All Good Adventures Begin with a Snorkel

As I write the beginning words of our new family blog, Dan is out in the garage hammering, soldering, humming. He has secured the snorkel to the outside of our car so that we may travel through rainy season rivers with little worry. And, he is nearly finished attaching the rack to the inside roof so that we can play music on the keyboard along the way and when we arrive.

Along the way is a long way. We've mapped the journey from Thunder Bay (where we'll be celebrating Brent and Lois' 50 incredible years of marriage) to Nosara, Costa Rica. It'll involve about 134 hours of driving over 12 000 km. Our National Parks pass is ordered and we'll be camping at some of the most spectacular places in America. We've also researched the best farmer's markets, veggie restaurants, and independent bookstores to visit along the way. Though Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, we'll explore ruins and mountains, eat at roadside cafes and meet instrument makers.

When we arrive in Costa Rica, we will settle next to the sea. Our plan is to spend everyday outside, learn Spanish from a local family, get to know the people of our community at the library, the market, and on the football field. We will volunteer at the local wildlife sanctuary and at the nesting grounds of the olive ridley sea turtles. Happily, we'll be able to share many of these adventures with family and friends who are able to visit.

For those who can't visit (and for those who aren't there yet), we will share snippets of our days here on this blog. There will be a 'field guide' side-bar of sorts. The kids intend to photograph every creature we come across and provide you with fun facts to go with each photo.

A few months ago, in an email to a friend, I used the phrase, "a little bit of beauty." She suggested that it would make a good blog title. So, in Spanish, here it is - 'poco de belleza.' There are so many  incredibly sad, terrible things happening in our world. As a family, we want to acknowledge those, but also actively seek out the things that are beautiful and the people who are making them that way.