Anna went to Costa Rica with her grandmother, Jane, about 15 years ago, when she was 11. It was a "ladies' trip" and they used a company called Caravan Tours. They both have spoken often about the trip over the years, and about a year ago, Katherine was saying that we should do a family trip to Costa Rica. She had read about the amazing wildlife, particularly birds, and the three of us had not had a family trip in quite a while. After some research, I realized that the "dry season" was December to March, so that set our window. We then had to decide what we wanted to see and for how long we wanted to travel. Our go-to travel company, Gate1, offers at least half a dozen different iterations of tours there, and we had to narrow it down. At the time, too, the thought that I would be retiring right before we left was not even a figment of my imagination. We settled on a nine-day trip that crossed over Martin Luther King's birthday, which meant one less day of leave from work for all three of us. We then had to decide if we would do the trip visiting the Caribbean or Pacific coasts, but after posting questions on several Gate1 Facebook groups, the recommendations were very strong in favor of the Caribbean, so that is what we booked.
We booked the trip in June and then promptly pushed it to the back of our minds. Anna was traveling extensively for work, while Katherine and I were just trying to stay afloat at our jobs. In the end, as is known, I elected to retire in January and set the ceremony for 15 January, only a few days before we were to leave. At first blush, it looked like perfect timing, as it would give us a built-in break after all the activity. In hindsight, it was probably a bit too ambitious, but the vacation definitely did serve its purpose to allow us all to unwind, and well as spend some much-needed time together as a family.
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| Itinerary for our Trip |
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