We’ll be in Costa Rica in 11 days! As we’re finalizing all the adventures, I’m getting so excited! This is going to be the most action-packed, thrilling vacation we’ve ever been on… by far! Our first adventure of the trip is white water rafting on the Pacuare River, one of National Geographic’s 10 best rivers to raft on in the world because of the breathtaking rain forest that surrounds the river.

We’re also going Canyoneering near the Arenal Volcano. Have you heard of canyoneering? It’s a new sport that combines rappelling, down-climbing and river tracing in a deep, tropical canyon. Here’s some information from the website: “Imagine yourself in the midst of thick rainforest at the top of a magical canyon full of tropical waterfalls with surprises each step of the way. Prepare to get wet! You will be provided high-quality technical climbing gear such as a harness, helmet, gloves and you will get to practice your first descent on a mini 15-ft waterfall, just to get the hang of things. Take a deep breath! And there you are, on a sturdy, government-approved platform looking down into the depths of a 150-ft massive waterfall. You’ll rappel down for the thrill of a lifetime! Make your way along the river bed by down-climbing and rappelling a series of about six waterfalls that get gradually bigger and… BIGGER! We save the best waterfall for last… you’ll finish with a 200ft-guided rappel at the end!” I have to admit… this one makes me NERVOUS. I’m not what anyone would call a thrill-seeker, and as I age, I get wussier, and wussier. But this is something I CANNOT PASS UP. I can’t wait to have this experience!

And, of course, we’re going to do ziplines! They call them canopy tours, and the one we’re doing specifically is called Sky Trek. Here’s some information from that website: “Sky Trek is a system of zip lines ranging from mountain to mountain, which together have a distance of 2.5 miles of linear cable. The tour gives you the opportunity to fly through a cable and have a unique experience of adventure and adrenaline at speeds up to 40 miles per hour with distances ranging up to 2500 feet and heights of 524 feet. In addition the tour offers 5 observation towers that exceed the cloud forest treetops providing a panoramic view. All with total security and in an innovative braking system. The tour starts with the Sky Tram that will lead you up to the Continental Divide.” How ridiculous is this vacation?!!!

Photo from the Sky Trek website

Other stops on our trip include visiting the Arenal Volcano (the youngest and most active volcano in Costa Rica), hiking in Tenorio Volcano National Park (known for the springs, geysers, rivers, waterfalls, lagoons, rain forests, and panoramic views), visiting Lake Arenal, visiting Monteverde (acclaimed rain forests and cloud forests, voted one of Costa Rica’s Seven Wonders), staying at Justin’s dad’s house for a relaxation day (his dad won’t be there, but his infinity pool, grill, and amazing views will!), and visiting the town of San Jose, and hitting up some hot San Jose night life.

Going with Justin, a Costa Rican native, is going to make this vacation even better! He knows the good areas, the good restaurants, the hot spots to visit. We’re staying with his family some nights and borrowing his dad’s car for the trip. I can’t wait!!!! Can you tell I’m excited? :)

Of course the difficult part will be not seeing the kids for ten days. Although I have to say, with everything we have planned, I don’t know if I’ll have time to miss them too much. :) They’re staying with my mom and Gary, who have an equally busy itinerary planned for the girls during those ten days, so they probably won’t miss us too much either! My mom sent me Halle’s schedule yesterday, and it includes 6 classes at the “Little Gym” (2 each dance, gymnastics, and intro to sports), two visits to Young at Art Museum, two planned trips to the pool with some other little neighborhood girls, a trip to Metro Zoo, a trip to MODS (Museum of Discovery and Science), and a trip to Monkey Joe’s. What a nice summer vacation they’re going to have too!

I ordered an underwater camera similar to Keri’s, so you can expect lots of exciting pics on our return! :)

Halle and I have the same problem when we go to the zoo. We get hot and bored pretty quickly. Sure we like seeing animals, but walking from cage to cage in the Florida heat… not that great. Since that’s the way we started our visit to the zoo today, by the time we got to the new play area that I was so excited about… Halle was done. She was tired, hot and cranky.

The first thing the other kids did when we got to the new Paws On area was play in the dark cave. Looking at the website, I think this is the official description where the kids were playing: “Let’s get physical building your own animal home. Visit the Gopher Tortoise Inn and climb on top to the scrub jay nest. Check out the puppet theatre, paint your face, and use the rope climber. Next door, build your own animal homes using materials like palmetto fronds, bamboo stalks, rope, and tarp.” This was all outdoors and Halle just sulked in the stroller while the other kids were playing.

Mrs. Keri, smart lady that she is, knew that the indoor, air-conditioned play area would cheer Halle up, so she offered to pick Halle up, hold her because she knew Halle was tired, and walk her into the inside play area. I didn’t follow right away, but when I went inside to check on Halle, Keri and Halle were smiling and pointing to some turtles they had in a tank inside. Halle was in a much better mood, and proceeded to explore the entire “Wildlife Detective Training Academy”… one of the coolest indoor play areas I’ve ever seen! It has a wonderful set up for kids to play vets, or animal rescuers. They have big stuffed animals, cages, plenty of vet-appropriate toys (like stethescopes, lab coats, needles, tweezers, bandages, etc.), microscopes with real slides showing samples of different animal fur and butterfly wings. They have lots of play food and recipes so the kids can design a diet for their animal patients. They have a super large sandbox area where the kids can “solve animal mysteries involving real animal artifacts” (according to the website). The kids all loved this area and could have stayed in there for a long time, but eventually we made them go get lunch with us, because the adults were hungry. :) After lunch, we proceeded straight to the water area, “The Indian River Play Lagoon.” SO MUCH FUN. The water depth goes from very, very shallow to 18 inches deep, perfect for the little kids to sit and play safely, and the older kids to swim/walk on their hands around the lagoon. They have plenty of toys to play with, and a cool giant whale with his mouth open. You walk into his mouth and find a slide where you can slide down into the whale’s belly. Very cute. We spent a lot of time out there in the lagoon area and would have stayed even longer, but the thunderstorms eventually brought our day to a close.

Next time I think I’ll go check and see if the giraffes are out (they were not today) and then go straight to the Paws On area. There are a few things we didn’t get to do, like the petting zoo or that gopher tortoise area that Halle sulked through. And of course I’m excited to play in the Training Academy and the Lagoon again. Hooray for enjoying the zoo now!

Seriously, Keri, tell me when you want to go back!! :)

And now, my photo dump!

Halle had a great first week without pull-ups! She had one accident on day 3, but has had a dry bed every other morning. We’re 6 for 7 in the first week! Not bad at all. :) This even includes going out of town for two days in which I was very nervous she was going to have an accident on my Aunt’s floor, but she stayed dry! :)