A few weeks ago...

My mom and niece, Britani, came for a week.  We had been here about two weeks when they showed up.  It was perfect timing for us because we had gotten settled but hadn't started school so we had itchy feet and needed an adventure.  We were also a bit homesick, especially Rebecca.

We piled into our little car and went to La Fortuna, home of the Arenal Volcano and some great hot springs.  Seeing La Fortuna was a bit of a shock for me.  It had always been one of my favorite places in Costa Rica but now it is so over-developed.  I apparently am not the only one who likes it.  It was still awesome but not the same feel.  The highlight of the La Fortuna was the zipline and Tarzan Swing.  Mom, Brit and I did the tour and it was great.  The longest zipline was 750 m through the forest.  The Tarzan Swing was a jump off of a platform that felt like it was hundreds of feet off of the ground but really wasn't.  The guides told Brit that she would scream and being a defiant 17 year old she resisted.  Of course, she won and did not scream.

We then went to Chilamate to see the cloud forest.  This was a bust...we saw monkeys, a sloth and a bunch of cool birds.  But there wasn't much for the younger crowd (i.e. Rebecca).  We are learning that what is appealing to 40 year old's is not the same as 5 year old's.  Still beautiful and I am glad we went.  We will just be more prepared next time.

Then we came back to our house because we had to work the next day.  Mom, Brit and Rebecca had two awesome days of adventure.  They went to the Children's Museum in San Jose which was very cool.  Rebecca really liked the shopping section, but you only buy 5 things at a time.  The next day they went to the Rain Forest Tram which sounded super cool.  They saw a mom and baby tapir, so close to them.  What a lucky sighting.

Them Mom, Brit and I went rafting on the Pacaure.  It is one of the most beautiful rivers ever.  We were rained on all day but were never really cold just wet.  It was a great day.

My mom was a trouper the entire trip...Brit pushed her grandma to the limits of comfort zone and my mom responded valiantly.  She was terrified on the zipline but did it.  A great role model.

We loved the visit and are looking forward to more visitors...We had Brett and Maura come through at the end of their honeymoon which was really nice...but we need more people to come see us.