Visiting the Edelman Crew in Costa Rica

(Ellen & Brent's Beautiful House and one of many gorgeous views)

I FINALLY made it down to visit Ellen and Brent and their family down in Costa Rica....something I've been wanting to do for years. Unfortunately Jason couldn't come since he has been working like crazy for his 1st grand opening of a "climate change" exhibit the will open in the museum in March. Luckily Jackson and I did not have to travel alone though....my good friend Jeanette and her sister, Christa came with me. It was quite the adventure getting there. Jeanette and Christa drove to our house on Friday night, arriving around 11pm. After going to sleep around midnight, we only had time for a 3-hour nap since we had to wake up at 3am to leave by 3:30am to drive to the airport. We flew out of Atlantic City to Ft. Lauderdale and then on to San Jose. Jackson was so good on the plane...you'd think he had flown a million times before. I was very thankful. I was expecting the worse...you know that annoying crying baby on the plane that everyone complains about.

We arrived in San Jose around lunch time and Brent was there to pick us up. We were all starving so Brent took us to a really cool "tico" style restaurant in San Jose where we had the traditional rice, black beans, and plantains. It was delicious! We then drove south to Esterillos where they live. It was so fun to see Ellen, Brent, Leana (3 years old), and Asher (18 months old). I had seen them for a year and Asher was actually 6 months old (same age as Jackson now) the last time I saw him. He looked SO grown up. They really are the cutest kids! Ellen had made a delicious vegetable lasagna for dinner our first night. After visiting for a few hours we all called it a night.

The next morning (Sunday), Ellen babysat Jackson while Jeanette, Christa, and I went horseback riding in the morning. It was a 2 1/2 hour ride through the forest, up a mountain, and ending on the beach. We had some beautiful views and ended our horse-back adventure laughing hysterically as Jeanette's horse decided to enter the Kentucky Derby. All of our horses started to trot and then into a cantor. Jeanette was behind me and and then she had caught up to me and then she blew me and my horse in the dust. Next thing I know I hear Jeanette say, "I don't want to go this fast, I don't want to go this fast!!" Her horse was in a full sprint....dirt flying up behind her, her hat flew off, and she was holding on for dear life. I was laughing so hard I could hardly breath and Christa was behind us watching this all unfold and keeping total control of her horse. Oh my...that was HILARIOUS!! (I'm still laughing about it as I write this...)

Well, after a fun morning of horseback riding, we then hung out at the house. Jeanette, Jackson, and I walked done to the beach from their house for a little while. When we returned, Eleen and Brent's good friends and their kids came over for dinner. The friends were, Cathy, Johnny, and their two kids (Peri (3 yrs) and Cajin (18 months). We all went to a Costa Rican Rodeo that evening. Leana and Peri had a great time riding some of the rides. It was similar to a typical fair that you would see here in the States. Lots of little roller coasters, several booths with various foods and of course cotton candy. There was music playing and the rodeo was going to start around 7pm. The kids were all getting pretty tired and restless so we all decided to head home. We ordered pizza for dinner....yummy!!!

The next morning (Monday Feb. 16th), we set out on another outdoor adventure. We drove Leana to school and then on the way home, Ellen dropped Jeanette, Christa and me off at a place to do the canopy (zip-line) tour through the forests. Eleen babysat Jackson again for me...thanks Ellen! We first had to get "suited up in our harness and helmet gear. All of the guides were very nice and helpful. After getting our equipment we rode in the back of BIG open-bed truck up the side of a mountain where they dropped us off at a trail head where we then hiked further up the mountain to the first platform. On our hike, one of the guides stopped to point out certain wildlife that we could see from the trail. He should us the plant Anise (tastes like black licorice) and we saw some cool ants carrying plants and twigs to their colonies, and we also saw a BIG spider (sorry...I have forgotten the names of the ants and the spider) with a big web that was supposedly one of the strongest webs that a spider makes...we all felt the web...I think Jeanette was a little rough and actually broke a part of it....good job Jeanette....jk!

There were ~10-15 zip lines that we went on to make our way back down the mountain. We had some beautiful views...great times!! Here are some pictures....

Here are some picture's from the Canopy (Zip-Line) Tour: