I’m actually not sure what to make of it. Kind of looks like Beeman or Breeman. Maybe Brennan? Liz had done some research into the history of our house (and its prior owners/occupants), but I don’t think she found any names similar to this.
We haven’t quite been back a full week yet. But it’s Monday, and we’re back to our routine of heading in to work. Feels weird to no longer have a swimming pool within easy reach, but I guess that’s why it’s called a vacation.
I looked over all my posts from 2019, and created my Ten Best Days list for the year. It was a tough thing narrowing them down, and interesting to note that the bulk of my favorite days happened towards the end of the year.
“On the fire escape, one
stupid petunia still blooms,
purple trumpet blowing”
There was something about the puzzle itself that caught my eye. And after watching Ramsay step through trying to figure it out, I realized I kind of enjoyed that whole process. Looking more, I found he’s got a ton of videos posted, which should make for some interesting watching.
Nina Kollars, an Associate Professor for the Naval War College, talks at DEF CON 27 about her experience buying a Nespresso machine… and stumbling into a world of fraudsters operating online via Nespresso capsules. It’s a really fascating story, told by someone who methodically tried to track down what the heck was going on.
I think it was around 8:30 or so when Liz and I were both feeling closer to our normal selves. Today was always meant to be a recovery day, but neither of us were planning on stomach bugs or migraines. Still, nice to have a little bit of time before going to back to work tomorrow.
For posterity: Liz captured the moment where Lauren finally passed the slow moving truck – and in the river, no less! I’ve passed a lot of cars while driving in my time, but I’ve yet to pass another vehicle while in the water.
The pattern of our days, in Las Catalinas, has been something like this: wake up, breakfast, reading for a while, get sleepy, possible nap, wake up and read a bit more, maybe swim, possible second nap, drinks watching the sun set, dinner, drinks post dinner, repeat.
Towards sunset, there were a few spots in the pool that got lit up. Made me wonder how often people tried to get into the pool, when these things are lit. Despite all warnings and safeguards, I just assume people still do it (and still get burnt).
During the day, we were in two different groups but eventually met up in Tamarindo. On our way to the Farmers Market there, we stopped off at Tamarindo Coffee Roasters for some coffee and beans (had a great Cortado).
Tonight, we went really off road and our group made its way to Tempate. Surprisingly, it was really close to where we were staying (despite the roads really feeling like we were at a remote town). I’m guessing the roads we traveled were what the Monkey Trail used to be, a few years back.
I walked into the pool slowly, and made my way towards the low ledge (where you can hang your arms over, and just look out over the side of the house). Best spot in the pool.
Right before I was going to lean over the ledge, I realized that my phone was still in my pocket.
Despite a late night ringing in the new year watching fireworks on the beach, a group of us woke up early (6:00 AM) to drive about 2+ hours for a rainforest hike at Sensoria.
Lauren and her friend Laura wandered to find their own spot. And as Liz and I were walking together, somehow… Brandon and Natalie spotted us, and called us over. We sat with them a while and shared their good vantage point for the show.