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.

A Hell Hounds Snippet

Drest dropped his cloak of shadows and stood still for a moment, eyes black as coal scanning the area. His tall frame was all dark planes and corded muscle; a shadowy outline against the semi-darkness of the alley. He stepped forward, revealing his presence to the demon that was hunched over its victim.

“Hell Hound!” the demon hissed and spat as he backed away from the body. “You stray far away from home!”

“I am not the one who strays, demon,” Drest responded, his tone scathing. He had been tracking demons for the past month, and he was tired and in a foul mood. He watched the hideous creature sway back and forth, restless. “You seem nervous and need not be.” He kept his voice steady but all his senses were on alert. This one did not hunt alone. “I have but come to fetch you home.”

“Prison!!” shrieked the demon, his eyes glowing red . He made a weak attempt at swiping the air with his bloody claws, but maintained a safe distance.

“But home to the likes of you.” He held out a hand in warning and the demon froze. “Do not mistake my intent! Choose to return or destruction.” His other hand went to his hip, where a coiled whip rested. Crafted from the thick darkness of Erebus, the whip was one of Drest’s favorite weapons, easy to wield and lethal. “Kali! You may come out of the shadows!” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the demon Kali detach itself from the wall to his left. Slithering slowly, she made her way to her husband’s side, her eyes promising a thousand deaths.

See ya, 2011! Welcome, 2012!

As this year comes to a close, I find myself counting my blessings. There are so many things we take for granted; things like health and jobs and family and friends. I'm grateful for all of them. So many lessons learned and so many remaining.


I look forward to the new year with a sense of wonderful things to come and many adventures to pursue. So many dreams to fulfill and even more to imagine. May 2012 be filled with blessings and happiness for all of you. What are you looking forward to this new year?

Of POV and nightmares

POV is what my latest nightmares have conjured to keep things interesting. I realized a couple of days ago that I desperately needed a refresher course on POV (okay, more like a bucket of ice cold water!) so I've been reading different books from different authors to see what they're doing and take note.

Ironically, I have found it a challenge to take a step back from the stories and focus on the techniques. I tend to disappear into whichever world the author has created and forget about the learning opportunities that present themselves. Needless to say, it is proving to be an enriching experience that I am positive will reflect in my writing.

Brainstorming

Hades' Hell Hounds are warriors chosen by the God of the Underworld to deal out justice and right wrongs. They are fierce and loyal and generally pissed off at the Fates. Someone is letting the nasties out of the darkest pits of Tartarus and they are going on a killing spree. The Hell Hounds must find out who's behind this before it's too late. This is the premise for book one. Now to outline....

Beginnings

Finally got to choosing the names for the main characters. It's funny how even though the first scene, where Fallon meets Drest for the first time, is sooo crisp and clear in my mind, when it comes to putting pen to paper, well, ha... I find that words fail me, trick me and actually laugh at me.  Oh well, so I will play with the words even though the final product may fall short of the image in my mind. But I'm writing, right? That's definitely a good start...

Rainy Day

Well, here we are at the beginning of phase in my life. Hard to type while the truck is moving, though. But it's exciting to try all these new things (for me, anyway! LOL) like Twitter and writing contests and blogging. A lot of changes in a very short time. Sounds good to me. Ha...by the way, it is raining here where we are for the next hour or so...somewhere in GA and heading to AZ.