Friday, April 11, 2014

Friday Feature!! Spring Break is around the corner....do you have plans?

I've decided that Friday's are going to be a bit of a different kind of a post day...I'm going to do a "Friday Feature" post - maybe a travel tip, or feature a new or unique location, or just something a bit different from the current travel journey posts that the blog is currently showcasing.

So today's "Friday Feature" is Spring Break Day Trip Plans....featuring ideas to get out and explore with your kids, and examples local to me - but switch out my examples with ones in your town and you've got a plan!  I know a lot of kids, especially in our area don't have too many days off, if any, because of make up days from all of the snow this past winter - but keep the plans in mind for next year or even this summer!

So....what are some great things to do to get out of the house?

For me, the weather if finally starting to be nice enough to be outside!  The flowers are starting to bloom....if you have a park or a garden nearby, now is the perfect time to visit!  

Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, is a great place to visit this time of year.  It's the perfect way to kick off the spring season!  



Some more great outside activities are parks in general!  We have some great parks around here - pack up a picnic lunch and go enjoy the sunshine!  Hopefully sunshine that is!

Hibernia Park, Nottingham Park,  Anson B Nixon Park, The Struble Trail in Downingtown to name a few....



If the weather isn't quite park-like....you could always head to a museum!  And there are plenty of those as well!

You could head to Baltimore - visit the Aquarium, the Inner Harbor, there's a fantastic Science Museum there as well as the Port Discovery Museum.


Or in Philadelphia there are just so many museums - the Franklin Institute is always a big hit!  The Art Museum has so much to see and explore, and there's the Please Touch Museum as well.  You can stop at the Reading Terminal Market for a selection of foods that can't be beat!





Enjoy your week!  Get out and enjoy the area around you!  Hopefully we'll get some time here to do the same....


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

So our journey continues - off to the airport for our trip to the Osa Peninsula!

We were up early, our last morning at the Peace Lodge, and our driver, Wilson was right on time waiting for us.  He felt bad about taking us on the road that was in such bad conditions a few days earlier and to show how horrible he felt, he had a nice gift bag for us.  He told us he wouldn't be driving on that road again any time soon!

We said our goodbyes to the staff, and were on our way to the Sansa terminal for our flight on the small plane to Puerto Jimenez.  We were making good time, so Wilson asked if we'd like to stop for some coffee and snacks at the Doka Coffee Estate.  Well, sure!  

On past trips we'd rented a car, and liked the flexibility of driving at our own pace, but it was also so nice to have a driver to make suggestions of where and when to stop - at places we may not have thought of, and also to have him watch our belongings in the car as well.  Wilson had been fantastic through each leg of our journey!

We didn't have time to take the coffee plantation tour, but we did have time to walk around a bit and take some pictures.  Such beautiful views!









Even without the tour, we did get to go down to the fields and find out a bit out the coffee process and see some of the beans!






We got to the Sansa terminal with plenty of time to spare.  They weighed our carry on luggage and we had some time to relax while waiting.



Our flight was on time, it was just us and one other family.  It was a smooth ride...and the views were great!  










We were met by our driver from Bosque del Cabo, and loaded everything up into the Land Rover for the bumpy drive!  We stopped at the local supermarket for some snacks and off we went.   



Yes, that's a very crammed ride...when it started to rain, we had to put all the luggage that was on the roof inside the vehicle...This was going to be quite an adventure wasn't it?

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Wrapping up the last day at the Peace Lodge, Costa Rica

After our visit to the Butterfly House it was lunch time.  We decided to go to the buffet restaurant.  We had a pretty good meal, at a reasonable price and everyone found something they liked.  The rain started during lunch, but that didn't stop us!  As my parents had come to realized, in Costa Rica, you don't let the rain stop you from anything - just just put your rain gear on and carry on!  

We wanted to take full advantage of all of the other exhibits on the property, so we went to visit the snakes, the frogs, the Casita and the big cats!





Alex and Megan at lunch





The kids doing some chores at the Casita









This is a replica of a traditional Costa Rican Casita



Time to take the Ox out for a ride!








The inside of the Casita, this is the dining room table set up for a meal




This is one of the cats in the Big Cat area.  Each has a sign letting the visitors know its history, such as where it was rescued from and the condition it was in when it was rescued.  

After visiting the rest of the exhibits, and the rain let up, we decided to check out the pool, while my parents relaxed on their balcony.  We'd never been to the pool here before and it was really cool!  There is a warmer waterfall pool and a really cold pool, along with a nice hot tub.  While we relaxed here, the fog started to roll in....it was quite the cloud forest view!












After hanging out at the pool for quite some time, we went back to our room and ordered room service for dinner and got a couple of DVD's from the front desk.  We spent the night just relaxing in our amazing room.  I checked my email to confirm our transfer the next morning.  Tomorrow we'd be flying on the small planes - to the Osa Peninsula, to one of my favorite places ever - Bosque del Cabo!  

We had a great stay here at the Peace Lodge, it was a great hit with the kids and my parents.  I'm not sure we'd stay here again, because it is quite expensive, but it's such a relaxing and unique destination!  It's sort of a place for us to re-energize and gear up for the next part of our journey.