Virtual SA: Costa Rica- Waterfalls

There are 25+ beautiful waterfalls in Costa Rica. Many are part of The Waterfall Gardens in LaPaz. That is where we will start our Waterfall Tour, today.

https://youtu.be/MpfYyI6QpUU?si=PD3J9pz94hR1SvqZ

Sound of the Falls.

https://youtu.be/OQlhobjPxHM?si=1emyaAQ6Jy-EhjIX

Onward to the LaPaz Waterfall Gardens.

We will begin at the Peace Lodge.

The ultimate in relaxation while enjoying the Eco-tourism that Costa Rica offers.

 Peace Lodge

https://youtu.be/GojlUAV_5m4?si=1_dKEWHdIUzsQe_C

Lower end rooms will set you back 400 USD plus.  The deluxe will run you upwards of 900 USD per night.

(...good thing this is virtual...)

Exploring the Waterfall Gardens

https://youtu.be/6dsTvLFQf-g?si=15maGUU8-Rmc1ruk

https://youtu.be/1p05QKhum2U?si=JpSbn7TiVmpLnU2y

Also Monteverde Cloud Forest

https://youtu.be/BGjiODL7b3s?si=2VJ1Q2TX7YaI_GgY

Explore the Cloud Forest

Or go zip-lining through the canopy.

 https://youtu.be/v3q4navXidY?si=ne1FpREShAkjJcZQ

 

 I hope you've enjoyed today's adventure!

 

Patchouli...Pot...Pizza and Politics...

 

Our Hippie Getaway...

Complicated by the fact Marshall voted down the dispensary...and necessitated a drive onward to Effingham....lol...

We are nothing if not resourceful!

And the dispensary was "...not your local head." It almost had a respectability about it...and a steady stream of customers from neo-hippies to business suits and grandma and grandpa.

When the side door opened strains of Billy Idol, Led Zeppelin, and Elton John poured out.

After perusing the merchandise...which you could smell long before you could see..we settled on a chocolate bar edible.

Its 100 mg. was more than enough.

With a patchouli candle (...the official smell of hippies circa 1970-1980's) and tie dye...a gas station pizza and the GOP Debates we started our adventure.

(...planks...seriously????)

The chocolate edible....delicious...and not the THC of the 70's.

Not pot brownies.

Slower to work...but nicely stoned stupid...like being wrapped in a safe warm cocoon...even if walking was out of the question...lol.

And amazingly free of all pain for at least four hours...which was very very nice.

The pizza...underwhelming.

The politics...omg...when Haley and Christie made more sense than any of them...it is time to turn the debates off.

(...planks?????? Seriously????)

 And like Poison reminds us

"Ain't looking for nothin' but a good time...and it don't get better than this."

                                  

  It was a wonderful adventure, guy!

 

Busy week...

 

Emma turned 17...and had Sisters Day yesterday with Tina. Pizza and brownies...Moscato and political discourse. It was wonderful.

 

Autumn is already creeping in at Brooks Falls.

And 151 (Walker) is not only around..

but also ROUND.

Becoming a serious contender for the Fat Bear Contest.

Fall is quickly approaching, here, as well.

The Summer Garden is spent...and my marigolds and sunflowers have a good start.

The fireflies are gone...but the geese and crows are back and noisy.

Ditto for the cicadas...which are obnoxious.

In less than a week it will be time to change the decor over to Fall!

As of tonight...pre-season is over...

 

Let The Games begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

                                        Finnegan keeping lookout.

                                                     Gadget Snoozing.

 

A Morning Cup with The Bears...Finnegan has Taken Over...and More

 

"Yeah...I own you now..."

                          -Finnegan

Finnegan has been expanding his territory to include me...the patio...the lawn just outside the patio...the Black Locust Tree...and the sidewalk down the hill. He has ran off Crabby Tabby, The Raccoon, Old Black Tom, Charlie-Cat...and even rushed at Amber when she was out hanging my newly filled hummingbird feeder!

He takes his position very seriously.

I am his, apparently.

He will let me love his head and body now...but still is wary of any quick movements...and being a lap kitty isn't even a notion yet. Remember, this guy has been completely feral for seven years.

At this point I am the only human he has ever let close to him...although he was abducted by the FACE people and neutered years ago.

(...see the clipped ear...)

Enjoyed my Morning Cup with the bear-folk...and Otis, this morning.

Had a small piece of pie dough left and rolled it out to make a Peach Preserve Pie with Whipped Cream to accompany my coffee.

 The salmon are everywhere...and so are the bears.

901 is such a good first time mother with her triplets...and they are all doing very well.

Although they also eat scraps of fish...she is still nursing all three...and sometimes you can even get a glimpse of their milk mustaches.

(above)

Fishing is tough work...and sometimes you fall right off the falls...to her credit she stuck the landing and did not drop her breakfast!

Otis has also been filling out nicely...and was feeling his oats, this morning.

(...Oatie oats???)

In the news...

In the burned out town in Maui this guy emerged alive!

A tiny kitten.

Finishing up my pie and coffee...soon to scrub the sofa, loveseat and my rocking chair. Amber did the carpets last week and they look great!!!

Football tonight!

The Colts and Bears pre-season at 7 PM...and The Chiefs and Cardinals at 8 PM. So John and I will watch the beginning of his team together...diverge...and then be able to catch the end of mine.

Have a Wonderful Day!

                                                         "When does the ballgame start, Dad?"

                                                                                                     -Gadget

Love,

Carla and Finnegan

 

Virtual SA: Costa Rica (Overview)

 

And, at last, we are away from revolutionaries, rapists and massive crime.

No more guerrillas, gangs and guns.

Welcome to Costa Rica (translates to The Rich Coast)!

And it is...playground for the rich...safe haven for tourists.

Next week we will discover the Waterfall Gardens of LaPaz and more.

Beautiful beaches.

Jungles.

Volcanoes.

Cuisine.

Ecotourism at its best!

Home to about 5 million people. 

Once colonized by the Spanish.

Tropical...either very wet or very dry.

The most visited country is Central America...and the originator of eco-tourism.

Pacifist Country...no standing military.

Mostly Catholic and the language is Spanish...although English is widely used here.

Food has influences from Spanish, Indian and African...but best known dish is Tamales!

Places to See and Things to Do

https://youtu.be/D6b5zcDqvf4

Don'ts in Costa Rica

https://youtu.be/rHIiKIc9g-g

Come along on the Adventure!

 

 

 

And More Bears...

 

It may be Summer, here, but at Brooks Falls...Autumn has arrived.

So have the salmon.

It is good to see the bears relaxed, fat and happy instead of grumpy, fighting, thin and desperate.

The infrared night cam caught this moose a few night's back.

Which I found kind of neat...and wanted to share.

The 901 triplets and their mom are doing well...and filling out.

Hanging out on a rock while Mom fishes.

And Bucky Dent (#164) is back!

 Bucky is also called Shower Bear because of his head-in-the-base-of-the-falls fishing approach which, surprisingly, gives good results!

Fish that don't quite make the leap...or escape the jaws at the top and tumble back...often find themselves in Bucky's mouth!

Finishing Morning Coffee and out to play in the plants.

Virtual SA: Baleadas

 

Breakfast Baleadas...

Baleadas are the favorite cuisine in Honduras.

Basically comfort food they can be found from street food...to your Grandma's house...and even in fancy restaurants.

They are made from various ingredients...can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner...even as a snack.,

They can be made savory or sweet.

One Version

https://youtu.be/PAr5kPvNUAw

The gist of this typically Honduran dish is a fried tortilla...

For Savory stuff with 

meat...beans...sour cream...cheese...veggies

For Sweet stuff with

fruit...sweetened cream...chocolate...sweetened cheese

They are Honduran Tacos.

Next time: Costa Rica

Grandchildren...Bears...and Football is BACK!

 

My grandson...The Amazing Preston!

His mother, once married to my oldest son....I had him from age 6 until the day I last saw him as a leggy teenager of 12.

After the divorce and such he was bounced from home to home until I literally had no idea where he was or how to contact him.

It had been a little over a decade.

I never stopped loving him, and he was always (and would always be) my grandson.

There were times I wondered if I would ever see him again.

Until WEDNESDAY...

When I opened my door for a food delivery...and there was a bearded man where my Amazing Preston used to be.

Okay....I cried.

"Do you remember me?" He asked.

It was hard to even answer...of course...you are and will always be my grandson...I finally got out, as we hugged long and hard.

"And you will always be my Grandma Rose."

We exchanged information...found and added each  other on FB...which is nice because I have ALL my grands in one place again...and we are never going to spend ten years apart ever again.

Serendipitous...finding one another again because of a food order.

I am blessed.

He is engaged.

So, yeah...that is how MY week went.

Woke this morning to rain and storms, but now it has stopped and the sun is out brightly.

And did I mention FOOTBALL is back!!!!

John's Colts play at 1:00 PM today...and my Kansas City Chiefs play at 1:00 PM tomorrow...so it is shaping up to be a great weekend of football!

The Colts are starting Richardson, so I can't wait to see how he does.

Their first pre-season game is against The Bills.

...no pressure, there...

I've seen him in practice already, and man does this guy have an arm!

I just hope our O-line has its shit together this year.

Less than a half-hour to go.

We'll see.

And speaking of see...

#128 (Grazer)

And #747 (a.k.a Colbert...a.k.a Bear Force One) are just huge...thanks to these guys.

Trout and Salmon EVERYWHERE!!!!

You can probably see those two from space.

Naturalist, Mike Fitz, put it in perspective when he explained that 747 was over 5 feet high on all fours...and almost 10 feet high standing...over 1500 pounds...and has paws the size of dinner plates.

"Oh wait...that's not an island...that is just 747 messing around, again."

                                                                                                              Alices

Have a Great Weekend...off to get snacks and get ready for the game!!!

Love,

Carla and Finn

 

Update:

We lost to the Bill's 19 to 23...but it was a good game...we got to see many new players (rookies) on both sides...got to see both Minshew and Richardson play...and our o-line STILL sucks badly.

All the talking heads could discuss was Richardson's initial interception...not mentioning the 50 yard dime he threw later that Pierce dropped right at the endzone.

And Minshew immediately got sacked.

TWICE.

Kyle Allen is no Josh...and sucked.

Matt Barkley needs to be the Bill's QB2.

Tomorrow, we will see what Kansas and New Orleans look like.

 

Okay...wow!!!

This may have been the best pre-season game I've ever watched!

The Saints made a good decision with Carr...and although he and Mahomes only played 1/2 of the first quarter before being replaced by 2nd and 3rd string QBS, Carr's performance was exceptional!! He scored a TD on his first drive and got another before his replacement. 

Our 2nd string wasn't much to talk about but Bueshele is amazing...and should (IMO) be bumped up to second string.

The BEST moment of the game, for me, was Bueshele's pass to Ross for the TD...and Mahomes exploding with joy from the bench and cheering/fist-pumping all the way down the sideline in celebration!!!!

A true leader...who celebrates the accomplishments of his team-mates.

A team will follow a leader like that through the gates of hell.

In the end, at the last 46 seconds, the Saints kicked a FG and won by  2 points...but both teams were winners today...they both have some amazing new players...and I expect great things!

Wonderful weekend of football!