February 2009 Archives

Spotted this one outside the Appalachain Brewing Co. a while back when I went to meet some friends. Ghost hunter? What do you think?

As you'll see in my previous post, I enjoyed a bit of water therapy Tuesday night at the Baldi Hot Spings in La Fortuna, Costa Rica.

Last night was the complete opposite. The place we were staying had an issue with the water -- as in, there was none.

The hotels on both sides of us seemed to be fine, but were filled to capacity, so we couldn't even pay them to use a shower. The guard at one offered one last resort of a suggestion: the swimming pool.

So we changed into our suits and at midnight, as the guard turned a blind eye, we slipped into warm water and gazed up at the stars (Stacy even saw two shooting stars!) while we tried to do what we could to feel at least a bit clean.

Hey, it worked when we were kids, right? :)

Last night, I spent three hours soaking my road-weary body at Baldi Hot Springs.

Travel within Costa Rica is a rough-and-tumble affair, one that jostles the bones, shakes up the stomach and leaves your head bouncing back and forth with every pothole. There are plenty of paved highway-type roads, but they mostly connect the main cities. If you want to go anywhere else, chances are you will be treated to an experience that can best be described as a poorly-designed rollercoaster.

So, by the time Stacy and I arrived in La Fortuna from Monteverde, we were ready for a bit of relaxation. The hostel where we ditched our bags for the night offered discounted tickets, so for $20, we got to sample more than a dozen pools of varying temperatures. The 113-degree one was too hot to do more than stick a toe in, but most ranged from warm bath water to sauna temperatures.

One had a waterfall that pounded the knots out of my neck when I stood under it. At another, I shot down two different waterslides. A third had jacuzzi jets that were heavenly on my still-healing back and achy feet. Some even had tiny cool-water pools within the hot water so you could have your body in 109 degree water and your arms dangling over into the cooler pool, which was a neat experience.

The food and drink there were outrageously priced -- and by that I mean $5 for a bottle of soda and $19 for vegetable fried rice!!! -- but luckily I had grabbed a bottle of water and some munchies at the grocery store before we went to Baldi. Nobody bothered me about taking them in, although Im sure it is discouraged.

I wish we had a place like this close to home. I would save all my extra money to go on a regular basis. It was heavenly.

Tonight I went for a walk in a forest after dark.

It was a transitional forest -- which means it´s the area between the rainforest and cloud forest. It was very windy, very misty and more stars in the few clearings than you have probably ever seen in your life.

If our tiny group hadn´t been with a guide, we would have never noticed anything. But he knew which holes to shine his flashlight into so we could see tarantulas, which branches held tropical birds tucked in for the night, beak in feathers, fast asleep.

We saw ant hills that looked like they might reach volcano size in a few more years (ok, maybe this is a slight exaggeration, but still.... I was impressed), ant highways and a tiny pygmy frog waiting for mosquitos to emerge from a bromelia plant.

The English couple in our group wanted to know what were the sounds we heard (crickets and katydids) and what the little blinks of light were that kept popping up everywhere. They had never seen fireflies before!

It´s amazing what you take for granted depending on where you grow up. For the kids here, tropìcal birds and olingos (kind of like a monkey) are no big deal. For my friend Stacy and I, they were exciting to see.

Actually, come to think of it, it has been years since I have seen a firefly in my backyard. I remember my sisters and I used to catch them as kids or sit on the porch watching them emerge on summer evenings. Why don´t I see them anymore at home?

Note to self: Must check into this to find out if it means I´m too busy to notice or if they´re disappearing.

P.S. I saw a North American wood thrush curled up on a branch sleeping. Our guide told us they come here to Central America to escape North American winters. I am slowly learning that these birds are wise creatures. Very wise indeed.

P.P.S. BEST MONDAY EVER!!

Oh, the things I did not know about my morning cup of coffee!

Today I spent the afternoon learning about how the popular Costa Rican coffee is grown, processed, roasted and exported.

We visited a farmer who grows the arabica variety on land mixed with plantain, orange, grapefruit and banana trees for best soil quality. He is one of 42 members of the Cafe Monteverde Cooperative who grow only organic coffee beans (no chemicals used).

Here is a quick list of things I did not know about coffee:

Do you think her name is Peg or if those are her initials? Also, for the record, it was a man driving the car! (I couldn't help but look to see what Mrs. Peg looked like!)

Irene and Lynn Dietz of Springettsbury Township vacationed in Jamaica in September. They took this photo at Rick's Cafe, where people dive from cliffs for money.

"We went there to see the diving, but also to capture the beautiful sunset that goes along with the trip," Irene wrote.

Their travel tip: The divers will hound you for money so just ignore their pleas.

Isn't it strange how stressful the week before a vacation can be?

There's so much finishing up and planning ahead involved with taking a brief break from work and daily life.

And, in accordance with Murphy's Law, anything that can go wrong at this most inconvenient of times, will.

From left, Alice Klinedinst, Phyllis Mangold, Gay Rezin, Frances Stump, Boots Horn, Becky Simmons, Donna Rae Becker and Bradine Meckley pose for a photo during a September trip to Cape Cod, Mass.

The eight ladies are members of The Crazy Eights card club and have been meeting monthly to play cards for 52 years. For the past 40 years, they have taken an annual trip together.

Travel tip: Do not miss the whale-watching trip. It was wonderful

-- Submitted by Bradine Meckley of West Manchester Township

Maybe it was Cupid's doing, but earlier this week, I was daydreaming at a red light on Route 30 when I noticed this car and license plate idling in front of me. So, here's your Valentine's Day installment of the vanity plates series. I'm wondering why someone would get this plate. Anyone have any ideas?

Whenever I'm planning a trip, I try to seek out people who live where I'm going or who are familiar with the place. Usually, they offer tips and suggestions, recommendations and warnings that you won't find in any guidebook.

That's why I started the "Wish you were here" feature on this blog -- so people planning a trip can stop here and search for their destination to see what others who have been there had to say.

Anyway, if you don't know anyone, the best way to find somebody is to start telling people where you're going.

Last year, before I went to Argentina, my sister told me one of her coworkers grew up there. When I told one of my coworkers I was going to Costa Rica at the end of this month, she gave me the e-mail address of a friend of hers whose husband was from Costa Rica. I'm taking their suggestions on lodging and a less touristy coffee farm tour.

I put a post on Facebook.com about my upcoming trip and one of my friends sent me contact information for a friend of hers who lives there. She's going to visit in June, so she asked me to let her know how my trip went when I get back.

And -- it's cheaper than buying a guidebook.

I finally broke out of my vacation-planning funk this morning and began paging through Costa Rica guidebooks at Barnes & Noble. (I think having to get up early to drop a friend at the airport for a trip to L.A. might have had something to do with it!)

Richard and Patricia Meckley of West Manchester Township pose for a photo in January with David Cole, director of the Golden Princess cruise ship. The Meckleys were crusing to Hawaii when they met Cole, who they learned was from Dover.

Their travel tip: Make sure you take a light jacket or sweatshirt when cruising to Hawaii as the weather from California to Hawaii is rather cool.

In 14 days, I leave for a week in Costa Rica with my friend Stacy.

I can't believe I haven't spent more time poring over my guidebook or researching online where we should go and what we might want to do. Heck, I haven't even figured out where we should stay yet!

I guess I'm just not in the mood.

And then I want to smack myself in the head and say "What is wrong with you Jen? Why are you not more excited? You love to travel!"

Well, today I think I finally figured out why. I have a bad case of vacation guilt.

Let me explain...

You knew you'd see this on here sooner or later. I've seen this one around town, but never had an opportunity to snap a picture of it. Clever.

I thought you'd enjoy learning a few more things I discovered while checking out the happenings in Punxsutawney today:

Ever wonder what they do once 7:30 is past and the morning prediction is over? Well, first of all, no alcohol is allowed at this family-friendly celebration. Here are a few highlights from the rest of the day's schedule:

*Noon -- Inner circle autograph session (what, with Phil?)
*All day -- Get your official groundhog day souvenirs.
*8 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- A sale of all things groundhog
*9 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- Phil's Wedding Chapel. The mayor of Punxsutawney performs wedding ceremonies. Couples must register in advance. What?!
*9:30 to 11 a.m. -- Celebrate your Feb. 2 birthday with cake and punch. Those with proof of ID get a free gift.
*11 a.m. -- Crowning of Little Mr. & Mrs. Groundhog. I bet the competition for that title is something fierce.

Oh, and at 12:30 p.m., they have a meterologist hall of fame induction.

My god, I really need to go to this town next year. Sounds too crazy.

Happy groundhog day.

Or -- based on Punxsutawney Phil's prediction -- not-so-happy groundhog day.

I thought it would be appropriate to use today's blog post to learn about Phil's hometown of Punxsutawney. Located nearly four hours from York, somewhere between Altoona and Pittsburgh, this town's claim to fame is its weather-forecasting groundhog.

According to the official site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club: "Early observances of Phil's predictions were conducted privately in the wooded areas that neighbor the town. Today's celebration sees tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world as revelers await Phil's appearance."

Visitors descend on the town as early as 3 a.m. to enjoy live entertainment, fireworks and freezing temperatures while waiting for a rodent to crawl out and tell them if it will ever get warm again.