadside vendor with their merchandise nicely displayed.

The beach at Brasalito.

Our most frequented grocery store.

A picture from our friends house overlooking Flamingo Beach.

The Latest & the Greatest

2011-08-22T12:25:00.000-06:00

Hola, y'all!! Sorry for a long dry spell but that will just happen from time to time. All is well in with R&C in CR (and that is not Colorado Rockies, Consumer Reports, or Creative Review)!
Carolyn has been busy planning for our new house in the Reno area, ... the paper work at escrow and the loan office seems to be moving along just fine , I think we are in the paper work approval holding pattern now for the next 60 days or so.
There is still no word on our car, our attorney checks at the court every day but it appears that we just have to wait our turn!! But the plus side is that we are walking more and it is costing us less, yeah!
Enjoy the pictures...even the sunsets, ugh...not again!

Jupiter as seen from it's moon Io....

The setting sun as seen from its 3rd planet.

This is our priest Fr. Ricardo as he serenades the mothers on Costa Rican Mother's Day after Mass. We were surprised as we did not know that he could play the guitar. We knew he can sing beautifully though. They had treats for the mothers (everyone else had to stay in the church!!) and a red rose for each of us. It was very nice.

I spotted two boys playing in the estuary near the house. It looks like they are in deep water but they are actually sitting down in the stream that cuts through the beach sand.

We were invited to dinner at some friends house who live in Flamingo. Their house was about 100 feet above the water with spectacular views of Flamingo Beach and the coast line.

They had an interesting pool setup for relaxing. When you sit in the hammocks it is just your "B"-hind that is actually in the water. Note the bridge you take to get to this area!

I zoomed in on this guy out in the bay doing a little kayak fishing.

Watch out, here come the jet skis!

Just another pretty flower...

These pictures were all flowers along the road including this giant cock's comb plant!

This flower was along the road too, I think it is called the electric flower! (notice the rain water dripping from the roof!?!)

I took a picture of this sign because name reminds us of the name of our travel agency back in La Grande (Alegre) but I thought I would include it in the blog because it has a nice arial view of Flamingo. The white beach is Flamingo Beach and the community of Flamingo is just below the white beach. The water to the left of Flamingo is Potrero Bay; and while our house is not in the picture it would be just down the beach off of the left of the sign.

A Walk to the Store

2011-08-11T11:23:00.000-06:00

Since returning from vacation in the States we are still without our car so we have decided to try and get by without a car except for when we have visitors, then we will rent a car! So as a result we walk to the grocery store when we need to. Friends pick us up for church and Carolyn has a friend that she goes to Zumba with and they sometimes stop at the grocery store on their way home. Besides getting warm and sweaty all is not lost ... you actually get to see more than if you were to drive so it is good to always take a camera with you. So we walk along the beach or the road depending on the tide and the following pictures are a result being on foot.

Push-ups in the morning adds color to one's self!! (quote from Hermit the Frog)

Like my racing stripes? They are the latest thing!!

Not too far from the house we have a field that has been partially turned into a marsh from the seasonal rains. The neat thing is that it has attracted a lot of wading birds...

Mr. Heron

The duck in the foreground is thinking, "Hey you guys, come on! How can you sleep when there is so much to sift and filter"!

Ibis

The peek-a-boo Spoonbill!

While the other ducks sleep they are missing out on watching this pink guy filter the whole pond in seconds.

The Jimmy Durante of the bird world!

The ever photogenic egret.

I had to look this little guy up as we had never seen the likes of him before. He is known as a

Northern Jacana.

The Northern Jacana has extremely long toes (guess you'll have to check it out on line).

Since returning from vacation our cat does not let us out of his sight! He even follows us down the beach until he encounters a stream.

From time to time you encounter a loud and dusty quad tour!

Why throw it away if you can still use it??

I'm getting the evil eye from this machete ladened tree cutter... ok, one picture is enough and it's time to move along!

Carolyn's pepper plant in all of its glory!

A beautiful morning on the beach ... but wait, what is that in the distance? I'd better zoom in and check this out!

Wow, a drunken cowboy riding home from a rough night at Las Breses night club!

"Ok baby, just get me home before I fall off and something bad happens!

Haven't you ever heard of the biblical text "a leg for a leg"?

Who said the Northern Jacana has long toes?? Bring thee here and we shall but compare!

A rather nice architectural touch, don't you think?!? Obviously not to deter thieves as the wall tops are glass free! H-m-m-m-m, maybe to keep iguanas from walking along the wall tops!?!

The Costa Rican Olympic entry for the Dragonfly floor exercise on a strand of barbed wire! Quiet

please, as the contestant prepares for a full four legged hand stand!!!

Ah yes, a quiet little stream, meandering through the forest!

Banana tree.

Close up of the banana tree leaf that is ready to unfurl. I just thought that the pattern on the leaf was kind of interesting...it almost looks like it has been rolled by some cleated cooking gadget that only chefs with cooking shows know about!

This is where the meandering forest stream meets the sea.

Chameleon like fungus!

A New Chapter...Vagabonds No More?!?

2011-08-08T11:17:00.000-06:00

While in Reno we drove around and looked for potential places to stay when we return to the States in December. Well the unlikely happened and we drove straight to a house that we both liked and the price was right. It is a good thing because Carolyn's nesting instincts are far from being extinct!! The house is located outside of Reno in an area called the Virginia City Highlands, just a few miles north of Virginia City at 6200 feet in elevation. The house is about 2500 sq.ft. and is unassuming from the outside but the inside has some very nice features. The yard is for the most part natural landscaping on 1.1 acres with a lot of rocks, sage brush, pine trees, and juniper.
We are currently working with the owner, escrow has been opened, and we are full steam ahead!!!

This is our new home, if all goes well. The door is always open and everyone is welcome. Ron has been amazing-getting everything done electronically. Being a real estate broker was a handy thing!!

Of course I have a few rock garden plans, but don't tell Ron. He gets nervous when I start planning.

We don't have the panoramic view that I was hoping for but it is quiet and beautiful here.

Lots of natural light, which we really like. I can hardly wait to put flowers in that window box. There are two of them. Always wanted a window box.

The addition is currently an art studio. It is very cool, with lots of light, and I'm thinking maybe the master bedroom? Or a library. Or an office. Oh, the possibilities.

We've (I) always wanted a front porch too. Yea! Can you picture two old people in rocking chairs waiting for company (you) to come?

Upstairs loft. There is a wonderful, full bath up here as well.

Same room, different angle.

The dining room is wonderful. Lots of room. We will move in in Dec. The Christmas tree would look nice in that corner. We could have an old fashioned hoe down in this room. My mind is reeling.

Of course the kitchen is everyone's favorite room. This is a beauty. I have already figured out where everything will go.

Stone and wood everywhere. We love it.

Master Bedroom. There is a French door to the patio which is very cool.

Living room is small and cozy. Good thing we sold so much of our furniture in La Grande.

A long hallway for Ron's famous cat disappearing trick. If you haven't seen it you are in for a treat when you visit us.

I think my piano will go in here nicely.

Everything fits so well with the outdoors here. The stone countertops especially.

This is a bar area in the hallway, which I love. Probably use it more for plants and flowers than alcohol related stuff. Cheers!!

Another view of the dining room. I can't wait to move in.

Linking up with Friends from Pleasanton

2011-08-03T20:37:00.000-06:00

Some of our good friends (Gene & Burney) from Pleasanton, Ca. came up to Reno to see us before we headed back down to CR. We met them at the Silver Legacy on Wednesday night and bumped our gums through dinner. The following day we drove around the area, from Tahoe to Virginia City before dropping them off at their hotel that evening.

The chair in the lobby of The Silver Legacy is always fun to have your picture taken while trying to sit in it.

A couple of old camel jockeys should have no problem winning the Virginia City Camel Races!!

Gene, Burney, & Carolyn having fun in Virginia City.

Who says the desert is brown and ugly!! Everyplace has its beauty.

We had a little excitement while up at Virginia City on Saturday, we could not return back to Reno the most direct way because of a wild fire. It was a bit scary but airplanes dropping fire retardant and every fire truck within 50 miles around helped keep the blaze fairly well maintained. However, the next day when we flew out of Reno the hillside was still smoldering.

Finca Jefferis

2011-07-31T10:59:00.000-06:00

While staying at Carolyn's sister's house we enjoyed all of the flora and fauna ... here is a photo collage of our experience:

Gold Finches galore!

What one often hears at Finca Jefferis ... (click here for video)

And last but not least, Thomas the neighborhood hooligan...just scruffy enough to scare away any intruder!

A Brief Trip to the Beaver State

2011-07-29T16:55:00.000-06:00

Sunday we flew up to Portland, Or. to visit more familia. Carolyn's sister (Mary Jane) picked us up at the airport and we drove straight to Corvallis to visit with Carolyn's mom. We also visited with Carolyn's brother (Louie) and his wife (Lynn).

The next day we played tourist and drove up to Bonneville Dam to visit the fish hatchery and the fish ladder. It had been about 50 years since I had been there and it was the first time for Carolyn.

This duck has figured out how to be in the water without really being in the water! The net is over one of the fish hatchery ponds to keep birds from eating the fish. Doesn't everyone like to have their feet wet when they are preening?!?

A picture of one of the homes that was flooded by the recent high waters?!? Negatory... just the house where you can view sturgeon and trout.

This is Herman, a 70 year old white sturgeon that weighs 450 pounds!

Summer flora around the hatchery.

Bonneville Dam with spill gates open.

At the fish ladder they have a counting window where a person counts the different types of fish that migrate up the COlumbia River. They count salmon, steelhead, shad, and lampreys! About 70,000 lamprey find their way through the fish ladders a year. This picture shows a bunch of them taking a rest on the glass windows of the fish ladder. They are pretty weird if you ask me...but they are part of the food chain for sturgeon.

You don't see fish jumping over the ladders anymore because they have cut doorways below the water line that allow the fish to swim up the ladders and stay below the water. I guess spawning fish get tired too!

The view of the mountains north of the dam.

The following day we met up with Ron's brother (Dane) and wife (Louise) in downtown Portland to check out the Portland Underground Tour!

When you ride MAX you never know who might be in the car next to you!!

A view of the Rose City from Union Station.

We went to Pioneer Square downtown Portland for lunch before going on the tour and I have to say the people watching was a premium.

Yours truly has a brick in Pioneer Square!

This bridge has the distinction of having the same architect as the Golden Gate bridge.

A view of the Rose Garden Convention area from the Portland side of the river.

Let your mind run wild!!!

The world famous Voodoo Doughnut shop... the line was outside of the shop!

No comment!

Larger than the arch into San Francisco's China Town

Again, NO COMMENT!

Something that we found out about Portland's China Town is that most of the Chinese have moved out because landlords raised rents and leases so high that they found another spot east of the Willamette River that was more affordable!

Well, we all had one big gripe about the underground tour, the picture above is the only part of the underground that you actually get to see, one room below a pizza restaurant!! If you want to go to an excellent underground tour go to Pendleton, Oregon ... they have the best by far!!!

Trip to Vegas Baby!

2011-07-23T11:08:00.000-06:00

Drove to Vegas to see Rachelle and to celebrate Carolyn's B'day. Stayed at the Palazzo and attended a couple of shows, Terry Fator and Cirque du Soleil's Tribute to Elvis. Both were very good shows. Will be driving back up to Reno on Friday morning.

Inside the Palazzo

"The Palazzo"

The Palazzo from the Strip

The Fountains of Belaggio in action!

We thought this was a great idea, framing live flowers and plants!!

Inside HAL's memory bank??? No, just a wall at the Zine Chinese Restaurant at the Palazzo.

The optical illusion marble floor at the Venetian.

In the Venetian Hotel.

The Parsols of Belaggio

More pretties from the Belaggio

Round About Reno

2011-07-19T08:58:00.000-06:00

We have been having a great time visiting with Mark, Cassie, Violet, & Amanda here in Reno. They are in the process of redoing their kitchen (new cabinets, appliances, and flooring) so it has been fun watching the process and helping with painting, picking out knobs, and picking out a sink and faucet.
We have found a house that we like and are talking to the owner today about a plan that would work for both parties...will see how that goes. If it goes well then the next posting will have some house pictures.
As we have been driving around the outskirts of Reno we have encountered wild horses many times ... although they don't seem like they are wild, they seem more like someones pets ... but it is against the law to feed or harass them!!

We have also been to a Reno Ace's baseball game with Violet. The Ace's are a AAA team in the Pacific Coast League. The true focus on the game was for the Ace's to score seven or more runs and win the game, that meant that we would all get free gelato from a local store. Well, the Ace's beat the Colorado Springs Sky Sox by a score of 7 to 6!!! Yeah, gelato for everyone!

The dry desert air makes for a good drying cycle for dishes!

Enjoying the sun!

On the road going up to VIrginia City from Reno you have to drive up Geiger Grade!

The views from the top of Geiger Grade are spectacular as you look out over the valley below onto the Sierra Mountains that surround Lake Tahoe!

We also spent one afternoon with Cassie & Violet up at Lake Tahoe trying out their new kayaks. They have the fancy kind that you can peddle and paddle or you can even use a sail if you so desire. But alas...no pictures because someone forgot the camera:-(

The Reno Homestead

2011-07-11T23:53:00.000-06:00

After an all day venture from Central to North America we made it back to Reno on Sunday. We had a very tight connection in Houston where we were the 2nd to last to board the plane (again), then 6.5 hours in the Denver airport was a bit much ... but we servived and made it into Reno at 10pm.
The following are a few pictures of Cassie and Mark's house in Reno, they have a great yard that is a pleasure to sit and/or relax in....

Daisey & Lexy give us a big Howdy!

Mark & Cassie have a great water feature in the backyard!

The weather has been warm but not uncomfortable, our sweat glands are enjoying the vacation from the constant humidity.

Tomorrow we will be going to Lake Tahoe to do a little kayaking...film at eleven!!

Horsing Around

2011-07-04T11:29:00.000-06:00

Horses seem to play a big role in Costa Rica, whether it is ranching, farming, transportation, or tourism. So here are a few pictures of the local Equine population:

Oh yeah, look hard...there is a horse in the picture.

Typical cowboy garb, minus the stetson!

This little filly and her mom are out enjoying the green grass along the road.

Off to the races... click here

What a nice way to keep the grass mowed on the soccer field in Brasilito.

Notice anything different about the local tack?

Horse heaven, grazing in belly high green grass!!

This is the saga of a poor cowboy that must use pedals instead of stirrups!

Gar-r-r-r, Matey...

2011-06-29T16:43:00.000-06:00

We took a little excursion out to Pirate's Cove and this is what we found...

The haystack islands in the distance are the type of islands that I suspect appeared in my sunset picture from the other day.

Pirate's Cove

I put this picture in because there is always at least one person out there that likes roadside geology...

Last Saturday night it started raining at 5:30pm and it rained hard for 7 hours; the next morning the rather docile estuary next to our house had come alive with the rainwater and cut it's way through the beach barrier sands. You get a better perspective of how much sand was moved and just how big this little river became when you look at the guy crossing the stream. We recommended that he walk out into the surf to cross the river but this young man from the Land Down Under liked the idea of a challenge. So we told him that we would chronicle his adventure across the swollen stream!

This guy must have been impressed by all of the water too, I found him idly sitting on the beach as if he were asleep. While size perspective is difficult in a close up shot like this, his was about 6" from point to point... approx. the size of a Dungeness Crab from the PNW.

He not only made it across safely, he scaled the sand wall on the other side without it crumbling away.

These two pictures are from the balcony of a friends house that lives about 1/2 mile down the beach.

Any duck hunters out there that might be able to id these two!!

Potrero Beach...see the large condo (reddish roof) on the beach, our house is right next to the condo.

The jungles of Potrero!!

Beauty & the Beast

2011-06-26T07:05:00.000-06:00

First off I need to make a correction to the quotes from the last posting. It was pointed out that the first person to say "A man who stands for nothing, will fall for anything" was in fact Alexander Hamilton, I guess by the time Malcom X said it most people probably forgot that that anybody else could have thought of that! So we will accept two answers to the last quote...I am sure that qualifies many more folks for the Jeopardy Game show entry!!

Today I have some fun pictures that seem to fall into the category of "Beauty and the Beast", but I will let you decide what falls into each category:

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty Frightened by the Beast!

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast?

At one time the Beauty is now the Beast!

(actually I like this photo, it looks like something that would get entered into a photo contest)

Beauty in the Beast

Beauty and the Beach

Beauty

Beast

Beauty at the Beach!

(take a closer look at the horizon under the sun...the dark irregular images are actually islands that are too far out to be seen over the curve of the earth, but somehow the setting sun has projected/reflected the image of these islands above the horizon!! Since this was taken on June 22nd one does not get many chances to take this picture as the sun is as far north as it will get during the year...let alone having the atmospheric conditions just right to allow this phenomena to occur. Pretty cool, huh!!)

Pearls of Wisdom

2011-06-23T13:19:00.000-06:00

Who said:

"Music is a higher revelation

than all wisdom and philosphy.

Music is the electrical soil

in which the spirit lives,

thinks and invents."

(answers at the end)

"Do you know that our soul
is composed of harmony?"

"People who are willing to give up freedom for the sake of short
term security, deserve neither freedom nor security."

and last but not least (and maybe the trickiest):

"A man who stands for nothing,
will fall for anything!"

It is harvest time at our casa! And the best part is that it tastes soooo goooood! And the second best thing is that there are more to come!

One of my local favorite signs...is that a Lincoln Towncar that is reducting??

This is your normal school warning sign, but why don't the children have any feet or hands?

This is what I call the chunky school children sign. While the children may not be as fit as the previous sign at least they have feet (shoes) and hands (even if they are balls)

So what happens when you put regular hands and feet on the people, they appear to have that bare foot Sasquatch strolling through the woods look (remember the home movies of Sasquatch in the Redwoods of N. Cal.).

Ok, enough signing for now! It is time for the answers to the quotes at the beginning of this posting. If you got more than one correct then you should apply for an appearance on the Jeopardy game show. If you got just one correct then consider yourself lucky. If you did not get any correct then consider yourself normal!

1. Ludwig van Beethoven
2. Leonardo Da Vinci
3. Ben Franklin
4. Malcom 'X'