Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Master Michael
Yesterday Michael defended his Master's thesis and passed! To celebrate M.S. getting his M.S., we went out with some friends to dinner last night.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Costa Rica
Here's a little recap from our honeymoon:
Honeymoon Day 1
Today we woke up (at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead) at 5:50am. We didn't receive our wakeup call but luckily we'd set an alarm. We headed off to the airport sleepy but in high spirits ready to start our honeymoon. We had waited in line to check in at the airport for 40 minutes and we were still excited until we noticed that almost every flight on the board (including ours) was canceled due to the "threat" of snow. After another 40 minutes we were able to check-in and get on a 6:45 pm flight as stand by passengers. We then hoped on MARTA in the midst of a horrible snowstorm (cold rain) where we proceeded to take a 3 hour nap. We woke up to find that it actually had started snowing, but we were able to get to the airport by riding with Ashley's aunt and uncle. Luckily all the incoming flights had been canceled so we were able to make it on the plane. There were several delays due to de-icing but we finally took off at 8:30 pm. Upon arriving in Costa Rica we quickly realized that the many messages we'd left the hotel regarding a shuttle were not received (at the 24 hr desk). Lucky for us John Willy, the taxi driver, agreed to take us to a local hotel that ended up being a dump. Then he took us to the Holiday Inn Express. Our first room had not been cleaned and the keys did not work for the second room. The third try ended well and we finally got to bed around 1 am Costa Rica time (2 am for us).
Honeymoon Day 2
We woke up early and took the free shuttle from the hotel to the airport (unfortunately we did not make use of this the night before). We got on a 9:30 am puddle jumper flight to Quepos, and after 20 minutes in a 12 passenger plane we arrived. After a short shuttle ride to the hotel we finally made it. We ate lunch on the property at Rico Tico Bar & Grill where we saw our first iguana. Later that afternoon we went for a couples massage to help us unwind. Dinner was at El Avion, a restaurant with a huge airplane in the middle, where tried our first Sangria.
Honeymoon Day 3
Canopy tour
We whizzed through the tree tops and had a blast. Lunch was a traditional Costa Rican meal with chicken, rice, black beans, plantains, and tortillas. Yum. Dinner was at Claro Que Si Seafood Restaurant. We'll just let the pictures do most of the talking for today:
Honeymoon Day 4
After a busy day yesterday, we decided to take it easy today. We headed down to brunch at the Rico Tico Bar & Grill where we saw 2 more iguanas and a Jesus Christ lizard. We spent the afternoon down at the beach. That evening before heading to dinner, we saw a troop of Squirrel monkeys climbing along the roof outside our balcony. We headed downstairs for a closer look and we saw that they had invaded the restaurant and were begging for bananas. There were about 15-20 in all including a couple of babies ant they kept us entertained for quite awhile. Dinner was at the BBQ Cantina.
Honeymoon Day 5
Today we got up early and headed over to the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. We found a tour guide before entering the park and he took us on a two hour guided tour. He had a telescope that allowed us to see the animals up close. We saw three toed sloths, a toucan, white faced capuchin monkeys, crabs, raccoons, bats, a howler monkey, leaf cutter ants, poisonous trees, and Michael spotted an anteater. After the tour we stuck around the park and swam at Playa Manuel Antonio which is supposedly the prettiest beach in the area. After showering with monkeys (and Ashley chasing them down for lots of pictures) we hiked up to Punta Catedral, a look out point with great views of the ocean. We ate dinner at Barba Roja, where we had amazing views of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean.
Honeymoon Day 6
We decided to have our last full day be an easy one. We woke up and enjoyed breakfast at the hotel and then walked through Si Como No's Butterfly Garden. We then headed over to the 'kids' pool to cool off. There's a water slide that cuts through the trees, and we both went down the slide a few times for some great pictures. We at lunch at a local coffee shop and cafe before spending the rest of the afternoon at the pool. We ate dinner at Kapi Kapi, a really beautiful open air restaurant located off the beaten path. It was the best food we had all week and was a great way to close out our honeymoon.
Honeymoon Day 7
We got up and sadly had our last breakfast at Si Como No. We had made the habit of getting up every morning and having breakfast at a table that looks out over the rainforest and the ocean. We made sure we were packed and got a ride to the airport where we had a very bumpy 20 min flight. Ashley closed her eyes and was sweating while Michael sat there laughing at everyone and having a good time (Michael has done this many times with his pilot friend David back in Ahoskie). We arrived back safely in Atlanta Saturday night and headed home to Durham the next morning.
Honeymoon Day 1
Today we woke up (at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead) at 5:50am. We didn't receive our wakeup call but luckily we'd set an alarm. We headed off to the airport sleepy but in high spirits ready to start our honeymoon. We had waited in line to check in at the airport for 40 minutes and we were still excited until we noticed that almost every flight on the board (including ours) was canceled due to the "threat" of snow. After another 40 minutes we were able to check-in and get on a 6:45 pm flight as stand by passengers. We then hoped on MARTA in the midst of a horrible snowstorm (cold rain) where we proceeded to take a 3 hour nap. We woke up to find that it actually had started snowing, but we were able to get to the airport by riding with Ashley's aunt and uncle. Luckily all the incoming flights had been canceled so we were able to make it on the plane. There were several delays due to de-icing but we finally took off at 8:30 pm. Upon arriving in Costa Rica we quickly realized that the many messages we'd left the hotel regarding a shuttle were not received (at the 24 hr desk). Lucky for us John Willy, the taxi driver, agreed to take us to a local hotel that ended up being a dump. Then he took us to the Holiday Inn Express. Our first room had not been cleaned and the keys did not work for the second room. The third try ended well and we finally got to bed around 1 am Costa Rica time (2 am for us).
Honeymoon Day 2
We woke up early and took the free shuttle from the hotel to the airport (unfortunately we did not make use of this the night before). We got on a 9:30 am puddle jumper flight to Quepos, and after 20 minutes in a 12 passenger plane we arrived. After a short shuttle ride to the hotel we finally made it. We ate lunch on the property at Rico Tico Bar & Grill where we saw our first iguana. Later that afternoon we went for a couples massage to help us unwind. Dinner was at El Avion, a restaurant with a huge airplane in the middle, where tried our first Sangria.
Honeymoon Day 3
Canopy tour
We whizzed through the tree tops and had a blast. Lunch was a traditional Costa Rican meal with chicken, rice, black beans, plantains, and tortillas. Yum. Dinner was at Claro Que Si Seafood Restaurant. We'll just let the pictures do most of the talking for today:
Honeymoon Day 4
After a busy day yesterday, we decided to take it easy today. We headed down to brunch at the Rico Tico Bar & Grill where we saw 2 more iguanas and a Jesus Christ lizard. We spent the afternoon down at the beach. That evening before heading to dinner, we saw a troop of Squirrel monkeys climbing along the roof outside our balcony. We headed downstairs for a closer look and we saw that they had invaded the restaurant and were begging for bananas. There were about 15-20 in all including a couple of babies ant they kept us entertained for quite awhile. Dinner was at the BBQ Cantina.
Honeymoon Day 5
Today we got up early and headed over to the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. We found a tour guide before entering the park and he took us on a two hour guided tour. He had a telescope that allowed us to see the animals up close. We saw three toed sloths, a toucan, white faced capuchin monkeys, crabs, raccoons, bats, a howler monkey, leaf cutter ants, poisonous trees, and Michael spotted an anteater. After the tour we stuck around the park and swam at Playa Manuel Antonio which is supposedly the prettiest beach in the area. After showering with monkeys (and Ashley chasing them down for lots of pictures) we hiked up to Punta Catedral, a look out point with great views of the ocean. We ate dinner at Barba Roja, where we had amazing views of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean.
Honeymoon Day 6
We decided to have our last full day be an easy one. We woke up and enjoyed breakfast at the hotel and then walked through Si Como No's Butterfly Garden. We then headed over to the 'kids' pool to cool off. There's a water slide that cuts through the trees, and we both went down the slide a few times for some great pictures. We at lunch at a local coffee shop and cafe before spending the rest of the afternoon at the pool. We ate dinner at Kapi Kapi, a really beautiful open air restaurant located off the beaten path. It was the best food we had all week and was a great way to close out our honeymoon.
Honeymoon Day 7
We got up and sadly had our last breakfast at Si Como No. We had made the habit of getting up every morning and having breakfast at a table that looks out over the rainforest and the ocean. We made sure we were packed and got a ride to the airport where we had a very bumpy 20 min flight. Ashley closed her eyes and was sweating while Michael sat there laughing at everyone and having a good time (Michael has done this many times with his pilot friend David back in Ahoskie). We arrived back safely in Atlanta Saturday night and headed home to Durham the next morning.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Ashley's Birthday
Today we were able to celebrate Ashley's birthday together for the first time in 5 yrs. In the past Ashley's spring break always fell during her birthday week, so she was never here in North Carolina for it. Last night Michael made his first cake ever, (chocolate cake with vanilla icing). Michael woke up early and hung a Happy Birthday sign before he left for work (a nice surprise). When Michael got home from work, Ashley opened her presents. We made dinner together and had the birthday cake which was great! Pictures of the cake and all 24 candles are below.
You know you're getting old when your candles create that much smoke!
You know you're getting old when your candles create that much smoke!
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