Goooooaaaaaalllllllllllll
Tis the season for soccer. I know we still have snow afoot, in fact if I am not mistaken, we had one of our biggest blizzards of the year last night. But here in the AK you gotta make it work, and you gotta be ready for when the fields melt and you can start practicing in the plains of mud. So this past weekend we had soccer tryouts for Ben and Jeremy. Last year they both played comp soccer, which basically means the parents pay more $$ for fancier uniforms, and the parents pay $$ for matching backpacks, socks and water bottles and the parents pay more $$ for trips, and the parents pay $$ to travel to Fairbanks and Anchorage at least 3 times. You gotta love comp soccer!
When is soccer tryouts?
We had a great time with it last year. It gave us a chance to go visit my wayward sister in Fairbanks and enjoy a real summer. Last year it was about 106 degrees in the land of the midnight sun, and we spent most of our evenings at the lake. The downside, the kids had to play soccer in the heat. When you are used to playing with a jacket or under armour or sweater on, adjusting to about a 40 degree temperature swing can be challenging, even to a 9 year old. I saw a lot of red faces matching the hue of their bright red uniforms, but the redest face of them all was on the sidelines cheering with reckless abandon, me.
I always warn the boys to get in shape before tryouts, and they usually listen…. the day before tryouts. This year was no different.
getting in shape for tryouts
stretching the goal scoring leg
I wonder if he knows he doesn't have to use his chest in soccer?
Both of the boys did great and were excited to make the team. Ben’s team took second in state, which is quite an accomplishment I am told, over and over and over…
Hey, I should be kicking a soccer ball while I run.
We still have not received notice of whether or not the boys made the teams this year as there was a significant increase in the amount of participants; they must’ve heard about summer in Fairbanks. But if they do, it will be days of fun I am sure, if they don’t it means a few less road trips and a few more fishing trips, either way it is a win for us.
A sno-go Sunday
It has been difficult to blog since we have come home from Costa Rica. It just does not seem as exciting or interesting, and the material has somehow lost its luster. But we will persevere and fight through and together we can get back in the groove. So if there is something you want to know about, let me know and I will offer up a blog on it.
First an update on Jo. Recently I realized that I had not updated all of you as to the status, that is because the status is quo. We pick up Jo on Friday at 5 pm and then drop her off Sunday at 5 pm. This has been going on since before we left for vacation and will continue until????? We have still seen signs that cause us concern, so please continue to pray.
Her last weekend here we took the opportunity to go out on our snowmachine, a machine given to us by some extremely giving people. I took most of the kids out and let them drive me around, and they had a blast. You may recall, about 4 years ago Dorian had a little “incident” on a snowmachine a few years back and we haven’t gone out much since.
Now hold on tight!!!
Ben tended to get a little throttle happy, and at one point I thought he was determined to jump the Sterling Highway, and not on purpose. His second time out he seemed to have the hang of it.
Ready for takeoff
Olivia was a natural. She has the touch and went just the right speed for dad’s taste.
Livy scaring daddy
Kassie too seemed to have a great touch and as usual her smile never left her face, which in turn made me smile.
Ben waiting patiently for his second turn
Jake and Jo loved it. Though a little apprehensive at first, they soon warmed up to the adventure and the next thing I knew they had their hands on the throttle and apparently thought that I should go a little faster.
If we are not back in 5 minutes, send out the Troopers.
I thought we were going on a hay ride.
The next thing I knew, 2 hours had flown by and it was time to get ready for Sunday night church. Now if I could only get mom to come out for a ride, then I would have accomplished something. She has this “thing” about outside activities in the winter. My true Alaskan woman.
Jo showing daddy how to go faster
ice ice baby
Here in AK, you gotta do some stuff in the winter, the long long winter, or else you will get depressed and bored. So, what are the choices ( I hear you yelling “a trip to Costa Rica”)? There is snowmachining, cc skiing, downhill skiing, and…… well I know there has to be more. But our activity of choice is shoveling and snowblowing the driveway. Oh, and we also like to ice fish. For those of you not in AK, when you ice fish you are not fishing for ice, but actual live fish. You see if you live in this state, you gotta love fishing, and that we do. No mattter if it is raining or snowing, there are fish to be had. By we, I mean me and the boys, especially Dorian. He is a fishing fool.
Dorian always rushes to get the best fishing hole, all by himself.
Ben always get a little chilly when we fish, I promise he is in there somewhere
Jeremy waiting patiently for a bite
So today we fished and it was stinking cold. In fact it seems to get colder every year. But as soon as that fish hits your line, the cold disappears. The beauty of ice fishing is the quiet relaxation. No casting, very little reeling, just sit, drink coffee, enjoy the wonder of winter. Today was one of those days ( until I turned on my iphone music) when the wind doesn’t blow, the sun rises slowly over the shadow of treeline, the tree branches crackle under the weight of the snow, the ice pops, the snow that surrounds you shifts and crinkles much like a winter symphony. It can be surreal, until the scream of an excited fisherman breaks the silence, which we hope happens often. Today it did not. We always have a prize for first fish on the ice, and like usual Dorian took the prize, albeit with a wanna be guppy. But a fish is a fish. It was a slow day of fishing, but I did manage to hook into two nice ones. One was nice enough to break my rod in two, no lie. But hey, who’s complaining? It was fishing.
watching and waiting for a bite. Notice the ice on the line? I said it was stinking cold.
Come on fish!!!
Spring Break
Having a large family has mas benefits. But it also has some downsides, as we have discussed in many past blogs, eating out, driving, traveling etc. Well we are experiencing another of those challenges. Picture bodies wrapped in blankets strewn amongst the living room floor,coughing, hacking, spewing, sweating, shivering, and you have visualized our current house. You see when a large family gets sick, everyone gets sick, and not all at once. No, that would be terrible, but what is more terrible, when they get sick in shifts because then the sickness lasts and lasts. That is what we are experiencing right now in this very house. We are getting sick in shifts and poor Tra has to keep the house all together, which is a plenty difficult task when we are healthy. Somehow she has been able to avoid what ails us all.
I would have loved to enclose some pictures, but it is a little too depressing. So here we sit, waiting for the aches, fevers, and chills to dissipate so we can continue on with our spring break. Ahhh it’s great to be home.
No coat required.
Having been home for four days now, you would think we would have readjusted back into the real world; got into our groove, our schedule, enjoyed the ever warming weather. If only it was true. We still cannot get our minds off of Costa Rica. Maybe it was the adventure, going to a new country, entering into the unknown, just the two of us. Maybe it was the weather, a warm dry heat, not overwhelming but crisp, perfect sunsets and great night weather. Maybe it was the beaches, soft golden sand, surf or surfless, nearly empty and clean. Or maybe it was the escape, no schedule, no school, no work, no stress. Whatever it was, we cannot get it out of our mind.
Returning home, donning a coat for the first time in 18 days, was analogic of our journey. When we left, we took the coats of stress, of every day life off, and did not put them back on again until we arrived in Anchorage. At that moment, when our right hands went into the sleeve, the weight of life was back our backs.The schedules, the bills, the job, they were all right back where we left them.
It was awesome, needed, and refreshing to be coatless and shoeless for a while. It made me think about home. What is home? Is it where you live? If that is true, then I have had over 15 homes in my life. I think it is more than that, I think home is where your family, friends, and in many cases, your church are. That is home. In our case, we are fortunate to have all three blend together as one. So that makes our home mobile, and if our home is mobile, then it can move to a place where coats are no longer required.
Costa Rica Last Full Day Sailing take me away…… Christopher Cross
For those of you that know me very well, you would know that the above is my all time favorite song. Funny thing, I have never sailed in my life. Much like the horses, if it doesn’t require a key, I don’t usually drive / ride it. So today’s experience was a new one for me. Sailing , reminded me of the horseback riding, because without the sound of an engine, you can actually hear things. Things such as birds, the ocean slapping the hull, the whipping of the sails, and the captain say lunch time. Important things.
View of our house from the boat
We finally had our great cruise. But it was not without trepidation. With 5 minutes before we got underway, we loaded up the car to go. As I backed up, my keen sense of senselessness, alerted me that there was a slight problem with our Corolla. I jumped out, fearing a flat tire, and my fear was quickly realized. But I immediately saw a beautiful sight, only 4 lug nuts. I could whip this out quickly, and with Tra’s help we had it done in about 5 minutes. We threw everything in the trunk, and drove like a lifelong Ticos to get to the launch sight. As we pulled up, I saw our skiff pulling away, loaded. Once again we had missed our cruise! Was it not meant to be?
I saw a couple of Ticos and asked if they knew about the Lazy Lizard, our vessel of choice, and they said he was coming back to drop off one of his guys. It was true, and soon we were off on another adventure.
Newlyweds, or newly refreshed enroute to paradise.
On board we met our other 4 travelers, 2 from Minnesota and 2 from Ohio. The ride over to the snorkeling grounds was wonderful. Under sail, no engine, the wind whipping us to our destination. Once there, we eagerly jumped in to see what would await us in the water. The visibility was poor, maybe 5 feet, but the sea life was abundant. I used every picture in my disposable water proof camera on wrasse, puffers, octopus, electric blue , striped fish and more. I had no idea what I was taking pics of , but they were pretty fish, and I am sure a couple of them were edible.
So how long do I have to hold this????
As Tra explored the near by private and secluded beach, I continued to snorkel, stopping only to kayak with her, and catch my breath on the beach. I did encounter one angry jelly fish, and he gave me a nice stinger on my arm to let me know I was in his house.
Tra kayaking back to the Lizard for some grub
whale!!!
We finished the cruise watching the sunset from the Lazy Lizard, right out in front of our house. We completed the day with a nice meal at our new friends house, discussing the merits of living in Costa Rica.
It was a great great ending to a trip of a lifetime and we are so happy we got to share it with all of you. We are very excited to see our kids, but not too excited to see the snow. I will have a summary blog on the whole trip coming soon, until then…
Just a dream and the wind to carry me and soon I will be free…….
Costa Rica Day 14 Blown Away
Today was Tra’s birthday, and we had big plans, snorkeling, secluded beach, lunch, sunset on the water and dinner at her favorite restaraunt. Unfortunately, the Papagayo winds had something else to see about our plan. Due to the winds, our catamaran had to cancel its trip so we had to quickly re-organize our day.
View from our restaurant
another view from the restaurant
Instead we ventured deep into the hills and looked at some great view property for sale via our host. She has put us in touch with some great people, we have spent the last few days looking at land and property.
coco del mar for Glenny
We did manage to still finish the day with a fantastic dinner at our favorite restaurant. We started dinner on the top level, watching another sunset, and the view was spectacular. We then went down stairs for our three course meal, and once again it was mega yummy. Almost too pretty too eat.
Mom's surf and turf
So we managed to salvage our day, and I think Tra really liked her gifts, expecially the massage. So tomorrow we have a meeting and then we shall try to sail once again.
Birthday dinner and sunset at Mar Y Sol
Costa Rica Days 12 / 13 A thorn in my heel.
The last two days have been about shopping, my favorite (not) but it is a necessary evil. It seems every time we talk to the kids they ask ” have you got me anything yet? What is it? Oh yeah, we uhhh miss you.” And that is why we always travel with two extra bags packed in our suitcases. In order to do this we had to go to the touristy areas, Tamarindo and Playa Del Coco. I believe I have blogged on both of these in the past. They are both very Americanized, which, for our purposes is just what el doctoro ordered. So shop we did.
Hmm, only one person on the morning jog! Who's missing?
Have you ever noticed that 90% of the stuff in each of the half a million shops is the same? Same trinkets, same t-shirts, same hats, same key chains, and one unique object, usually made in China. Well if you haven’t, I have you covered, just trust me on this one. In the last two days we must have hit about fifty stores, and they all met the criteria above.
Playa Ocatal, fishing community near Playa Del Coco.
Playa Del Coco is one of the most established tourist areas in Guanacaste, and it shows. It looks like a typical Popular small beach in the U.S. with lots of small souvenir shops and restaurants. Not as many high-rise hotels however. The beach is dirty and crowded, but it is a good place to shop and find American style stores and shops. If you veer of to the left about 6 kilometers, you end up in Ocatal which is where many of the local ex patriots live. Less commercialized, great houses, secluded but close enough to all the “stuff”.
One of the many monos in Playa Del Coco
Tamarindo is a newer but fastly growing tourist area. The beach is very very long and surf friendly, I actually prefer it to Coco. However, there is a lot of people trying to sell you stuff, walking the beaches and streets, and just like the shops, 90% of the “stuff” is the same as the stuff the guy tried to sell you 3 minutes prior to the guy trying to currently sell you stuff. We had a parade of about 50 of them go buy us trying to sell us the same stuff while we attempted to watch a peaceful gorgeous sunset. Both places great to visit, but probably not the best for living.
Tamarindo
Tra in Tamarindo
The highlights of the last couple of days; The monos came down to see us in Playa Del Coco, they hung out right above the shop we were in. The sunset in Tamarindo, it was spectacular with the sailboats and the cloud cover. Some pretty good deals on some neat things in some of the shops. Some of the food was pretty good, and when it is all said and done, it is all about the food is it not?
Tamarindo sunset
Tamarindo sunset
Tamarindo Twosome
The low-points, that cold snap affecting America, we feel it. I mean in the morning when we go for our jog, it is like only 75 degrees, with highs near 90, much cooler than in the past. But we will suffer with the rest of America. The thorn in my heel; while walking the beach in Ocatal, I took about four steps and screeched like a howler monkey. I felt a sheer pain in my right heel and I did not know what it was… a spider, scorpion, snake.. something reached out and bit me hard, right through my flip flops. I told Tra, and she said it was still there. It was none of the above, it was a branch with a 2 inch thorn that I had steeped on just right. It went right through the sole of my shoe and pierced my heel and drew blood. It was quite the experience.
The thorn from my heel, has become the sword of my tongue. Note the thorn on the left with the blood of my heel on the tip!
Where the heck is my food? Nice view at least.
A mono in a tree in Playa Ocatal! A rare sighting for sure!
Tomorrow is Tracy’s birthday!!! We are going boating, so we will see you with some new pics and stories tomorrow night.
Costa Rica Day 11 The boogie man!
Today was a day for boogie boarding. So back to Playa Grande we went, for the surf on our beach is nearly non-existent, great for swimming, not surfing. Picture a surf town you would see in a movie, very small buildings, very small community, lots of small bars and hostels, and some small surf type eateries except with 75% percent of the people habla espanol, y solomente espanol, and that is Playa Grande. Once there, we rented a boogie board, because you are never too old to boogie. I would have preferred more of an offshore wind, but I made do.
Tra showing me how it is done
Now remember I have already conquered ( or survived) my guacho time. I have become a wildlife expert, so it is time for me to join the surf community, except I think I will do it on a boogie board. It’s basically the same thing right? You know, skis vs. snowboard, they both bring you down the mountain, they both bring you in on the surf. One small miscalculation, I am 41 years old, and my body doesn’t twist and turn like it used to. Therefore, when the power of the ocean wants my top to move one way and my bottom to move the other, well there’s a bit of a problem there.
Tra working the surf
I did manage to get a few good boogies ( pretty sure that is the technical term) in before I pulled my left leg out of socket and bent it over my ear. At least that is what it felt like. Tra then hit the water and showed me how it was done, catching three waves in row. Maybe she should be giving the lessons at the local surf shop, Frijoles Loco. It was very fun day, with many hours spent in the sun, a fantastic sunset (again), two hours cleaning our sand from every inch of our bodies,and a great dinner at Angelina’s here in Playa Flamingo. A nice simple day in paradise.
time to head out and catch another one
Catching the big Kahuna.
View back from the water on the packed beach
Packed beach
our dinner spot, it was very nice, great night breeze
We had the whole beach pretty much to ourselves, figuring hard partying surfers don’t get up till after noon sometime (actually they get up at 5 am to catch the best waves), until a couple of local guys came to the beach with a blue soccer ball. Within 10 minutes , there were nearly 20 guys right in front of us playing a full fledged soccer game. Within the group I heard some Spanish, Italian, and possibly some French, or that could have been cursing. It was amazing what one little ball could do to an otherwise peaceful beach. Not that we minded, but we found it interesting that we had a 1 mile long beach with hardly anyone there, and the soccer game broke out right in front of our spot. Maybe I’m just upset they didn’t ask me to play, after all once I got my leg back into place I could have sat in goal.
Costa Rica Day 10 The end is near
For those of you that keep track, remember last Sunday we went to Liberia and got lost amidst a city wide celebration, and the way we escaped was to put Church’s Chicken in the GPS. Well we promised to be in church today, and we were. We went to the Beachfront Community Church. Now it wasn’t beach front and, like many public buildings here, it did not have walls. It was quite breezy, so that made service a lot of fun, but they were ready and it did not faze them a bit. Me, I was sweating throughout the service, and no it was not because I was convicted, it was because I was hot and the breeze, well it too was hot. The winds are called Papygao, and they are seasonal.
Pre-Service
The outside of our church
After Church we did something we had not done since we have been here, we ate inside a place with actual air conditioning and walls. While inside, Tra spotted a friend of hers, a little boy that had been wandering the area trying to sell things, and when he met us, Tra loaded up with his wares. Ever since then, every time we see him he waves emphatically. So Tra ordered him a mango smoothie and while I paid the bill she ran it over to him. He was very excited and drank it quickly. I think we have another amigo in the area.
Tra's new best friend
Another interesting tidbit, apparently the dry season is the burn season. Yeh, I know, it makes no sense to me either. But we noticed fires all over the place and so we asked what was the deal, and the deal is they don’t care about wild fires. They flat don’t care. The fires burn slow, and the houses are not built out of wood, so they don’t care. Apparently the Papygao winds end the end of this month and then everybody really burns like crazy, along with the hillsides. Every once in a while they take out a power pole, but hey who cares?
Fires across the way
More fires, they are everywhere
Finally we have hit several grocery stores here, the main ones are called Super Compro, Super Mercado, Auto Mercoda and Double Massai. The most American one is the one in Playa Del Coco, which we have shopped once. Most of the time, they look like the pictures below.
Small grocery store items, typical items.
We ended the day returning to one of our favorite restuarants, or first re-eatery, and it again was wonderful, El Coconut in Tamarindo. There
we ended the night looking at the sunset and reflecting on the fact that we have passed the half way point of our great adventure, and like the pastor said this morning, the end is near.
the moon has been fantastic lately
Tamarindo sunset
This little fella greeted us when we came home. You can't see it in this pic, but they are very colorful, and mean, much meaner than dungeness, the meanest Alaska crab.
What we learned:
1. A church without walls, and wind, can add empasis to the message if timed right.
2. A church without walls can make you sweat, which isn’t always bad.
3. Fires in Costa Rica, just like the people, burn slower.
4. The markets closest to the tourist areas are by far the most expensive.
5. The kids here work hard, and they appreciate a mango smoothie.
Addendum Day 9 — What we have learned
1. Long painful dirt roads, the roads less traveled often have hidden treasures if you persevere.
2. Finding a sugar free white chocolate americano, has still eluded us, even though it contains the Spanish word Americano.
3. There are over 300 different bird species, lots of poisonous critters and more here.
4. During the rainy season, the water in the river can rise 15-20 feet over its banks.
5. There are a lot of boars here and they attack and eat the white tail deer.
6. In 9 days, we have not seen one female server at the restaurants, not one!
