8.1.2012

Sam and I just got home from the most amazing vacation to Costa Rica. Thanks to Sam's parents who drove all the way out here (24 hr drive--2 days!) to watch the kids for a week. I don't even know how to thank them enough. I knew they were in good hands and though we missed them like crazy it was amazing to spend time alone with Sam in Costa Rica. We took a million pictures--it was the most beautiful place that I've ever been. Ever! Thanks Sam for planning the greatest vacation and to our friends Cristina & Giovianni, our good friends who we met in Ithaca during grad school. They live in Costa Rica and were amazing hosts. They told us where to go--what to do--invited us out to their farm for 2 nights, put us up in the hotel that Giovianni owns in San Jose (Balmoral, it's perfect! check it out if you're headed that way!) cooked us meals, took us out, and on and on and on. It was amazing and I already miss practicing my horrible Spanish, driving on crazy dirt roads, eating good and crazy new foods, being adventurous, and spending all day with Sam. 

Day 1 San Jose-River Rafting.

Day 2 Aranal Volcano. Stayed in the most amazing hotel where we had our own cabana and got totally pampered at the spa.

Day 3: zip line!

Day 4-5: the Beach. Stayed in another great hotel. Last picture was the view from our room. Was the most amazing beach I'd ever been to. We brought home about 10 lbs of seashells that we found for the kids.

Day 6-7: met up with Giovianni and Cristina at their farm. Horses, bikes, swimming, talking to monkeys in the trees. It was wonderful...and so fun to see them again.

 

We tried to keep up with the Olympic action while we were there. We caught the torch lighting at a tiny gas station on our drive to the farm and practiced our Spanish (Giovianni had to help a lot) reading the newspapers.

Funny thing about Costa Rica--there are no roads. No addresses. This is what our GPS said most of the time...turn on the "road" ha ha ha. It made us laugh.

What a crazy, beautiful, fun, perfect little country. We had the best time. I'm so glad we had the kids to come home to because I would've been totally depressed to leave if we didn't. ha ha. really. It was so great to see the kids again! They were so stoked to see us and course we squeezed them and kissed them all over for hours when we got home. Thanks again Robyn, Gene and Nolan for watching the kids. I never worried about them once, I knew they were in great hands. And thanks to Sam for the most amazing vacation of my life! I really loved every minute of it.