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

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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 →

Costa Rica Day 5: Canopy Tour and Playa del Coco

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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 →

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

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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 →

Costa Rica Day 3: A Volcano with a View

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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 →

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

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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 →

Costa Rica Day 1: Arrival and Crosscheck

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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 →

A Sneak Peak at Pullen Park

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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 →

Surfing Hurricane Irene

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Hurricane flags fly in Wrightsville Beach

Hurricane flags fly in Wrightsville Beach

The Jetta was packed last night with two surfboards, my surf gear, and other essentials. I was ready for an early morning trip to Wilmington to surf. The alarm went off  around 5am and after I woke up, headed East.

Hurricane Irene is looming off the East coast and the surf window wasn’t very big. I didn’t think the surf would last much past noon today–and I was right. I arrived at Wrightsville Beach just after 7:30am. I took some pictures and got in the water. Continue reading →

A Cool Breeze from Chi-town

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Willis Tower, ChicagoRemember we went to Chicago this past March? Some of you probably saw our Facebook updates and perhaps a few pictures that we posted. Now, you can relive the entire trip. Yep, we just got around to posting the pictures.

Looking back at the photos while it’s 90° here in North Carolina brings a hint of coolness—like a cool ocean breeze. We weren’t well prepared for the cold weather that Chicago had for us back in March but we’d take a cool morning any day now. Continue reading →