A Crocodile in the Living Room!

A crocodile where? What?

A couple of days ago I read a post by talented author Joanne Wadsworth while she was vacationing in Fiji. She mentioned how she was forced to play the hero by her young son (her husband was conveniently unavailable at that moment) to a couple of frogs stranded in a small rowing boat. Her tale made me laugh because, of course, she is not fond of frogs.

I thought I would share a tale that to this day, not only makes me smile and laugh, but I always bring up when we’re swapping stories at a family gathering. Well, okay, one of many…but I’m sure that’s normal, right?

Our house in Costa Rica (for those of you who don’t know, I was born and raised there) had a formal living room for entertaining. My Mom hosted plenty of Thursday Tea Group meetings, where the ladies would knit or crochet, and Friday Group meetings, where a different group would play card games and share anecdotes. This living room was off-limits as a kid because of all the treasures it held.

Where was I? Oh, yes! The crocodile…

One afternoon I was playing in my room when I heard screaming and a ruckus. A rushed out to see what was going on and there was my Mom, usually so calm (she’s a nurse so she handles emergencies well), screaming like a banshee. “A crocodile! There’s a crocodile in the living room!”



Crocodiles from Crestock.com



Even at the tender age of eight, I knew there was no way there could be a crocodile in the living room. Right? I mean, we do have them down there, but not in the capital. But from that to finding one inside the house. Maybe in a movie, but not in real life. Dad was at work and all my brothers were in school or out, and the maids were trying to calm my Mom. I was so curious I just had to go and see what monster lurked in the living room.

So I walked into the room expecting some huge creature to jump out and attack, but there was no animal in sight. Obviously relieved but still curious, I set forth to explore the dangerous terrain comprised by antique furniture, priceless porcelain figurines and a plush white area rug where feet had been known to disappear within the cushiony clumps of fabric.



Cute dragon from Crestock.com



It was here that I found my Mom’s crocodile. Carefully I parted clumps of fabric and scooped up a small garden lizard that had wandered into our home. I was laughing all the way back to the kitchen where my Mom waited. She hasn’t lived that one down yet.

Child holding lizard from Crestock.com



How about you? Do you have any monster stories to share? I’d love to hear from you!

Costa Rica Trip 2012

COSTA RICA TRIP

Hello everyone! A couple of weeks ago I went back to Costa Rica to visit family and friends. I hadn’t been back since 2005, and OMG, the changes in those 7 years!

To mention just a few: cleaner air (newer and better buses!), tons of new construction and businesses, and an impressive system of new and improved highways. This latter impressed me so much I actually got behind the wheel of a car after 13 years of abstinence. What can I say, after driving in Dallas and Atlanta and up and down the U.S. in a big rig, I don’t know why I was afraid to before. I had a blast!

Even though I visited for only 4 days, I was able to cram all sorts of activities into this short time. Who needs sleep, right?

I spent lots of time with family. Stayed at my brother Ricky’s house and got reacquainted with nieces and nephews and even a great-nephew whose a cutie pie! 

Brother Ricky and me

 Flory, one of my best friends, picked me up Friday afternoon. She has a small business and had some errands to run, so we figured we’d catch up on the go. Ha! It ended up being a 4-hour Central Valley tour (I lost count of how many cities we went through!) that was incredible. It allowed me to see just how much the country has changed since I moved to the U.S.



High school classmates

 Saturday evening I had a high-school class get together with lots of good conversation, music and  food.                            



Ana Lucia and me

 Sunday was a crazy day. Had lunch at Los Anonos, one of my favorite restaurants ever! Going there has been a family tradition for over 45 years. And we always order the same dish! 

                                           
                                                                   



My brother dropped me off later at one of my sister-in-law’s home and spent the afternoon visiting more family.

The evening I spent with my Stepmom and my other brothers and sister. We had some BBQ ribs. I really enjoyed my time with them. It’s never enough! Funny how everything revolves around food, right? I swear I didn’t stop eating from the moment I landed.                                                        

Monday, my last day, we went to Puntarenas for some beach and food. Stopped at Puerto Caldera on the way and got my feet wet.                     

             And we couldn’t leave without having one of our famous “granizados”, kind of like a snow cone on steroids, at the “Paseo de los Turistas”, the Tourist Walk.

                                                                                                                 

Would you believe that what little shopping I did, mostly for food again, was late Monday evening? I got back home Tuesday needing a vacation from my time off! Talk about time management.

How about you? Where have you traveled lately? Where are you planning to go next? Would love to hear from you.