I’m Home, Okay?

I love vacations for all of the typical reasons:

• Watching sea turtles mating while on the catamaran cruise and seeing all of those Girls Gone Wild b*tches throw their young, taut bodies around yelling, “Oh, yeah! Turtle sex in Costa Rica!” (Chris K., you really should have been there). No, I’m not jealous of those twenty somethings with the boobs, tattoos and legs up to their earlobes. Carefree, single and reeking of possibility and potential. Not at all. Bet they can’t run a mile.
• Trying to keep my kids away from the adults mating in the hot springs pool
• Drinking cerveza at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Never a reason not too, really.
• Sleeping in the same room with my kids for days on end. I can just lean over and swat them if need be.
• Not running and not worry about not running because, well, there was cerveza

But really what I love about vacations is that you can re-invent yourself. It allows you the time and space to take a breather, to step back from real life and to ask yourself WTF? WTF have I been doing? Am I doing WTF I want to be doing? WTF was I thinking? Do I need to make changes, and if so, WTF do those look like?  I am happy dong what I do every day and if not, WTF?  Sometimes it takes getting away to get some perspective.

Do you do that on vacation? Soul search about changes you could make? Or maybe it’s just me and everyone else is taking in the scenery.

I promised pictures. I have 1,987 so I am picking out the highlights just for you. Let me say this. Costa Rica was incredible. Seriously. I could rave and rave, but more than anything I loved the feel of the country, the lush landscape, the smiling people. It is so simple, but every one is NICE. I don’t use he word “nice” much because it is boring and stupid, but seriously, these people define NICE. Pleasant, accommodating, simple, eager to please, content.

Can’t I get just one stinking picture of myself without someone’s bloody fry in there? Karma will bite you in the ass for sure.

Fresh off the red eye flight and taking a 3.5 hour hilly, windy drive to the Arenal Volcano. If Emma looks like she is about to hurl, she is.

Beautiful countryside on the Costa Rican Highlands:

 

I seriously do not know what is wrong with him:

Our hotel pool with great volcano view.

Me posing with volcano. I made him steam.

The love nest. Where it all goes down.

 

I love this father/daughter picture:

Getting ready to zip line. We look like four penis heads. Purple and blue tips.

SUAZL!!

Ken post-ziplining. Looks like he went coal mining or rolled in some coffee grounds.

At the lava flow of the volcano. Too cloudy to see the top.

Manuel Antonio Beach. Clearly I slept through the jumping in unison class.

Monkey love:

My favorite picture ever. Love Mr. Snaggletooth. These are capuchin monkeys which are all over the park/beach.

View from our hotel. Stupid blue skies, warm sun and Pacific Ocean. Ho hum.

Moi above the Pacific. Eff you girls gone wild.

Manuel Antonio Beach. Paradise found.

Catamaran trip:

Avocados on steroids. Best avocadoes I’ve EVER eaten.

Running? Oh yeah running. I did run. Once. Down a huge hill to the beach and back up again. And it killed me. Probably the steepest run I’ve ever done. But I did it and my hip liked it. Now I’m ready for Heartbreak Hill. See? No more training necessary for this thing called Boston.

I’ve been up since 3:00 a.m., so it will be good to sleep in my own bed. Missed you guys.

SUAR