San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica

Last stop of the trip, and this one is so different from the rest. The temperature dropped by at least 30 degrees, and the oxygen level dropped, too. At first glance, you would think you were in Colorado, but then you see glimpses of rain forest life. This area is a famous bird watching Mecca. People come from all over to see the Resplendant Quetzal.



This is as close as we got to seeing one. We heard a female calling during our hikes but we could never spot her. We didn't have binoculars. I guess we would have had more luck with a guide. Oh well, we are not birders so we weren't too disappointed.

Our main goal for our hikes were 2 waterfalls. The trail was crazy narrow and covered in roots and rocks. It was only 1.5 miles to the second waterfall, but it seemed so far. The hike was worth it in the end.


Catarata Las Piedras



Catarata Savegre

It started raining at the end of our hike and continued to rain throughout the afternoon. The boys were content sitting in the bar/lounge where they could get wifi on their devices. Brian and I took turns with them. Brian got a nap in, and I got a massage.

It was an early morning again for our trip to the airport. We were told that today is a very important holiday for the Catholic Church in Cartago. Millions of people from all over Central America walk to Cartago on August 2nd. Since we were passing through Cartago on our way to the airport, they recommended that we leave early to avoid traffic.



Here we are waiting for the Spirit ticket counter to open. We made it with plenty of time to spare. We have loved every minute in Costa Rica, but we are all ready to get back to Texas for a while. Poor Boyd misses his Nestle Quik chocolate milk. :)

San Gerardo de Dota pics

Dominical, Costa Rica

On our way to our next stop, we stopped at Manuel Antonio National Park. This is the park that is famous for sloths and has a beautiful beach just a 30 minute hike from the entrance. We saw a sloth in the first tree by the entrance. :) My day was made! It was very hot and humid so the beach was a welcome sight.



Our hotel was not too much further down the road. We made it just before the rain started. I have to make a correction. In the last post I said that we had the most beautiful view from our room. The Villas Alturas had a gorgeous view, too. This was a different kind of view, so secluded and tropical with a view of the ocean from the hillside. I could sit on the porch all day for a week and be perfectly content. So I didn't mind the rain that came in the evening and ruined our sight-seeing plans.



The coolest thing about this resort was the wildlife sanctuary that is housed in the property. I will spare you all of the pictures. You can look through the album below if you are interested. Most of these animals came to the sanctuary because they were illegally traded. Usually the mother is killed and the babies are taken and sold. The fines for owning one of these animals is so high that most of the Ticos will turn the animals over to a sanctuary to avoid fines.



Day 2 was spent at Playa Dominicalito attempting to surf and boogie board. Then we made a quick trip into Uvita to find the Uvita waterfall. We got there after it closed but we were allowed to go down anyway. Brian and Scotty got one slide down the waterfall and then we headed back to the resort again.
Day 3 was an early morning. We packed the car and headed back to Dominical for our Savegre rafting tour. It was a class 2 and 3 river, which was perfect for me and Boyd. The coolest part of this trip was the break at a waterfall. While we played in the water, the guides made a snack of pico de gallo, guacamole, bean dip, and fruit. It was a beautiful spread.
As soon as our rafting tour was finished, we got in the car and headed up the mountain for our last stop of the trip.
Dominical pictures

Los Suenos, Costa Rica

We stayed 3 nights at the Marriott Los Suenos. It was a very relaxing time, but we also had something planned each day. The beach was nice for the kids. The surf was low and they could walk out pretty far. I loved the pool that curved in and out around the property. It seemed to go on forever.



Here is a run down of our activities. Driving in, we stopped on the Tarcoles bridge, home of hundreds of crocodiles. We counted at least 44.



That night, we hung out at the hotel and found a nice sports bar for dinner at the marina.
The next morning we went out on a deep sea fishing trip with Costa Rica Dreams. We caught several fish right off the bat, and then the fishing slowed down. Brian asked the captain to take us closer in for some bottom fishing, and we had some luck pulling in some unusual catches. Scotty caught a tuna and a moray eel. The deck hands were very nervous about the eel. They can bite! Boyd caught a wahoo and a trigger fish. I caught a Bonita. Brian let us reel in so many that he only gets credit for a very tiny red snapper that we threw back. The boys enjoyed their catch at a local restaurant while I went to bed with a miserable heat induced migraine. Stupid headaches!
The next morning we got up and drove to Carara National Park. We paid a guide to show us around and we were very glad we did. We saw several different species of birds, two types of bats, Capuchin monkeys, a cute little rodent called an Alguti, and a lot of poison dart frogs and centipedes. We also had a good time finding different types of fungus. The forest was so beautiful.
We went back to the hotel and found some fried chicken along the way for lunch. Fried chicken is a big thing in Costa Rica. Who knew? We laid around at the hotel pool and beach some more, let the boys play some Xbox, WII, and PS4, and ordered pizza for dinner.
Did I mention that our room had the most amazing view and Scarlet Macaws in the trees every morning?


Here are some more pictures if you are interested.
Marriott Los Seunos pics

Adventure Park and Hotel Golfo Vista

This was a quick one night stop between resorts. The whole reason for the stay was the zip line tour, but the place has so much more to offer. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Your zip lining tour, dinner, breakfast, and lunch are all included in the price. In addition, there are many hiking trails, ropes courses, and climbing walls to play on. We could have stayed another day to explore, but we must move on to the beach.


More pictures here.
Adventure Park pictures

La Fortuna, Costa Rica

I am speechless. This country is so beautiful and pictures do not do it justice. We arrived in San Jose around noon and had a 3 and a half hour drive to the Los Lagos hotel in La Fortuna. The roads are so windy that you do not want to try and nap or read along the way. Also, you are afraid to blink because you might miss some amazing sight. Every hill or curve in the road brought a view that was more breathtaking than the last.
The Los Lagos hotel is a small resort with pools fed by thermal springs. The boys (including Brian) had a great time on all of the slides. I even got up the courage to do the fastest slide by the end of the trip.
Some of our other activities included the Mistico Arenal Hanging Bridges and Tabacon Hot Springs.
I do have to tell you about one place that we dined. We were coming back to our hotel after a morning at the Hanging Bridges and decided to stop for lunch. Brian saw a sign for Benedictus Steak House and made a very quick turn into the driveway. The sign said 800 m ahead. Not too far up the road. As we drove we became more and more unsure that we were in the right place. There were sheep in the road and we were on a windy dirt road heading up the side of the mountain. At the last curve we saw this.


We thought that we were at someone's private home, but we had actually stumbled upon a quiet and quaint restaurant. It was apparently just opening and we were the only people there for the entire meal. Our waiter not only served us, but we think he may have cooked the food, and he told us some history of the place and gave us a tour of the gardens after our meal. Hands down the best meal up to this point, but it was only day 2 of the trip.
Here are the rest of the pictures from this trip. I will have to load pictures from Brian's phone and the gopro later. La Fortuna Pics

Location:Montes De Oro,Costa Rica

Cabo San Lucas

We just returned from one vacation long enough to wash all of the laundry and pack for the next. This is a whirlwind of a summer! But we are enjoying every minute of it.
Last week we spent 5 days in Cabo. Unfortunately, Hurricane Dolores vacationed near Cabo at the same time. It kind of messed with our fishing plans, but it gave us an opportunity to drive up to La Paz and check out the fishing in the Sea of Cortez.
Day 1 - Traveling day from Dallas to San Diego to Cabo. Flight and car rental ate up most of our day but we were told to try El Toro Guero near the airport for some authentic mariscos (seafood). It was definitely a place the locals choose to hang out and the food was amazing. We made it to our hotel with enough time to dip our toes in the water. The waves were pretty ferocious and the the current was strong.We stayed at the Welk Resort Sirena del Mar. They gave us adjoining rooms and we had a great kitchen for making dinner and hanging out. The rooms were amazing. We had a jetted tub in our room.

Day 2 - Time Share tour of the Diamante properties, home of Tiger Woods' vacation home, Dunes course, and a 10-acre swimming pool. We shouldn't have wasted our day, but it was a gorgeous place and we got our rental car for free. 

More time at the beach and at the pool. The boys had a blast with the GoPro, especially Boyd. We have lots of underwater video of him in the pool. Hmmm? I don't seem to have any pictures of the pools. I guess we were having too much fun. Look up the Welk Resorts online. 

Day 3 - Early morning drive up to La Paz, about 2 hours north. 8 hour fishing trip which was pretty unsuccessful but very eventful. We fished half of the day with no bites, and then just as we were about to go snorkeling we hooked something. Scotty pulled in a trumpet fish. 

Then we dropped anchor, right about where that picture was taken and decided to swim around a bit. It was a very short swim that included some jellyfish and a shark. I am still having anxiety attacks over this swim. It will take me a long time to jump back into the ocean again. Needless to say, if you are in the ocean, you should expect to swim with lots of sea life, even some that you would rather not swim with.

The rest of the afternoon we trolled back toward La Paz and only hooked onto one more fish. We aren't sure what it was because it dove down and eventually got the hook loose, but Boyd, Scotty, Cindy, and I all had a shot at reeling it in.

Dinner was recommended by the deck hand and it was another local favorite, Rancho Viejo. They served tacos and their specialty, a baked potato stuffed with beef, onions, and mushrooms.

Day 4 - Jake and Brian attempted a fishing trip off the tip of Cabo. We chose not to go because the swells were still high from Dolores. We were glad we didn't when the guys came back in after an all-day trip without a single fish. Our day consisted of hanging at the pool and beach, and a trip into downtown Cabo and the marina. 

We were told to go to Edith's for dinner. Apparently, everyone was told the same thing. The host whispered to us to try The Artichoke just down the street, and we were glad we did. It was almost empty and the service was great. We ordered a variety of different menu items from steak to shrimp ravioli to grilled shrimp to fajitas. We also ordered grilled asparagus and grilled artichoke for appetizers. Don't miss this place if you ever visit Cabo. 

Day 5 - Travel day from Cabo back to Dallas. :(

See more pictures of our trip here. 

San Antonio Getaway

Last weekend we went down to San Antonio with some friends, and we stayed at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa just outside of town. Swanky! Of course, we used the teacher ID again to get the government rate. Cha-Ching! More money to spend on drinks and snacks by the pool.
We spent 3 days laying by the pool, sliding down slides, and floating the lazy river. I think it is safe to say that we all had a blast.





No vacation with Brian would be complete without a stop at one of Guy's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. We made a trip into Alamo Heights for some Bun N Barrel. Think huge, messy hamburgers and BBQ. They even have a juke box, which made the boys' day.

The Gaylord Texan and Paradise Springs

Trip number 2 of the whirlwind summer. We stayed the night at the Gaylord Texan for a little staycation. We have been wanting to come for the waterpark for a while now. So that was what this trip was all about.

Two things you should know: teachers can get great rates if you look for the government rate and show your ID, and Marriott Rewards are very "rewarding". If your dates are flexible, you can look ahead and see when hotels have government rates available. You could save $50-100 by doing this. We are also Marriott Rewards members and have earned a lot of points towards free rooms. We also earn free upgrades. On this trip we were upgraded to a suite for the price of a double room. This was very valuable when it came to entrance into the waterpark. A double room gives you 4 wristbands for the waterpark with the option of buying up to 2 more at $35 each. A suite gets you 6 complimentary wristbands. We were able to invite 2 friends to come and play with us. Score!

Paradise Springs Water Park is a nice place to play and lounge by the pool. Rachael and I relaxed by the pool while the boys zip-lined into the pool, rode down the 4-story slide, and floated the lazy river. We were waited on by 2 very friendly servers all day. The food and drinks are pricey, but water is free. :)






SummerFest is going on at The Gaylord right now. The theme is Wizard of Oz. The movie is showing every Friday and Saturday night. We missed the movie by staying on a Thursday night, but the atrium was decorated for the event and we enjoyed walking around and looking at the Wizard of Oz inspired art.

Chicago Day 3

It's National Donut Day! But, surprise! We didn't have donuts for breakfast today. We had Wildberry Pancakes on our radar. So did everyone else in Chicago! It was definitely worth the 45 minute wait.


Signature Berry Bliss Waffle

I know you are getting tired of seeing my food, but doesn't that look amazing? It was so amazing that I forgot to take a picture until after I had eaten several bites.

By this point in the trip we thought we were pretty good at navigating the streets without GPS. We probably would have done a great job if we weren't looking up at all of the buildings as we passed by them. We walked for fifteen minutes past Wildberry Pancakes before we realized it. That is how we found the First United Methodist Church in the middle of downtown. We were in awe of the beautiful gothic cathedral. We went for a quick look and returned at 2:00 for a tour of the Chapel in the Sky.


Notice the windows right below the spire. The top two floors are the chapel, which seats twenty people.


Mrs. Walgreen, the wife of the founder of Walgreen's, donated money to the church to have this chapel built in Mr. Walgreen's memory.
The four floors below the chapel are the private residence of the pastor and his family. What a parsonage! Can you imagine grilling out on this patio?



The rest of the day we roamed downtown and the museum campus, accidentally found the Chicago Public Library, and possibly saw Kenny Chesney outside of the Hard Rock Cafe.











Oh yeah, and we had a real Chicago style hot dog at Portillo's.


And now we are back home and back to reality, for now.

Chicago Day 2

Donuts for breakfast again! This girl is in heaven!! We found another little donut shop just down the street and had a taste of a few different flavors.






Glazed and Infused - Maple Bacon Long John, Grapefruit Glazed, and Cajeta Mexican Fried Ice Cream

We didn't plan on going out to Navy Pier, but we were so close we decided to check it out. It is under construction, and the plans look amazing. There was a small amusement park and a few restaurants open, but the highlight for us was the SeaDog Extreme Thrill Ride. Think of it as a roller coaster on water. It was a great rush! You do get wet on the ride. It is the captain's job to make sure of it, but if you sit at the front you will not get quite as wet as everyone else.






Lunch at Giordano's was next. Of course you have to have some deep dish pizza when you go to Chicago. Giordano's was highly recommended and it lived up to its reputation. We tried both the extra thin crust and the deep dish. We were miserably full for the rest of the afternoon.






Magnificent Mile was up next. Time for a little shopping. Under Armour and H&M were our personal favorites.

If you want a great view of the city, skip the long lines at Willis (Sears) Tower and head to the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of the John Hancock Center. We got there around 4:30 and it seemed to be perfect timing. We did not even have to wait for a seat. With windows all the way around (including one entire wall of the women's restroom), you can take in views of the city and the lake.






We finished our evening with dinner at Mercadito, recommended to us by the staff at our hotel. It is a very loud, and vibrant place. Mercadito has several variations of guacamole and salsa. I could have made a meal out of appetizers, but we chose two of each and shared the brocheta plate. We were not disappointed.






Our night ended at Howl at the Moon, a piano bar. It was fun, but Pete's in Fort Worth and Austin have them beat.

Chicago

I'm going to start off by saying that I think Brian is going through a midlife crisis. Thankfully he didn't go out and buy a Harley or a Corvette. Instead, he booked 3 major vacations for this summer and a lot of smaller trips in between. I'm not complaining, though, because we all love to travel. I am planning on writing about all of our fun this summer.

I will begin with Chicago. This is a trip for just the two of us. We arrived in Chicago late Tuesday night and learned the train system right away. The orange line is the only train that runs from the airport to downtown. We even learned how to make a transfer to the red line to get to our hotel.



Yesterday might have been the most perfect day ever in the history of Chicago. Beautiful weather! I still can't figure out why everyone else was wearing pants and jackets. We were among a very few in shorts. The sun was shining and the temperature reached about 75 degrees.

We started our day with donuts. I found this little donut shop on Pinterest, and I have been dreaming about a Butterscotch Praline donut for weeks.



Our next stop was Chicago's First Lady river boat architectural tour. FYI, tickets are about $40 each, but I found a half-price deal on Hottix.

The docents on the tour are all volunteers, and they really know their stuff. We learned about the history of the Chicago River and most of the buildings along the river.



Did you know that they reversed the flow of the Chicago River? I didn't know that was even possible, but they did. The water from the River used to flow into Lake Michigan, but it was contaminating the city's drinking water. So they made the south fork of the River deeper and gravity pulled the water south.

We found our lunch spot while we were touring.



Lizzie McNeill's was a very good lunch spot right in the new River walk. Brian said it was the best Reuben sandwich he has ever eaten. We even had a great view of the fountain at the mouth of the river.



The rest of the afternoon we roamed through Millennium Park. You can't come to Chicago without taking a selfie in "the bean".



A few more pictures of Millennium Park.


Buckingham Fountain


Water feature with hologram faces on brick columns.


Like Michigan. It looks like the ocean!


A bridge from one side of the park to the other. You know that gets hot in the summer!

We finished off the evening at The Second City comedy club where we saw Panic on Cloud 9. Very funny! The man across the aisle from us enjoyed it immensely. We could tell from his laughter. I love people watching.



We stopped for a late night bite at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse. We only stopped because of the name. It did not come highly recommended, but it was very good. The restaurant was closed when we got there, but the bar was still serving food. We shared a filet mignon, Caesar salad, and the creamiest mashed potatoes.