Kirtland Ohio Temple

The Kirtland, Ohio temple was the first temple built by the Church of Jesus Christ.  It snowed overnight while we were in Kirtland, so we were able to visit the temple with the beautiful snow cover. Our tour was guided by one of the maintenance workers, who obviously was passionate

Attending Church in Kirtland Ohio

We attended church in Kirtland, Ohio.  As we went out of our hotel to the car, we realized that we had to scape the four inches of snow and ice off of the windows.  It seems like it has been so long since we've had to deal with

Western New York Welcome Center

On our drive to and from Niagara Falls, we passed the Western New York Welcome Center.  So on our return trip we decided to stop. It was a beautiful building full of local history, artifacts, and a cafe featuring locally sourced ingredients. New York now has Text Stops, so you

Visiting Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Hershey's Chocolate World Niagara Falls

From Niagara Falls, it is a quick walk to get to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Passports in hand, we walked across the Rainbow Bridge from Niagara Falls, NY, to Toronto, ON. Strangely, almost immediately after entering Canada at the mid-point of the bridge, it felt shockingly colder.  The wind became bitter

Nicola Tesla Monument at Niagara Falls

The first hydroelectric power plant in the world was at Niagara Falls and Nicola Tesla was instrumental in its design and creation.  The plant was built in 1879 and by 1881, the streets in Niagara Falls were illuminated with electric lights. In honor of him, there is a Nicola Tesla

Niagara Falls, New York

With the car issues freshly resolved, we hesitantly headed up to Niagara Falls, New York.  The car worked fine the entire drive. We saw at least a dozen hawks in the trees on the way.  But we only know how to identify Costa Rican birds, so we haven't

Broken Down on the Side of the Road

Yep, that's us at about 10:00pm broken down on the side of the road.  When we returned to the US, we found that one of the tires on the car was flat and that the batteries would not hold a charge.   So we brought it to a

Galletas Nevadas in Costa Rica

A day or two before we left Costa Rica, Savannah saw these cookies: 'Nevadas'.  She thought the name was great; she's excited to visit Nevada.

Costa Rica Retrospective: Food

The food in Costa Rica was delicious.  Angela quickly learned the seasonings and sauces commonly used here and applied it to her cooking. Costa Ricans don't like a lot of spice in their food, but they have some delicious hot sauces. The grocery stores our of San Jose

Costa Rica Retrospective: Driving

I had no intention of driving in Costa Rica prior to arriving.  I had seen driving in our parts of Latin America and had been terrified of it. But we quickly realized that the areas in which we had hoped to live could not be navigated without a car. Renting

Costa Rica Retrospective: the People

The People of Costa Rica were so welcoming and friendly, especially in San Carlos, where we spent most of our time. Our neighbors were thoughtful and welcoming and took the time to get to know us. People you met in town and at stores were generally polite. Despite us being

Costa Rica Retrospective: No Illnesses

During the three months that we were in Costa Rica, we did not have a single cold, fever, flu, food poisoning, or other illness. I don't know if there has ever been another three month period where all of us have been avoided illness. I don't

Back in the US: First Impressions - Water

Our first night back in the USA from Costa Rica, we stayed in a hotel in Fairfax, VA.  The water in the US has so much chlorine -- it was pretty disgusting compared to the water in Costa Rica.

Birds We've Identified in Costa Rica

While in Costa Rica, Carson has been determined to identify each bird that we see.  Here is a list of the unique species that we have seen: 1.   Muscovy duck 2.   Great kiskidee 3.   Rufus collared sparrow 4.   Cherrie’s tanager (passerine’s tanager) 5.   Ruddy ground dove 6.   Montezuma

Farewell at Church

We have really enjoyed attending church in Costa Rica.  In the La Fortuna area, the nearest Church of Jesus Christ is in a town named Quesada, which was about a 45 minute drive.  They were so welcoming.  More than anyone, Carson connected well with the young men in the congregation

The Mystery of the Golden Sun by Savannah Knight

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Night Walk in our Neighborhood with Phil and Savannah

Savannah, Phil, and Keith went on a night walk around our neighborhood for about an hour.  We saw some pretty neat creatures. A frog hiding in this plant: A great kiskadee asleep on a branch: A spectacled caiman in the water (its eye is glowing since i have the flashlight

Rio Chollin - Natural Hot Spring River

We were talking with a neighbor and he asked us if we had gone to the hot springs here.  We had looked at several hot spring resorts here, but they were kind of expensive and didn't seem worth it.  But he told us about the place that locals

Bogarin Trail, La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Our challenge for the last few weeks was to find a Blue Jeans Frog, which is a type of Strawberry Poison Dart Frog.  I had read of people seeing them at the Bogarin Trail, so when Phil and Nicole asked for suggestions of places we should go, that was at

Visit from Phil, Nicole, and their Family

We have been anxiously awaiting Phil, Nicole, and their family visiting us for weeks.  It was so much fun having them here and the kids loved the company.  They got along so well! We visited the town square of La Fortuna: Nicole and Angela with the Catholic Church in the

Falling off the Road

I was sitting at my desk when I saw a car driving down the road.  As it entered a small bridge over our creek, it drove right off the edge, rolled over, and landed upside down in the creek.  Fortunately, no one was injured. Within a couple of hours, they

Exploring Tres Esquinas, San Carlos, Costa Rica

On Friday, our neighbor stopped by and asked us if we would like ride on boats later that afternoon.  He told us there was a place nearby that he would take us to.  We excitedly accepted, but weren't sure how boats could go on the river next to

Red Lored Amazon Parrots by our House

Since returning to La Fortuna area, we have had parrots squawking and flying around near our house.  But they never seemed to land where we could take a picture of them.  Finally, they landed by the street, so Carson was able to capture some pictures.

Aunt Beth's Baked Beans Have Gone International

It's been a while since we've had Aunt Beth's Famous Baked Beans.  With a lot of creativity, Angela was able to turn our available ingredients into Aunt Beth's Baked Beans - Costa Rican Edition. Aunt Beth's Baked Beans have officially

Crocodiles in our Yard

We found a good way to get out and get some exercise -- night walks in the yard.  We explore, looking for bugs and animals.  There is actually a small caiman (similar to a small crocodile, but less aggressive) that lives by our drive-way.  We've also seen lots