JDMeister

It was a "Foodie" day. I'm still in Costa Rica, (May not return, Airline has tough Covid Specs) and everywhere there was food.

Breakfast was rice, egg, sausage, cheese, pan bread.

Lunch was Ensalada con Polo, beer

Dinner was shrimp (with  head and eyes on) mashed, pineapple,mushroom, squash, beer.

Desert was cheesecake, ice cream, and a birthday candle.

The Crocodile tour was great. I'm not saying we were close,

but this guy was right at the boat side.

14 hours ago, Poule43 said:

Please Post Pictures and send DMs .....Thanks

 

It's 2:45 here in Jaco, so Happy Birthday to me.

Later this morning, a boat ride, hoping the crocodiles can't jump.

It seems the tourists are now croc food.

Back to bed for a bit.

Fun Times..

After the Zip Line Adventure, we drove down to "Jaco" Costa Rica.

The first thing I spotted was a strip club called "The G Spot"...

I may be thirsty later.

Processing Sugar Cane

Yes, monkeys..

Life cycle Of A Coconut, Baby, Teen, Giving Birth.

We're having breakfast here at Eddies Place, Monteverde.

Very nice..

Italian Pizza in Costa Rica? Sure thing.

A Long Day Today. 2 hours driving, and a SxS tour, 3 beach locations, Monkeys in the trees, Pirates beach Cerveza.

Next we drove to Monteverde, (Another 3 hours to Eddies Place) a nap, dinner at 6, and "Zip Line" tomorrow.

Representing In Costa Rica

Here's a Picture of the Treehouse Hotel. More to follow. After a wonderful dinner last night her in Liberia Costa Rica, we finally were able to sleep for a bit.

Yes we drove all day yesterday to the West coast of Costa Rica so we will hit the beach today. Normally, the volcano is shrouded in clouds. It was peeking out yesterday.

We saw the largest man made lake with a view from our lunch restaurant.

Tuesday Update

Sunday were in a AirBnB, tenth floor. Simply a place to sleep until or drive Monday. (3 hours)

After our 3 hour drive, we spent Monday and Tuesday night in a Hotel Called The Treehouse. Kinda cool, about 60 feet in the air.

Trails to the river, birds and a bird feeding station up on our porch. Gourmet breakfasts.

Yesterday, Monday, we ran the river rapids in a rubber boat. I was given a paddle, but I was not in the local union, so no joy for them.

We were lucky to see tons of birds, two  toed sloth, howler monkey tribes, eagles, Macaws, and every kind of flower known to man.

The end of the rapids was a luncheon to die for. the Limo bus was wonderful. Lots of American, French,, Brazilians, Asians were everywhere.

The cleanest place I seen besides Japan.

(FYI: The two toed sloth is brown and has a flat pig type nose. The three toed sloth is gray and no flat nose.

The monkeys have a white face and a long tail. Very hard to see them. If you are under the monkey he will poop on you. It's a Territory thing they say.)

Morning in Costa Rica. View from the 10 floor

One Last Cup Before The Shuttle Arrives.

Saturday, I'm flying to Costa Rica and will return on or about the 20th.

I hear they have good coffee and tasty monkeys. (Reverse that)

So, I will celebrate my 84th birthday there on vacation.

And yes, I'm booked in first class. (I fooled them all)

If there is WiFi, I'll post some pix taken with my Nikon Z6 ii digital camera.

For the next few days, I'm cleaning out the fridge, hoping to avoid a smell when I return.

Cheers..

There is a "Learning Curve" it seems.

My wife always said "Look Out For Circling Vultures" to avoid crashing into others..

9 hours ago, Sierra4x4 said:

I think this is going to turn out to be a horrible accident and nothing more. 

He now claims he fell asleep.

The fact that the vehicle accelerated may alter his claim.

Final output undecided as of now.

So, I was pressed into service last Yesterday.

(Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In)

My buddy Lori Johnson was having a "Fund Raiser" for the San Pedro Elks Lodge. I supplied a couple of laptops and created a power point "Slide Show' that was pushed through a couple of projectors and aimed at the ceiling. Next we assembled the Karaoke gear debugging cabling as we went. Next to the Karaoke gear, an actual "Band" was setting up. They are called "The Time Machine". As this was a real charity event, there were drawings for prizes, and drawings for 50/50 fund sharing and such.

The Karaoke setup was used for the 6 professional singers we brought along for the event. (Not me)

I did run the laptop for a few songs, so yes, I fell back into the rhythm. The band played two sets and dancing broke out everywhere. (I tapped my foot)

With the singing before the band, during the band break time and again after the band finished it was a good evening. (Afternoon. 2:30 to 5:00 pm) I only had time to take a few pictures. One of the excellent bar.

The good news, a few thousand dollars were collected for the Elks Lodge charity.

Wow, I had no idea about the origin story of Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer! If you aren't familiar with it either, read below:

As the holiday season of 1938 came to Chicago, Bob May wasn’t feeling much comfort or joy. A 34-year-old ad writer for Montgomery Ward, May was exhausted and nearly broke. His wife, Evelyn, was bedridden, on the losing end of a two-year battle with cancer. This left Bob to look after their four-year old-daughter, Barbara.

One night, Barbara asked her father, “Why isn’t my mommy like everybody else’s mommy?” As he struggled to answer his daughter’s question, Bob remembered the pain of his own childhood. A small, sickly boy, he was constantly picked on and called names. But he wanted to give his daughter hope, and show her that being different was nothing to be ashamed of. More than that, he wanted her to know that he loved her and would always take care of her. So he began to spin a tale about a reindeer with a bright red nose who found a special place on Santa’s team. Barbara loved the story so much that she made her father tell it every night before bedtime. As he did, it grew more elaborate. Because he couldn’t afford to buy his daughter a gift for Christmas, Bob decided to turn the story into a homemade picture book.

In early December, Bob’s wife died. Though he was heartbroken, he kept working on the book for his daughter. A few days before Christmas, he reluctantly attended a company party at Montgomery Ward. His co-workers encouraged him to share the story he’d written. After he read it, there was a standing ovation. Everyone wanted copies of their own. Montgomery Ward bought the rights to the book from their debt-ridden employee. Over the next six years, at Christmas, they gave away six million copies of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to shoppers. Every major publishing house in the country was making offers to obtain the book. In an incredible display of good will, the head of the department store returned all rights to Bob May. Four years later, Rudolph had made him into a millionaire.

Now remarried with a growing family, May felt blessed by his good fortune. But there was more to come. His brother-in-law, a successful songwriter named Johnny Marks, set the uplifting story to music. The song was pitched to artists from Bing Crosby on down. They all passed. Finally, Marks approached Gene Autry. The cowboy star had scored a holiday hit with “Here Comes Santa Claus” a few years before. Like the others, Autry wasn’t impressed with the song about the misfit reindeer. Marks begged him to give it a second listen. Autry played it for his wife, Ina. She was so touched by the line “They wouldn’t let poor Rudolph play in any reindeer games” that she insisted her husband record the tune.

Within a few years, it had become the second best-selling Christmas song ever, right behind “White Christmas.” Since then, Rudolph has come to life in TV specials, cartoons, movies, toys, games, coloring books, greeting cards and even a Ringling Bros. circus act. The little red-nosed reindeer dreamed up by Bob May and immortalized in song by Johnny Marks has come to symbolize Christmas as much as Santa Claus, evergreen trees and presents. As the last line of the song says, “He’ll go down in history.”