Just Jen

We headed to the beach on Tuesday to spend a couple of days with our beach buddies and check out their recently finished house. The house looked great. The two of them did a great job on everything from construction to decorating. We felt everything very well thought out and nicely done. It was good getting tips from them on do's & don'ts in construction. We arrived early which left the day open for Callista, Bill & Bear to hit the beach. We learned there is a difference in types of boogie boards. Beach people know this, we didn't. Ours were just standard every day boogie boards. T & E had found some with a smoother bottom. The verdict from Bill & Calli is buy the better ones, the ride is worth it! We'll be ... read more

On a recent trip to Alajuela we discovered Colinas Del Poas, a beautiful place to enjoy a Canopy tour,kayak, fish for rainbow trout and have a delicious meal. We were doing Bill's favorite thing, exploring different roads when we came across this place. If you're vacationing and don't have a lot of time I'd highly recommend a trip here as you can do the ziplines and visit Poas Volcano all in the same day. There's a Mirador restaurant as you head back down into Alajuela we've eaten at previously that gives you stunning central valley views at night. For more on our visit to Colinas del Poas or adventures in Costa Rica click here or visit our website www.anewlifeincostarica.com ... read more

Ah, we're well into our second year now and experiencing everything in a whole new light. We aren't new here anymore. Our routines and habits are more settled than last years time of travel. Easter this year isn't a big deal at all for us as we aren't religious. To the locals, a predominately Catholic society, Easter is not a commercial holiday like it is in the states. Easter is about Jesus not Easter baskets and chocolate bunnies. I like that. Callista wasn't expecting today to be different than any other Sunday. We did buy her a couple of chocolate eggs. The eggs aren't really an Easter treat, they happen to be her favorite everyday treat. When she does something good, she gets an egg. If we want to tell her we love her just ... read more

Poas Volcano  Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica By Just Jen April 3rd 2007 The SheridansHola travelblog readers! It's been awhile since I last posted here as we haven't been traveling. Callista is off school for Semana Santo this week so we've had a chance to get out of town if only for a day trip. Yesterday we went to see Volcan Poas. We visited the volcano last year but weren't able to see anything due to cloud cover. This trip was successful! It was a beautiful day and viewing was spectacular! Enjoy the photos. For the whole story please click here or check out our website, www.anewlifeincostarica... read more

For those waiting for the story of Bill's hike up Mt. Chirripo, it's been pre-empted, temporarily. Blogs will be few and far between for a few weeks now because while Bill neared the base camp of Chirripo I fell down the concrete steps near the pool at our hotel and instantly knew my leg was broken, just my luck...I heard the two snaps. Callista and I were lucky enough to have the owners nearby to help us. I'll write all the details later ... the main details, I made it to the ER in Perez Zeledon Tuesday nite. We retrned to San Ramon Thursday and Friday we were off to CIMA hospital in San Jose for surgery. I now have 7 screws and a metal plate in my right ankle. There are moments life seems like ... read more

Reservations were made in December for the Feb 6th hike up Mt. Chirripo. Hiking alongside Bill would be our friends Edgar, Solange and Terry. It was decided Callista & I would drive down with the gang and wait at the hotel for them to return from the two day hike. With Terry and Bill speaking limited Spanish and Edgar and Solange limited English, Callista and I were needed to interpret. Bear, well he goes where ever Callista and I go, besides we’d seen a couple of the hotel possibilities before and felt more comfortable having Bear in case we needed protecting. Everyone arrived at our house early Monday morning to load up. We piled into our car Tico style, five adults, a child and a dog. Anything not breathing was tied on top of the car ... read more