Last weekend we went up to the next small city about 30 minutes north of here called Sebastian. They always have something going on there in Riverside Park. Where Vero Beach will have an art show, they have a clam bake. Vero Beach has live theatre; they have the local school jazz band. Not that there's anything wrong with an art show (lol!). It's just fun to have the option of different things. The events there always attract lots of people, and lots of them are snowbirds like us. So, I keep an eye on the events planned here, as they often are fun things that we drive up here to be a part of. So the first thing we did once we got there was to find the food. There were several booths serving clams, ... read more

Brookgreen Gardens is an interesting day trip just outside of Myrtle Beach. Set on land that originally housed four different plantations, it now is a rambling art and nature preserve. Closest to the Welcome Centre are curving pathways with life-sized or larger sculptures, some of Greek mythological creatures, some of common people or animals. The landscaping of the grounds compliments the statuary with seasonal bushes, trees, shrubbery and flowers grouped around and in the background of the sculptures. Fountains and reflecting pools are used to accentuate the artwork as well, and larger marshes and waterways come complete with the all-too-common signs to warm of poisonous snakes and insects, and of course, alligators. Down the road from the Sculpture Gardens is an interesting area called the Low Country Trail. We started our explorations with this area, since ... read more

This is the last day of our vacation, and we are back in Costa Rica for the afternoon. We heard about a Toucan Rescue centre and decided to go and have a look. This lady is originally from the US. She decided to go to Peru to study Scarlet Macaws, and after working there for a while, she was told that someone was needed in Costa Rica to help out injured and rescued birds. She packed up and moved to Costa Rica, bought some land, and took in a few birds that needed care. Things blossomed from there, and people brought her injured and rescued birds of all kinds. It seemed that nobody else wanted to take in toucans, so she took in some that had been rescued from a smuggling operation who were malnourished and ... read more

After several days of rain, the sun finally came out. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful, with flowers and fruit trees, sculptures and hammocks. The flowers and fruit attract many different birds, plus they put out cut fruit for the birds as well. One couple took a birding tour and saw the elusive and rare Quetzal, but not many other birds. We stayed around the property, and saw lots of birds. I don't know the names of them, so I will just post the pictures. Steve is doing well. His finger doesn't hurt and the cast fits well, so no problems there. We both are vacationed out, and are looking forward to coming home.... read more

Tuesday there is a little local craft market here that we decided to check out. It was somewhat disappointing, as it was mostly the same stuff we can get in our own craft market at home, except for a couple of stands where the Kuna Indians were selling their traditional embroidery work. It is quite colorful, represents Panama and not something we can get at home so I bought a couple of pieces to make pillows out of. It was still rainy here in Boquete, so we decided to take a drive to the Pacific side to a little beach resort another couple had told us about. This place is about 1 1/2 hours south of David, which is 1 hour south of Boquete. After we got clear of the nighmare road construction between Boquete and ... read more