Views From My Windows (PHOTO Friday!)

Photo Friday!    Click on the above icon to visit the origin of this fun activity; join in!

TGIF!  Which means I show off some more of my digital photos.   The theme this week is The View From My Window.    I’ve amped it up just a little by showing you many views from a variety of windows that I looked through this past week.    Enjoy! 

This is the view from the puddlejumper we flew from LA to Palm Springs.   I’m not sure where in the trip this was but probably closer to the PS than the LA.

On the flight back to Boston Logan, I looked directly down and upon some ice flows on a big body of water (we think it was Lake Erie).    Cool, huh?

For the next couple of pictures, I feature the room from our hotel in Rancho Mirage.   It wasn’t the best view of the resort, but it was convenient to the parking lot.  ha!

We didn’t do a lot of the big touristy things – only the Palm Springs Tram.   AWESOME!   I can’t share all the details of it because I failed to retain any facts and figures like elevation, etc.   I believe it was San Jacinto and I do remember it was cold up there.   In Palm Springs, it was heavenly dry and warm.  Warm like hanging out at the pool and needing to jump in when TOO hot!   But up on the mountain, it was 30 degrees and worse.   The wind was blowing hard and it was freezing!   I was wearing shorts, silly me.

The tram car rotated!  So we saw every angle going up and coming back down.   I recommend this activity if you are ever in the Desert Cities.   Did you know that this is where the two plates of the continents come together?  At least, that’s what the tour guide told me (on the wives’ “Art Tour & Lunch of El Paseo Drive”.  la ti da)  But looking it up on Wikipedia tells a bigger story so…   Go read more here if you’re interested:  “The San Andreas Fault,  a right-lateral strike-slip fault, marks a transform (or sliding) boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.”

 

Which brings us to TODAY.   This is the view south from the chair at my PC where I sit right now as I type this.    [Looking at this makes me want to explain that the chair really does “go” in this room, despite the apparent decor-clash with the curtains…]

  And getting closer to the window, this is what I see.  

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More Shots of CR

 

Not sure exactly what kind of palm tree has these cool red berries…

  Rhonda the Sloth

  Iguana

 Winkie the Spider Monkey

 

The Parrot…

 

That Jumped on Hub’s Head

C Goes All CURIOUS in Costa Rica

Two weeks ago from the time I write this, I was boarding a Nature Air flight from San Jose, Costa Rica to the small town of Puerto Jimenez to enjoy a spa (fishing) resort called Crocodile Bay Lodge.    Click here for a map of this beautiful part of the South Pacific. 

I WANT TO GO BACK!

Very beautiful country!   beautiful people, beautiful weather (at least in the dry season….), beautiful trees and flowers and birds and butterflies and animals…     An amazing trip.

Moonbeam suggested that I take a cue from Joanharvest and present a slide show!   I’m not sure, as I write this, in what order these photos are, so I will chat up what is being shown in a general fashion…     A few pics here and in a prior post, show the flight into the resort town but most are of our Eco Tour zipping through the rainforest.    I know one is a disappointing shot of a banana plant pod that extends from a cluster of bananas – I got the plant from faraway but in my attempt to zoom in, I missed the bananas!  DOH.    I have the view from one of the 8 stops in the zip tour, and a view up from the ground to show how high the over 125 ft up was the platform.    (sorry English teachers, that sentence was rough.)    The longest zip line was 300 ft.    They are currently building one where the shortest will be over 300 feet!   EEEK!   It was thrilling;  we all really enjoyed it more than we expected to.   No, we didn’t see any animals…  Other than the cattle and their egrets (so cute!) on the way to the zipline start.

Most of the resorts in the Osa Peninsula are more eco-oriented but our resort, Crocodile Bay, catered mostly to the fishing enthusiast.   Hub and Bud caught 9 sailfish between them; the biggest being over 150 pounds.   Needless to say, they were THRILLED.    Bud’s wife and I enjoyed only one of the all-day fishing excursions and enjoyed our double catch of Mahi-Mahi.    On the other fishing day for the boys, we girls enjoyed the spa.     I had the 2 hour Hot Chocolate Rub and Hot Stone Massage.  AAAaaaaaaahhh.  

Not to say that this was merely a fishing lodge.   It really was fantastic!   The service, the opportunities to do so many activities, the food, the spa, etc.   All WONDERFUL.   Decor wasn’t the grandest (except the new spa building is elegant), but I have no complaints at all.    Who cares about art on a wall when you have a pool with a bartender and the Scarlet Macaws squawking at you?!    (They were very cool.    Only ~800 in the world and this is the only area you can find these particular color…)

Tomorrow, scenes of the sea…  or maybe the monkeys!

   

I’m Going Crazy

Hub keeps after me about uploading & sharing all the photos from Costa Rica.   I prefer to actually wade through them and only upload the ones that are truly deserving of being seen and printed.   AND, I’m assuming you dear readers are looking forward to my report.

But…

I’m not up to the challenge of deciding worthiness!    Here’s the dilemma, mostly because a lot of them are so redundant and frankly, not worthy at all.

Which of the following should I keep?  If any?!    Don’t forget… I’ve got ~700.  (Only 46 are from this puddle jumper flight from San Jose CR to Puerto Jimenez.)

        Exhibit A

      Exhibit B

        Exhibit C

      Exhibit D

Oh, there are a few that are very VERY nice!   Enjoy this:

I even have the horizon almost level!    Woo HOO!

Winter Doldrums, Upcoming Travels

I leave this weekend for Kansas.    A lovely state, really, with much to offer.   Yes, there are many flat parts.   There are also some lovely hilly rolling terrain parts.

I think what makes the flat parts feel so especially flat are the endless fields.  and NO TREES.    Oh, Kansas has trees.   Just not the kind that hide roads and Walmarts.   For THOSE kinds of trees, we enjoy New England.    You can’t see anything from the highways around here…

It’s cold and damp in my part of New England.   Dreary, gray, and depressing.    [and no, I’m not hungover.  I didn’t drink THAT many beers during Project Runway last night!   It’s just that I’m really focusing on cutting down, doing pretty good at that goal, and now I’m turning into a lightweight.    So when Hub is OOT, well…   one too many perhaps.   But I’m home, not out driving anywhere, and taking in lots of clean cold water, as well.   In fact, I’m proud to announce that I jumped on the treadmill ~ 7 am this morning and went 2.5 mile.   so there.]

 We fly out tomorrow and have one stop in a part of the country that had airports closed on Wednesday due to snow.   I’m thinking it will all be worked out by Friday.  Hope.

Then, later this month, Hub and I ‘take a HOLIDAY’!   I’m very excited to show off my somewhat svelter bod to the lads of Central America;  we’re going to Costa Rica and will be zip-lining, sport fishing, jungle touring, etc.    SUN!    WARMTH!    It’ll be a good time.   [woo hoo!  I only lost 1 pound in January but I lost an inch around my hips, waist, thighs!??!   whatever, it’s cool.  or I don’t know how to measure.  snort.]

After that?    I want to visit my Mother-In-Law.   and she wants me to visit her so I can help them go through years and years and boxes and boxes of crap.   They are moving from the farm to a smaller dwelling and….  omg.   It ain’t gonna be pretty.    I won’t be much help – I will be wanting to hear every story and probably squeal with delight at the treasures!     I can only imagine the decades of vintage sewing patterns AND FABRICS that she has stored away!    She calls it her ‘fibbermcgee’ closet.   I really don’t know what that means but I do know it has 40+ years of collections!  

I so bet that they will end up throwing things away that the ebay world love to get their hands on.    They are planning an auction, but still….       What treasures will be tossed into the smelly rubbish container that is soon to sit in the driveway?   It’s best I not think about it.  It’s not that I want any of this junk treasure…   I hope we get back for the auction only to show support, if nothing else.    I think it’s scary for my in-laws.  I know it.

And we have babies due to be born in March!   (no, not me.)  and we have… relatives in Colorado we should visit…   and my wonderful great aunt in Florida would love to have me come see her (and bring her beer – she’s so fun!)

Crap.   I need an income.   Such a drag.

Teaser Alert!

I really want to post one of those ideas I had awhile back about BEER.

Remember, I told you about this fab pub I found on my latest travels?  I thought I had screwed up and took photos from my phone – which is NOT good due to my being a scrooge and NOT buying email service nor the device that allows me to connect phone to PC…

THEN!!!

I realized that I had my other previous prior cellphone with the cool camera and I already own the device that shares data between phone and computer, so I am able to share.

But I have to do it later.

I have pie to make – pie TINS to buy, a goose to purchase, some port for the goose fixin’ recipe, gifts to drop off, books to deliver, maybe a stop at the library first, take the dog to daycare, print a few more Xmas cards – address & mail, etc.  First.   oh!  crap – it’s trash day…  gotta run

SO PLEASE DO COME BACK LATER!    It will be my next post and probably will be later today.

Happy Friday, “C”

Love in the City of Love

Just came back from a LOVELY visit to Philadelphia.  We had a great time.

I fell in love with LaScala at 7th & Chestnut.   Four stars on a four star scale!   Casual but upscale atmosphere & ambience, wonderful food, fabulous service!   I highly recommend.  (Italian…)

I think it interesting that no matter how much time you have to pre-plan, you can’t know what you really want to do and see until it unfolds before you.    

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.

Plans are nothing; planning is everything.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

I referenced the above quote while waiting for the elevator of the hotel after I don’t know how many times we exchanged, “what do you want to do now?  I don’t care.  What do YOU want to do now…”   When my husband chimed in with his little ditty, “Planning is a must;  the plan not so much.”  

Sometimes, I really get bored and frustrated traveling because I want to do so much!   and spend too much time deciding.    I didn’t take as many photos this trip but I do love – –  I have much MUCH super much appreciation for the old ornate buildings…