2024 Costa Rica Trip

 Highlights:

• Nosara Beach house. 
• Alex Nott 506 8829 0338 
• www.nosarabeachhouse.com
• Private walk path in the jungle to a pristine surfing beach.
• House is well stocked with every needs
• Corky's surf shop
• Colin 506 8651 4130
• Next door to Nosara beach house
• Friendly and skilled surf instructors
• Finca Modelo adventure
• Jr 506 2645 5581
• Transportation + Ficus tree climb + 90 min night walk + a good dinner is only $45/pp
• ATV tour to coffee farm
• Yeudy from Pipin ATV rental 506 423 0754
• Friendly guide and friendly farm family
• Booked from Gilded Iguana for $500. Booked directly would be much cheaper.
• 100% Aventura
• Make reservation ahead of time.
• Tarzan swing is the most fun part
• El Tigre waterfalls
• 5 miles of superb scenery 
• Horseback riding back to the top
• Hotel Belmar
• Penthouse's setting is ideal in the cloud forest. 

Things missed and would like to try next time:

• Arribada
• Mauren Cabalceta 506 6018 7412
• Turtle didn't arrive during our stay but Mauren was nice and communicate quickly
• Monte Verde Cloud Forest
• Make reservation ahead of time. Only admits 250 person per day
• Nosara Day camp
• Cinthya Rosales 
• Activities sounds fun but we kept our kids with us

Things to avoid:

• Biting bugs! Bring enough bug spray. I counted 40+ bites on the third day!

We arrived Liberia on time around 1pm, got in our car at Vamos and on our way around 2:30. Even though we are only 70 miles away, it took us two and a half hours to reach our destination. The road after Nicoya was terrible with huge potholes. Google suggested Santa Cruz route and originally we planned to go by Playa Negra to eat Hotel Negra fish. But I decided against it because of possible road problems. Alex, our host, told us that the route might have a few deep water crossings because of the green season. 

Our house is a cozy group of buildings and I was lost on which part to go. Alex was in the courtyard and guided me through. We walked around the town trying to find Cafe Paris for dinner only to find it closed. We skipped Luvburger, a vegan restaurant that was recommended. We had our first meal at Pacifica Azul. The meal was expensive and had no highlights. This dinner cost us $150, more expensive than Hawaii. We took a walk to the beach in the dark after dinner and saw many crabs scampering around. 

Sunday kids woke up early at 6:30. They skipped breakfast and went to boogie boarding in the ocean till 9am. Will rented a surfboard. We came back and played in the pool. Then we went to the mini mart to get some groceries. It’s also expensive that we only got lunch. After lunch we went to check out the tide pool. Low tide was at 1pm. It’s a long walk to the end of Playa Guiones. Nothing much really at the pool. Norah and I played till 3 and we came back to the pool. Then we all played the card game Rummy till we left for the grocery store. It’s fun to shop in a foreign country's local store.

We got to La Luna at 5:30. I made a reservation at 6pm at sunset. It was the perfect time to see the sunset. Playa Pelada is so beautiful! La Luna food is better but we waited a little over an hour for our food. It’s under-staffed. The view is unbeatable and should not be missed.

We had a slow morning for our 10am surf lessons. Will booked with Corkey’s surf shop. Collin and Brian were our coaches. Another surf instructor needed medical attention because he fainted during yesterday’s surf time. Instructor was helpful. He pointed out that I wasn’t breathing properly while surfing. The waves were big from ashore and huge in the water! Also I didn’t go low enough. Instructor was very impressed with Norah, saying she has athletic ability plus is very focused. She also learned quickly and adapted well. We surfed half an hour more and headed back for lunch. Because of the grocery store trip, we’ve gotten enough food for the rest of the stay.

Rain started in the afternoon. Will was originally planning to go surfing 3-5pm. We took a trip to the ATM to outlast the rain. Walking in the rain among the forest (NCA trail) was fun. We had a break in the sky about 4:30 and Will headed out. Kids and I joined him with a boogie board. I was rinsing my hands when my phone fell out of my pocket. Tide is coming and took my phone out and wouldn’t clear. I was already imagining how I would survive without my phone. Luckily it resurfaced after a few rolling waves! We had a nice night walk after dinner and checked out the town streets.

The next morning, we took an exploration walk to Bodhi Tree resort to check the tour offerings. It’s about 30 minutes to walk there. The uphill walk took some energy. Grounds are nice but smoothies were so so. Boys went surfing when I chatted with neighbors and went to Gilded Iguana to sign up for an ATV tour the next day.

After lunch, we drove to Ostional to see the road conditions. Water level is too high yet people still drive through it. We went to the supermarket in downtown Nosara to get the yummy banana bread our neighbor was telling us about. We had a good surfing session in the afternoon until sunset time.

We got picked up at 8 AM to the coffee farm. It's a 10 minutes drive to the Pipin TV shop. We got two ATVs and a guide. This is the first time I drove an ATV. It was pretty intimidating at the beginning when we climbed the hills. I thought I wouldn't be able to make it, but Guide was teaching me to control a TV and not let the AV control me. After that, things got much easier.

We arrived at the coffee farm after about an hour's drive. The patriarch of the farm welcomed us. They made us coffee from their own coffee beans. And then used an orange peeling machine to peel freshly picked oranges for us.We went on a tour of the property. And had some more freshly picked fruits like lime, tomatoes, and coconut. The taste was so good. When we came back from the tour, lunch was ready. It was common Costa Rican food including salad, rice and beans, freshly rolled corn tortilla, plus the chicken. With their homemade chili sauce and lemonade made with fresh lemon and sugarcane, this was the best meal we had on this trip. On our way back, we saw a group of monkeys hanging out in the trees right next to the road. The guide's ATV was broken down, so Will towed him to the shop. 

Will had a 3 PM surf class. And the three of us did boogie boarding. It was a very fun activity until the daily thunderstorm arrived and we headed back. Will and I took a walk towards the corner of the northern tip of Playa Giannis. The sunset was spectacular again. Time seems to freeze and people stop what they’re doing to watch the sunset. This is a dreamy part of the world

We started our day by surfing and boogie boarding. Came home early for lunch and headed to Ostional again to check the water crossing. We crossed the water this time and drove through the town. We stopped by the beach and checked out the Ostional beach with lots of broken turtle eggs.

We stopped by the Lagarta Lodge to check out the biological reserve Trail. It's where the river enters the ocean and has a good ocean view. They offered this turtle tour but it’s $60 per person. ($20/$10 with a local guide I contacted) Our guide has been very nice but he texted me saying unfortunately the turtle activity has decreased to none last night. During the break, I went to the local fruit stand near the NCA trail to buy some rambutan. Instead, I got some mango since they ran out of rambutan. We went to another surfing session in the afternoon. We served all the way till sunset. What a simple and beautiful day.

Today is a transition day. Will squeezed in another surf session in the morning. Three of us only watched. We packed up and headed to Rosi’s for lunch before the drive.  Drive took 3.5 hours as the road was mostly good. I stopped by and picked up some rambutan. They were in season. Monteverde is so high up. We checked in our penthouse in Hotel Belmar and loved the room, the view and the luxury. We had dinner at Celajes, the hotel restaurant. It’s fine dining but still cheaper than Nosara restaurant price. We had dinner out on the patio and watched the rain. Storm was raging through the night with wind howling. 

We had planned to go to the 7:30am yoga but realized good weather is only in the morning in the rain season. Changed plan to go to 100% Aventura. They had cancellation and could squeeze us in at 8am. We ran out of the door without much breakfast. We had great fun ziplining, especially the Tarzan swing. Then we stopped by El Tigre waterfall. We ate an early good Costa rican lunch then hiked the gorgeous waterfalls. Rode the horses uphill back. Love the first time riding experience with the kids! After we got home to rest, I checked again with the front desk about the Ficus tree but no luck. Will found a tour at 5pm so we again ran out of the door.

Ficus tree climbing was like a fairytale land. It started thundering and lightning and pouring during our climb. We got soaking wet. The other tourists didn’t climb. I was dazed by the fun experience. Then we waited for the rain to stop to do a night walk only to walk in the pouring rain again. Norah asked how long and the guide said 1.5 hours. We walked miserably for half an hour and when I saw the sign to reception, I finally asked to turn around. I’m glad I did. The rain got more intense. Hiking trail turned into a rushing creek that hit Norah's knee in some places. We had dinner near the finca Modelo place and it was pretty good food. What a day! We settled into our bed at 10pm. 

Sunday we took it easy and dried our shoes on our Balcony and saw toucans and coatis. Turned on the jacuzzi and Norah enjoyed it. I picked Taco Taco for lunch. The restaurant perched high on a hill. The Clouds rolled in and it felt like we were dining in the clouds! Thankfully their food was good too. We stopped by Monteverde Cloud Forest and saw the hummingbird gallery.  Hundreds of hummingbirds were darting about. Some of them float around humans and check them out. Kids loved photographing the birds and one coatis that stole the honey water. We did our self guided hike on the property, went to the beer garden then to our 4pm yoga. We went to Morpho’s for dinner. Morpho's has two ficus trees inside the restaurant for decoration. Their traditional CR food is pretty good. 

Monday we had breakfast at the hotel. Took a quick stroll on the self-guided trail on the property and drove to LIR. 

Take your kids to work day -- 2024

 Both kids enjoyed another year of TI day. It was definitely not a typical work day for me and other parents. I enjoyed work more than usual after I sent them to their afternoon camp. LOL

Rough Creek 2024 -- Jackpot!

We hit Jackpot over this year's Rough Creek trip. Temperature dropped on Friday and stayed mostly around 80es during the day, 70es during dawn and dusk. This weather made our 3 days in RC so pleasant. I joked who needs Colorado when we get this weather in Texas over the end of July!

This was the 4th year three families gathered at RC with the Kirby family joining us the first time. All 17 of us stayed at the Becker house. This luxury house impressed me with its Western Texan décor and attention to detail each time we stayed. 

Fishing, boating, ziplining, rock climbing, biking, indoor pickleball, air rifle, archery, tomahawk, bowling alley, mini-golf, driving range, petting zoo, a big swimming pool with slides are among the free activities the lodge provides. The kids also loved the free Kona Ice, daily treats like ice cream, cotton candy. It's a kids' paradise. 

On Sunday, we celebrated Jackson, Keven, and Catherine's birthday. This trip is right on top of Jackson's birthday that we negotiated a mini-party with Jackson. 

In the evenings, we started a fire in the outdoor fire pit. After roasted marshmallows, kids started a manhunt in the dark. Adults surrounded the fireplace and chatted under the starry night. Listening to the kids' giggles and laughter with black prairie breeze, we didn't want to call it a night. And there were no mosquitos! 

Boating fun

Uncle Dave and Aunt Julie invited us and grandparents to spend a day on the lake with their new boat over last weekend. It was so much fun! This was the second time we went. Norah wished for a fast forward button so she could go boating quicker.

At the first time, Jeffery showed us how to wake surf. Both kids watched him surfing without blinking. Jeffery made it look effortless to stand. When it was their turns, it took many tries and no success. Jackson had his success when we switched to Zupboard. 

This time Uncle Dave helped to start them at the back of the boat. They were getting closer to maneuver the wake surf board. When we moved to Zupboard, Will and I both stood up. It was the first time I ever stood up on a lake board! I was so satisfied of this life achievement. :-) Both kids also tried Jeffery's wakeboard. They got up after a few try and they are hooked! 

Boating day is such a special treat! We are grateful of the fun family times. 

Norah's Spring '24 soccer season

Norah joined the Texas Lonestars soccer team during the winter and played the spring season with the team.  The team had too many girls for one 7v7 team, and not enough for two.  Fortunately, they were able to form both a 7v7 and 4v4 team.  Norah was on the roster for the 7v7 team, but the already short-staffed 4v4 team experienced a couple of injuries (outside soccer), and so Norah played all the 7v7 games and most of the 4v4 games.  We really enjoyed the 4v4 games because there was so much ball-time for every player!

The 4v4 team made the playoffs.  On a cloudy Saturday morning, we arrived for their first playoff game.  Many of Norah's teammates had been at a school lock-in the night before, and weren't really awake.  By halftime, the other team was up 3-0 and I don't think Lonestars even had one shot of goal!  At least we wouldn't have to come back for a Sunday game...

With some encouragement from Coach Christine, the girls came out to play the second half with some more energy.  They (and their goalpost ;-)) played solid defense, and midway through the third quarter broke through for their first goal on one of their first shots.  Early in fourth quarter, Norah took the ball near midfield and booted in a long range goal to narrow the game to 3-2.  Now things were getting interesting!  A penalty 10 yards from their opponents goal gave the Lonestars a chance to even the score.  Norah took the indirect kick and a teammate was able to punch the ball in - tie game!  With momentum on their side, the Lonestars were able to score again...4-3 Lonestars with about a minute left.  The opponent mounted a furious attack for the end of the game, but the girls were able to fend them off.  

After that dramatic comeback, their girls were pumped for the championship game the next day.  I don't recall the exact sequence of the scoring, but for most of the game the Lonestars either had a one goal lead or the game was tied.  Norah scored the first and third goals, while having an assist on second - all while playing only about half the game.  

For the playoffs, the Lonestars scored 7 goals with Norah scoring 3 and assisting on 2 more - it was a great stretch of soccer for Norah!

May visit to Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP

Saturday, May 25th 

The day after school ended, we whisked the kids to a flight to SLC. Yellowstone just snowed and was still below freezing temperature at night. I planned to go early in the season to avoid the crowd. Since the flights to Jackson were cost-prohibitive, our itinerary was to stop by Idaho Falls for a night then enter Yellowstone through the west gate. 

Idaho Falls reminded me of Spokane with a big river running through the city center. Our hotel Springhill Suites is right next to Snake River. We could walk to multiple restaurant choices. We chose Smokin Fins and had a good meal. We heard about the mediocre food in Yellowstone and tried to pack in better food before we went to the park. 

We hit the rental car lottery this trip, or as we thought. Our ride for the 9 days was Mercedes GLS450. Will has never driven a more expensive car than this, neither have I. Both kids loved their individually controlled seats. We loaded up groceries and headed over to West Yellowstone. Just after we waited in line and got inside the park, the low coolant light went on. Will had to turn around and look for approved coolant in West Yellowstone. However, Napa closed on Sunday and we drove on without the right coolant filled. (We got a backup coolant in the trunk just in case) Later we also discovered a burnt rubber smell when the car slows down to a certain speed. 

Sunday, May 26th

Once in the park, we started to stop for multiple points of interest. Our first stop was Beryl Springs, then we stopped at Artist Paint Pots. They were so impressive with steam roaring from the gap, bubbles pushing from the mud, sulfur smells challenge your nose and the vibrant colors feast your eyes. When the wind blows the steam towards us, the steam makes us feel in a sauna room. 

I purchased the Guide Along App for the park. It is a GPS-triggered guide with interesting facts and must see recommendations. We enjoyed using it. Our guide highly recommended us to stop at Norris Valley. Norris has many springs and geysers grouped close together. The most famous one is Steamboat Geyser, the tallest geyser in the world. When we stopped to talk to a ranger, he said it was very active lately and was predicted to erupt soon. Its last eruption was April 3rd, 2024. Jackson wanted to wait for its eruption. I'm glad we talked him out of it since the next eruption happened 4.5 days later at midnight 1am. 

After bison jam took some of our time between Norris and Mammoth, we finally arrived at Mammoth Lodge. Our cabin had minimal space as we didn't have foot space after we opened our suitcases. The dining room has decent food for both dinner and breakfast. Although breakfast took a very long time. After dinner, we had our walk to Liberty Cap, Lower Mammoth, Higher Mammoth in an hour and a half. We grew to love our after dinner walks on this trip. Sunsets at 9pm and we had plenty of time to explore in the evening. 

Monday, May 27th

After our long breakfast, we drove to Bunsen peak to do a 4.2 mile hike. We had about 1300ft elevation gain in 2.1 miles. The peak was still covered by snow. We all slide down the peak. I was not able to control my direction and dug my hands in to slow down. That gave my hands the frost bite sensation. Notes to self, use feet to slow down the next time. 

We started to make our Grand Upper Loop drive counterclockwise after the hike. Tower Fall was a big stop and we stopped to have post-hike ice cream. We also made a stop at Petrified Tree. A group of people were pointing when we parked. It was a black bear from very far away -- only visible through good binoculars. We hiked on the Lost Lake Trail to have a better look. Just when we debated if it's a log or bear, the bear moved at Jackson's loud voice and we turned back. 

We checked in Canyon village and had a quick and mediocre dinner. Our room is more spacious than the last one and warmer since it's in a lodge. Then we started our favorite post dinner activity on this trip -- hiking. We hiked down to the Lower Fall Viewpoint. The view was spectacular. We continued to hike the Red Rock Point to see the beautiful canyon in the sunset light. 

Tuesday, May 28th

Our morning hike is to Point Sublime through Artist point. It is the best point to see the lower falls in our opinion. Hike to Point Sublime has the canyon cliff on our left hand side. With snow still on some part of the trail, we were careful. And we took a different route through Lily Pad Lake and Clear Lake to Upper Falls Viewpoint, then back to artist point. It was a 6 mile hike we enjoyed. There are mud pots between Lilly Pad Lake and Clear Lake. We got a good view of them. They smell really bad though. At Clear Lake, we saw an elk emerging from across the lake.

We continued our Grand Loop Drive towards the West thumb. When we stopped by Mud Volcano, we saw another group of tourists pointing and gathering. It was two grizzly bears. These two bears were much closer to us. The next stop was Pulmaric Point by the Lake Yellowstone Shore. We enjoyed playing at the beach building bridges.

We checked in the Old Faithful Snow lodge and headed out to see Old Faithful at 4:08 predicted eruption. Actual eruption happened at 4:21. Each eruption predicts 105 minutes apart, which seems to be longer now than what literature said 60-90 minutes apart. We also checked out the Old Faithful Inn for its architecture. Dinner at Obsidian Restaurant was pretty good. 

After dinner, we went back to the Ranger station for their Junior Ranger badge. They both loved the oaths and the 3-D printed badge.We then drove to Grand Prismatic overlook. We did the 1.7 mile hike to the overlook then to the midway basin. The sunset over Grand Prismatic was mesmerizing. We could stay long and marvel at this site. But rain helped us to leave just before the sun completely set. 

Wednesday, May 29th

Will and I woke up at 6am to hike the Upper basin. I wanted to see Morning Glory so we hiked a few miles to the corner of the basin. Two volunteers walked past when we were on our way back and asked if we had seen coyotes or big dogs since they saw footprints. We didn't see any animals. 

We got back around 8am and woke up the kids. The kids would like to see more geysers so we decided on Daisy for its 10:57 eruption. When we were hurrying towards Daisy, a lady walked fast by and told us Beehive was about to erupt and we wouldn't regret it. We listened and turned back towards Beehive. It is a cone shaped above ground Geyser that is very close to the broadwalk. A group of people started to gather and we waited. Then it erupted! Water was pushed to about 150-200ft high and wind delivered to the people on the boardwalk. We all screamed, laughed and ran. Will ran to the wrong side and got soaking wet like a big bucket of water dumped on him. The eruption lasted about 4 minutes. It was super fun to be able to see Beehive up close. We all labeled Beehive our favorite Geyser. (Maybe not Will?)

We then rushed towards Daisy, hoping to catch another exciting eruption. The boardwalk was blocked by cones and rangers just past Grand Geyser. We sat nearby the ranger to find out why. Around 3 or 4am, a pack of wolves took down a young bison. Around 7am, volunteers reported wolf activity. Ranger came to check and found wolves eating on the bison carcass. Those volunteers were the ones we encountered in the morning! That ranger nodded and said we were probably less than 50 yards away from the wolves and the carcass. And we missed it!!! 

Jackson wanted to wait for the 11:30 Grand eruption but the ranger told us it would take longer because of the Turban Geyser indicator. We are glad we didn't wait since it erupted at 1:30pm. 

After this exciting morning, we started our drive to Grand Teton. We stopped  at Jackson Lake lodge and Jenny Lake visitor center. The mountain range is so beautiful that it took some will power to drive away into Teton Village. We checked into Snake River Lodge and Spa. And found our last hangout spot Mangy Moose to have our family dinner.

We took a walk at the base of Jackson Hole ski resort. It's always interesting to check out an off-season ski mountain.

Thursday, May 30th

Our raft trip is at 1pm so we took it easy in the morning and went to Jackson to roam. We made sure our stomach was full with D.O.G burrito for the intense rafting. The temperature was cold and the weather was cloudy. 

Luckily Jackson Hole Whitewater is experienced with cold weather. We each got our full body wetsuit plus a wetsuit jacket and boots and mittens. Our rain jackets over the wetsuit also helped greatly since we really did get WET! several times! It was fun and exciting, especially for the two kids. 

We checked in our only two-nights lodging on this trip at Dornan's spur ranch. It was the best accommodation for this trip so far. We had two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. And mountain views on both sides of the living room. We quickly had our dinner at our kitchen and headed to a hike towards the Snake River through Triangle X ranch access. 

We then stopped at the Ansel Adams Lookout point and tried to reproduce his famous black and white classic. 

Friday, May 31st

Will got up early today to take sunrise photos. But with this north of latitude, twilight happens at 5am and 9:40pm. Even with a wakeup hour at 5am, he still got to the spot too late. 

We planned a long hike to Jenny Lake through the boat shuttle towards inspiration point, then continued on to Cascade Canyon. When we arrived around 9:40am, the line waiting for the 10am boat ride was very long. We decided to hike the 2 flat miles across Jenny lake. 

The trail was surprisingly crowded and full of moose activities. We saw a few groups of moose not far from the trail. Although if it's not prior hikers stopped and gathered, we wouldn't know they were there. Cascade Canyon was beautiful with Grant Teton as its backdrop when we marched in. I took the boat ride on the return trip while the other family members hiked a total of 9 miles. 

After dinner, both kids wanted to break their hiking record and requested a 3 mile hike. So we hiked the Taggart Lake trail for a total of 3.2 miles.

Then we went to Blacktail Pond Overlook to chase the elusive beavers our guide promised. That was another 0.6mile. Jackson racked up 49,000 steps while Norah had 47,000 steps. With around 13 miles in one day, these were definitely their Personal Best.

Saturday, June 1st

We chose Death Canyon Trail to Phelps Lake Overlook in the morning. Jackson and Will hiked two more hours while Norah and I headed back and played in the stream. Both of them got their Junior Badge in GTNP after they finished their ranger book. 

We stopped at Jackson for lunch at BAPP, a Korean restaurant. We all agreed that it's the best meal of our trip. Then we drove 4.5 hours to Hyatt SLC downtown. We walked to Red Iguana, a highly rated Mexican place for dinner. The food was okay. 

Sunday, June 2nd

We woke up late, hopped on our noon plane and after 2.5 hours -- glad to be home! Dallas storms delayed a few of my friends' planes. We got in just in between the bad storms and were grateful!