My Costa Rican Birthday

     Today, I celebrated my birthday in  Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica.  How lucky am I? 
     I flew into San Juan yesterday afternoon and after meeting up with my travel group for an introductory meeting, a delicious meal and a good night's sleep, we left this morning for a 5 and a half hour bus ride to get here.  The drive was fantastic.  Twisty, turny, through thick jungle, a cloud forest and finally along the Carribbean Ocean coastline, we arrrived to wonderful accomodations, great weather and our own hammocks on our private decks!  Totally worth the trip here already, and this is only the first day!!
    After a relaxing afternoon of lounging in the hammock and walking along the beach,  our travel group went out for supper and they surprised me with a delicious chocolate cheesecake/birthday cake after the meal.  I even got a cuba libra and a tequila shot bought for me afterward.  So all in all, I have certainly had a memorable day.

Gotta rest.  Gettin' old!

A lovely walk along the Carribbean shore
 

 

 

Birthday chocolate cheesecake, anyone?

      I am really looking forward to seeing what else is out there.  This is gonna be a fantastic adventure, maybe the greatest one, yet (and that is saying something!!)

February Fun in Phoenix

     Time for a road trip, so I got a hold of my friends Patti and Tom who live in Phoenix and invited myself over for the weekend.  And am I ever glad that I did!  They showed me a wonderful time. 
     There is nothing like seeing the desert in the spring.  It was awesome.  Their winter weather was like a beautiful summer day at home.  The 5 hour drive from San Diego went through some really interesting topography.  Who knew that so much romaine lettuce grew between the two cities?  Not me!  And acres of rv's parked in the middle of nowhere.  What's up with that?  :)

Welcome to Arizona!

Saguaro cactus

Desert scenery

Morning mountain hikes

A break to enjoy the great view

Great to see Patti again!

Awesome hosts:
A Killingsworth family photo

 

 

Things you see on the drive:
mountains,

wind turbines,

sand dunes,

"rocky" mountains,

palm trees,

and ocean, back at "Ground Zero" in San Diego.
 

     What a great way to spend my last weekend here before heading back to quite the opposite climes back home.  Spending time here this winter has been awesome.  I see a definite 'snowbird' future coming my way!!

Kaleidoscope of California Color

Every day, I remind myself, that THIS is February!