Costa Rica Day 6: Playa Negra Surf and Tamarindo Sunset Cruise

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Shibby
Jason drops in at Playa Negra

Jason drops in at Playa Negra

It’s Friday, December 23, and our last full day in Costa Rica. I was up at 5:30 am to go surfing. I grabbed my board and made the 10-minute walk to Playa Negra. There were a handful of guys in the water and the tide was low, exposing some of the reef in the shallow areas. The waves were chest to head high and a little mushy with clean faces.

I met a guy out in the water, Mike, who had just arrived in Playa Negra last night and was from Encinatis, CA. I caught some great waves today. Merri Beth and Zander walked down to the beach and watched us surf for a while. Continue reading →

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Costa Rica Day 5: Canopy Tour and Playa del Coco

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Shibby

MB prepares to zip lineThursday, December 22 was our fifth day in Costa Rica and we squeezed a lot in as our week was ending quickly. We were up early to hit the road for a 2-hour drive to Buena Vista. Both Merri Beth and I woke up at some point early in the morning when we heard the power go out in Playa Negra. We packed up for the day in the dark, saved by the glowing of our cell phones.

We were on the road by 6:00 AM and stopped off for breakfast in Liberia. Around 8:30 AM, we arrived at the Buena Vista Lodge and were ready to start our day. After paying for the Megacombo package, the first thing we did was to prepare a few hours of zip lining through the jungle. Continue reading →

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Costa Rica Day 4: Playa Avellana, Zander’s First Wave

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Shibby
Zander catches his first wave at Playa Avellana

Zander catches his first wave at Playa Avellana

Wednesday, December 21 was the halfway mark of our vacation in Costa Rica. And again, we had no plans, no worries—just pura vida. Today, we decided to spend all day on the beach.

I was up early again, surfing Playa Negra. I walked down to the beach and surfed for almost two hours.  It was solid chest high and got a little bigger as the tide started to come in. There were about 10-12 guys out and everyone one catching waves. I caught an awesome wave on the far North end of the break that connected all the way to the inside. I also found a barrel or two and plenty of cutbacks. After my surf session, I headed back to Cafe Playa Negra to catch up with the family. Continue reading →

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Costa Rica Day 3: A Volcano with a View

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Shibby

A great viewI was up at 5:30 AM Central Time and looking to surf. This was our third day in Costa Rica, Tuesday, December 20. And it was Merri Beth’s birthday today!

I took a short walk to Playa Negra with my surfboard under my arm and eagerly awaited the surf check to see how things were. As I made the left towards the beach, I could already hear the surf crashing on the volcanic reef. When I arrived at the break, there were only a handful of guys on the main peak. I paddled out to join them. Continue reading →

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Costa Rica Day 2: Surf at Playa Negra, Trip to Tamarindo

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Shibby

Playa NegraTime to get to the beach and into the water. Surfs up! The best part about this vacation was we didn’t have any pre-set agenda. All Merri Beth wanted was a tan, all I wanted was some waves. We left the laptops at home, intentionally. I think Zander was just stoked to be with us and wanted to get in the water as well.

Day two, Monday, December 19, started off with breakfast at Cafe Playa Negra. We ordered some pancakes and a smoothie. Dave, one of the Cafe servers, was awesome. He was very friendly and gave us some good tips. After breakfast, we packed for the beach and began our journey to the beach at Playa Negra. Continue reading →

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Costa Rica Day 1: Arrival and Crosscheck

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Shibby

The entire family was up early getting ready to head to the airport. Our flight left RDU at 6:50 AM on December 18. We were bound for Liberia, Costa Rica for a week of vacation.

Of course, the first part of vacation is dealing with travel arrangements and getting there. We checked into our flight the previous night and only needed to get our bags checked in at American Airlines (AA). We were dramatically close to the 30-minute cut-off. While at the self-service kiosk, we selected one checked bag at the advice of the attendant suggesting that the front desk would help us with the second bag and speed things along. By the time we got to the desk, the clock was against us and the time we were trying to save earlier backfired on us. Continue reading →

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CityCamp Honolulu Recap

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Shibby

Originally posted on opensource.com and guest posted on sunlightfoundation.com.

The theme that emerged from the first CityCamp Honolulu, held on December 3 (the 17th CityCamp held worldwide), was restoring citizen confidence in their government. In a very collaborative and participatory atmosphere, organizers looked to citizens to generate ideas for the City of Honolulu’s upcoming Code for America project and to harness the power of design thinking to rapidly prototype ten topics generated during the unconference. Continue reading →

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A Sneak Peak at Pullen Park

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Shibby

On November 17, 2011, I joined other community members to explore the recently rennovated Pullen Park in Southwest Raleigh, NC. The instant you walk through the gate, you realize that this is a special place for Raleigh. I was immediately impressed. The park staff has many reasons to smile, because Pullen Park is going to attract park-goers from all over North Carolina and beyond.

I invited my southwestraleigh.com blogger, Kris, to attend the VIP-only event. We explored the Continue reading →

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Get Your Pirate On – My First OBX Half Marathon

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Shibby

It was five years ago this weekend that I caught the running bug—thanks to my buddy Iain Gray, who ran the Outer Banks Marathon back in 2006. Merri Beth, Zander (6 months old at the time), and I, spent the weekend on the Outer Banks to cheer on the runners. It was a great experience and inspired me to get into running.

Last weekend, I had my best half marathon to date. I finished the City of Oaks race in 1 hour, 42 minutes and I was in the top 20 of my age group. I’m ecstatic with the results. I’ve come a long way in four years. I’m blessed to be able to run these races and love the feeling when I cross the finish line.

This will be my first year running the Continue reading →

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TriDUG Meetup November 16 – 6:30PM at Red Hat

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Shibby

I wanted to let you know about next week’s TriDUG (Drupal User Group) meetup on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 starting at 6:30PM, hosted at Red Hat. The agenda is below and if you’re planning on attending, RSVP at meetup.com.

This is actually part two of a series TriDUG is hosting about using Drupal with non-profits. Last month, Drupalers were introduced to SpringBoard followed by a presentation from Hesketh.com on working with clients. Next week, TriDUG has more of the same great stuff. Continue reading →

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