On Costa!

Map of the general area we're headed... won't be more specific because a) she deserves her privacy and b) I'm not exactly sure where on the map we're headed. Google street view hasn't exactly made it to backwoods Costa yet.


So we have booked our flight... a 'babymoon' of sorts though certainly not a traditional sit on your ass and watch waves sort of endeavour. We're headed to the Peninsula de Nicoya of Costa Rica. I visited there when I was 16 to see my friend who's family had whisked her there (permanently). I've only seen her a few times since then.

The last time was 5 years ago when I showed up on her doorstep in Oregon right as she went into labor. I stayed the night while she gave birth. It was strange but somehow felt normal. Inexplicable. Now I show up on her doorstep but will hopefully not be the one to go into labor.

So now the planning begins. How do we get from San Jose to her house? is 4-wheel drive necessary? Can we even find her on a map? I don't know the answers to all these questions, don't particularly have the time to find answers but know we somehow will. I'm psyched. This is exactly the sort of adventure I need before settling down into Mama-dom.

In other news, we visited our first child care option the other day. Before we went we were stoked about this place; super convenient to us, a center but a very small center. But ugh. Not impressed. Neither dh nor I wanted to admit it, but we were both turned off by the trashiness of the staff. Everyone seemed very nice, very loving to the kids, etc., but the vibe I got was more I heart Walmart than I heart Ikea. Not that those should necessarily be determining factors, and not that I'm proud of my bias, but if these are to be a child's adult role models I wasn't sure that I wanted them instilling their values into my child.

But, to be fair, that was the first place we visited. Perhaps we will find that nurturer (which I'm convinced is a role the staff would excel at) is a more important role for our children than educator and mentor. Ideally we'd like some place that has all of this but that isn't pretentious. Do such places exist? I do not know but aim to find out.