Traveling Summary

Sean and Will came up for the weekend in the fall with a big group of friends for Will's birthday

 Our first trip this fall was down to Maryland to visit my sister Paula and then to Washington DC for a stay with James and Morgen. Scott came back by train and I stayed for a few more days with Paula, returning with the car.

We went down to visit my sister Paula and James & Morgen
Here's Morgen with her sister Claire (she had a baby girl
this January).

Will and his birthday cake

In between Sean and Will's wedding in August and Daniel's Bar Mitzvah in Costa Rica on January 9 we did a lot of traveling - some of it last minute.  Our planned trip in November to visit our two oldest children and their families was wonderful. We spent a week in Tulsa, OK with Josh, Michal and their 5 kids followed by a week with Zoe, George and their two over Thanksgiving. George cooked all weekend and we ate like kings. Time with our grandchildren is fantastic and never long enough.

Cookie, Maya and myself cooking up a storm in the kitchen

Holiday presentations at the University School - here Uzi's class

Cookie shows off her Hanukkah gingerbread house
which she made for the Philbrook Museum
Lights Festival exhibit

The annual Philbrook Museum Lights Festival evening

Cookie and I paint a peacock for Uzi's class project. Each child
 made the "eyes" of the feathers with their fists.

We had planned to come home to Vermont following this but just before leaving we had a call from our Marina in Guatemala. The deck replacement project scheduled for mid March and expected to last 10 weeks could be moved up to start in November if we wished. This meant we would not be there to supervise the whole project but would allow us a longer cruising period this season. We gave them the go ahead. This meant a second trip down to Guatemala in December to check on progress, make payments and decisions. So we flew out of  Boston after returning from California and then back again after 10 days on 12/15.

George carves up the perfect turkey

While Tommy and Zoe clean up

A family Thanksgiving crowd

We got in several hikes through the local preserves

And a trip down to Half Moon Bay

It allowed us a few days at home before jumping in the car to spend a weekend back in Boston for our annual Holiday Open House 12/20 - this year at Karen & Ted's home in Winchester. The whole gang showed up yet again. This party has been going on since 1970 and keeps our group of old friends in touch.  Then home again in time for hosting a neighborhood holiday party on 12/21. Sean and Will showed up for that with James and Morgen coming on the 23rd. When we all get together, planning, cooking and eating meals are our favorite activities. Especially Sean, James and myself. That and playing board games alternated with going for hikes when the weather permitted. Christmas Eve Scott and I sang in the choir at our tiny local church. Sean and Will came along while James and Morgen fixed our dinner; carmelized onion and white wine risotto with grilled lamb chops & steak with a green salad. Of course we had tons of Christmas cookies all week.
Christmas morning we all opened massive stockings and ate a huge blueberry walnut pancake breakfast with local cob smoked bacon and sausage. Larry and new girlfriend Christine joined us for a few days. Christine brought pies for dessert after the Roast Turkey dinner (I didn't get to make Thanksgiving this year so had to do it on Christmas). On Saturday we visited the Smiths in Middlebury for a wonderful dinner and on Sunday had dinner up in Waitsfield with the Silversteins. James and Morgen left on 12/29 and Sean & Will on the 31st. It was a wonderful week and hard to see it end.
We hadn't long now to clean up and get the house ready for the long winter. And of course we had the new trip to Costa Rica to plan and pack for. On 1/5 we flew tiny Cape Air to Boston followed by 1/6 to Guatemala City and then 1/8 to Costa Rica. Then back to Guatemala City on 1/13 and next day, the bus down to the Rio Dulce and Tortugal Marina. So here we are now and will be for at least three more weeks. The old teak deck has been removed, sanded down and new non skid fiberglass panels installed. The finishing work lies ahead. Due to fiberglass dust we have had to stay in a hotel room at the Marina but hopefully will be able to move aboard tomorrow. We've been living in hotel rooms too often these last months!

My handsome and tall grandson Nick, 12

On the deck at Tortugal Marina in Guatemala for coffee in the morning

With Tortugal's owner and our friend Daphne

The Silversteins, hosts Karen & Ted Martin and Tom Dunn

The breakfast table set with "crackers" on
Christmas morning

Sean & Will waiting for breakfast

Scott cooking up the pancakes

With our crowns on in the kitchen

Will does look like a King surrounded by
opened presents 

And there's a lot of them

Morgen and James

At Harvey & Gail Smiths with Colin & Leslie

La Paz Waterfall Gardens

We spent most of a day at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens about 1.5 hours from San Jose and loved it. We hired a very knowledgeable guide, Raphael, had an early lunch and then started on our hike through the property. First we visited the bird sanctuary, then the butterflies, monkeys, cats, reptiles, orchids followed by a hike down the canyon with 4 different waterfalls. There were so many things to see and the animals, all rescued from illegal ownership, were in natural environments and seemed very well cared for. Our grandchildren, aged 4 to 13 loved the place and so did we. At the end there is a shuttle bus that brings your back to the starting point.

La Paz is on the way to Volcano National Park although we
took a different route.

And as yesterday we saw lots of cows

At a stop to take a break the girls decorated
the barb wire fence with flowers!

Maya and myself pose at the La Paz Gardens restaurant

Josh & Michal cuddle

Father and son look alikes

There were endless stairs up and down the valley. You had to
be in good shape for this hike.

The flowers were lovely everywhere

Everyone got a chance to hold the
Toucan - here Maya,

A spectacle owl spies on us

There were a lot of Scarlet Macaws. These beautiful
birds live up to 75 years in captivity and mate for life!

The butterfly conservatory was amazing - huge with
thousands of butterflies that landed on us everywhere.

Maya shows off one lovely one

And Daniel gets a kiss!

Orchids are just so amazing

Shira has a twin leopard

But Uzi bonding with the mountain lion

This is the traditional oxen cart beautifully decorated. It's
in front of a hacienda built without nails like it would have
been a hundred years ago.

Cookie pumps some water

Shira with a green pepper and our guide Raphael inside
the hacienda

We sampled cinnamon rice milk and coconut corn
pudding - traditional treats

Posing at our first of four waterfalls.

These walkways and staircases were built hanging on to the
steep walls of the canyon where a series of waterfalls drop
down thousands of feet.

Our handsome oldest son Josh

Looking up at the misty hills dense with vegetation

Uzi and Michal stand in the spray of another waterfall

Shira looking adorable, as usual

The waterfall looks smaller here but it is actually much taller. It's the perspective. 

Daniel's Bar Mitzvah in Costa Rica

My wonderful grandson Daniel! He has a cast on due to
a broken thumb skiing in Taos.

I now have proof that Daniel actually does eat. He is a
notoriously picky eater.

It's been too long a time since my last blog post and I apologize! I got caught waiting for the final pictures of Sean and Will's wedding and then I never got caught up. SO - I'll finish up their wedding photos later and meanwhile bring you up to date. We are now in Costa Rica. Our oldest son Joshua has moved his family; my wonderful daughter-in-law Michal and their five children, Daniel, Ariella "Cookie", Maya, Joanathan "Uzi" and Shira to San Jose, Costa Rica for probably one semester of school. We found about this in late December including plans for Daniel's Bar Mitzvah at the Orthodox Synagogue there last Saturday the 9th of January. This is big deal for Daniel and all his family but they had found it hard to make a decision as to where it would be. In addition they were very interested in having all the children learn Spanish and have international experience. Costa Rica fit the bill in many respects - not least of which was the very old established active Jewish community.
 So we made sudden plans to fly from Guatemala to spend the week with them before getting down to our boat. We flew in Friday afternoon and after only a brief pause at our hotel, joined them for Shabbat services at the temple. Daniel had a little experience meeting everyone that night and reading briefly part of the service. The next morning he was absolutely awesome (and this is not just his grandparents speaking). The congregation there labeled him the "Wonder Boy". He read and sang from the ancient Torah (with no vowels) ALL the 9 parts of the service. This is basically unheard of. And he sounded so great. Then he gave his speech, a discussion of that week's Torah portion. Josh sponsored the luncheon following the service. It was all wonderful. Unfortunately I couldn't take any photos as it was Shabbat, sorry. Afterwards we enjoyed ourselves in their new apartment. It's on the 12th floor of a very modern high rise overlooking the national stadium at the huge park in the city. That night was a big soccer game and the fireworks display lasted for 20 minutes - what fun.

From left; Deborah, Shira, Ariella, Jonathan, Scott, Maya & Daniel

Scott's first wife Deborah Garren with Daniel at the luncheon
following the Bar Mitzvah

The next day we were ready early for a trip up to the Poas Volcano National Park, about 2 hours from San Jose. It was a long pretty drive through pastoral landscapes with lots of dairy cows. This area was obviously settled by German immigrants and has a European flavor. The summit is 8,900 feet and lovely trails connect the 3 craters with the visitor's center. We spent several hours hiking to 2 of them. The main crater is quite active although the last big eruptions were in 1952 - 54. We also took the uphill trail to the Botos Crater, now occupied by a beautiful green lake in dense vegetation.  We had been advised to start early as the clouds and mists roll in later and obstruct the views. But on this day and the next we had perfect weather.
We were all hungry when we finished our exploration of the volcano and happily we found the beautiful Quieres Restaurant with a huge local buffet, "all you can eat", down the road. The views were extensive and the food good, with lots of choices for everyone.
I'll cover our next day's adventure in a (quickly) following post.

A timed shot in their new apartment in San Jose, Costa Rica

Dancing around the kitchen

Jonathan "Uzi", Maya and Shira

Maya, Ariella "Cookie" and "Uzi" on the way

"Uzi" and Shira under the Umbrella Leaf

Walking up to the Volcano Crater

Steam rises up from the thermal vents at the main crater

Cookie and myself pose

Daniel looking over the view

II 

This is the second crater, reached after a good long uphill walk and really spectacularly beautiful

Our way was lined with flowers

Scott, Maya, Shira, Michal, Uzi, Heather, Cookie and Daniel\

Cookie pauses on our way up to the Botos crater

The view from the Quires Restaurant where we had lunch