Okay, so I know we are supposed to be traveling America, but Scott's dad asked us if we wanted to go to Costa Rica for a week and we couldn't pass up the chance. What a great week it was. We stayed the first night in San Jose. Dad renovated a house there and it is really cute. We got to see some of the local culture and even found the Walmart. I know, our favorite store, it felt like home. The Walmart is a little different in Costa Rica. The name of the store is Hiper Ma's and there are police there. They also have two employees that stand in every isle. I don't know if they are making sure you don't steal or if they are there to assist you in finding the right brand of toothpaste. Being that I only understand un pequito espanol and they understood nunguna engles I was on my own picking out the toothpaste. Good thing "Crest" looks the same in any language. 
We went to Fortuna the next day and stayed at Los Lagos hotel, which is practically at the base of an active volcano named Arenal. We drove up to the observatory created by the Smithsonian for volcano research. It was a little cloudy at first but then, as the Greene luck would have it, it cleared up and we could see the volcano perfectly. In fact, the weather in October is usually very rainy, but we had fantastic weather practically the whole trip. You just wouldn't believe the different kinds of foliage in Costa Rica. The bromeliads, orchids, and dad's favorite the tree fern . He is obsessed with them. "There's a tree fern", and "look, there's a tree fern". It is really cute. You can just tell how much he loves it there.
Let me first start out describing the next leg of this trip by saying that I woke up in San Jose with a pinched nerve in my neck. So the next day we headed up to Monte Verde. Dad warned us that the roads were not paved and were pretty bad, but I figured, how bad could they really be? (famous last words) We started on the three hour drive and it wasn't too bad. The lushness of the foliage and the green of the valleys was breathtaking, but the pain in my neck was torture. I was a good little trooper and didn't say much, but the road got worse and worse. At one point a tractor had put new rocks on the road and we barely made it over them. I tied a dish towel around my neck, trying to create a neck brace, and it worked a little. Again not saying a word, popping Advil like candy, humming the theme song from Gilligan's Island (the three hour tour, the three hour tour...) we made it up to the top of Monte Verde. It was beautiful and so worth it. We stayed at a great hotel and Scott and my neck got a much needed massage at the spa. 
The next morning we went zip-lining through the canopy at the top of the mountain. Zip-lining is very popular in Costa Rica. They have them in many of the towns, but Monte Verde is the most popular because it has the best views and the most lines. For those of you that don't know what zip-lining is, basically you are strapped into a harness and then "zip" down a cable that has been strung between two trees. It was awesome, zipping along. On one of the longer lines, I took the time to look around and take in the beauty of the rain forest. Wow what an experience! Scott had a funny thing happen. As he was coming in on one of the cables the guide didn't tell him to stop until it was too late and Scott came crashing into the guide, knocking the wind out of him. The guide had to take a couple of minutes to catch his breath. Fun for Scott, not fun for the guide.The next day we headed to th coast. We stayed at a beautiful property called Los Suenos, which I call the Disney version of Costa Rica. It is like a resort, with golf, pools, a beach club, and much more. Don't get me wrong, it was super nice, but I like the lushness of the mountains better.
We had such a fantastic trip and have plenty of pictures to share, if you click the link below. It looks like we have a renter for the Palm Beach house, so there will be plenty of work to do when we get back.
