Costa Rica Goodbye!!

I just wanted to share our last picture together for THIS trip. Surely a reunion trip is in order, but until then I wanted to say what a great bunch of kids you are! It would not have been the same without each and every one of you. Everyone was fun, respectful and well behaved making it a purely fun experience. After looking thru most of my pics I was amazed at how many pics of Hank there were before I even knew who he was. As I have photos edited I may post on the blog and I will put together a CD. I would love to see some of your photos as well. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, Until next time!!!

Christy Hussain LeClair

improved video

Day 4 Costa Rica

Today we went on a canopy tour to zip line. We piled into a a big tractor and were pulled up a very steep mountain. From there we zipped down on a about 7-10 lines. The last one was the longest and fastest. When we finished they had fruit waiting and they played a slideshow of all the pictures taken during our tour. From there we were shuttled to surf camp where we ate lunch and lounged around before our lessons started. Surf lessons started a little later today, and they advanced down the shore to more advanced waves. After surf lessons we went back to Rancho Grande where everyone went back to the beach. We had a hike arranged for tomorrow morning, but it was agreed most everyone was tired and wanted to rest so we cancelled the hike. Tonight was the quietest night with the kids. When we bring them home they should be exhausted!

DAY 4

Day 3 Costa Rica

Above are some photos of our hotel, the restaurant we have enjoyed most of our meals and the beach in back of the hotel. Below those are the awesome surfers and one of the many stray dogs in costa rica. Today was mostly a surfing day which has taken a lot out of everyone. Not too much to report other then we have an early morning canopy tour followed by surfing.

click on link costa surf trip december 2010 to see wider view

Day 2 in Costa

Yesterday we had our first day of Surfing Lessons in Jaco. We piled into two vehicles and drove about 5-10 minutes to the beach. After some safety instructions everyone paired up with their instructors and hit the water. Everyone did awesome and they all got up within 20 minutes. The 2 hours in the water wore everyone out so we abandoned our plans to go into Jaco to shop and explore the city. Instead we went back to our hotel in Playa Hermosa where there was a local surfing competition being held. It was a pretty quiet evening and after dinner everyone retired to their rooms and tried to get in touch with family.

The kids say hello and they love and miss you all!!

manana barrels, tarde tacos, noche bonfires.
Longboards, waves, and bruises.
cool local dogs and curly hair
we all shredded the gnarly waves
day 2

by Michael

Costa Rica Day 1 Recap

Once we landed in San Jose we went through immigration, claimed our bags (Yeah, everyones bags made it!) and found our vans outside of the airport. We split up into two vans and were quickly taken to a restaurant. Though it looked mild at best the food was really tasty and everyone was excited to eat. From there we headed to Playa Hermosa. We made two more stops at the kids suggestion: 1) at the supermarket 2) to see the crocodiles off of a bridge. We arrived out our hotel and checked into our rooms. The kids were eager to get to the beach, so we headed down to the beautiful black sand beaches. The girls worked on their tan and walked along the beach while the boys went straight for the water. Since Mike and Chad brought their surfboards they hit the waves. The beach behind our hotel is pretty advanced, so we will be heading to the beach in Jaco for our lessons tomorrow. After the sunset we headed back to our rooms to clean up before dinner and have a quick meeting. The restaurant where we will be fed our three meals a day is a short walk from the hotel and our menu was pretty extensive. The food was really good and a couple of the girls were raving about the french fries. On the walk back to the room we stopped at a tiny store to pick up water and snacks for our room. We regrouped and gave them agenda for the week and everyone retired to their rooms. Tomorrow a few people have ambitious plans to run on the beach early in the morning. We will be picked up for our surf lessons at 11:30am and later in the afternoon we plan to go into Jaco (about 5 miles up the road).

The kids all say hello!!