Costa Rica

Section 1 -----Pine Mountain News

Hello again from Pine Mountain. It has been a week of making hay and bringing it into the barn. This is our second cutting and it has the barn filled. Our third and fourth cutting we will sell to the local feed and grain.

The weather has been cool most of the week. Maybe next month summer will arrive full force.

In other news if you go to Frazier Park watch where you park. Those yellow dimpled plates on the side walk are not utility covers. They are wheel chair access points. If you park in front of them you will get a $255 ticket.

In other news Saturday June 13 is an event called" Wine in the Pines" at Pine Mountain Village. The event begins at noon with wine tasting and 2 bands. The House Red Band and Lanny Lay and the Reels.

Well enough about Pine Mountain. Tonight we have a new poem and a travel adventure in Costa Rica.

Section 2 -----Poem of the Week
Desert Dreams

Pausing to write on the side of the road

anthro.poetry by emma.lee dee

My thoughts speed by me as we slow

to a crawl on Northbound I-15, making

our exit from Las Vegas in the crisp

January sun. Around me are red

cliffs and dry mountains and

I have such delicate footprints,

A ballerina in the desert sand.

I'll be quiet because the world

sleeps while I flutter. The car

moves again, and my eyes blur

to the sky. The sun droops behind

the red cliffs, I sigh & I smile,

"I love my tangerine skies,"

I tell Connor. He smiles and

I add, "Pretend it's all a dream,

because it is." And we drive on,

snow-covered mountains taunting

us in the distance, for eventually

we will reach our destination,

but for a time I can swim safely

tucked inside my desert dreams.

Section 3 ----- Costa Rica

by Jordan Williams

Costa Rica is one of those countries that come up in celebrity news a lot, which was one of the reasons I wanted to head down that way. Woody Harrelson apparently lives there full time, but I didn’t let that get in the way. But Rich’s family wanted to go along this time, and Costa Rica seemed like a nice fit.

Costa Rica is one of the longest running democracies in Central America, and having had a stable government for more than one hundred years. Now, this may not seem relevant, but when you’re traveling in Central America you want to try and stay out of harm’s way, and having a stable government is part of that.

Of course, if all you wanted was a stable government, you could stay home.

Costa Rica also has a lot of really incredible beaches, natural wonders, and volcanoes. Lots of volcanoes, for a relatively small country. Rich’s family wanted to spend some quality beach time where as I, with skin that bursts into flame at the mere mention of the word sun, was more interested in the volcanoes and nature.

We’re better organized than usual for this trip, as Rich’s wife is even more in love with organization than he is, and the two of them together are an unstoppable hurricane of planning. So we came into San Jose, the capitol city, with a fully realized itinerary, which was pretty much unprecedented.

San Jose is pretty much centrally located, making it a good base of operations for our mini mob of travelers. San Jose itself was the mixture of old and new that I’d come to expect from South and Central American cities, and we were lucky enough to have a hotel near El Pueblo, which is a mix of more than 50 bars, clubs, restaurants, art galleries and shops.

The Poas Volcano National Park was only an hour or so away, so we all made a day of it. The park is still mildly active with volcanic activity, which is definitely something worth seeing at least once. You can also get right up to the edge of the craters, and the crater lake at the Botos crater has to be seen to be believed.

We also took the kid’s on a coffee tour, which is one of the more unique things that Costa Rica offers. Being a committed coffee addict, I was all for it. Coffee used to be one of the country’s biggest industries, and you can take tours of the plantations and processing facilities to see how it was all done.

After that, we split up, with Rich and his family heading to one of the sandy white beaches an hour or so from the city, while I wanted to move a little further out and check out Cocos Island. I’m not much of a beach person, but Rich apparently learned to surf, or at least stand up briefly on a surfboard before being hurled faced first into the water and being mocked by his children.

Cocos Island is a national park, and has a wet climate that’s fairly different from Costa Rica.

Imagine the island from Jurassic Park without the dinosaurs, and you’ll have the general idea. I was there mainly for the scuba diving, where I got to see Hammerhead sharks, rays, and dolphins, none of which tried to eat me or mate with me, which was a plus.

Ultimately, I was once again left feeling like I needed more time there, an all too common occurrence in my life. Rich and his family loved it was much as I did, so I recommend the country as the place to vacation for just about anybody.


Section 4 -----Pine Mountain Evening

It is evening once again. We have just finished dinner and are relaxing in the family room by a warm fire in the fireplace. Grace and Laurel are playing a game of scrabble and I am reading my Discover magazine. Tonight I am enjoying Pumpkin spice coffee from
Http:// www.coffeefool.com
It is an interesting blend of American roast coffee and pumpkin. It goes great with fresh sugar cookies. Well my coffee is gone now and it looks like Grace beat Laurel at a game of scrabble so now it is time for bed. Good night all see you next week.







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