Traveling and turning the big 50

I've been talking about my 50th birthday trip since I was.....um, around 46?
We've visited Costa Rica twice before and I knew it was where I wanted to return to for the big 5 0.

We started the trip details back in January along with 3 other couples.
We rented a fabulous house on the beach in Tamarindo; the house had all the creature comforts....ya know, many bedrooms, a gorgeous pool/spa, gourmet kitchen, a chef and housekeeper, a gym and golf carts for us to tool around town in.

 Unbeknownst to me, my friends brought along lovely decorations and more presents than I deserve!

 We even had our own custom made Yeti's for the trip!

We all enjoyed playing in the pool.....just give us a few beers and balls and we're kiddos again.

The view from the chickie hut looking out to the pacific was magical....we saw a few humpback whales while here. That was a first for all of us. 

And this guy visited us daily. Too bad iguana's aren't that cute, but I never let him know this....surely they have feelings too. 

 We had an excursion one day that included a beautiful Costa Rican lunch and then a boat ride along a river where we saw many crocodiles, howler monkeys and lots of lovely birds. Also, we stopped and saw this gorgeous waterfall. FYI: The Coach and I declared this was the most perfect meal...and it was cooked in an outdoor kitchen/grill.

My sweet friends arranged for a birthday dinner one evening prepared by a local Chef; it was
magical!

 They made a lot of these really cute caption cards for us to play with all week.

And they even created these lovely menu cards for my birthday dinner.
Please note, the date is incorrect because we had to move UP the special dinner because of IRMA!

Am I a little angry at Irma?

Why, yes, I am.

Do I love my husband and sweet friends? yes I DO! They made my birthday so special.

This is only the first part of our trip.....It was extended because of IRMA. (there I go, being angry again)

I'll post the second part soon because since I'm getting OLD, I may forget otherwise. 

XO

Hurricane Irma tried to steal my birthday Thunder

Hola!

A quick update.
First, thank you for all of you who've messaged/emailed me about hurricane Irma. We were in Costa Rica celebrating my birthday with 6 other peeps when she was approaching.
We weren't all able to secure 8 flights home, so some of us ended up staying for 12 days instead of 7.

Please know that we are all well. Our sweet little town may never look the same again.....but there were no lives lost in our area.

Our home has some damage, mostly landscaping and some of the newly (one week prior to Irma) installed fencing. Some roof tiles and facia/soffit work and a all screens on pool cage will be redone.
We've been cleaning up and are almost back to 'normal'.

I'm going to miss that tree!

Lindsay fled to GA, The Coach secured our home and fled to the East Coast, Lolo had to put in major overtime and work the entire storm, prior and post.

I'll share photos soon. I just got internet back this morning, so I've got bills to pay and things to do. ;)

Life is good and we are truly lucky. Praying for the people of Puerto Rico and those here who still don't have power.


XOXO