Feliz Aniversario, Tony & Jana!

I cannot believe that we have been married for 25 years! We were married on January 3, 1986 in Mesa, Arizona. I was 19 and Tony was 22. Being married that young is just plain crazy! What were we thinking? Well, it is an amazing accomplishment for two very young people. We finished raising each other . . . we went to college together, we started our careers together, we are raising a beautiful daughter together, we are growing old together.

For our 25th Wedding Anniversary, we decided to celebrate in Costa Rica. I get to spend a lot of time in Costa Rica working, but never get to do much “siteseeing.” Since we both love the beach and warm temperatures, we thought it would be the perfect spot. Also, since my sister-in-law, was celebrating a monumental birthday, Deanna and Larry decided to join us.

Saturday, January 15, 2011: We traveled from Phoenix to San Jose, Costa Rica. We rented a car and drove to our hotel for the night, the Holiday Inn Express. Fortunately for us, Rostipollos is across the parking lot. I love Rostipollos. I even have a frequent buyer card. Haha. It is a casual restaurant that specializes in . . . ROASTED CHICKEN!

Sunday, January 16, 2011: Since check in at the Marriott Los Suenos resort wasn’t until 3:00 PM, we had a leisurely morning at the HIE. Tony and I ate breakfast and then sat out by the pool until it was time to check out. We all decided that Larry would be our driver, Deanna his co-pilot, and Tony and I would be the backseat drivers. The scenery was so gorgeous . . . and green! With the new freeway, it only took about an hour and a half to get to Herradura and to the Marriott Los Suenos resort.

Since we arrived a little early, we were not able to check in quite yet. So, we were able to enjoy lunch at the La Vista restaurant. La Vista offers the best in Costa Rican and international dishes in a colonial atmosphere that overlooks the resort's beautiful pool deck. The grounds and the pool at the resort are AMAZING!

After lunch and checking in, we checked out the beach and decided while it was very pretty, the pool was WAY better! As long as we could see, hear and smell the beach, we were happy. For dinner, we enjoyed a beautiful walk over to the marina and had dinner at The Hookup. This restaurant is located on the second floor of the Marina Entry Building. From the restaurant, you had a 270-degree panoramic view of the marina, Herradura Bay and the surrounding mountains. They had a diverse menu with great prices.

Monday, January 17, 2011: The resort has a great gym, so we started the day off working out (we are still in training for a half marathon in February). All of the machines have their own TV. We enjoyed an awesome buffet breakfast at the La Vista restaurant. The morning and early afternoon was spent relaxing, reading, and swimming. We had a blast playing water volleyball with Larry and Deanna. There was a lot of laughing. They claim to have won the game, but I think it was a tie. We are pretty evenly matched. I’m sure our kids would have been quite impressed with our athletic abilities.

In the afternoon, we decided to have a little adventure. We drove to Jaco and did a little shopping. We had a recommendation from a worker at the Marriott that Caliche's Wishbone was one of the best restaurants in Jaco. This casual spot is popular with surfers and offers a wide variety of food. I was anxious to try the arroz con pollo and wasn’t disappointed (I love arroz con pollo – rice and shredded chicken). Tony got the fajitas and swears that was the best meal he had all week. The portions are huge. Larry had a whole red snapper! They have nice, street side tables, but we chose an inside table underneath a ceiling fan. It was pretty humid and warm. There were also a few TVs showing surf videos which was fun.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011: Again, we had breakfast at La Vista. Then, we headed to Manuel Antonio National Park. On the way, we had a slight roadkill issue. Joke: Why did the iguana cross the road? To get hit by Larry’s car. Haha! It was a pretty loud thud and we all felt really bad and there was a moment of silence . . . then the story got funnier until it ended up being an alligator.

Manuel Antonio National Park combines natural primary and secondary forests, exuberant wildlife, and pristine beaches in one amazing location on Costa Rica's Pacific coast, only seven kilometers south of Quepos.

The area, which encompasses 1.700 acres of land mass and 135.905 acres of marine reserve, was declared as National Park due to its abundant flora and fauna, and especially because of being the last remaining habitat of the unique squirrel monkey (mono tití), endemic to this region. Other of the species that attract both naturalists and regular tourists are white-nosed, two-toed and three-toed sloths, iguanas, raccoons, white-faced and howler monkeys.

Among the birds is common to observe: “tucancillos” (Fiery-billed Aracary), brown pelicans, laughing falcons, black-collared hawks, green kingfishers and northern jacanas. Among the flora is the bully tree, the cedar, the locust (surá) the black locust and the cow tree, as well as 44.5 acres of mangrove swamp with three species: black mangrove, red mangrove and buttonwood mangrove. Costa Rica's ancient pre-Colombian societies inhabited the area around Manuel Antonio and their tidal turtle traps are still visible.

To get the most out of the hike, we hired a tour guide named Fernando Chavarria. He was very knowledgeable about the plants and animals. He also had a pretty good sense of humor. When asked if a beehive way up in the trees was still active, he picked up a rock and pretended to throw it at the beehive. Haha!

Unfortunately, we did not see any monkeys. However, we saw a few sloths, lots of iguanas, raccoons, bats, crabs, lizards, birds, bugs, spiders and a few human whales in Speedos.

The beach was one of the best we have enjoyed. The sand was white and soft. The water was warm and luxurious. It has to be one of my favorite places on the planet.

For dinner, we ate at El Avion. Set on the edge of Manuel Antonio's hillside with a great view of the ocean and surrounding forests, this restaurant is actually housed under some permanent tents and the starboard wing of a retired army transport plane, hence the name El Avión, which means "the Plane." This specific plane was actually shot down by the Sandinista army, leading to a scandal that uncovered illegal CIA supply missions to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. They had a great menu and a great view. We had an awesome table at the edge of the restaurant really high up in the air with spectacular views.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011: Larry deemed this day, “The Manuel Antonio Recuperation Day.” After we went to the gym, we had a great day sitting under the trees by the pool reading, relaxing, and swimming. Tony and I played a little paddle ball. There was some excitement in the pool for a bit when an iguana decided he wanted to join the humans. Did you know iguanas can hold their breath for a really long time? One of the Marriott cabana boys rescued the humans by capturing the iguana. He really did his cabana boy job well by giving the iguana a shower before releasing it in a palm tree. I saw a couple of red macaws. They are so beautiful, but have the most annoying song. We also had another water volleyball match where, AGAIN, Larry and Deanna think they won. I’m sure it was a tie. Too bad we didn’t keep track of points . . . or have defined boundaries (not everything can be “out”). Haha!

In the afternoon, Larry and Tony golfed at the La Iguana golf course. They had fun, no one got hurt, and the golf cart survived. Tony tells me that it is one of the most beautiful golf courses he has ever played (and also that he sucks at golf). Tony even had to perform some mountain climbing to rescue a ball. Deanna went to the spa and I relaxed at the pool and read. Ahhhhhhh!

For dinner, we went back to the Hook Up. Tony had a Golden Dorado fish sandwich and I had the Maracuya Grilled Tuna Fillet. Yummy!

Thursday, January 20, 2011: After the gym, we spent the morning at the pool doing more relaxing, reading and swimming. At 1:00 PM, we went on a canopy tour at Vista Los Suenos Canopy Tour. Located in Herradura next to Jaco beach on the central pacific coast of Costa Rica, it offers breathtaking views of the Gulf of Nicoya and the Pacific Ocean. This canopy tour is set on approximately 222 acres of land and 50% of this is transitional forest which is a mixture of the dry forest of the north pacific and the rain forest of the south pacific. After they geared us up with harnesses and hats, we took a short trailer ride straight up the mountain to the starting point. I would like to mention that the helmets smelled super bad . . . a cross between wet dog and nasty armpit. As long as the wind was in my face, I was happy. It was a thrilling adventure being so far up and dangling from a wire.

After our adventure, we ate lunch at Restaurante Juanita in Jaco. One of the guides recommended this restaurant. It was great!  Tony had chicken fajitas and I had fish in garlic butter. After a little rest, we had another volleyball tourney. Deanna and Larry may have won this game due to the face that we acquired Tori, a small girl from West Virginia. Since we were a little handicapped, they may have won. Actually, Tori was pretty good for a small girl from West Virginia.

We went to Lanterna Ristorante Italiano for dinner at the marina. It had the charm of Italy and offered traditional Italian cuisine against the backdrop of the Los Sueños Marina. Tony and I shared a caprese salad. Tony had Spaghetti alla Bolognese. I had Agnolloti (roasted butternut squash filled ravioli pasta with browned butter glaze, spinach leaves and pecans). Yum!

Friday, January 21, 2011: It was our last day at Los Suenos. Tony and I went to the Hook Up for breakfast, and then spent the morning at the pool. We stayed in the pool until the last possible second. Larry drove us very fast part of the way to San Jose. Then he forgot what he was doing. Haha! Fortunately, he got out of a traffic ticket and only had to give up $100 to the nice police officer who I’m sure had a nice time with Larry’s $100. We made it safely to the Holiday Inn Express and had dinner again at Rostipollos.

Saturday, January 22, 2011: We got up super early so we could be at the airport by 5:30 AM. Tony surprised me and upgraded us to First Class for the flight home. It was niiiiiice.

It was great to get home early in the afternoon and have half of the day and Sunday to recover from our trip. On Sunday, Tony and Riley started planning another beach adventure. It was great to see Heather. We missed her! I’m so thankful to my parents for staying at our house and taking such good care of Heather, George, and Squirt.

Twenty-five years! Yay, us!