Merry Xmas from "Ver, Whis, and the Del"! Part I

Max and I met a very chatty and charming Brit on the ski lift, at Vernon, as we made our way to the tippy top! We talked a lot about skiing and it soon became apparent to me just how "British" he really was. So many of his words were shortened, like "Whis" for Whistler, and "Bikkies for Biscuits (when he asked if Max left Santa a treat). The more I noticed it, the more he seem to be doing it! This made me smile. So I thank this friendly ski instructor for the inspiration behind this entry. (By the way, "Del" is referring to Riondel, where our cabin is located. :)

Onwards....

Being away for Christmas is something I have always considered. The last time I was away right on the holiday, was when I was living over in the United Kingdom. Ahhh, fond memories... However, I was solo then too.  Hmmm.

On one hand it seemed fabulous and exciting to be away with just our little family! On the other, would we miss being around family, not having our own tree, and would packing along gifts be too much???

In the end we opted for "giving it a go"! On December 21st, we left our home, dark and early, with Vernon, B.C. as our destination. En route, we would also stop at Whistler, and the cabin! Why not!?

Leaving our place; B.C. bound!

One thing that I did not think about was tranporting "Santa's" gifts for the kids. In the end, we put them in garage bags in the back, which were soon questioned by the kids! Quick thinking Chris said, "Oh! That is just stuff for the cabin". We did have plans to stop by our cabin in the Kootenays so that worked. :) That seemed to squelch any more questions.

The kids travel well too, as long as there is plenty of snacks, books, games and if they are really good, we will pop in a movie if it gets to be too long. We are also HUGE fans of Stuart McLean! So, we all enjoy listening to recordings of his stories as well, to pass the time away. Our favorite Christmas stories are "Dave cooks the Turkey, and "Morley's Christmas Concert". However, they are all very funny and worth a listen.

 Finally, after about 6 hours from our place to Vernon, we arrived at our first home away from home, at "The Outback". Our first day was spent skiing at Silver Star.

Santa was even there!!!

Our lift passes included the tube park once the hill was closed!

It was a hit!

Can I go again!?

Ahhh, nothing like a good soak after a hard day on the slopes.

Our second day was checking out "The Outback". We had been there in summer of 2011, so it was neat to see it in the winter. The water was brutally cold, as one would think. :)

Amyah already working the "embarrassed by her family" look! LOL

The kids and Chris see an opportunity for some rock climbing!

Silver Star was a crazy little place with everything from buildings that looked like they were from Disney Land, to great runs off of only a couple chairs to a course set up for kids to race mini snowmobiles!!! We hope to return someday and get in more skiing!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to Idado!

Our cabin is an hours north, along the shores of Koooteny Lake, from Creston, B.C.. This also means we are fairly close to the US boarder, the land of cross boarder shopping! When you cross at Porthill, Idaho, you often see people from Creston crossing over just to buy gas! A few years ago, we made a brilliant discovery! At Porthill, there is a mercantile where you can have all you online orders shipped to, and they process them and store them for you until you pick them up!

So, over the past couple years we have ordered everything from toilets with special seats, to birthday presents for the kids to computer and boat parts!  It has become part of our summer travels, while staying out at the cabin.

Two years ago, we even ventured further in to the land of plenty, down to Sandpoint, Idaho, for an afternoon at the beach on Lake Pend Orille. It is a huge lake, over 43 miles long with a lovely town beach. It is a busy lake, with its surrounding shores full of cabins and parks.

Here Max, age 3 digging in the sand.

Amyah, age 5, cringing from the cold water!

This past summer we decided to make the same trek again. However, this time we went to Coeur  D'Alene and spent the night. Again, there are a ton of places to shop, and we did stock up on things for the cabin.  We also spent the day at a fab family place, Triple Play. There is also the mega water park and amusement grounds, Silverwood Theme Park. We opted to save that for another time when we had at least one full day to hang out there. Judging by the people we could see there, just from driving by on the highway, it is the place to be on a great summer's day.

Here are some snaps of Triple Play. We thoroughly enjoyed our day there and would return. We did not stay at the hotel attached, as it was full. But, if you do stay there is an indoor water park as well!!!
Woo Hoo!

Costa Rica Part II Pennisula Papagayo

Our home away from home this time around was SPECTACULAR! We felt so lucky. It was quite deserted as well. To top off this great place, there was also a golf cart to motor around in!

The enterance to the pennisula is lovely with the sculptures, and very tall palm trees.

Here we are lounging around the pool with a great view of the bay.

If you stay on the peninsula, most properties allow you to also hang out at the beach club.  This fabulous club was on a lovely beach, Playa Prieta.

We also took the golf cart down to a public beach called Playa  Nacascolo . It was shallow for a long ways, and was fairly warm. The kids loved it the best, as it had a wonderful beach plus trees to play in and vines to swing on!

If you stay on the Papagayo Pennisula, Liberia, the major city, is only about 30 minutes away. It was where we shopped for groceries. You often pass through Liberia to get to all other destinations. Plus, there is a private medial clinic there, Clinica Biblica. They were super helpful in booking us our appointment with the ENT specialist to look at Amyah's ear.  Right beside it was also a private hospital which was brand new. Not that anyone plans to get sick but it was comforting to know there was quality medical help nearby.
And, if you find yourself in San Jose, the hospital Clinica Biblica offers great medical services too.

A typical San Jose street in the old part, where the hospital is located.

Costa Rica is definitely a country we will visit again. Everything about it is lovely and natural, from the lush rain forests to the sandy beaches. The Costa Rican people's warmth is also what will draw us back.  We hope you will someday get the chance to travel there!
Ciao!
The Beckers